Susan Wade: Sheikh, Rattle, And Knoll: Al-Anabi Exit Case Of Deja Vu

Who knows where the money is coming from?

It’s really nobody’s business except Alan Johnson’s.

But the “team formerly known as Al-Anabi Racing” is still active, though missing driver Khalid alBalooshi and his crew.

Officially the team is branded Alan Johnson Racing (its name all along, actually), and 2013 Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon will be competing in 2015.

So aside from an economic whirlwind that blew in from Qatar, swirled around for six years, and suddenly dissipated this January, life in the National Hot Rod Association is pretty much the same. Oh, it churned up the rumor mill and triggered the usual junior-high-grade gossip. But the new season is set to kick off Feb. 5-8 at the Circle K Winternationals at Pomona, Calif.

Before that, fans were wringing their hands, wondering what would become of John Force Racing after Castrol and Ford left the 16-time champion with three Funny Car teams and one Top Fuel outfit to support. But he quieted the talk last fall, introducing Peak and Old World Industries as his primary sponsor for a majority of 2015 races, then celebrating his partnership with Lucas Oil. Force’s January announcement that he’s back in the Chevrolet fold seemed to put most of the drag-racing world back in its proper orbit.

Johnson knows success begets success. That’s why he’s maintaining his concentration on winning, even if the one dragster carries nothing more than three letters – “AJR” – on the side.

But this Alan Johnson Racing situation hung over the pre-season scene until the announcement Thursday that the Brownsburg, Ind.-based crew is alive but leaner.

In his typical low-key manner, Johnson simply said in a prepared statement, “We enjoyed our six years with Al-Anabi Racing, and we experienced great success. We appreciate the opportunity to compete for Al-Anabi Racing and thank Sheikh Khalid (Qatar’s Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani) for everything he did for us. We had a great run, but now we must move on and focus on the future. We are going to Pomona with every intention of winning the Winternationals.”

It’s much the same way in which Johnson left Don Schumacher Racing at the end of the 2008 season: business is business, on to the next thing.

Johnson knows success begets success. That’s why he’s maintaining his concentration on winning, even if the one dragster carries nothing more than three letters – “AJR” – on the side.

“We are in discussions with multiple entities about sponsoring our race team,” Johnson said, “and part of that process is showing the level of excellence at which our team competes. We won the Winternationals last year [with alBalooshi], and our goal is to repeat as Winternationals champions next weekend.”

So not much else is new but the announcement earlier in the week to award one-and-a-half times the usual points at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis this Labor Day weekend.

Maybe the one real mystery is who next will breeze into the NHRA with money falling out of his pockets and become drag racing’s Pied Piper.

Surely it will happen.

Evan Knoll fancied himself a major player in both the NHRA and the International Hot Rod Association, tossing money about like Mardi Gras beads in the New Orleans parade. And racers had their hands out like Bourbon Street revelers. But Knoll and his Torco Race Fuels ran afoul of the federal law. Knoll was sentenced to prison for tax fraud that, according to news reports, cost the federal government $110 million. He was ordered to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $80 million in restitution.

The Feds weren’t interested in the damage Knoll’s wanton ways caused the IHRA, NHRA, and their racers. But no fewer than 14 racers felt that sudden jolt of his (and his money’s) disappearance. Then again, nobody apparently did any due diligence before doing business with Knoll.

It didn’t work out for racers who fell under the ether with Knoll. With Al-Thani, it worked out fine for Johnson, who probably was savvy enough to protect the money he did receive from Al-Anabi Racing. That could explain, at least in part, how he was able to give Larry Dixon (2010), Del Worsham (2011), and Shawn Langdon (2013) the equipment and human resources to earn To Fuel championships.

The cases of Knoll and Al-Thani are different, to be sure. Knoll was forced from drag racing. Al-Thani left of his own accord. Knoll left racers high and dry. Al-Thani, though he didn’t stick around for the fulfillment of his five-year contract extension, did not shirk his payment(s) to Alan Johnson. He also sponsored the NHRA Pro Modified class, and the NHRA did receive its money. Again, whether Johnson received all that his agreement with the sheikh entailed is his business. The fact is the money the sheikh spent was his legitimately to spend, and he enabled Alan Johnson to field a team – one of the most dominant in NHRA history. He also allowed Frank Manzo and Mike Castellana and Von Smith and a few others to enjoy perfecting their skills, something drag-racing fans enjoyed.

