Competition for the future of the International Hot Rod Association may have had one legitimate bidder, but it no longer does.
Drag Illustrated reported Friday that Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman submitted a formal offer to purchase the IHRA before withdrawing from negotiations, ending what appeared to be the first serious attempt by an established drag racing insider to acquire the struggling sanctioning body.
That development says a lot because Freeman isn’t just another businessman looking at a distressed asset. He has built Elite Motorsports into one of the most successful organizations in professional drag racing and understands both the economics and logistics required to operate at the highest level of the sport.
After inspecting the IHRA’s equipment and operations in Ohio, Freeman submitted a letter of intent to purchase the organization. The negotiations ultimately stalled, prompting him to walk away.
“Daryl, I appreciate the opportunity but as you might imagine I don’t work well with being a backup plan,” Freeman wrote. “Please take this email as declining my offer, maybe that can help you with your decision. Good luck moving forward and I truly wish you the best.”
The collapse of those negotiations has become just another storyline in the trainwreck scenario of the series many expected to become an alternative series to the NHRA once again. This situation is the latest scenario where IHRA continues its piecemeal deconstruction with canceled tours, laid off employees while racers, vendors and employees continue seeking answers regarding unpaid obligations and the sanctioning body’s future.
CompetitionPlus has spent months documenting the executive turnover, canceled events, unpaid obligations and uncertainty surrounding the IHRA. Freeman’s decision to walk away does not settle the organization’s future, but it suggests the problems extend well beyond finding someone willing to write a check.
Freeman said racers began contacting him under the believing he had already purchased the IHRA, asking when outstanding purses and payments would be made. Those conversations ronly add to the uncertainty surrounding the organization.
Freeman offered a blunt assessment of where he believes the situation stands.
“Anyone who is holding their breath for payment, thinks next year is happening, or ever thought for a second this guy was the savior we needed, has no clue,” Freeman said in the Drag Illustrated article..
Freeman’s account represents his perspective on the negotiations, and IHRA owner Darryl Cuttell has not publicly detailed his version of events. Nor has any buyer been publicly identified if, as Freeman was reportedly told, another agreement has been reached.
CompetitionPlus.com has contacted IHRA management multiple times seeking comment. As of this posting, those emails have not received a response.
