JOHNSON RESIGNS PRO2 POST
Mon, 2008-04-28 13:22
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson will no longer serve as President of PRO2, the
motorcycle equivalent of the Professional Racers Organization. He resigned his post earlier this week.
Johnson cited the failure for the organization to fully understand the business side of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing as one of his leading factors to step away.
Another factor in his decision was likely the questioning of his actions by members of the group for a past meeting with the NHRA’s technical department specifically raising parity concerns regarded to the Suzuki combination and a clear decline in the Suzuki participation. The meeting was funded through the Suzuki owners.
When other members of PRO2 found out about the meeting, the controversy and grumblings made their way around. Questions of a conflict of interest abounded.
Were Johnson’s concerns supplemented by the stats? NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson will no longer serve as President of PRO2, the
motorcycle equivalent of the Professional Racers Organization. He resigned his post earlier this week.
Johnson cited the failure for the organization to fully understand the business side of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing as one of his leading factors to step away.
Another factor in his decision was likely the questioning of his actions by members of the group for a past meeting with the NHRA’s technical department specifically raising parity concerns regarded to the Suzuki combination and a clear decline in the Suzuki participation. The meeting was funded through the Suzuki owners.
When other members of PRO2 found out about the meeting, the controversy and grumblings made their way around. Questions of a conflict of interest abounded.
Were Johnson’s concerns supplemented by the stats?
“The Suzuki's only qualified #1 in the last four years -- 25% of the time, you know the parity's not even close,” Johnson said. “So from a sanction body NHRA has to look at this and say "Hey what's good for the category; is it good for the category to have V-twins always qualifying No. 1?”
“I could never get that across to the people either. Qualifying #1 is way different than who wins, because as we know you could have the fastest bike and not win the race. Everybody should come to the race and not know who's going to qualify #1, and right now everybody knows there's not going to be a Suzuki qualifying #1. And that's not parity.”
Johnson, during his tenure with PRO2, regularly took the NHRA to task regarding issues surrounding the Pro Stock Motorcycle division. He’s intent on maintaining his voice outside of an official capacity.
“I know the sanctioning body gets beat on all the time, and trust me, there are some huge frustrations that I have with them, but I know quitting just lets them win, and as long as I can get a spot in the batters box trust me, I will speak,” Johnson said. “There’s a value when the Harley-Davidsons and the Buell’s do good. I'm about growing the whole property over here and just because I resigned doesn't mean I'm not going to work my own angles.
Johnson feels strongly that he did the best job possible for PRO2.
“I felt like for the amount of resources that we had, and the amount of contacts that I had representing the category from a marketing standpoint was a good fit,” Johnson explained. “In a perfect world I support everybody that thought that way, because at the end of the day they've got small little ideas of what's going on and they don't understand the bigger picture. If we had a suit and a tie guy that we could pay a salary to run PRO2, all the more power.
“But we never did and nobody ever cared enough about it, they didn't understand how important the business side here is. Its helping sponsors activate there program and working with the NHRA. It got to be frustrating and I built up a lot of enemies through that just because they were mad at me and I was over that. I was doing everything right, I represented the category 100% for 11 years and I felt like I did a pretty good job and look back at the things that we did and I'm proud as heck of the things that we accomplished.”
Johnson said PRO2 is an organization which needs to continue.
“I've always said if it cost $500,000 to run a motorcycle team and with 20 teams, you got a $10 million a year business,” explained Johnson. “Any $10 Million dollar business is going to have somebody guiding the ship where it's going to go and I think the people understand it. You have some guys in our class that are real knuckleheads and not only do they not believe in the business side of it, they're dissension causers. I think you have that in society and I was ok with that, I just took that as face value.
“I think core group of our class is really a bunch of good guys and girls. I think they get it. But resources are difficult when you don't have the money and you know money is the king. When we have team owners that are successful businessmen -- that's what our category thrives on. That's what our sport needs because when they have investment money and when you invest, you get back and when you get back, you grow and that's what we have to do.”
