Wolf’s Word: The Unsung Heroes Of NHRA Drag Racing

Passion is a defining and unifying trait that runs deep in the NHRA sportsman drag racing ranks, and it’s the glue that’s held this backbone of the world’s preeminent drag racing series together for decades, but at what point does indignity trump passion?

This is a question that any self-thinking, self-respecting sportsman racer has asked themselves time and again, and many have found their breaking point in the pendulum, finally saying enough is enough and taking their ball to another court.

These racers, who come from all walks of white and blue collar life, some of whom make a living inside the cockpit of a race car, have increasingly witnessed themselves become not just an under-appreciated and forgotten part of the show, but proverbial doormats. Parking in the mud, cancelled time trial sessions, and the completion of eliminations on a work day are all a part of the joyous sportsman experience. And on top of it all, these racers are the cash cow that keeps the machine running.

With a recent $5 increase for 2013, the national event entry fee for Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street at all events except the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis (which is $50 more) stands at a whopping $310. Insurance costs comprise $100 of this amount, and the other $210 contains the entry cost and all sorts of nickel-and-dime fees that have been tacked on over the years. Using the upcoming O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals in Pomona, which has just 217 sportsman entries as of this writing, that entry fee per racer totals over $67,000 in the NHRA coffer. If the quota of 336 entries is reached, that number will climb to $104,000. Add the Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car teams in to the equation, whose entry fee is $350, and you get a number in excess of $119,000. A national event entry includes just one credential, so if you want or need to bring along family or a crew to assist, additional credentials are $85 apiece, at last check. If just two people accompany each team, that’s an additional $64,000.

But to better understand how sportsman racers are getting the shaft, you have to know the other side of the money saga, because while entry fees are continually on a vertical path, guess what isn’t on the rise?

The payouts.

Make no mistake: sportsman racers themselves are responsible for a significant part of the cash flow of a national event, helping to cover payouts for the professional teams and other expenses, with very little in return.

Most sportsman racers will tell you they don’t remember the last time there was an increase in the payouts. Some have jokingly commented it was during the Reagan administration. The winning payout in Super Comp and Super Gas is about $1,800. Super Stock and Stock are roughly the same. With the addition of contingency awards for all those decals you see on the sides of the race cars, a national event win can be worth potentially double or triple that if you can get the manufacturer to pay up. Compared to other venues though, the entry to payout ratio is alarmingly low.

Make no mistake: sportsman racers themselves are responsible for a significant part of the cash flow of a national event, helping to cover payouts for the professional teams and other expenses, with very little in return.

The truth is, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is still the grand stage of sportsman racing, even if the payouts and the treatment from the NHRA brass don’t reflect it. Winning a national event is and always has been a great honor, and even those who bide their time in greener pastures return on occasion to chase that big win. Passion runs deep amongst sportsman racers, and these folks are the true heroes of this sport, whether the marketing types ever plaster their faces on a billboard or not. For many, racing at national events is all they’ve ever known, and the track is where they’ll find their extended families from near and far.

But there certainly are other places these racers could go, even if it’s not quite the same.

Big money bracket racing is an attractive and lucrative alternative option, offering significant payouts for an entry fee lower than the typical national event. And there, sportsman racers aren’t part of the show…they are the show.

The upcoming Super Spring Buck Blast at the South Georgia Motorsports Park, for example, will award $20,000 to the winner on successive days for an entry fee of $225. The $25K Showdowns at the Memphis International Raceway in March will award $25,000 to the winner and solid round money for an entry fee of $300. Last year’s K&N Spring Fling at the Bristol Dragway paid out a combined $72,500 in winners purse alone spanning four days, for an entry fee of $650 (just a little more than two national event entries).

In late July of 2001, a group of class racers organized a stand-alone event known as the U.S. Class Nationals at the Bryon Dragway in Byron, Illinois, that put Stock and Super Stock competitors in the spotlight. The race boasted the biggest payouts ever for class racers, with $5,000 awarded to the victors. The race featured heads-up competition in the new Top Stock category, a Quick 32, and plenty of great exhibition action. All these years later, class racer Michael Beard and others are working to revive the famous Woodstock-like race for 2014 at the National Trail Raceway in Columbus, and this venture represents a great step in the right direction for those seeking the payouts and the treatment they deserve.

These racers make a lot of sacrifices and wade through more muck than they should to chase the glory of winning a national event. They come back time and again knowing there’s little recognition to be had, nor riches to be made. But they do it anyway, because they love it and they’re passionate about it. And although they every right and reason to race elsewhere, they’re still out there getting after it. If you want to see firsthand what makes the NHRA world go-round, hang out after the nitro cars run or put on your walking shoes and head to the north forty, because that’s where the unsung heroes — the lifeblood — of this sport are found.