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This all happened not to very long after Chelsa. No, not Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter, but probably back about that time she was a mere gleam in her father’s eye. Yeah. Very early 1980s. You see, this racer had been driving a Mercury Funny Car he named in honor of his very successful restaurant chain, Chelsa Restaurant and Pub. Quite naturally, it was the Chelsa King. So it was fitting and appropriate that when he landed a major sponsor, and we do mean m-a-j-o-r, he would paint that flopper in bright red livery and rename it, the Budweiser King. That was Kenny Bernstein and his sponsorship by the brewery set the bar for other teams looking for backing and continues even today, 23 years later, with son Brandon. But that’s only part of the background. I’m happy to say I played a very brief if not important part -- one day, as a matter of fact -- in the beginnings of this success story. Not as a fan, although I was, not as an NHRA official, although I hope they took my words to heart, and not even as a Bud distributor. I was behind the bright Bud pennant decorated as a crew guy. In that capacity, I batted clean-up, a very honorable position and you’ll see why. Longtime friend Steve Earwood, now Rockingham Dragway’s owner, then with NHRA, set the wheels in motion for my day in the pits and after Bernstein had thoroughly checked my credentials, I was hired. I reported for work bright and early on the appointed day, not even thinking to change out of those double-knit britches I wore everyday at my newspaper job. Crew chief Bill Schultz put Gary Reed in charge of me and I was immediately ushered into cleaning oil from two giant pieces of metal that looked as though they came off some giant assembly line just for me. Then I cleaned this, and that, and whatever Kenny, Schultz or Reed could come up with. I told you I was batting clean-up. But there was more: I was then instructed by Bernstein as he packed his two parachutes. “When I wanna stop, I wanna be sure I stop,” he cracked. Everything now was almost ready to get in the long, single staging lane to wait and make a run, but not before a young fan had gotten his foot and leg entangled in the long string of Bud pennants, which adorned the ropes setting off the car and work area from the fans. Unaware of what he’d done, he started dragging the pennants and string for several feet. “Hey, kid, wait, come back here, look what you’re doing,” I yelled. Then I restored the ropes to their proper position and climbed into the large truck cab for the single staging lane wait of what seemed like over a three-hour process, creeping forward maybe six inches every 15 to 20 minutes. No, darkness fell and we didn’t get to run that day. I swear, there was everything from Nash Ambassadors to a Studebaker in that lane along with the fuel and pro stock cars. And I later chronicled this as a huge mistake. Thankfully, NHRA changed it to sessions before too long. If I did nothing else on that day, I put my voice in with those calling for change. This report would not be complete without a word from Bernstein, this day some 23 years later: “Yes, in those days, we formed one long line in the staging lanes and we were there for hours at a time. This gave us more time to point out things for Norm to clean, including the wheels of the idle tow vehicle. We had the cleanest pit, the cleanest race car and the cleanest tow vehicle out of all the cars at the racetrack. We nearly ran out of cleaning rags. “Norm was the best cleaning member of the team. Each time he'd gravitate toward wanting to help us put the engine together, we'd find more parts and pieces for him to clean. “Norm was supposed to bring us luck and as I recall, we didn’t win that year, but then won the Gators in ‘84. We enjoyed having him as a member of our team. We'd write him a letter of recommendation any day.” And, as I said, batting in that important clean-up spot. And believe me it was fun, except for the staging lane.
Froscher began work as a sports writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune fresh from the University of Florida in 1953. At that time he says the sports editor of the paper was also a golfer and friends of the famed Bauer family. Upon meeting very attractive young golfers Marlene and Alice Bauer, Froscher said he became an immediate fan of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, although he never went near a golf course. Froscher has won the NHRA Media Award, is past president of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Assn. and the Florida Sports Writers and Broadcasters Assn. The media center at Gainesville Raceway is named in his honor.
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