Thu, 6 Mar 2003, 10:29 AM Some New Sponsors Are Coming In

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2003 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Pretty soon the NHRA Powerade drag racing tour will really begin to heat up, in fact, the next stop on the tour, the MAC Tools Gatornationals promises to be a great event just as it has been in the past. Besides the obvious facts, like the fact that the Pro Stock Motorcycles will make their season debut in Florida, and the fact the Shirley Muldowney will make her debut in Florida, and the fact that the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge will be contested in Florida, besides all of those things we can always expect some great racing at the Gainesville track. You can also watch for a very prominent Top Fuel team to change colors in the very near future as well as a long-time Pro Stock driver to pick up some major funding. All of these deals, from what I hear, are from sponsors who are not currently involved in the sport, with announcements in the near future. More sponsors, especially ones who are new to the sport, is good for everyone and it’s a sign that NHRA POWERade drag racing is as healthy as ever.

Whit Bazemore

After just a couple of races, I find it interesting to see the balance in all three of the pro classes. The John Force cars have been running as well as ever, but the Don Prudhomme team has already won a race and Del Worsham’s CSK team has also put a driver in the money round. If that keeps up, it could be a very exciting year. Of course, after their week-long vacation in Cancun, where they’re spending time with the Matco Tools executives and employees, I fully expect the “Team Schumacher” drivers to come back ready and rarin’ to go. The Matco Tools expo is the biggest gathering of the year for that company and one of the highlights of the annual meeting is the opportunity for all of the Matco folks, like the guys and gals who work the tool trucks every day, to meet the NHRA drivers who carry their name into battle at each event. Whit Bazemore, Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher and about a dozen other drivers, crew chiefs and car owners are in Mexico this week as part of the expo. Don’t think that, after a week like that, the Matco team drivers wouldn’t love to come back and win the next race on the tour, which just happens to be sponsored by their rivals, MAC Tools. Should be some fun. I just hope that none of the drivers get too sun burned down in Mexico!!

The Prostar race being held in Gainesville was postponed last weekend, and the Harley-Davidson event was canceled Wednesday, so the GatorNationals will be the first time to see the bikes in action. There are a lot of rumors flying around the bike class, will Angelle Savoie be in competition by the time the Gators roll around? What kind of power will she and Antron Brown be using? And how much power will they have? When will the new Kawasaki Pro Stock Bike make its debut? Will George Bryce be riding at Gainesville and what will the Star Racing team look like? Wow, that’s a whole pile of questions. Well, according to what I hear, Angelle and Antron will be getting power and help from Rick Ward, which should make them more than competitive. The new Kawasaki team will probably not race until the Houston event, at which time Ryan Schnitz will make his NHRA debut. George Bryce, one of the original Funnybike racers, will not be riding at Gainesville (although he will compete at a couple of the all-Harley races this year), while the Star team will have a new look, a new sponsor, Fred Collis riding the bike and, probably, the same old results in Gainesville. And watch out for a team that will go by the name of “Area 51” racing.

Warren Johnson

Gainesville has always been noted as a big Pro Stock track and this year should be no exception. Did you know that the 1988 PS field at Gainesville consisted of 54 cars, and that was one of the biggest fields of the “modern era?” As a side note, did you know that, among the non-qualifiers at that Gainesville race, were Larry Morgan, Darrell Alderman, Steve Schmidt and Pat Musi? Doesn’t look like it was much easier to qualify back then than it is now. Anyway, there has been a lot of talk lately, especially when some big name drivers fail to make the field, about increasing the size of the PS field from 16 to 32 cars. Of course, the old timers among us will remember times when that was the norm in NHRA racing. Of course, we’ll also recall some eight-car Pro Stock fields in the not too distant past at places like Sanair and Fremont, California. While the idea of a 32-car field sounds good (especially to those who fail to qualify), I thought I’d throw out a couple of numbers, just for discussion purposes. Did you know that not all of the NHRA fields even had 32 cars last year? OK, so it only happened a couple of times, but that certainly wouldn’t help make the case for a 32-car field, would it? Still, did you know that the average car count in Pro Stock last year was 34 cars? And, on the other side of the coin, there were several events that had over 40 cars on the grounds, like both Chicago races and the U.S. Nationals. With that to go by, why not try something different, like a 32-car field at Indy and at one of the two Chicago events? That way, the fans who go to Route 66 would have an opportunity see something a little different at each race, while the Indy fans would, presumably, see the biggest and best field of the year at the sport’s premier event? Hey, it’s just a thought and something to kick around as the year goes on, and it’s coming from someone who loves Pro Stock almost as much as Wayne Paul does and that’s a bunch.

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