Just a couple of points that might be worth mentioning/considering.
First, when ESPN was planning the Saturday show they, like virtualy everyone else at Pomona, was expecting the fourth and final qualifying session to be rained out, hence the heavy concentration on the third session. That also probably impacted the lack of exposure for Jerry Tolliver's announcement.
Second, whether you like it or not, Ashley Force was THE story of the Winternationals for all the obvious reasons, certainly including the fact that she's a woman and her father is a 14-time champion.
It is absolutely imperative for the sport's future growth that new fans be attracted to both the TV show and to the track. We can't keep depending on the likes of us, the truly hard core fans. New blood both in the grandstands and on the track is needed, and Ashley represents that.
While there have been part-time women competitors in Funny Car in the past, none has made the full tour, at least that I can recall. The other thing that those other women had in common was the under-funded nature of their rides. Their chances of winning weren't very good. Ashley's are obviously far better.
The same people who are complaining about the Ashlery overkill were also complaining about the exposure Ms. Enders received in the beginning, but the difference here is that Ms. Force has already delivered on the track by qualifying, something Ms. Enders struggled for months to accomplish.
Now Ms.Enders is "just another racer," but when she succeeds and/or performs well, she deserves every bit of exposure she gets.
Remember, in both instances we're talking about personable, quotable, attractive young women who are competing in a sport still dominated by men.
It's ironic that we're complaining about Ms. Force's exposure when we should be embracing it. Other forms of motorsports are vainly attempting to deal with their lack of minority and women competitors with formal programs to address those issues, yet here's drag racing, way, WAY aead of the curve in those areas.
We've got some kick butt women drivers out there and if, collectively, they can help introduce new fans and new sponsors to the sport they will have succeeded even if they don't win championships.
As to the comment about Skytel not getting much exposure, there are 22 more races on the POWERade Series trail, and they'll certainly get their share somewhere down the road.
It might not sometimes appear so, but ESPN is very cognizant of things like new sponsorships and the like, so even Tolliver's Rockstar operation wil get its due.
I think the one thing many of us here tend to forget is just how hard core we all are. Remember, we are NOT like most of the fans out there, who are casual at best in their affinity for the sport. Members here are probably among those souls who sat in the grandstands from early Sunday morning on despite the rain. The casual fans were the ones who stayed home lest they get a little damp.
So give ESPN, "National Dragster," Competitionplus.com and every other media outlet a chance to do their best for the sport, and if doing their best means an overdose of Ms. Force for a while, so be it.
Jon Asher
