The NHRA has apparently won the first battle of wills in the skirmish against the ADRL in regards to injected nitro doorslammers competing this weekend ADRL Saftey-Kleen Dragpalooza 5 at Houston Raceway Park in Houston, Tex.

Don Wooten has said he will compete at 50% nitro if that's what it takes to get to race.

“If they [NHRA] say we have to knock the nitro out of it, then that’s what we gotta do,” Wooten told CompetitionPlus.com. “We’re going to show up and be there and this is nothing more than the NHRA flexing their muscles. I don’t know what this has to do with the NHRA but that is what this is all about.

The NHRA has apparently won the first battle of wills in the skirmish against the ADRL in regards to injected nitro doorslammers competing this weekend ADRL Saftey-Kleen Dragpalooza 5 at Houston Raceway Park in Houston, Tex.

Don Wooten has said he will compete at 50% nitro if that's what it takes to get to race.

“If they [NHRA] say we have to knock the nitro out of it, then that’s what we gotta do,” Wooten told CompetitionPlus.com. “We’re going to show up and be there and this is nothing more than the NHRA flexing their muscles. I don’t know what this has to do with the NHRA but that is what this is all about.

“This [injected, nitro doorslammer] is good for the whole industry. It’s good for the racers and it’s a plus, plus deal. Then Graham Light [NHRA VP of Operations] wants to flex his muscle and tell Kenny Nowling what he can or can’t do. It’s just not fair.”

Houston Raceway Park is expected to comply with the NHRA's demand to adhere to a 50% maximum nitro percentage for injected, nitro doorslammers. The NHRA's Top Alcohol Dragster division competes at a 94% injected nitro percentage. Fuel altered exhibition vehicles have no such limitation.

Wooten questions the logic of the NHRA's decision of downgrading the nitro in his car while other more volatile combinations are allowed to run with lesser restrictions.

“We’re not going to bitch about it and we are going to go on about our business. We’ll make this thing work and we’ll do what we have to do. The next race is not at an NHRA national event track; if we have to sit out this weekend then we have to sit out, we are going to have to try and make this work. I don’t know what else to do.”

“A fuel altered runs at 100% with a 125-inch wheelbase and they are an open-bodied car with a blower on it,” added Wooten. “They tell us we can’t run this car? This isn’t safer? My car doesn’t turn over 6,200 rpms.”

Details are just now becoming available, but CompetitionPlus.com has learned the car will be on the grounds of Houston Raceway Park and Wooten plans to run. What remains to be seen is whether the car will be in Pro Extreme competition or make exhibition runs during the course of the event. 

“It’s a pissing match I guess,” Wooten surmised. “I’ve been in touch with Graham Light and I’ve been in touch with the NHRA’s technical operations. We are gathering all of the data and trying to get it to them.  Graham Light just said ‘it isn’t going to get fixed by this weekend.”

“If they are going to lean on the Angel Brothers then they are going to lean on them. All that stuff they talked ... I guess  you can talk the talk but when it comes down to it, you see what happens.”

“We are planning to run unless they come up and put a chain on my car, it will be in the staging lanes. This is my home race and this is where my company is at. This is where my customers are at. I’ve done my part. I don’t expect for them [NHRA] to mess with me about it. Just short of them chaining my car down, I’m going to the staging lanes. They can tell me all they want to tell me but if there 50% in the tank it’s best that they not mess with me. It may not run at 50% but we’re going to give it a whirl.”

Kenny Nowling told CompetitionPlus.com this morning that the ADRL compromised in order to remove HRP from the middle of a major battle.

"As of yesterday, the Angel family expressed concerns with me that they have been put in the middle of a situation that certainly not our [ADRL's] fault but nonetheless it put them in the middle," Nowling explained. "The Angel family has been an incredible partner to the ADRL over the course of the past year and we have a multi-year agreement going forward. I want to be very clear that we are not conceding to or adhering to any request being made to the NHRA. However, in an effort to diffuse the situation and keep the Angel family from being caught in the middle, as a courtesy to them, our valued track partner, we are going to limit the use of nitromethane for this weekend's Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza 5 to 50%. This conflict has never been about ego or about winning or losing, it's simply about protecting our company's ability to run itself as we see fit. Not how our direct competitor sees fit.

"There will be ongoing dialogue going forward with the NHRA to resolve this matter amiciably, but I want to reiterate that this concession is being made purely out of respect for the Angel family and the partnership we have with Houston Raceway Park. I applaud Don Wooten's decision to comply to our request for this weekend and look forward to standing on the starting line when he makes his maiden voyage in competition. To all of those who have sent us letters and called in support during this time to voice your support, on behalf of our staff we won't forget."

Advertisement