CrewMan
Nitro Member
Since there are a lot of active racers of all levels on this site, crew folks, fans, and some very well known professional drivers, announcers, and team owners that hang around here from time to time I wanted to share what a shock I got in my mailbox when I got home from work yesterday.
A little background here: (Grab a beer)
When Compton finally got "voted off the island" earlier this year I like most people breathed a sigh of relief, looked to the heavens, gave a thumbs up to all the fallen racers up at the big 1/4 mile in the sky and said thanks for looking out for us boys....flip on the tree Buster...maybe things will get better after all! And I also took a few minutes (actually way more than a few) and wrote Pete Clifford the new President of NHRA. Now it had to be an actual letter because the NHRA site does not have the email addresses of the executives on it (and probably for good reason), and no way in hell was I going to chance sending it through the "Contact Us" option on the website either. So I sat down with Microsoft word and let er' rip.
In that letter I passed along my sincere congratulations on his appointment to President of the NHRA and how I hoped the change would be a positive one. I also acknowledged the enormity of the task in front of him and wished him success, myself spending 20+ years in construction and managing / directing people, know all too well what it is like to be a passenger on an aimlessly wandering boat screaming for someone to "drive it"....then getting handed the keys one day and told "here ya go" after the current captain was tossed overboard. I also went into how I became involved in NHRA drag racing and my first encounters with the sport way back in the good ole' 80's, what kept me coming back and the passion I developed not only for the sport but for the people, and how that led me to actually becoming involved in the sport at a National and Divisional level for many years. And on the down side I also elaborated on what drove me away, why I dropped my membership, why I stopped attending National and Divisional events as spectator and crew. After all the morbidness I suggested 10 things the NHRA could do to start to bring our sport back to the forefront and why they are important. I won't go into detail on those because we would be here all day, but a lot of those things have been discussed here and other places by many of us ad nauseam. In closing I asked him to please please listen to the fans, the racers on all levels, and everyone who is involved with this wonderful and exciting sport from the casual fan to the guy who sprays down the water box at the local track and that no matter what side "we the fans" are on of a debate on how to make the NHRA better and bring it back....we all give damn.
So.....after several reviews...since I wanted to make sure my one chance to vent made sense, read professionally, and didn't sound like I was on some John Force after a big win....I printed it, signed it, and pony expressed it to Glendora. Honestly I was not expecting anything in return...but it sure felt good to get that stuff out there to someone who would hopefully listen because God knows we all have been screaming for how many years and getting nothing in return? And at least I could say hey I tried.
Fast forward to yesterday....pull the mail out of the mailbox....and what do I find....an envelope addressed to me from NHRA headquarters. So you know the feeling...oh shit...I wonder what it is...is it the NHRA telling me I have been put on some "watch list"? Is the Secret Service going to show up at my door? Maybe a notice telling me I'm banned from ever communicating with NHRA Headquarters again? Maybe a response to my comment in the letter about how morbid the NHRA staff looked at the PRI show last year and how in the hell could anyone involved in drag racing for a living not have a smile on their face everyday? AH HA...it must be the acknowledgement that they have verified that the group of friends I attended the US Nationals with years ago do indeed hold the record for most beer consumption at a National Event in one weekend and are being honored at this years' awards ceremony in November (How cool!!). So I open it up....
Any of the above? Nope...
What I did find though was a letter, not a form letter, not a general thanks for your concern letter, but a letter personally addressed to me ....Mark...(Not "Mr.", Not "NHRA Fan", Not "Drag Racing Enthusiast" etc etc etc like you sometimes see). In it was the acknowledgement that my letter hit his desk, was read personally by him, his appreciation for my taking the time to write, and his acknowledgement of some of the items I mentioned as well as that this is a challenging time for the NHRA and they are well aware of the challenges they face and that lie ahead, and that he and his staff are committed to improving the NHRA for the fans and it's members. In closing he also mentioned he sincerely hopes that I become involved in NHRA again and asks to give them another chance. Personally signed "Peter Clifford - President" - with ink pen trails..
Honestly folks I was shocked, I really didn't expect to hear a peep. I mean c'mon...I'm nobody. Here is someone who is obviously not a happy camper and no longer a member of the organization for the reasons stated...sends his congratulations then proceeds to tear apart the very organization the recipient was appointed to lead...most people would be like "Hey don't let the door hit ya on the way out!". So I was beyond pleasantly surprised to receive a response let alone one like I got.
Maybe this guy does get it, I sure hope he does. And I sure hope he succeeds, whatever his background. But evidently he listens and that is a great great start.