Steve Johnson has resigned his position as the President of PRO2. (Roger Richards)
Johnson cited the failure for the organization to fully understand the business side of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing as one of his leading factors to step away.
Another factor in his decision was likely the questioning of his actions by members of the group for a past meeting with the NHRA’s technical department specifically raising parity concerns regarded to the Suzuki combination and a clear decline in the Suzuki participation. The meeting was funded through the Suzuki owners.
When other members of PRO2 found out about the meeting, the controversy and grumblings made their way around. Questions of a conflict of interest abounded.
Were Johnson’s concerns supplemented by the stats? NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson will no longer serve as President of PRO2, the
Steve Johnson has resigned his position as the President of PRO2. (Roger Richards)
Johnson cited the failure for the organization to fully understand the business side of Pro Stock Motorcycle racing as one of his leading factors to step away.
Another factor in his decision was likely the questioning of his actions by members of the group for a past meeting with the NHRA’s technical department specifically raising parity concerns regarded to the Suzuki combination and a clear decline in the Suzuki participation. The meeting was funded through the Suzuki owners.
When other members of PRO2 found out about the meeting, the controversy and grumblings made their way around. Questions of a conflict of interest abounded.
Were Johnson’s concerns supplemented by the stats?
“The Suzuki's only qualified #1 in the last four years -- 25% of the time, you know the parity's not even close,” Johnson said. “So from a sanction body NHRA has to look at this and say "Hey what's good for the category; is it good for the category to have V-twins always qualifying No. 1?”
“I could never get that across to the people either. Qualifying #1 is way different than who wins, because as we know you could have the fastest bike and not win the race. Everybody should come to the race and not know who's going to qualify #1, and right now everybody knows there's not going to be a Suzuki qualifying #1. And that's not parity.”
Johnson, during his tenure with PRO2, regularly took the NHRA to task regarding issues surrounding the Pro Stock Motorcycle division. He’s intent on maintaining his voice outside of an official capacity.
“I know the sanctioning body gets beat on all the time, and trust me, there are some huge frustrations that I have with them, but I know quitting just lets them win, and as long as I can get a spot in the batters box trust me, I will speak,” Johnson said. “There’s a value when the Harley-Davidsons and the Buell’s do good. I'm about growing the whole property over here and just because I resigned doesn't mean I'm not going to work my own angles.
Johnson feels strongly that he did the best job possible for PRO2.
“I felt like for the amount of resources that we had, and the amount of contacts that I had representing the category from a marketing standpoint was a good fit,” Johnson explained. “In a perfect world I support everybody that thought that way, because at the end of the day they've got small little ideas of what's going on and they don't understand the bigger picture. If we had a suit and a tie guy that we could pay a salary to run PRO2, all the more power.
“But we never did and nobody ever cared enough about it, they didn't understand how important the business side here is. Its helping sponsors activate there program and working with the NHRA. It got to be frustrating and I built up a lot of enemies through that just because they were mad at me and I was over that. I was doing everything right, I represented the category 100% for 11 years and I felt like I did a pretty good job and look back at the things that we did and I'm proud as heck of the things that we accomplished.”
Johnson said PRO2 is an organization which needs to continue.
“I've always said if it cost $500,000 to run a motorcycle team and with 20 teams, you got a $10 million a year business,” explained Johnson. “Any $10 Million dollar business is going to have somebody guiding the ship where it's going to go and I think the people understand it. You have some guys in our class that are real knuckleheads and not only do they not believe in the business side of it, they're dissension causers. I think you have that in society and I was ok with that, I just took that as face value.
“I think core group of our class is really a bunch of good guys and girls. I think they get it. But resources are difficult when you don't have the money and you know money is the king. When we have team owners that are successful businessmen -- that's what our category thrives on. That's what our sport needs because when they have investment money and when you invest, you get back and when you get back, you grow and that's what we have to do.”
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