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Well it finally happened, all the months of rumour finally came true. The NHRA in their infinite wisdom decided to call it a day on the Pro Stock Truck class. There was no big article, no we are very sorry to the teams, just a small piece tucked in an article about next year's schedule and the best thing was the class was not finished just re-classified. That means you can still go racing, isn't that great, you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to race as a Pro and now you are shuffled away into the Sportsman classes. Remember this was a class that the NHRA researched by running as a demonstration the year before the class was official. They set the rules the teams just played by them. The biggest problem PST faced was the dominance by one brand but that is no different from when Pro Stock was dominated by Firebirds. The fans leave the stands when the trucks come on, well you have to eat and use the facilities sometime during the day. Is this the fate awaiting Pro Stock bike now as the fans leave when they run.
From my perspective I was at Columbus when the trucks ran their first demonstration, it made me decide my new racecar was going to be a truck. I was at Indy when the trucks ran their first US Nationals but the writing was on the wall even then. The Federal Mogul dragsters and funny cars had better pit space than the trucks, ask Mike Mahon, they had to get the NHRA to level their pit space just so they could park the truck beside the trailer. The trucks were different, a breath of fresh air. Just look at how many trucks have appeared on the scene since the advent of PST. What I really believe is that the NHRA is making way for Pro Modified to become a class in 2003. In the announcement about the trucks demise there was also a statement that said the NHRA would never have more than four Pro classes. What is the betting that the excuse for starting a ProMod class in 2003 will be massive requests by the fans made them change their minds. I will not dispute the fact that Pro Mods are way better to watch than PST but I feel the NHRA did not think about the teams when making their decision. There is no reason that PST could not co-exist along with PM. There are going to be people who do not like to watch ProMod. Any prospective NHRA ProMod racer should beware you may me next. They have to remember the A at the end means Association, that means a body of persons and it should not just be the hierarchy in Glendora that is involved in decision making. There are people's livelihood at stake here, proper thought has to be put into these decisions.
If the NHRA can take a decision like this what class is safe. You can spend thousands of dollars and have the value cut in half because of a decision you had no hand in making. The NHRA has the right to make decisions but they should not lie and tell people the teams and fans were involved in the decision making process. Check out the PST Association website for their take on the matter, the final paragraph is as follows - This is just the beginning of this Pro Stock Truck controversy. It will not go slowly into the night.
The fans could easily have been asked in the National Dragster, is PST Ok as is or what can we do to make PST more exciting. I am sure they would have a good response. The fans and racers now have a forum where they can be heard. I have started an online petition that has been signed by PST racers, NHRA former champions, NHRA contingency sponsors and fans (although I doubt the Bill Bader one) if you want the let the NHRA know how you feel about this subject please sign. http://www.PetitionOnline.com/protruck/petition.html
Ian Rae from Oakville, ON is building a BBC 2001 Chevy s-10 for Top Sportsman and handles the P.R. and Marketing for Grebeck Racecraft, Halprin & Grebeck Racing, Wires & Pliers and Smokin Joe's Racing.
His website is www.ecossemotorsport.com |