So Mr. Clifford....I won't be at Indy this weekend unfortunately....but Thank You for listening!!!
A little background here: (Grab a beer
)When Compton finally got "voted off the island" earlier this year I like most people breathed a sigh of relief, looked to the heavens, gave a thumbs up to all the fallen racers up at the big 1/4 mile in the sky and said thanks for looking out for us boys....flip on the tree Buster...maybe things will get better after all! And I also took a few minutes (actually way more than a few) and wrote Pete Clifford the new President of NHRA. Now it had to be an actual letter because the NHRA site does not have the email addresses of the executives on it (and probably for good reason), and no way in hell was I going to chance sending it through the "Contact Us" option on the website either. So I sat down with Microsoft word and let er' rip.
In that letter I passed along my sincere congratulations on his appointment to President of the NHRA and how I hoped the change would be a positive one. I also acknowledged the enormity of the task in front of him and wished him success, myself spending 20+ years in construction and managing / directing people, know all too well what it is like to be a passenger on an aimlessly wandering boat screaming for someone to "drive it"....then getting handed the keys one day and told "here ya go" after the current captain was tossed overboard
. I also went into how I became involved in NHRA drag racing and my first encounters with the sport way back in the good ole' 80's, what kept me coming back and the passion I developed not only for the sport but for the people, and how that led me to actually becoming involved in the sport at a National and Divisional level for many years. And on the down side I also elaborated on what drove me away, why I dropped my membership, why I stopped attending National and Divisional events as spectator and crew. After all the morbidness I suggested 10 things the NHRA could do to start to bring our sport back to the forefront and why they are important. I won't go into detail on those because we would be here all day, but a lot of those things have been discussed here and other places by many of us ad nauseam. In closing I asked him to please please listen to the fans, the racers on all levels, and everyone who is involved with this wonderful and exciting sport from the casual fan to the guy who sprays down the water box at the local track and that no matter what side "we the fans" are on of a debate on how to make the NHRA better and bring it back....we all give damn.So.....after several reviews...since I wanted to make sure my one chance to vent made sense, read professionally, and didn't sound like I was on some John Force after a big win
....I printed it, signed it, and pony expressed it to Glendora. Honestly I was not expecting anything in return...but it sure felt good to get that stuff out there to someone who would hopefully listen because God knows we all have been screaming for how many years and getting nothing in return? And at least I could say hey I tried.Fast forward to yesterday....pull the mail out of the mailbox....and what do I find....an envelope addressed to me from NHRA headquarters. So you know the feeling...oh shit...I wonder what it is...is it the NHRA telling me I have been put on some "watch list"? Is the Secret Service going to show up at my door? Maybe a notice telling me I'm banned from ever communicating with NHRA Headquarters again? Maybe a response to my comment in the letter about how morbid the NHRA staff looked at the PRI show last year and how in the hell could anyone involved in drag racing for a living not have a smile on their face everyday? AH HA...it must be the acknowledgement that they have verified that the group of friends I attended the US Nationals with years ago do indeed hold the record for most beer consumption at a National Event in one weekend and are being honored at this years' awards ceremony in November (How cool!!
). So I open it up....Any of the above? Nope...
What I did find though was a letter, not a form letter, not a general thanks for your concern letter, but a letter personally addressed to me ....Mark...(Not "Mr.", Not "NHRA Fan", Not "Drag Racing Enthusiast" etc etc etc like you sometimes see). In it was the acknowledgement that my letter hit his desk, was read personally by him, his appreciation for my taking the time to write, and his acknowledgement of some of the items I mentioned as well as that this is a challenging time for the NHRA and they are well aware of the challenges they face and that lie ahead, and that he and his staff are committed to improving the NHRA for the fans and it's members. In closing he also mentioned he sincerely hopes that I become involved in NHRA again and asks to give them another chance. Personally signed "Peter Clifford - President" - with ink pen trails..
Honestly folks I was shocked, I really didn't expect to hear a peep. I mean c'mon...I'm nobody. Here is someone who is obviously not a happy camper and no longer a member of the organization for the reasons stated...sends his congratulations then proceeds to tear apart the very organization the recipient was appointed to lead...most people would be like "Hey don't let the door hit ya on the way out!". So I was beyond pleasantly surprised to receive a response let alone one like I got.
Maybe this guy does get it, I sure hope he does. And I sure hope he succeeds, whatever his background. But evidently he listens and that is a great great start.
So Mr. Clifford....I won't be at Indy this weekend unfortunately....but Thank You for listening!!!
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