Ace shoots one off on T Ped! (2 Viewers)

[Prestaged]

The statements from Tony and Ed come from completely different mindset:

Ed - employee, no vested interest in reducing business expenses. He may try but reaps no loss from not reducing.
Somebody else writes the checks.

Tony - owner, 100% vested interest in saving business expenses. He knows the bottom line and knows that for the business to survive, he has cut costs.
He writes the checks.

Anybody who has ever owned a business knows the differences between employee and owner. Some of the people who have posted here don't know that difference.

That was my point. Thank you!

 

[Prestaged]

Didn't Ace own and drive.............

You must have read that in a US History text book.

 

[Sean D, shondoo]

That was my point. Thank you!

If that was your point, then I guess I still don't get it. The whole basis of this thread was centered around Tony's whining about the risk of driving the cars, which is what Ace called him to the mat on, not the financial aspect of it (At least in the body of what was originally posted on this thread). That being said, it doesn't have anything to do with being an owner or employee. It has to do with whether or not you have the stones to drive them as they are and accept the risk without cryin' about it.

Sean D

 

[none]

You must have read that in a US History text book.

Nope. Just basic knowledge. But for the record:

As a Funny Car driver, Ed “the Ace” McCulloch , won the U.S. Nationals five times (1971, 1972, 1980, 1988 and 1990), more than any other Funny Car driver in the history of this event. He has also won the U.S. Nationals in the Top Fuel class in 1992, giving him a total of six victories at this prestigious event, the crown jewel of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

McCulloch, a California native, began drag racing in 1964 and has collected 22 event victories. When he retired from driving in 1994, McCulloch turned his talents to becoming a top-notch crew chief, and today is the tuner of the Funny Car driven by Ron Capps.

That my friend is not from a US History text book, that is NHRA history.......where legends are born!

 

[Shaggy]

So let me get this straight...Ace who doesnt drive anymore(hasnt since '94) can run his mouth about what Tony feels while doing it today...However Ace obviously doesnt have the stones Tony has or he would still be driving these beasts of today and not whining about what his competitors are saying/doing...

 

[Kansas Stan]

If you actually want to "get this straight".....Ace commented about a driver with an apparently underfunded operation who's chasing a competitive tune up while destroying inventory and wants someone to step in and solve HIS problem.

 

[none]

So let me get this straight...Ace who doesnt drive anymore(hasnt since '94) can run his mouth about what Tony feels while doing it today...However Ace obviously doesnt have the stones Tony has or he would still be driving these beasts of today and not whining about what his competitors are saying/doing...

You should get a clue........
Ace has done it all. He owned, drove, tuned, won, crashed, caught on fire, blew stuff up and always kicked a$$. He has been drag racing at a high level for decades. He has fought everything that got in his way including health issues and like Sinatra........He did it his way. And again for the record, even at his age today, it would be a mistake to get in his face and tell him he is "running his mouth" period, end of story.

 

[Shaggy]

Simple question then... If Ace thinks it is so damn safe why is he not driving the car? Oh yea according to that interview you quoted Mel, he doesnt have the passion anymore. I didnt know there was a seperate championship passion for drivers and crew chiefs...

 

[Rollout96]

Simple question then... If Ace thinks it is so damn safe why is he not driving the car? Oh yea according to that interview you quoted Mel, he doesnt have the passion anymore. I didnt know there was a seperate championship passion for drivers and crew chiefs...

I would guess he enjoys being a crew chief more and gets paid damn well for it.

 

[Shaggy]

The whole point I am getting at, is if Ace isn't driving the cars anymore, he has no place to tell Tony he should get out of the seat...If it was John Force that made the comments, then I could see it having merit cause he still does it, but for someone that doesnt/wont strap themselves into the time bombs of today he has no right to run his mouth about what Tony feels actually strapping himself into it...

 

[none]

Simple question then... If Ace thinks it is so damn safe why is he not driving the car? Oh yea according to that interview you quoted Mel, he doesnt have the passion anymore. I didnt know there was a seperate championship passion for drivers and crew chiefs...

