As only the incomparable Chairman of the Board, Mr. Frank Sinatra, could have sung:

Here’s to the winners -- lift up the glasses.


Here's to the glory still to be.


Here's to the battle, whatever it's for,


To ask the best of ourselves, then give much more.



Here's to the heroes -- those who move mountains.
Here's to the miracles they make us see.


Here's to all brothers -- here's to all people


Here's to the winners all of us can be.

As only the incomparable Chairman of the Board, Mr. Frank Sinatra, could have sung:

Here’s to the winners -- lift up the glasses.


Here's to the glory still to be.


Here's to the battle, whatever it's for,


To ask the best of ourselves, then give much more.



Here's to the heroes -- those who move mountains.
Here's to the miracles they make us see.


Here's to all brothers -- here's to all people


Here's to the winners all of us can be.

Yes. Sinatra’s sentiment -- and sound -- remain as emotionally powerful to me as 8,000-horsepower nitro-fueled engines. So I offer my own congratulations to the competitors and champions of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello season.

But now that the banquet meal has been digested, and the Wally trophies already are gathering dust, that means there’s only one more thing to be done: This column’s annual listing of the year’s Top 10 stories in the Business and Politics of Drag Racing.

Honorable Mention: The Dodge Dart won in its Pro Stock debut, thanks to Allen Johnson’s Gatornationals victory . . . Angelle Drago briefly returned to Pro Stock Motorcycle competition before a non-racing ankle injury sidelined the three-time champion with two races to go. Even more importantly will be if the George Bryce team can secure funding for a full 2015 campaign . . . Lack of sponsorship kept Melanie Troxel and other popular and respected racers off the track, disappointing for them, and bad for the drag racing business . . . Two impressive wins by Morgan Lucas in a part-time driving role as he became more engaged in the family business . . . Antron Brown’s six wins were tops in Top Fuel but he only finished seventh in points, a true mixed-bag for Matco . . . Fans at the Auto-Plus New England Nationals “paid good money to go to a drag race (and) got the best show I’ve seen this year,” said Tony Schumacher. He was right, with Ron Capps, Dave Connolly and Angie Smith joining Schumacher in raising trophies after the season’s most competitive weekend . . . The late-November news of Don Schumacher’s cancer surgery . . . The death of former NHRA, Winston and Dodge publicist Denny Darnell, a true old-school PR pro. As I wrote on Twitter, Denny understood that the humanity of talking was more important than the convenience of texting . . . The passing of Kenny Bernstein’s “First-to-300” crew chief Dale Armstrong, a winning tuner for both the Red and Blue sides of NHRA’s legendary and intense Beer Wars.

10. Alan Announcer: After that needless 2013 Gong Show, Alan Reinhart took up full-time residence in the PA booth, and rapidly put his own stamp on the Voice of NHRA role made important and entertaining by Dave McClelland and Bob Frey. Which is the way it should have been from the moment Frey signed off.

9. Conflicts of Interests: NHRA scheduled the Phoenix and Topeka races directly against the Daytona and Indianapolis 500s, respectively, effectively making them local -- not national -- events. The plan is to repeat this obvious mistake in 2015, reducing their value to teams, sponsors and fans.

8. Silence Is Not Golden: I think I saw a press release that Tom Compton hired someone to replace Jerry Archambeault on his executive management team. Not that many in the national media, or the small drag racing journalistic corps, met or even heard from the new guy. Meanwhile, John Force Racing’s Elon Werner won the Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations. Proving that a serious effort, professional attitude, and relationship building with the media really can work.

7. Wild Horse Passes: After not renewing Charlie Allen’s 30-year Firebird Raceway lease, Gila River Indian Community and its Sun Valley Marina entity brought in Copper Train Development Partners to manage what was renamed Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, supposedly into 2019. That should have meant GRIC had a greater financial incentive to invest in improvements for both competitors and fans and make the races more popular and successful. Copper Train’s Paul Clayton outreached to the local media, civic and governmental agencies, and corporate community and spent to make way-overdo facility upgrades. Those included quarter-mile repaving, new scoreboards and timing/scoring system, better food vendors and renovated corporate hospitality areas. Not everything, including traffic control and parking, were perfect, but sponsorships and attendance for February’s Carquest Auto Parts Nationals were up -- perhaps to record levels. Clayton told me his next step was going to be to replace the place’s third-world restrooms. But in April GRIC terminated Copper Train. NHRA still has a contract but the unknown is if momentum to continue fixing-up and better-promoting Wild Horse Pass and its many events will continue or is stalled.

