Then have the courage to call a spade a spade and go back in history and rag on every single competitor who ever laid down for a teammate. Be fair about it Mark. All the folks you are bashing here are joined by way more than you'd like to count once your research was done. The list is very long and prestigious.
Fact is, we do have two funny cars. My son's drive them and if one was in the points chase that really mattered and lucked out to pair up against the other who wasn't in the chase or already had enough points to qualify for the next level, I wouldn't have to say a darned thing. Without provocation, they would make the decision for the good of the team, sponsors and business. If there is no dive rule in place, we would only bring one car to the line so as to remove any and all doubt about our decision. Don't believe me, ask them yourselves.
If you are referring me to a bad parent, that's another topic and I'll let you meet each and every member of my family and decide for yourself. There's six of them and I'll gladly introduce you if you are serious. Better yet, ask around for dirt on the Miller Family. Good Luck Buddy!
I will call a spade a spade, but we are talking about this incident in this thread. Of course people have thrown races (we all know it has been happening since the Minor / Beck days) and my gripe is not with that. It is now a team sport and NHRA needs to get rid of the rule. My beef is the way John came out so strong insisting he was going to run a "fair" race. If he would have said "I'll do my best" and left it at that without his tirade proclaiming fair play I would not given it a second thought. To me it is just dishonest and insulting.
In regards to your family, I believe you have a very well liked / respected family. Although I have never introduced myself I have seen your family MANY times at the racetrack (NHRA, IHBA, & CIFCA), and you all seem like great people.
To further elaborate on my feelings I cut this from another thread---
Yeah, NHRA Drag Racing has fallen so far in the last several years, it's sad. Could you imagine Jimmie Johnson being told to pull over and let Jeff Gordon go by for the Daytona or Brickyard checkers. There is NO WAY, and if he got in the way he'd be put in the wall. I don't blame John for his action as much as his reactions. Coming out first with the "I'm going after him" in reference to Hight, and then reacting to the Pedregons like a nut while still trying to pull us into his lie, is insulting. The sentiment around here (Nitromater) is it's OK to lie "because he had to". Well then, I guess the same people should not jump on thier kids when they screw up, because they are being taught that it's OK to lie & cheat when "you have to". NHRA is also at fault because there is no possibility of enforcing the rule (at least against the Force team). Therefore there should be NO RULE. If they made it clear that team play is allowed, then OH Well!!, tough luck, and the Pedregons' would not have a gripe. Instead they question a rule and get MFed to death on this board. The "if the Shoe was on the other foot" argument does'nt work either because, IT'S NOT!!! Also, folks on this board who call out Don Schumacher's integrity ought to be ashamed of themselves. Name one instance since the well chronicled Seattle race where Team Shoe has broken that rule. I seem to recall Ron Capps putting a pretty good dent in Whit B's title hopes a few years back by winning razor thin races. Everyone knows JF is NHRA (especially his puppets who run it), but in my mind he has been instrumental in the free fall of NHRA as much as he helped bring it to its pinnacle (there is no denying that). From the chassis deal to 1000' YAWN racing, just those two highly pressed issues (by JFR) have cost the sport quite a few racers (who cannot keep up with new car costs), and thousands of LOYAL fans (who won't stand for "short track" racing). On top of those add the Countdown and dozens of other failures by NHRA, and this sport will continue to spiral. Oh well! you all enjoy it because after 175 + National events (and hundreds of independents), seeing Indy 2008 at 1000' (sacrelige) was the final straw for me, and the NHRA "Big Show" will never see any more of my $$$. Jim Head told me "Good Riddance, you guys won't be missed". I guess time will tell.
