(Photo by Jim Compton) On the heels of a great season in 2008, the NHRA Full Throttle Series' list of problems continues to mount.
The series' no. 1 problem is, obviously, its lack of drivers. Some of the biggest names in the sport are currently without a ride due to sponsorship issues. They include:
- "Hot" Rod Fuller
- Hillary Will
- Doug Herbert
- Bob Vandergriff
- JR Todd
- Tommy Johnson Jr.
- Melanie Troxell
- Dave Connolly
- Chip Ellis
- Craig Treble
Making matters worse for the NHRA this week was the weather. The Winternationals in Pomona started Thursday, but the extra day of qualifying provided nothing as rain cancelled Thursday's and Friday's schedule and limited the teams to a single pass on Saturday. Because of the weather, two great storylines were obliterated: Can Tim Wilkerson match the career year he had in 2008, now driving a Ford as a teammate to Bob Tasca III, and can Larry Dixon put Alan Johnson's Al-Alanabi team in the Winner's Circle at its debut race?
Because of the weather, neither driver made the field. Two drivers with championship potential this season are already on the outside looking in because of a situation no one could control. I think the NHRA did the right thing because at the end of the day, the priority is racing on Sunday. It's a logistical nightmare for the teams, track, and fans to have to stay an extra day.
The series, again, due to no fault of its own, is struggling out of the gate. Hopefully, the stars (and economy) aligns to allow a season similar to last year's.
What are these economic times telling our children? When you do your very best and achieve the level of these very successful sportsmen (and women), that you will end up looking for a job? That is so depressing. Especially for Hillary Will who had her very best NHRA season to date and "Hot" Rod Fuller who lost the championship to Tony Schumacher in the very last race of 2007 and had a very respectable 2008. I'm astonished. But this a very expensive sport. I can imagine by September, the nitro field will have only 12 cars vying for 16 positions. Hey you ran an ET of greater than Pro Stock and you're still in the show on Sunday?
ReplyDelete-Rik Anthony