July 2008 Archives

Will fans still get to see Big Red on the NHRA tour?

Budweiser and Kenny Bernstein Racing have been synonymous with NHRA Drag Racing for nearly 30 years. But now that lies in question following this week's announcement of Anheuser-Busch's $52 billion dollar sale to InBev SA.
Some believe that the Belgium-based company may trim several of A-B's sports sponsorships, including Bud King Racing.
There's nervousness out there, and it's palpable," said Eric Shepard, executive editor of the trade magazine, Beer Marketer's Insights.
The big question, by most, is not if InBev will trim it's marketing budget, but by how much.
But others say it's still too soon to tell.
InBev CEO Carlos Brito even praised A-B for its marketing expertises. But the question lies is he willing to back up that praise with his pocketbook.
"What we see in Anheuser-Busch is its marketing expertise, and that's one of the pillars of why they built such great brands," Brito said.
Time will eventually give us the answers. Let's hope it includes Big Red.

Tony Schumacher drives to another victory as his crew watches from the starting line.

The switch to a 1,000-foot drag strip didn't seem to bother Tony Schumacher or Tim Wilkerson.
The duo, who lead their respective classes in Top Fuel and Funny Car, continued their winning ways this past weekend at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Denver.
Schumacher, who has dominated Top Fuel the past four seasons, scored his sixth win of the season to extend his lead in the class to 275 points over second-place Antron Brown, who he beat in the final.
""It doesn't matter if it's 1,000 feet, it's still a great race," Schumacher said."You are clicking off only four-tenths of a second earlier, that's the only difference. The car went right down the track every single time. I couldn't have asked for a better race car. It was flawless."
Wilkerson's wasn't bad either. He continued to be the car to beat among the flopper contingent, winning his fourth of the season and his second in the past three races. He leads second-place Robert Hight by 215 points.
"The 1,000-foot deal, I don't know what the fans think about it, but it looked pretty good to me from where I was at," said Wilkerson, who beat Jack Beckman in the final Sunday. "It was pretty good racing the entire weekend, and I want to applaud the NHRA for that.
"We were a little nervous coming into Denver, but we can't get too worked up about it. We just go with what we have. Hopefully, this is a good start for us on the Western Swing. We're excited about going the rest of the way and running (to) 1,000-foot for the next few races."

Funny Car driver Tony Pedregon will be racing on a shorter drag strip beginning this weekend's NHRA event near Denver, Colo.

Was it an April Fools' joke?
It sure sounded like one when the NHRA announced a radical change for Top Fuel and Funny racing, reducing the length of a competition lap from the traditional quartermile or 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet.
But this was no joke. It's the NHRA's initial reaction to the horrific crash that resulted in the death of veteran Scott Kalitta.
NHRA says the reduction in track length is an interim step as it continues to investigate and decide whether and what changes may be made down the line in the eye of safety.
My initial reaction, is that it will not really solve the problem.
Crew chiefs try to make maxium horsepower through the entire quartermile, and if they miss, they miss short, resulting in engine explosions between the 1,000-foot mark and the finish line.
They will now try to make even more horsepower through 1,000-foot finish line, lowering the window for engine failures to the 800-foot mark. But the engines will still explode.
This will provide a much longer shut-down area, but I'm not sure that would have saved Kalitta's life. It looked like on the video that he never slowed down, and perhaps was unconscious following the explosion.
Some will argue that this decision is too radical for an in-season change. I will say, though, that if it saves lives, go for it. But I'm not sure they are addressing the right issue.
I just happen to like the other ideas, including one that will feature an automatic parachute release.