NHRA Calls Compton ‘Retired,’ Hands Reins To Clifford

Peter Clifford’s ambitious agenda and positive message in a Wednesday teleconference – his first official act as new President of the National Hot Rod Association – ultimately took a back seat to continued skepticism regarding the sanctioning body’s story that predecessor Tom Compton just happened that morning to retire.

That’s what NHRA Chairman of the Board Dallas Gardner would have everyone believe, despite discovery that Compton conspicuously had been absent from his post since, roughly, late March and that two company spokesman June 5 confirmed that. “Tom has been away recently on personal and family matters. We hope you’ll respect his privacy” was the line at least three NHRA sources recited to different reporters.

So when Gardner coyly said Wednesday that Compton’s resignation and Clifford’s promotion “basically all took place today,” the timelines didn’t match. Few believe the public version that Compton “retired.”

Gardner said, “Tom really didn’t give a reason. Tom decided to retire.”

Perhaps Compton would have, had it been his decision. Nevertheless, Gardner denied that the board directly or even indirectly suggested Compton step down or that it requested Compton’s resignation.

“No, no, no,” Gardner said. “I would tell you that I was President for 15 years. Motorsports is a tough business. Drag racing, I think, particularly is difficult. And Tom had been President for 15 years. It was no surprise to me that Tom decided he wanted to step down.”

It was no surprise that the sanctioning body had no intention of disclosing the full truth about Compton’s departure. Perhaps federal HIPAA laws or state employee confidentiality statutes prohibit the NHRA from disclosing details in this case. Perhaps even to hint that HIPPA rules were in play might automatically be a violation of privacy and information security. But Autoweek’s Mark Vaughn called out the NHRA on it.

“Just want to confirm you guys are not going to be forthcoming with any further information about what actually happened in this change of Presidents.”

Gardner replied, “There’s really nothing more to say. Tom retired.”

Vaughn shot back, “There’s a lot more to say.” Then, with a mixture of sarcasm and frustration, he said, “OK – Tom retired. All right. Just wanted to make sure.”

Clifford stuck to the company script, deflecting a question about whether Compton would serve on the board, as Gardner and the late NHRA founder Wally Parks had done. “Tom is retired,” he said tersely.

Compton did make a statement in a prepared news release:

I would tell you that I was President for 15 years. Motorsports is a tough business. Drag racing, I think, particularly is difficult. And Tom had been President for 15 years. It was no surprise to me that Tom decided he wanted to step down. – Dallas Gardner

“This decision comes after much thought and careful consideration of my own interests, those of my family, and those of the NHRA itself. The more than 22 years I spent helping to build the great team, strong partnerships, and robust operations the NHRA now enjoys makes this decision a difficult one,” he said. “I want to thank everyone, including the NHRA, its partners, sponsors, track owners and operators, and all other NHRA-affiliated individuals and organizations for their generous and much-appreciated contributions to the success we’ve all enjoyed together. I am honored to have been an integral part of this collective effort, am proud of our collaboration and achievements, and am confident in the continued success of the NHRA in the years ahead.”

With that, his tenure faded into the history book, no more significant as any number of on-track performance milestones. In the overall scheme, maybe it doesn’t matter. The Compton Era has closed, and Clifford has a chance to restore this house that has started to show neglect and abuse.

Clifford hammered out a six-point strategy for the NHRA to build on.

Improved television headed his list, which included increased sportsman participation and support of member racetracks, expanding marketing partnerships, expanding media coverage, improved competition at national events, and new fan development. He said “exciting announcements” on each item would come soon – “a series of them coming out in rather short order.” He underscored that with the claim that “it’s not my style to lead you on.”

Clifford said, “We understand from a lot of our constituents that we need to address some of the issues facing television, and we have some exciting announcements to come on that in short order.”

He didn’t divulge whether the NHRA will continue its relationship with ESPN next season or beyond. All he offered was sizzle, rather than steak: “What I can tell you is we have some exciting announcements coming up in the next couple weeks. What we have already said that’s out there is we’re taking television production in house starting next year, and so it was previously done by ESPN regional television, and we’re taking that on board next year, and that’s going to be a big change. But we have additional announcements in the coming weeks regarding television. You’ve got to wait and see the announcement. I think it will be well received. I’m going to leave it at that.”