Simple answer. Been there, done that.
Your lack of respect is amazing. You think the cars are less safe today than when he drove? You are so far out of line that the line is a dot in your rear view mirror. He has years of sweat equity in this sport and he has the right to voice his opinion on any and all matters NHRA. To say he isn't qualified because he isn't "driving today" is on par with saying the NHRA tech guys aren't qualified to inspect the cars because they don't drive or that the NHRA management team isn't qualified to run the sport because they don't drive.(oops, that one may have hurt my argument). The simple point is, he has a right, maybe even an obligation to state his opinion on matters that will have such a major impact on our sport.

 

[d'kid]

Simple answer. Been there, done that.
Your lack of respect is amazing. You think the cars are less safe today than when he drove? You are so far out of line that the line is a dot in your rear view mirror. He has years of sweat equity in this sport and he has the right to voice his opinion on any and all matters NHRA. To say he isn't qualified because he isn't "driving today" is on par with saying the NHRA tech guys aren't qualified to inspect the cars because they don't drive or that the NHRA management team isn't qualified to run the sport because they don't drive.(oops, that one may have hurt my argument). The simple point is, he has a right, maybe even an obligation to state his opinion on matters that will have such a major impact on our sport.

Oh, And our T/F points leader agreed with him Tuesday Night on WFO...
d'kid

 

[Wayne]

Oh, And our T/F points leader agreed with him Tuesday Night on WFO...
d'kid

Right on Larry.
Karl; were his comments at all tempered by his being Tony's brother-in-law.

Don't forget that besides Ace having the background that he does, he is also responsible for the safety of one NHRA's brightest & most popular stars in Ron Capps!!!

 

[Toejam]

Simple question then... If Ace thinks it is so damn safe why is he not driving the car? Oh yea according to that interview you quoted Mel, he doesnt have the passion anymore. I didnt know there was a seperate championship passion for drivers and crew chiefs...

Ace has had his share of explosions to know what he is talking about. Plus I think he's making more money now than he ever did driving!

 

[Toejam]

E-Town is SHORT!!!!

Period.

Would an extra 320' Helped????????

Maybe.

We will never know, except the car blew up at 900', I know, I was there.

He probably would not have survived, nevertheless, but that extra distance could do nothing but help.

I saw what I saw, and 20-30 mph less could have made the difference.

JMO

REX

I think we can all agree that E-Towns Sand trap was a Death Trap! Alexis de Joria would have met the same fate had NHRA not Mandated changes.

 

[d'kid]

Right on Larry.
Karl; were his comments at all tempered by his being Tony's brother-in-law.

Don't forget that besides Ace having the background that he does, he is also responsible for the safety of one NHRA's brightest & most popular stars in Ron Capps!!!

WFO Radio - Hit The Ignition!
you can do on demand for Tuesday's show.... Joe always opens with about fifteen minutes Alan R. or on the right side there are dates with names.

d'kid

 

[Shaggy]

Simple answer. Been there, done that.
Your lack of respect is amazing. You think the cars are less safe today than when he drove? You are so far out of line that the line is a dot in your rear view mirror. He has years of sweat equity in this sport and he has the right to voice his opinion on any and all matters NHRA. To say he isn't qualified because he isn't "driving today" is on par with saying the NHRA tech guys aren't qualified to inspect the cars because they don't drive or that the NHRA management team isn't qualified to run the sport because they don't drive.(oops, that one may have hurt my argument). The simple point is, he has a right, maybe even an obligation to state his opinion on matters that will have such a major impact on our sport.

You are trying to put words in my mouth. First off I do not have a lack of respect. And I have never said Ace shouldn't be able to voice his opinions on the sport, safety or whatever. However the way he did it was wrong. He did not need to attack the Pedregon brothers to voice his opinion. Its as bad as a Jr High squabble...

And for the record, I never said I disagreed with what Ace said either...

 

[BF]

You know, with all the tremendous interest generated by the Countdown and the NHRA doing so well with fans and car counts....I can't believe we're still discussing this.

 

[Sean D, shondoo]

You know, with all the tremendous interest generated by the Countdown and the NHRA doing so well with fans and car counts....I can't believe we're still discussing this.

Priceless....

Sean D