They're not gone. They're all waiting for the 2006 season to finally begin. After a long, hard winter, racers are looking hard at newly published rules and schedules in hopes of picking which classes and events they'll compete in. While many of these changes were still being worked out as we went to press, others have become common knowledge.
Here's an example: With the exception of its regular stop at Cecil County, NSCA has decided to consolidate its races into a tighter area encompassing the upper Midwest states of Ohio and Michigan, with a possible new stop at U.S. 41 Raceway near Chicago. Last year's Belle Rose and Atlanta stops are now history. The NSCA also opted to cut the 15 classes it ran last year in half to make for a much more manageable program.
Once of the big incentives for NSCA to make this move, of course, dealt with the price of fuel. Just making it to a race sometimes meant up to nearly $1,000 for some of these drivers-and that doesn't include time off from work. Of course, that's one of several reasons why many sanctioning bodies allow racers to drop one event or more per year. While gas and diesel prices have moderated, the lingering effects of sticker shock have still had a sobering effect when people think about chasing points for a national championship.
Of course, that's one of the reasons why sportsman racing as represented by the organizations in this book is such an attractive alternative. Between Fun Ford, IHRA, NMCA, NMRA, and NSCA, there were no less than 56 national championships in sportsman categories awarded last year-and these mean less travel than if you were running for national title with NHRA. Some involve Heads Up racing, others E.T. Bracket, and there's even a handful that run off an index. There truly is a place for anybody and every kind of vehicle. Compare that to the gas you'd have to buy racing elsewhere, and it suddenly may not seem so expensive.
There's also a greater return for your dollar in terms of exposure. More than likely, you can't go to the magazine rack at Wal-Mart to read about who won the NHRA Super Stock championship in 2005. You can, however, read about who won it in IHRA. You'll know who won the Nostalgia Super Stock championship-along with all the other winners, too. That's because the people at Fun Ford, IHRA, NMCA, NMRA, and NSCA go above and beyond what they have to do to help put this book out so everyone else can read about what's happened here. They all have their own house publications, sure, but these guys are going one better. That benefits you and your sponsors, and it helps this sport continue.
Claiming one of 56 championships, winning a signature event such as Norwalk, Joliet, Orlando, or Columbus, or just coming out to run against the drivers you read about is all why Fun Ford, IHRA, NMCA, NMRA, NSCA, and Sportsman Drag Racing are back again for 2006. Life is short, and there are few second chances. There's a place among friends for you right here.
Where have all the race cars gone? Think about the above and then come to one of these events in 2006. At one event or another, you'll see them all here