Thu, 17 Apr 2008, 09:32 AM Never Better

By Norm Froscher

You remember this guy from our earlier visits with him through DragRaceCentral, the imaginative and very popular public relations expert who moved into ownership and promotion as owner and president of Rockingham Dragway.

Always upbeat through the years, just two words would leave his lips when asked how he was doing and how were things. Despite what anyone else would see as a crisis, his reply was simply the same, "Never better."

He could have just missed a plane, when his baggage didn't, and realized his cell phone was left in the taxi and maybe misplaced his electric shaver just an hour before a conference but his response was always the same, "Never better."

You probably know by now we're talking about Steve Earwood, owner and president of Rockingham Dragway, where the IHRA's 37th Spring Nationals moves in this weekend.

Now we wonder if things couldn't be better. Bruton Smith is building a huge new drag strip there in Charlotte, the economy, to say the least, could be better for the race attending public and with gas at the national average of over $3.30 a gallon and diesel up $4, even competitors may have to cut back.

We figured it was time to visit Earwood again.

So here goes:

With what emotion did you greet the announcement of Bruton Smith's drag strip there in North Carolina? Has time changed that any?

"We heard the rumor for years that a national event caliber track was being built in Charlotte and, quite frankly, when we were sanctioned by the NHRA and hosting the Winston Invitational I was very concerned," Earwood admits.

"The Winston All Star race at the time was the best deal in the history of drag racing for a track owner. RJR paid most of the purse and we paid the sanctioning body a minimal fee rather than giving them half of the proceeds, as the national event agreements were structured. It was like winning the lottery every April. So, at that time we were new at this and totally dependent on the Invitational, so yeah, you bet I was concerned about a track in Charlotte back in the 90's.

"Well, we lost the Winston race anyway, to Bristol, so the threat of a track in Charlotte became moot at that point. To supplement the loss of NHRA and RJR we negotiated with the IHRA to host two of their national events plus added numerous other events and income producers, including a couple of Metallica concerts.

"When it became obvious last year that SMI was building a national event track in Charlotte I was, and remain, delighted. They will build an extravagant monument to our sport and will elevate the sport and the business of drag racing for all of us. It can only build more awareness of our sport. We have benefited already from the news generated by the construction of the Loews dragstrip. Heck, Bruton created more publicity on drag racing through his battles with the community to obtain the correct zoning than I have gotten in the 17 years I have been here," Earwood chuckles with his familiar grin.

But do you see it affecting Rockingham adversely in the long run or is it actually a plus, since it will bring the spotlight more onto Carolina drag racing?

Earwood says when they bought Rockingham in 1992, the track had only run one or two events annually and there were 16 dragstrips in North Carolina.

"In 2008 we will run 100 events and now there are 20 dragstrips in our state. I don't think adding another track will have an adverse effect on any of us. Again, more awareness generated, more cars built and more new fans developed," he insists.

Never Better, right?

That from the guy who first had his exposure to car performance as a toddler along with brother Terry in their father, C.L.'s sports car. Seems dad, an accomplished sports car racer had left the car, an MG-TD the story goes, in the driveway with the keys in it.

He and their mom had gone off and the two youngsters climbed aboard, Terry at the wheel and Steve the ignition. Neither could reach the gas pedal, so Terry steered while Steve switched the ignition on and on for leap after leap, all around the suburban house.

"Hey, let me drive," Steve finally asked his older brother. "No, you're not old enough," answered Terry, who eventually won Indy, was voted into the NHRA Div. 2 Hall of Fame and is now a driving instructor.

Any wonder why C.L. was puzzled as he told wife Ann, "I can't understand why that starter is giving me so much trouble, I've hardly used it."

Back to serious: Have you planned any additional events, around about that September time to take advantage of the overall publicity...or is your schedule already full?

"We had our 2008 schedule in place when the approval of the Charlotte track was completed," Earwood says. "We have an event scheduled for Friday and Saturday of the Charlotte event and a separate race on Sunday.

"My regret is that I will be unable to attend the inaugural event in Charlotte. It is my understanding that they will have two national events in 2009, so we will try to keep the calendar clean on those dates in the future. I would imagine we will pick up some testing around the NHRA events."

And along that line, what events, rather than regular weekly shows, do you have, like Chevy, Ford, Pinks and those will not be affected, right?

"Obviously, this won't affect our two national events. We remain the only track to host two of the IHRA national events, the Spring Nationals in April and the World Finals in October. Before the "nationalization" of NASCAR there were twelve Cup races within a three-hour drive of here.

"We are in the center of the universe for motorsports. More top teams are relocating to North Carolina -- Ken Black's Greg Anderson team, Victor Cagnazzi, Bob Gilbertson and Doug Herbert come to mind. I predict there will an influx of drag racing teams in North Carolina. As far as affecting our other "feature" events, I wouldn't think we would see much change.

"I am realistic about where we fit in the food chain; I can't even come close to offering comparable amenities such as four-star luxury suites and marble restrooms with bidets. However we can offer a more economical facility to outside promoters, "popular price" I think is the term in the shoe business that actually means "cheaper".

"Here's something else: we have 38 years of tradition here at The Rock, something that is unmatched in the drag racing industry. This was the first track at which Shirley (Muldowney) ever went to a final round (1972, runner up in Funny Car to Richard Tharp, giving the first national event victory to the legendary Blue Max) and where Ronnie Sox won no less than six times.

"We've seen victories here by The Snake, Schumacher, Garlits, Bernstein, Force, Glidden and even Al Hofmann, Carl Olson, Tommy Ivo, Gene Snow, Don Carlton, Gary Beck, Warren Johnson, Don Nicholson and Connie Kalitta. I'm not saying we're Augusta National, but we are certainly on the tour."

This week is given over to preparing for the 37th annual IHRA Spring Nationals, where Earwood sees some national records for performance and attendance being set.

"Some great stories coming into the event?," he asks his own question. "Bob Gilbertson, who considers The Rock his home track, is looking to repeat in Nitro Funny Car from his win at the World Finals back in October, this rookie Spencer Massey, who just won Top Fuel in San Antonio, World Champ Robert Patrick, who I suspect will reset the record in Pro Stock and my favorite story, the return of retired Funny Car driver and tuner Paul Smith, won here in 1986.

"Paul's was the first Nitro Funny Car I ever hired, for the annual Turkey Trot Drags, back when I was promoting races at Gainesville Raceway in 1972. We always look forward to a great turnout of Sportsman racers, usually well over 500 in number."

Finally, my interview ender: Any thoughts of closing shop, selling the Rock and retiring?

"Closing, selling or retiring have never even danced through my mind. Heck, if Paul Smith can come out and wrestle a Funny Car at 62 years old, I can easily keep doing this for another ten years or so. Someday, who knows when, I would like to hand the reigns to my son-in-law, Jason Peterson, and my daughter Stephanie.

"They're doing such a great job running the track up in Martin, Mich., it may be tough to recruit them. Finally, I look out and it sure is a beautiful time of the year here, with the dogwoods and the azaleas in full bloom. It's got to be more pleasant here looking at these blossoms than the snow they are watching today up in Michigan, so that may be a hook for Jason and Steph.

"Spring is a beautiful season in North Carolina. It also looks like it's going to be a great season, and seasons to come, to be promoting a drag strip in North Carolina, Earwood concludes."

In short, Never better.