EDMONTON FANS WILL SUPPORT RACING
A disastrous weekend attendance? I think not. I was at Gastrol Raceway Fri., Sat. and Sun. There was a very respectable crowd on Friday. Saturday and Sunday were both standing room only. Motorhomes and campers lined the fence past the grandstands, all along the shutdown area. Concessions midway was packed all weekend,
The Rislone car was given a standing ovation from the grandstands as he came down return road & when he was interviewed on the start line. I went out of my way to greet him in the staging lanes earlier in the day & thanked him for being there.
I made a comment to one of our racers from Calgary earlier in the day, that I thought it was sponsor commitment to Rislone that made the trip necessary. There are few IHRA Pro Stockers that carry international corporate colors. I was proven to be correct in this assumption.
Who was correct in this boycott situation? Only time will tell. Hey, we were without hockey during the lockout year and the NHL is thriving and the fans never bailed!
Western Canada has a very strong motorsports fan base and long history of very competitive racers. Some of the most successful racers, crew chiefs and innovators came from the area. It is my opinion that the event in Edmonton will continue to be a success, no matter what political games are carried out. Now if we could only get the pending track closure in Calgary sorted out and carry out our original plan to add a national event, it would make the western swing more attractive to the IHRA pro classes.
The track situation and ongoing pressure by the city is a topic for another day. We have not thrown in the towel completely.
Vern Christy
Drag Race Operations
Race City, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
NOT HAPPY WITH PRO STOCK TEAMS
I think it is/was contemptuous in the extreme towards the drag racing fans in Edmonton for the Pro Stock racers to choose the event here (I am from the Edmonton area) to make whatever point they were trying to make via a boycott. It has been stated any number of times that the Edmonton event draws the most fans of any IHRA event... Apparently that is of no concern for the racers sporting $40,000 paint jobs and haulers worth hundreds of thousands that IHRA didn't give them an additional sum probably less than their annual bolt budget to pay their way here.
Apparently IHRA Pro Stock racers consider it more important to bitch than to race. Maybe what we need to do is award pro class points to the racers wins at each event in direct proportion to the actual attendance at each event. Though I've been a lifetime fan of the class, I think next time I have a need to get a 'pro' racer's autograph, I'll head to the fuel pits instead.
Regarding slowing the fuel cars: I never could understand, with all of the various mechanical things they've done to the cars over recent years to slow them down, why not just eliminate the tanker loads of traction compound poured on the track? Run the asphalt or concrete bare. Maybe it'd be a little like the old 'smoker' days...
Ron Pohl
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
NO BIG DEAL
If this had been the fuel funny car and/or fuel dragsters striking it would be noticed. Nitro cars are the draw for the majority of the fans; the rest just fill in the gaps.
John E. Wilson
Seabrook, Texas
EVERYBODY’S STRAPPED FOR CASH
I think it’s great that the racers united for the protest, and it shows a great amount of unity in that class. However, racers need to look elsewhere for money than the sanctioning body. Sponsorship is where racers get paid, not race winnings. This is an issue that goes down to the sportsman racers as well.
Times are tough and the tracks and sanctioning bodies are hurting as well.
I realize that it is difficult to get sponsors, but don't expect the race winnings to increase in the near future.
Scott “Lucky” Hudson
Hollywood, California
WHINING WHINERS
I agree with most of your statements except the term "Successful Boycott". In what terms this is mentioned is a mystery other than everyone except one wasn't there. (sic) I was at the race, and to tell you the truth, we didn't miss them that much. We had the nostalgia funny cars and the top fuel bikes like we always do for that race (NostFC paid $1,000 to win, not sure about the bikes).
As far as attendance, we again had a large crowd for Saturday's qualifying, but Sunday's attendance was down due to the weather. Yes, it was disappointing to not see Pro Stock compete this year, and we here in Edmonton appreciate the effort and expense American teams make to attend this race.
Maybe the Pro Stock teams do have a gripe not to attend, but in the words of one Top Fuel team, "All they are are a bunch of whiners."
Don Ungarian
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada