As far as Pro Stock team owner and PRO Board member Richard Freeman sees it, the relationship between PRO and NHRA is just fine following their staging of the successful SCAG Pro Superstar Shootout last weekend in Bradenton, Fla.

"I think it's fine," Freeman said on a recent episode of the CompetitionPlus.com POWER HOUR show. "When we started this and announced to them this is what we were going to do, they didn't embrace it, but that's understanding."

Freeman alluded to the famous PRO/PRA event of 1972 when event organizer Don Garlits and promoter Jim Tice of the AHRA scheduled a high-dollar race opposite of NHRA's U.S. Nationals as something different than that event. 

"It was a first, [with] big money payouts, fantastic partners, but we don't want to lose sight really what it was about," Freeman explained. "It wasn't necessarily about the race. It was about making sure that all of our partners knew and know how we feel about them. 

"And Randy and the guys from SCAG, that whole team of people, they stepped up, supported this, and he's relatively new to drag racing. Johnson's Horsepowered Garage (Jason Johnson, Nikki, Chris and Jackie), these are people that... they don't get a lot out of what they do. They love the sport. They love everything about it, and that's what this was about. Those two companies stepped up and so many, many more that we had out there and we hosted, and we showed them just a little bit different side of how we thought some things should be done."

Freeman declared the PRO Superstar Shootout to be a success that has room for improvement for future events. 

"In my opinion, the thing went off without a hitch, but there's a lot of things that we would probably do different," Freeman said. "I don't know that anyone expected the outpouring of support from not only our supporters who supplied money and other things that helped us pull it off but also the fans. Wow. What can you say? 

"They were ten deep [on the fence]. They never left the stands to watch. It didn't matter if it was Super Stock, Stock, Top Sportsman, Pro Stock. There was action all the time and something I'm super proud of: FLO [event streamer]. This is really the first drag racing event that they'd done to this magnitude, and what a job they did. There was a live show on the track and there were things you could go in pit and watch. I think it was just excellent. Again, could it be better next time? Absolutely. That was the first time, and I hope that we'll do more."

In the past, PRO has appeared to be essentially all about nitro, but for the last two decades or so, Pro Stock has been a viable part of the program. In recent years, Freeman, considered a savior for the factory hot rod division, joined the board, and related lots of barriers that once existed have come down.

"Well, I think we all locked arms, and we worked together," Freeman confirmed. 

And now, as Freeman sees PRO working together better than ever, he believes it's time that PRO and NHRA work together to improve the sport. 

"Nobody wins if you build walls," he said. "Walls have to come down, not build them. Wedges don't need to be there. Listen, NHRA is the stage, end of story, but that doesn't mean that it can't be better. It doesn't mean we can't be better, and instead of doing a lot of bitching or pointing fingers, how about solutions? And we can do it together, or we can do it apart. Apart's no good. I'm a believer in that and I truly believe that our sport is the best form of motorsports for partners, fans and all alike."

Simply put, Freeman points out that if there's something his group would like at the end of the day, it is to have a seat at the table with NHRA on key elements that effect the teams. 

"We're trying to better the sport and there's a lot of things being discussed about TV and streaming rights, and stuff like that," Freeman said. "Really what we want as a group is to have a seat at that table and in those negotiations. More money? Absolutely, but Tony Stewart says it the best, 'It's great to want more money, but is there more money?" 

"So all we want's a fair shake."

Will there be more of these types of races? Freeman believes so but adds nothing is set in stone. 

"I believe that there will be more PRO Superstar Shootout races, but that is my opinion," he said. "It's nothing that has been decided upon. I think there is a big opportunity for the sport of drag racing to do some different things that could have NHRA involved. It could have had lots of different avenues to go. What I think this showed us is people still want that personable connection, and that is one thing that I believe we did very well."

Freeman wanted to make one point clear.

"I love all the guys at NHRA," Freeman said. "They work their ass off just like everybody else does, and some of those guys showed up down there. We were glad to see them and have them on the starting line. We absolutely wish they would've embraced it a little bit more because we think we could have helped Gainesville. I can tell you I had several people come by my pit area and say, 'Hey, we've watched drag racing on TV. We've never been to a national event, but after seeing this, we're going to be in Gainesville."