Jim Hughes could only smile. The iconic sportsman drag racer had heard NHRA's President Tom Compton reveal to NHRA sportsman racers how he and his team intended to do a better job of listening and making the sportsman racing experience better during the NHRA U.S. Nationals. A month later he saw those words transformed into reality.

The schedule at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas had fallen behind, and while the Super Cars were supposed to follow an extended fuel session, the call went out earlier in the day that their racing would resume the following morning. The same scenario played out at the season finale' in Pomona.

Hughes had been one of the more outspoken critics of running this type of car in what he described as less-than-adequate conditions.

Jim Hughes could only smile. The iconic sportsman drag racer had heard NHRA's President Tom Compton reveal to NHRA sportsman racers how he and his team intended to do a better job of listening and making the sportsman racing experience better during the NHRA U.S. Nationals. A month later he saw those words transformed into reality.

The schedule at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas had fallen behind, and while the Super Cars were supposed to follow an extended fuel session, the call went out earlier in the day that their racing would resume the following morning. The same scenario played out at the season finale' in Pomona.

Hughes had been one of the more outspoken critics of running this type of car in what he described as less-than-adequate conditions.

"I think the NHRA has made big strides in trying to acknowledge and make changes for the Sportsman racer," said Hughes. "I think it was instances such as what happened at Houston that finally made them take a look and say 'you know, we need to do something here, because car counts are down.’ Our car count is going in the wrong direction. So now they're starting to make some big changes that I think are beginning to show up.

“Changes can't happen overnight, but if the past six months is any indication, the future of all NHRA sportsman racing is very promising.”

Hughes’ Houston reference was in regards to the NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway where flooded pit areas forced the sanctioning body to cancel the sportsman portion of the event.

The NHRA has taken many noticeable steps in an effort to restore confidence. Two of the more evident changes in policy have been in running the sportsman classes to completion earlier in the weekend if there is impending bad weather, and at other events, using the downtime between professional semifinal and final runs to recognize sportsman champions.

Hughes says just knowing those in charge are taking the initiative means a lot to what he feels is the backbone of the sport.

"We are definitely headed in the right direction," said Hughes. "And I believe there will be more positive moves heading into the future."

Despite the fact that Hughes is of the opinion that the sanctioning body is making some significant strides he believes there’s still a long way to go.  

"I think it's been said, in the "Disconnect" [SPORTSMAN RACERS TO NHRA: THERE'S A DISCONNECT] story that there has been a true disconnect," said Hughes. "The sportsman racer appreciation barbecue that they had in Indy was really, really good. It was a big step in the right direction. Tom Compton went up and he said a few words and said ‘we've made a mistake, we're wrong, we have not focused and have not paid attention to the sportsman racer and we want to change that.’"

And this admission went a long way with many of the sportsman racers.

"I think it did, because they've been making more changes this year that are sincere," said Hughes. “Changes that allow them to really find out what they can do to pay more attention to the sportsman racer. I commend NHRA for the valiant effort that they are putting forth because I think it's going to be good for the sport, good for the industry and good for the NHRA.

"If somebody's trying to make a change, trying to make a difference for their business, I think they should be given an opportunity to make changes. It's just a matter of if they can bring the passion back and do what's right for the industry to keep the industry growing and alive."

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