Just Wondering … What kind of TV ratings are the NHRA ESPN2 broadcasts getting? I'm betting that, like the NASCAR who have acknowledged their TV viewership and ticket sales are down, the NHRA has the same issues.  Can anyone out there give us the real numbers?

Just Wondering … Am I the only one who finds it strange that the NHRA pays ESPN around $8,000,000 a year to produce and broadcast the coverage of their events but -- if you believe what you hear from the NHRA -- has little or no say regarding content. If true, I would like to know what brilliant negotiator made that deal!

Just Wondering … Recently NASCAR held a closed-door meeting between the NASCAR management team and their car owners and drivers to try identify and solve the issues that are contributing to the waning popularity of their series. I wonder if the NHRA management would ever do the same thing? If not, why not?

Photos don't lie whether they are taken with a still camera or a TV camera. There have been plenty of empty seats at many of NHRA's events; that is a certifiable fact. Another fact is that many times this year the fuel fields have had the minimum 16 cars or less. Pro teams have lost major sponsors and ceased operation. The team owners I have talked to this year say the real financial issue for them is their payroll and the cost required to keep the teams on the road. I believe that the NHRA is going to have to swallow its pride and reduce the number of races on the schedule. With the economy not showing signs of an imminent turn around, NHRA should consider this option and forget the ill-advised new spec engine program.

Just Wondering … How does it make sense either from an entertainment or financial perspective to make obsolete the current spec nitro motor and replace it with another almost certain to be slower and, according to the owners and tuners I talk to, absolutely no less expensive.

Spencer Massey is a talented and likeable young driver and already has an IHRA Top Fuel World Championship to his credit. So I couldn't help but wonder why, when he was thanking a litany of friends, mentors and sponsors on Sunday at Joliet for helping him get to the point where he could win his first NHRA Wally he didn't mentioned Hall of Famer Gene Snow who has backed Spencer's career for many years.

I just don't get it. I get calls and letters from sportsman racers bitterly complaining about how they feel the NHRA mistreats them and takes advantage of them. This year the NHRA raised nearly every fee those racers have to pay to race, then more than 450 sportsman racers coughed up the cabbage to race at the NHRA's Topeka event. That's really showing the NHRA how you feel, guys.

I was very glad to see J.R. Todd get a ride driving for David Baca's team. I was hoping for an historic Top Fuel final round between Todd and Antron Brown. I’m pretty certain that drag racing is the only professional motorsport in the world where a couple of African-American drivers could go heads-up for a Championship in the highest level of competition. As a drag racer, I'm proud of that.

Everyone I have talked with that was either attending or competing at the IHRA's recent Texas race, agrees it was an unqualified disaster on almost every level, from car count to fan attendance. I'm really concerned for that venerable series. I can't imagine that the new owners are going to absorb a lot of financial loss with the series. About the only guaranteed money-makers on that circuit are the Canadian events. Can the IHRA survive with just three reliable profit-generating races? And just for the record, from what I have been able to determine the last time the IHRA made a solid return in investment was when Evan Knoll was underwriting many of the pro classes, which made IHRA profitable.

Just Wondering … Since IHRA's most successful races are in Canada, could a Canadian businessman be the next owner of the IHRA and add more races in Canada?

I don't think there is any chance that the NHRA or any part of it will or could be sold any time soon. According to an item in the National Speed Sport News, Bruton Smith's car company lost close to three-quarters of a BILLION bucks and he had to pledge stock from his track management company to keep his car dealership empire afloat. Also the NHRA, like all sports franchises currently, has lost a much of its value during this country’s current economic recession. I think it will be a long time before we see another serious offer to buy any part of the NHRA at anything but a "fire sale" price.