d'kid
Nitro Member
Nitromater
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Alan Johnson Gone?
- Thread starter Raconteur
- Start date
tomcat
Nitro Member
I'm wondering how many, if not all, of the current Army crewmembers go with him. Really interested to see how all of this plays out for Jason Mc. Also wondering how much of AJ's tune-up is known to people other than AJ. Could be real interesting to see who goes with and who stays with DSR.
I'm reading it as $11 million for Operating Costs. $5.5 mil per car. His salary would be part of this operating expense. Since AJ is the team owner the hard parts should be his. Team owner means team owner to me. It is his responsibility to come up with the pieces and parts out of his own money. Not out of the operating budget. Two separate things.
Also, could Jim Head end up involved in this in some capacity? Haven't seen that brought up yet. They have a pretty close relationship.
d'kid
Nitro Member
Drag Racing Internet Magazine - Competition Plus.com - THE INSIDE AJ/DSR STORY
Okay peeps... says what we need to know for now, all kidding aside...
Bobby's people score again.... good work comp plus... and thanks for the banner
d'kid
Okay peeps... says what we need to know for now, all kidding aside...
Bobby's people score again.... good work comp plus... and thanks for the banner
d'kid
Paul
Nitro Member
A few nuggets from the Comp Plus article:
"Johnson’s partner in the operation is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani"
"The team will be based in Indianapolis, and there are no plans to seek a corporate backer."
"Considering the partners involved it was no surprise when Johnson stated the cars would travel to the Middle East to make exhibition runs, probably once each year"
Wow, this is just a strange sounding situation. I guess its good for drag racing in some ways in that some new money is coming into the sport, but it definitely has some bad angles also.
Sustainable sponsors that gain long term benefits from an assocation with drag racing are what are really needed for the sport to survive and grow. A super-rich guy coming in to have some fun for a few years may or may not be good for the sport depending on how it shakes out.
It sounds like he can afford to use big $ to hire away some pretty good employees from some current teams that are right now struggling to survive, and that's going to cause some hard feelings.
I think there are going to be some increasing hard feelings between the "haves" and "have nots" in the sport. With John Force for example, he worked up from nothing to get the big sponsors and budget he has, so you can envy that but I can't ever see holding it against him.
But now we have a team with almost unlimited funds that isn't even going to need to put out any effort trying to attract sponsorship dollars, and when they win I can see it generating some large resentment from other competitors.
If this guy walks around the pits, does everybody have to address him as "your Royal Highness? That's going to be pretty wierd.
I'm trying figure out that if someone offered me a similar deal (ie, replace my current income with a substantially fatter deal that gave me, at least in some ways, more freedom and control) but with the same associations and requirements, would I take it. It would be a hard decision, but I don't know, to be candid it sounds too much like selling your soul to me.
Paul T.
"Johnson’s partner in the operation is His Highness Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani"
"The team will be based in Indianapolis, and there are no plans to seek a corporate backer."
"Considering the partners involved it was no surprise when Johnson stated the cars would travel to the Middle East to make exhibition runs, probably once each year"
Wow, this is just a strange sounding situation. I guess its good for drag racing in some ways in that some new money is coming into the sport, but it definitely has some bad angles also.
Sustainable sponsors that gain long term benefits from an assocation with drag racing are what are really needed for the sport to survive and grow. A super-rich guy coming in to have some fun for a few years may or may not be good for the sport depending on how it shakes out.
It sounds like he can afford to use big $ to hire away some pretty good employees from some current teams that are right now struggling to survive, and that's going to cause some hard feelings.
I think there are going to be some increasing hard feelings between the "haves" and "have nots" in the sport. With John Force for example, he worked up from nothing to get the big sponsors and budget he has, so you can envy that but I can't ever see holding it against him.
But now we have a team with almost unlimited funds that isn't even going to need to put out any effort trying to attract sponsorship dollars, and when they win I can see it generating some large resentment from other competitors.
If this guy walks around the pits, does everybody have to address him as "your Royal Highness? That's going to be pretty wierd.
I'm trying figure out that if someone offered me a similar deal (ie, replace my current income with a substantially fatter deal that gave me, at least in some ways, more freedom and control) but with the same associations and requirements, would I take it. It would be a hard decision, but I don't know, to be candid it sounds too much like selling your soul to me.
Paul T.
Last edited:
HEMI6point1
Nitro Member
I think the bigger resentment will be AJ leaving the US Army team to run a team sponsored by an Arab. When it was announced on NHRA Race Day you could hear much of the crowd boo.
clwill
Nitro Member
I'm going to get attacked for this, but... kinda sounds like EK & Torco, no? Or Steinbrenner and the Yankees? Or ...
There will be always be folks like that, in any sporting endeavor. They are who own virtually all the teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc. There will always be folks who want to come in and buy a winner.
No reason to hate them -- they'll either get the bug and be here for the long haul or find out that it's expensive and hard to buy their way to the top, and be gone in a blink.
Either way, it's really hard to think new money coming into the sport is a bad thing. Especially when the money is coming from a whole new part of the globe -- and a part of the globe with many more folks with money.
Somebody brang that up on another forum but then someone said that this Quatar country had given america $100 million to suppost katrina victims and had built some huge US army base over there to house troops in iraq .
HEMI6point1
Nitro Member
How 'bout AJ getting some camels as tow vehicles. 
Jenn
Nitro Member
Can you image what the security systems would be? Car backfires in the pits or has a hard high start and the shieks security task force bust out the assault rifles...
mike
Nitro Member
Like sand through the hour glass of time, these are...........
The days of our lives... Mal you're lucky I didn't have any fluids in my mouth. or I'd be sending you a bill to clean my monitor
Just Paul
Nitro Member
Super Mod
Nitro Member
So what are saying ...a nutless monkey could win with the right tuner?
mike
Nitro Member
A crew chief needs a driver, a driver needs a crew chief, that ones a no brainer. I see the point you make though Jack, IMO, I don't think you're saying Tony is the best, but you are stating that by being a good driver it helps AJ. And that's very true. But I think just about anyone in that field if they had AJ, they would do great. Especially if there is a chemistry between the two, and that's the reason why AJ and Tony have been so great these past years. Having a good understanding with your crew chief, crew and driver makes the world of difference.
It's the same with Basketball, Baseball, Football. You could have the best team of players and coach, but it doesn't mean you'll win... But if you all have a good understanding of what needs to be done and work as a team, then success is right there.
That's why the Army team is on the verge of another title.
Seems to be alot of sour grapes over this thing , I dont know how I feel about it. I think the people that dislike need to ask themselves why they dislike it . Say an overseas oil company like shell or BP or something wanted to sponser a team would that be frowned apon or would it be welcomed . I think the real question here is for those who dislike it , do you dislike it becasue its a foreign sponser or because of the nationality of the sponser .
Similar threads
