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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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Bob, not trying to be a smarta$$ but define "real racers". does this mean if you're not running a six or seven figure program you're not a real racer? i beg to differ if that's the case. NHRA has been breaking the back of sportsman racers for years. i openly admit that i'm a hypocrite because i don't feel it's appropriate to complain about something unless you're prepared to offer a solution and frankly i'm not sure what can be done. NHRA is a business plain and simple not a nonprofit organization. you can't tell me that compton and gardner should be pulling down the type of money they are for their roles in the operation of this "nonprofit" organization. as for SFI and all that, yes having some safety guidelines is a good and necessary thing no doubt but exactly where does it end. racing is a inherently dangerous undertaking both for participants and spectators. everyone needs to understand and accept this fact. if you really want to make racing safe just make it a video game. if nhra was all about safety the wouldn't have PS bikes and this is coming from someone that has won a championship on bikes. personally i'm not sure exactly what it is that nhra does for the sportsman racers. i "think" there are insurance benefits for the tracks that are NHRA but not certain. personally i could care less about "professional" racing as imho it has become a dog and pony show a long time ago just like nascar. nhra has forgotten where it came from and who pays the bills. do i want to see nhra disbanded, no, do i want to see it being run with racers at the forefront of it's concerns, yes. it is a complicated set of problems facing both nhra and racing as a whole not the least of which is the absolutely out of control litigious society we have become. there are many good arguments on both sides of this situation but imho overall nhra is not being run in the spirit it was originally founded on and for myself that is the biggest issue i take with them.

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What's the name and phone number of that company that sells the dragster cam lock belts for $70.00? THANKS!!!!!

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I believe Monte and Chapper feel that we are only commenting about NHRA because of the blood in the water as they wish to call it, actually this subject about NHRA is long over due, you certainly can't express your opinions at the NHRA track or in the Dragster. As we all know NHRA runs this program with a Chicago Style Political Attitude, and they are always right! I have been aroung drag racing since the late 50's and early 60's I will admitt, I don't know it all, but I do know a lot. I'am not of the thinking that NHRA should go out of business, however they must get back to reality, and if they owe taxes then they should pay them, my opinion they should have been paying them for years, and the President of NHRA should not be making more $$ than the President of The United States! As for safety they are out of control, especialy on the seat belt issue, give us 4 years instead of the two years, but let the tech people check them for tears, dry rot ect. If the military only changes fight jets every 5 years, you can't convince me that this is not a money grab. Monte and Chapper called my comment on payoffs a conspiracy theory, its like Jesse says FOLLOW THE MONEY! I'am not stupid, I am a retired salesman after 45 years, I know how the system works, as an example, I called on GM-Ford_and Chrysler in Detroit. Never did GM, or Chrysler purchasing agents want a kick-back, however we were at Ford Motor Company going over a quote on $100,000.00 hydraulic press for their Brookpark, Ohio plant when their purchasing agent interupted the pruposal to let us know his TV wasn't working well and then he gave us his business card with his HOME ADDRESS on it so we could ship his a new TV. We did not do it and when I called him the following week to check on our quote he told me it went into the waste can! As another example I had a friend here in Ohio whose son was up on charges of stealing newspaper boxes, the DA came to their home the night before the trial and said if my friend would give him $10,000 in cash the case would go away and it would be over, my friend could not do it and his son went away for 2 years, so if you don't believe this stuff does not go on, then you have inhaled too many nitro fumes. Back to NHRA selective safety issues. Remember I believe it was last year when they interviewed Warren Johnson about the track being unsafe, and he said that they only care about Top Fuel and Funny Car, and when the Pro Stock Drivers said they would not race because the track was unsafe and in CHICAGO STYLE form Graham Light told them that two cars had altready gone down and if the rest of the guys would not go down then the class had its winner and runner-up and they call this safety. I use to be the guy who would break all the speeding laws so I could get home from racing so that I could watch an NHRA event on tv, but after the John Force/Robert Height deal last year it turned my stomach, it was best said by another Moparts Member awhile back, a 20 year John Force Fan lost in 5 seconds, even Mike Dunn was amazed at that deal, and I am so tired of watching one lane race tracks, and they wonder why the stands are only two-thirds full. I don't want NHRA to go away but I do want them to improve and for them constantly raising prices this sucks, I have been an NHRA member for ages, I would give it up tomorrow, however they have you by the short hairs, because to race at an NHRA track where you need a license, you must be a member, once again Chicago Style. As for the comment about Norwalk leaving IHRA to join NHRA, it was a business decision I would believe with better press coverage and exposure, it has always been a great facility, we race their and I really can't see the difference, great traction, great race surface, great people,great restrooms,the Bader Family are are the same Class Act as they were when it was IHRA and the ice cream is dam good. I would hope NHRA would feel most of our comments were constructive critism, my personal belief is, it won't faze them at all because they are ALWAYS RIGHT - REMEMBER CHICAGO STYLE. For their sake they should tell the TV cameras not to scan the stands so people at home won't see how empty they are, the same as NASCAR. I feel better now!