Tony Schumacher said, “You just hate that late notice. I’ve been there before. I’ve been there when you find out something last minute is changing. It’s terrible. It’s not good for the sport. Not only do we need more cars, but we can’t in any way afford to lose any of them, and not the caliber of crew that those guys are. Alan Johnson is an outstanding crew chief with great drivers.”

…some might debate just how loyal to the U.S. Qatar is, even though Western nations certainly consider Qatar moderate in political terms. Does that matter in the scheme of drag racing? It’s for the individual to decide.

AlBalooshi is taken care of. He’s racing for Al-Anabi in the Pro Modified ranks once again, where he earned the championship in both the Arabian Drag Racing League and the NHRA’s Get Screened America Pro Mod Series in 2011.

Brian Husen and Jason McCulloch will serve as co-crew chiefs for Langdon’s dragster. Ronnie Thompson will be assisting Todd Smith with Brittany Force’s dragster at John Force Racing. Some crew members have landed jobs for 2015.

But in the cases of Knoll and Al-Thani, both shared a curious trait during their involvement in drag racing. They operated in a cocoon. Some might say each cultivated a mystique. It seems doubtful either put any effort into building that aura. It’s just the way they were. Maybe it was selfish. Maybe it was out of fear. Maybe they just liked cars or being big-shots and didn’t like dealing with media or fans.

More than a few fans expressed discomfort with Al-Thani’s involvement, considering his family, the ruling family of Qatar, founded, owns, and funds the news agency Al-Jazeera. Fair or unfair, the perception of many Americans is that the news outlet is pro-Arab and anti-American, not popular among conservative and mainstream America (much of the NHRA demographic). It is a subject that has had its bursts of venom and conjecture on Internet forums but largely has been the elephant in the room no one wants to address publicly. But it is safe to say a not-insignificant number of NHRA fans will grouse that yes, Al-Thani did help Alan Johnson provide some excellent racing – but they nevertheless will say, “Good riddance.”

To those who say, “Good riddance,” dissenters would argue that Qatar is a friendly nation to the United States, an ally. They would argue, using proof that the U.S. has military interests there. It’s unclear how they might explain the location of America’s oldest overseas U.S. Naval base – Guantanamo Bay, in Communist Cuba. The U.S. military has a presence in several nations for which the U.S. State Department has issued travel warnings in just the past year (Colombia, Kenya, Djibouti, for example). All that aside, some might debate just how loyal to the U.S. Qatar is, even though Western nations certainly consider Qatar moderate in political terms. Does that matter in the scheme of drag racing? It’s for the individual to decide.

One aspect of the Al-Anabi branding that never seemed to make sense was the notion, published in news releases that “At the forefront of this team is His Highness Sheik Khalid Al Thani’s goal to promote the domestic and international awareness of Motorsports in the nation of Qatar.” Other statements were phrased that “Sheikh Khalid’s initiative has created increased international awareness of the State of Qatar while highlighting the nation’s international sports outreach.” No one ever saw any advertisements from Qatari agencies or companies offering travel packages to Doha to see the country and watch exciting Arabian Drag Racing League action or any sports. The sheikh never extolled the virtues of racing in his country – not to the public (although a number of racers and a few journalists on junkets have gotten involved overseas). He never spoke publicly.

So that claim seems disingenuous, misleading at best. But it isn’t criminal. It simply adds to that mystique.

For those reasons, Knoll isn’t missed. And neither will be Al-Thani. All anyone might miss is their money. All either will receive is a grudging concession that at least when it came to drag racing, everybody had a common enjoyment.

Al-Thani legitimately funded teams, employed racers and mechanics and miscellaneous staffers in Top Fuel and in Pro Modified competition. That he took his money and went home to Qatar – for whatever reason – is his own business.

And Alan Johnson is perfectly content to get back to minding his own – and winning.