6. The Mello Sponsor: This annual “honor” has been well-deserved by The Coca-Cola Co. and Mello Yello for continuing to treat its NHRA title sponsorship like an unwanted step-child. The one constant has been the lack of enthusiasm and meaningful activation and marketing support for the series. Coke executive Sharon Byers’ promises on a national media teleconference for Bigger and Better are the motorsports’ equivalent of President Obama’s that if you like your doctor and health plan you can keep them. It’s again legitimate to ask the Coke Suits this question: Why bother?

5. Postponement Problems: When track condition issues and then rain ended the Carolina Nationals before the first Pro Stock round was finished, an NHRA news release informed us “fans attending today’s event at zMAX Dragway are entitled to a 50-percent credit for a one-day ticket to either (NHRA event at zMAX) in 2015.” Really? REALLY? A half-credit when spectators didn’t even get to see half the event? (Which was concluded the next weekend 1,000 miles away at the Texas Motorplex.) While the release accurately reflected policy published on the track’s website, some PR light bulbs happily got turned on and zMAX later offered a 100 percent credit. The drag racing sport isn’t popular enough to short-change existing loyal fans and such ticket policies must be fixed to better respect the paying customers.

4. No Youth Movement: One would hope the NHRA Suits listen when Forrest Lucas speaks. And the ultra-important and respected Lucas Oil founder publicly admitted what most only whispered about in private in his official John Force Racing sponsorship announcement. “There are not as many young people coming into NHRA as we would like to see . . .,” Lucas said. He went on to praise John for having “his beautiful daughters involved and they are doing a good job.” But who at NHRA is doing a good job of creating a new and younger generation of fans? I know of no hard evidence proving such a result. No series, no sport, no business, can thrive -- or even survive -- without making new customers. In the kind of internal you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours deal that drag racing briefcase carriers have found maddening for many years, Archambeault’s agency was hired by NHRA to build its social media presence. The measureable results seemed to mirror his tenure at the sanction. If anyone knows if anything meaningful happened, please forward that data to me.

3. ESPN’s Highs and Lows: For the first time in four years, average household ratings and viewership numbers increased, sweet and juicy news for those who must sell sponsorships in a still-challenging environment. Many fans may well remember the ESPN season for the beyond-frustrating early a.m. qualifying shows sometimes further delayed by “live” coverage of other sports. Mike Dunn stayed in the groove and remained the best analyst in all of motorsports. I hope the Powers-That-Be in Bristol and Glendora understand that.

2. Girl Power: Courtney Force won the 100th national event by a female driver. Alexis DeJoria won the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. Erica Enders-Stevens won the Pro Stock championship. Angie Smith won her first in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Leah Pritchett and Jenna Haddock won a few rounds in underfunded part-time cars. Brittany Force won three poles and advanced to four finals. The importance is more than 14 total final-round victories. It’s about generating publicity in the non-racing media. And it’s about expanding the fan base. Courtney’s micro-demo is different from Alexis’ and Erica’s and so forth. NHRA needs every advantage it can get vs. NASCAR and every other competitor for every single entertainment dollar. This high-octane performance by the ladies translated to a unique and impressive selling point. Their headlines were the best of the season.

1. Force Funding: John Force’s struggle to keep the Family Business in business -- unthinkable two years ago -- overshadowed all the racing stories and put a laser spotlight on NHRA’s sports marketing and sponsorship challenges. Castrol left Force after 29 seasons and Ford following 17. Even though Force remained NHRA’s Biggest Personality (and winner) and Courtney Force shined with the “It” factor to possibly be the Next Big Thing in American sports. No one should doubt both companies’ decisions represented a vote of no confidence in NHRA’s short-to-mid term value as a sales platform. The saga to survive played out the entire season and the ripple effects included Jimmy Prock leaving for Don Schumacher Racing during the Countdown. The strain on the 16-time Funny Car champion was obvious. Ashley Force Hood admitted to this columnist she worried the stress was affecting her father’s health. Force personally invested in increased sales and publicity capabilities to try to make his cash register ring. Peak antifreeze and Lucas Oil signed-on before the final round at Pomona, but as of this writing, Force says his overall operation is not fully-funded for 2015.

Follow Michael Knight on Twitter: @SpinDoctor500