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Hemi Joe,,,,somewhere along this thread, you mis-read my comments.
I DO believe that there are some pay offs going on in NHRA!!
I still say, the contingency money some manufactures post is a pay off for rule changes. I mean this by example: Once a person builds a race car with all the safety equipment installed,,he is basically DONE buying safety equipment. UNLESS,,,the sanctioning bodies' rules require replacement at certain intervals. SO,,my theory is,, the belt, helmet, all safety equipment manufactures say they will donate to the "contingency" program. I look for a new rule soon. NO SAFETY EQUIPMENT WILL BE ALLOWED THAT DOESN'T PAY CONTINGECY MONIES.
I realize some of the thoughts/comments on here are getting away from the original thread topic/subject. I have ALWAYS felt NHRA was getting a massive tax break with their IRS classification as "non profit". I wonder if NASCAR, IHRA is watching this?? So, don't confuse me with an NHRA supporter. I would rather have a prostitute sister than a brother on NHRA staff!!

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What's the name and phone number of that company that sells the dragster cam lock belts for $70.00? THANKS!!!!!

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RJS camlocks from Summit pro shop are not much more then that...

This will be the first time in 12+ years I do not renew my NHRA advanced et license. It has just gotten too expensive to maintain With the chassis certs, SFI recerts/updates and yearly dues including physicals it was approx. $500 per year. For what?? A magazine I throw in the trash and the ability to run a div/nat event. Thank God I am a lowly bracket racer and can do without. I did chose to "maintain" my IHRA adv. et license as it is less then 1/2 the cost and is much more fun. They run each race start to finish in one day, imagine that!

It is WAY more then a seatbelt issue, at least for me. I had to pay to take a perfectly good Dedenbaer case powerglide apart, send it all the way across the country at my expense, ship back and reassemble because the little SFI sticker expired?? You tell me what wears on a transmission case making them a safety issue??
Two weeks before the start of Div2 races we were informed that an additional driveshaft loop no more then 6" in front of 3rd member would be required on all TS cars!! Oh isn't that nice.
And that they require a /15 jacket for all TS and TD competitors regardless of ET. I only need a /5 jacket to run 7.50 but I need a /15 in a 7.99 in TS?? can you see the double standard.
those are just some of the straws that broke this camels back...

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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suppose you tell me what kind of guy i am?

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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suppose you tell me what kind of guy i am?

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The kind that argue about paying 70 bucks every two years as part of the cost or racing. Real racers just write the check. Don't mean to step on anyone's toes but that's the way it is with the guys who visit my trailer.

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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suppose you tell me what kind of guy i am?

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The kind that argue about paying 70 bucks every two years as part of the cost or racing. Real racers just write the check. Don't mean to step on anyone's toes but that's the way it is with the guys who visit my trailer.

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I have no beef with the NHRA... when I tried to renew
my license this last time they bent over backwards
to get me a license... they told me to try and find
another doctor that would sign me off... when I told
them I tried 3 already they said keep looking...
other than a few dumb rules which one is the belt
thing they are ok (to a extent)... and because I
dont like the seat belt rule I guess I'm not a real
racer... oh well... I guess just guys with the big
dollar budgets and big dollar cars are the only real
racers

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Bob,If you don't show us a picture of your trailer,we won't know where to come too. I have paided my entry fee by check before hoping to win enought money to cover the check. That's the "Truth".
I'm a Racer and I'm gonna do what ever it takes to race

I'll try & post a picture of my trailer so people can come to my trailer,after all Fair is Fair!!!!

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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suppose you tell me what kind of guy i am?

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The kind that argue about paying 70 bucks every two years as part of the cost or racing. Real racers just write the check. Don't mean to step on anyone's toes but that's the way it is with the guys who visit my trailer.

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i'm getting old. i'm trying to remember when i complained about the seatbelt thing. i'm sure i did. i know i complained about the dipstick tube b.s.. that was the "straw". i guess i'm not a "real" racer, like you. this family man can't quite justify the expenditure anymore. fwiw, i'd rather be a "real" father/husband, than a "real" racer like you. i'm solely responsible for my racing endeavors. i build the engines, the transmissions, the rear ends. i built the cage. i tubbed it. i do the wiring. i pay for fuel. entry fees. nhra "membership". oil. tires. when something breaks, i pay for it. everything. sponsorship? i got a set of tires once. sounds like a "real" racer, doesn't it?

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Exactly. It's easy to tell the real racers from the pretenders around here.

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your perspicacity is formidable. we are fortunate to be in your presence.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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suppose you tell me what kind of guy i am?

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The kind that argue about paying 70 bucks every two years as part of the cost or racing. Real racers just write the check. Don't mean to step on anyone's toes but that's the way it is with the guys who visit my trailer.

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I have no beef with the NHRA... when I tried to renew
my license this last time they bent over backwards
to get me a license... they told me to try and find
another doctor that would sign me off... when I told
them I tried 3 already they said keep looking...
other than a few dumb rules which one is the belt
thing they are ok (to a extent)... and because I
dont like the seat belt rule I guess I'm not a real
racer... oh well... I guess just guys with the big
dollar budgets and big dollar cars are the only real
racers

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If it keeps you from racing you might not be a real racer.

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See guys like you all of the time. Pay the 70 bucks or get another hobby.

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ADD UP all that SFI stuff and NHRA required parts ...and it is A LOT more than 70$.