Sat, 5 Jan 2002, 07:58 AM Happy New Year

By Norm Froscher

It's the New Year. Can you believe it?

But isn't it usually that way?

Along about this time, we start making New Year's Resolutions, some of which we may keep until forgotten, but others which we stubbornly keep for a couple of days, maybe until we revert back to writing "2001" on checks.

Yes, this is also the time to start paying those Christmas checks for the credit card purchases.

But, before we go into some resolutions, let's be very careful. For instance:

This Holiday Season I heard the story of the woman who in a last week-before Christmas hurry, picked up a box of 50 cards to send out to friends and relatives.

She liked the illustration on the front of the card, but didn't bother to look inside at the verse, just addressed 49 cards, with her return address and dropped them in the mail.

That done, she decided to look, a little too late, at the verse inside on that one remaining card.

Can you imagine her dismay when it read:

"This card is just to say
"A little gift is on its way."

No, I didn't receive one of those cards, but can you figure those folks who probably did are still looking for their gifts, wondering what in the world the U.S. Mail is doing this season?

That little vignette is just to once again emphasize: be careful of your resolutions, just as you should have been on your greeting cards.

Perhaps before going farther, we should extend belated birthday wishes to half a dozen NHRA drag racers whose birthdays fell before the New Year and one who celebrates later.

Christmas Day babies were Tony Schumacher and Rickie Smith, while Gary Clapshaw and Dean Skuza celebrated two days later and Tim Wilkerson and Pro Stock Biker Blaine Hale on the 29th.

Funny Car driver Bruce Sarver blows out the candles later, on Jan. 11. Not only Season's Greetings, but belated and an upcoming Happy Birthday, guys.

As promised, here are some resolutions for this writer and suggested ones for others:

* Personally, I resolve to write NHRA/POWERade drag racing and not slip into you know what...Win... that we've used for years. Remember, it's capital P,O,W,E,R and lower case ade. And thank you, Winston and early prime movers Jeff Byrd and the late T. Wayne Robertson.

* Larry Dixon. Bet he resolves to win a championship after coming, oh so close.

* Darrell Russell, NHRA Rookie of the Year: Bet he resolves there's no such thing as a "sophomore jinx."

* Tom Compton, NHRA President: He probably just flashed that familiar grin and said "sophomore jinx?" What is that, and probably resolves to stay the course, which he did very well in 2001, his second year at the helm.

And personally, I've got to remember it's NHRA Sportsman Racing and not that other cognomen to which we'd just about become accustomed over the past five years. Thanks, Federal-Mogul.

* Joe Amato: Darrell's resolution is good enough for me.

* Pastor Ken Owen: He needs only to continue being Pastor Ken of Racers for Christ and giving spiritual advice and comfort to the rest of us.

* Again, personally, I resolve not to correct the television every time an announcer excitedly exclaims that such and such a run was a "new" record. You're familiar that pet peeve.

* On another sport, I won't argue that a baserunner has to get to second base before he's in scoring position. Indeed, every Top Fueler or Funny Car is in scoring position the minute they come to the line, not necessarily 600 feet from the lights.

* A question? Will POWERade decide to resolve to rename the, ahem, Winston, towers?

* And a wish...that every daily newspaper's local editor resolves not to headline an illegal street racing story with the term "drag racing." Oh yeah, I've seen it done, closer than you think, on a wire story that described an illegal race on the street. That, like "new" record, should be a dead horse, but is not.

* John Force, I betcha, has resolved to make it an even dozen championships. And after a year like 2001, probably wonders what he has to do to again be voted Driver of the Year (1996, the only quarter-pounder ever so honored).

* Finally, my own resolution: That drag racing and the sport in general have a successful, safe and exciting 2002 and a healthy, happy and prosperous new year to those who make it happen -- the fans in general and to you, kind readers.

(Editor's note: Norm Froscher's observations and suggested New Year's resolutions are strictly his own and not necessarily those of the editor, FastNews, major league baseball or newspaper headline writers.)