The sportsman-participation item, he said, doesn’t involve more TV-coverage hours. “What we’re talking about with increased sportsman participation is to ease up the requirements in order to participate at a sportsman level.” He said the NHRA “leadership team” and division directors have forged a plan he’ll share within the next two weeks or so. The mission, though, he said, is “to make it easier for the sportsmen to come race with us.”

When it comes to media coverage, Clifford reflected an NHRA sense of entitlement. “We want to make sure we get the coverage that we deserve as the No. 2 motorsports property in the country,” he said. “And we have a plan in place to do that. We’re going to be adding some resources. We have the most powerful sensory experience on the planet, period. It’s the original extreme sport.”

Clifford had few specifics, definitions, or goals Wednesday when he mentioned “improved competition at national events” and “new fan development.”

He denounced reports the NHRA will sell all or a portion of its assets.

“We’re going forward. We’re very excited about the initiatives we have. We’re confident about our future. These rumors circulated are not true. The company is not for sale,” he said emphatically. “We’re going to be focusing on these initiatives. We looked before about finding a great strategic partner out there to help us with television, and that fell through. But now we’re pursuing it on our own, and we’re very, very confident about the future.”

That was a reference to the potential deal NHRA thought it had struck in 2007 with HD Partners Acquisition Corporation. The NHRA announced in January 2008 that the transaction collapsed.

We looked before about finding a great strategic partner out there to help us with television, and that fell through. But now we’re pursuing it on our own, and we’re very, very confident about the future. – Peter Clifford

Clifford cautioned not to expect increased purses, pointing instead to an intensified effort to acquire more corporate participation.

“We would want nothing more than to increase purses, but you know that’s challenging at this point,” he said. “What we’re working on, part of the plan, is expanding our marketing partnerships. So we’re going to be adding resources for that area. The teams generate a majority of their money from sponsorships. So we’ll continue to work with the teams, support the teams, add our marketing and sales support to the teams so they can help sell sponsorships. We see that as our role. There’s no plan at this point to increase purses, so we don’t have a plan in place.”

Neither Gardner nor Clifford announced whether anyone will replace Clifford in the Executive Vice-President / General Manager position. But Anthony Vestal, the company’s director of media relations, said, “We think we have the bases covered. We’ll look at our organizational structure, and what comes of that will determine our next steps.”

Gardner indicated the NHRA Board of Directors looked no further than Clifford as its new President, saying “This won’t be an on-the-job training session.” He said, “It made all the sense in the world” to select Clifford without an outside search, for “Peter has had his hands on everything that goes on in NHRA for a period of time and at all levels. We felt like he had been groomed for this position, and it’s a natural for him.”

Clifford, the former NHRA CEO, has been with the company since 1997. His most recent position, executive vice-president/general manager, required him to oversee NHRA-owned racetracks, publications, information technology, national-event business, ticketing, customer service, and human resources.

“Peter Clifford will be an outstanding president of the NHRA,” Gardner said. “Peter’s faithful and effective service to all constituents of the NHRA family will ensure a spectacular new era for everyone who loves our sport, and he brings a passion for the NHRA that is unmistakable. Peter is most deserving of his new appointment and we know he is more than up to the challenges and opportunities on the horizon.”

Gardner said the task for the NHRA hierarchy always has been that “we need to balance the needs of our participants, our track owners, our marketing partners, our fans, and NHRA, and sometimes that’s a hard balance to do. I think we have to listen. I think we have to look for new ideas. I think we’ve always got to push things forward. One of the things I see in Peter is I think he’s really a good listener.”

Said Clifford, “It’s a privilege to be named the President of the NHRA, and I don’t take that privilege lightly. NHRA is an exceptional company with a team that’s beyond motivated. They’re devoted, and NHRA is a rarity because we have an incredibly skilled and hard-working team, not only in this office in Glendora, but also in the field, at the racetracks, divisions, and everywhere we operate in the U.S. That’s what makes this a place I look forward to coming to every single day.”

Clifford’s personality is as low-key as Compton’s, but among their differences might be visibility at national events.

“I certainly do plan to be out there a lot going forward,” Clifford said.

He spoke reassuringly Wednesday, saying, “We all want the same thing. We want to continue to grow the sport and move it forward, and I think we have a good plan in place to do that.”

With administrative hurdles cleared, Clifford has his chance.