HORSEPOWER & HEELS

Mr. Oberjuerge’s rant of November 5th rant was rife with inaccuracies –
but that’s to be expected from an individual with no personal experience in drag
racing, either as a spectator, participant or fan (he’s obviously anything but
that).

For starters, hi-rise aluminum grandstands 40 or 50 rows high running
almost the length of the quarter mile are anything but “a couple of banks of
glorified high-school bleachers.”

Further, had your writer ever witnessed an event in, say, Las Vegas, or
Chicago, or Bristol he would have seen the kind of seating he apparently
prefers. Remember, the track at Pomona is part of the Fairgrounds property, and
is only used as a race plant on a limited basis. While NHRA would certainly like
the track to be on the same basis with those mentioned, it’s not in the cards
under the current Fairgrounds situation.

The purchase of NHRA’s pro racing assets by HD Partners is a long way
from being consummated – something a good reporter would have known, or at least
looked into before writing yet another inaccuracy.

More sponsorship is coming into the sport. Companies like UPS, Gieco
Insurance and Caterpillar are indicative of that.

Mr. Oberjuerge has no clue about media coverage of the sport. If he did
he would know that such coverage has been steadily increasing as well as
expanding into areas not usually affiliated with motorsports
coverage.

If Mr. Oberjuerge knew anything about televised motorsports he’d be
aware of the fact that NASCAR’s ratings are declining, which might be an
indication that their $4.8B investment wasn’t such a good one.

The NHRA national events absolutely draw more than 50,000 fans at every
race. Every demographic study done on the series demonstrates this – but I guess
doing the research to uncover that the audience is twice – or more – than he’s
suggested would have been too difficult for a writer with a built in prejudice
against drag racing.

Might it have been instructive for your readers had Mr. Oberjuerge
“confessed” to having been far more interested in attending a Lakers game than
an exhilarating drag race? We can’t fault him for wanting to watch the Laker
Girls, but clearly, his prejudices against the sport aren’t based on much more
than his own personal proclivities.

--Jon Asher Glorieta, NM