Not everyone is pleased with the NHRA's decision to eliminate to point-reward procedure about national elapsed time records. Two individuals who have "skin" in the game voiced their displeasure on Thursday during testing  in Phoenix, Az. Team owners Bob Vandergriff Jr. and Don Schumacher said the decision removes an exciting aspect of the game, an aspect desperately needed at this time as Peter Clifford seeks to take drag racing to higher visible profile.

"I just don't understand the whole premise of why it needed to be messed with in the first place," said Vandergriff. "I mean, it only comes into play in very few instances, and for a sport trying to grow excitement and drama it just doesn't add up to what we've already done. 

"We've added points to qualifying, to add excitement. Then there's the Countdown ... again, to add excitement and drama. Then we turn around and remove probably the most drama-filled experience from our sport? A sport built on performance, speed and excitement, we've done the equivalent in football of removing the Hail Mary pass play."

The NHRA elapsed time records in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions alone were set and reset multiple times in 2015.

"Look at it this way, the most exciting race I've ever watched included Tony Schumacher and "the run" and he needed the record to complete his title run," said Vandergriff. "There were so many scenarios; he had to run quick enough to get the record and not too quick, where he ran too quick for the back-up. It had the fans and all of us on the edge of the seats. As long as the record was out there, in many situations the drama was never over until the record was over."

"I really think it is a mistake," Schumacher added. "That's taking away the excitement of setting a record away from the fans. Why do we want to remove any excitement from our sport? Even if it only excited one or two fans, we need as much as we can get."

Sources have told CompetitionPlus.com the NHRA believes the traditional one-percent back-up was too difficult for some fans, and in this case, members of the media to understand the procedure. And, even though the NHRA was confident in their timing system reliability, it wasn't confident enough to reward the championship points without the 100-percent reliability.

Count CompetitionPlus.com reader and race fan Mark Kirlin as one of those not happy with the move. 

"Speed and ET has always been the essence of drag racing," Kirlin said via the CompetitionPlus.com Facebook page. "Now NHRA wants to make them insignificant. What's next? Signs at the finish line with just a light for winner and no ET/Speed???"

Schumacher believes the fans could understand the move though the required back-up, in his estimation, was expendable.

"I don't think it was hard to understand," Schumacher said. "I agree with the elimination of the one-percent, but the clocks are good enough now we know whether it's a messed-up run or not. I just don't understand any of it. I hope NHRA reverses their decision on it."

Vandergriff would like to know why the racers were not asked for any input into the decision. 

"I would like to know what the decision-making process was, was this a group decision?" Vandergriff asked. "I just don't understand it."