AJ-Al Anabi Wall Street Journal article

[Joker]

Here you go:

Sheik from Qatar Spends Millions to Support His Drag Racing Team - WSJ.com

Ofcourse though the pic description is wrong but other than that its a nice article.

 

[troy boy]

Alan just dosent look like himself anymore.

 

[yoda]

WSJ has given our sport some excellent coverage in the past year or so... Last time it was about Ashley and Papa Force... Every time they mention drag racing, someone in that crowd hears how great a bargain it is compared to other forms of motorsports... Maybe when the $$$ starts flowing again, more investors will look to this sport first before getting back into bed with NASCAR/ IndyCar... That means we need to step up our programs and marketing plans NOW folks- you HAVE to be ready when the knock comes on the door.

 

[Tim5636sc]

Alan just dosent look like himself anymore.

i contacted mr Futterman. The mis-print is being corrected. Very nice article.

 

[clwill]

That's about the most straightforward (and accurate) article on our sport in a national publication I've ever seen. Other than the caption mix-up, the terminology is right, the author seemed to understand some of the sport, there was very little tongue-in-cheek smirking in it, and it was a generally very positive article.

Keeping in mind that the WSJ is the second highest circulation paper in the country, and reaches every single one of the corporate big-wigs that the teams are trying to get for sponsors, this is great.

Now let's hope it spurs at least a couple of them to say, "Hey, not in our backyard! Let's sponsor someone out there to show them the good ol' USA can still cut it." Sure it's more than a little jingoistic, but if it gets more sponsors, yeah!

 

[Just Paul]

Very good read...


I had to laugh though.... The top fuel division sure has it's wide variety of guys running out there. These guys are having deep red tuna sashimi flown in to the races to eat for lunch, and at the same time, Bobby Lagana came to Atlanta with one set of tires, and had to borrow some to go rounds.

 

[Dubs]

That was a damn well written article

 

[Paul]

These guys are having deep red tuna sashimi flown in to the races to eat for lunch . . .

That's just too much to take, as far as I'm concerned these guys have sold their souls to the devil. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it too if given the opportunity, but I'd definitely expect damnation at some point.

I hope they get their sushi fed asses kicked this year.

Paul T.

 

[yoda]

That's just too much to take, as far as I'm concerned these guys have sold their souls to the devil. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it too if given the opportunity, but I'd definitely expect damnation at some point.

I hope they get their sushi fed asses kicked this year.

Paul T.

Would you have more respect for them if they showed up with an old pickup and pulled out the BBQ grille???

AJ was in no less a good place when he was with Team Shoe, so what are you trying to say PT?

 

[vegasnitro]

I had no idea the Shiekh was only 22!

 

[none]

AJ was in no less a good place when he was with Team Shoe, so what are you trying to say PT?

Yea........quit being so wishy washy and say what you mean!

 

[jackass]

These guys are having deep red tuna sashimi flown in to the races to eat for lunch,

that ranks up wiht Felix Sabatas in the 90's in NASCAR.. having his motorhome driver dig a hole at each track to put in a gold fish pond next to the motorhome........lol....


Billy

 

[Greg]

That's just too much to take, as far as I'm concerned these guys have sold their souls to the devil.

How do you figure?

 

[Nunz]

Come on, can anyone fault AJ for taking advantage of the opportunity that was given to him? I've always been a huge fan of the Johnsons, and these people live for this sport, and as we all know AJ paid the ultimate price, but decided this is where he wants to be. There are a lot of other teams that eat pretty well at the track, I had the opportunity to spend a day in the DSR hospitality tent at Maple Grove a couple years ago, we ate like kings! And everyone knows about Jeg's chef. But you know what, you can't take all that stuff to the starting line, and guys like Lagana are doing pretty well, even if they're probably eating left-over pasta between rounds.

 

[ozfuel]

I'd like to know who the other potential sponsors/ teams were ?

" who had spurned other potential sponsors in recent years because he didn't feel they were fully committed to investing in a championship team "

Mark.

 

[Bullet]

That's just too much to take, as far as I'm concerned these guys have sold their souls to the devil. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it too if given the opportunity, but I'd definitely expect damnation at some point.

I hope they get their sushi fed asses kicked this year.

Paul T.

Are you serious?

If you had a guy willing to pay a Hibachi Chef cook for you at the races are you telling me that you would opt for the Manwich sandwiches instead?

Would your opinion differ if the Sheik was a US billionaire?

 

[Nick Name]

That's just too much to take, as far as I'm concerned these guys have sold their souls to the devil. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it too if given the opportunity, but I'd definitely expect damnation at some point.

I hope they get their sushi fed asses kicked this year.

Paul T.

So you wouldn't sell your soul to the devil, unless you had the opportunity?

 

[Nick Name]

His e-mail address is at the end of the article if you want to tell him what you thought of it.

 

[Butch]

All I can say is eating, deep red tuna sashimi is a long way from the Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches that I ate when racing. But I was dam glad to be at the track and racing.

 

[Professional Fan]

I'm always at a loss to understand the negativity that flows from some folks. To me, the bottom line from the Sheik being involved in drag racing is:
1. Two drivers being employed that otherwise wouldn't be (Massey and Del)
2. Two sets of crews that otherwise wouldn't be employed.
3. Lots of money being spent that is going into the American economy
4. Good publicity such as the WSJ article

I just don't see any down side here for drag racing.

Brian