IHRA cancels some 2026 events (14 Viewers)

[Under_Pressure]

If everyone would go to the 14:50 mark of this video and watch for a few minutes, they will have any answer they are looking for. I mean, the way DC comports himself is just bizarre!

Also remember the text messages that were posted earlier this year from some guy who had been supposedly talking with Darrell about starting a series in some other country. Darrell supposedly had some interest, had some of his other people reach out and set some things up, then suddenly started sending strange profanity filled messages telling this guy to get lost. Yes, it's only one side of the story, but if there is any truth to it at all... he's not a good guy to deal with. Which the roster of personnel who IHRA has gone through would seem to support.

 

[Paul]

.DC did everything for racers

Except pay them for Columbus?

 

[Butch]

My perspective on that 60sec interview with DC is, He knew in his mind that Columbus was the last hurrah. I could see it in his face.

 

[Tybamf]

My perspective on that 60sec interview with DC is, He knew in his mind that Columbus was the last hurrah. I could see it in his face.

I think that interview was from a previous race, not the most recent.

 

[Funnycarfanatic]

I think that interview was from a previous race, not the most recent.

In all honesty even if it was the interview hardly inspired confidence in the long term

 

[Chili]

In all honesty even if it was the interview hardly inspired confidence in the long term

That interview from Jack from Cycledrag was from the very first IHRA race in Columbus. I don’t know Daryl but just from the way he looks and his actions during interviews, he comes off as a drunk. Not saying he is, but that is the impression I get.

 

[Chili]

Yeah I didn't get the negativity from the get-go either.

Negativity on the internet? Facebook especially? Unfortunately that is the world we live in. There was no negativity from the racers or fans attending the events that I heard. Many compared him to Evan Knoll. Which now appears closer than most of us ever thought. Most of us complained about 1/8 mile racing but most still complain about 1000 foot and that has been 15 years. NHRA fans were upset about losing Maple Grove and now they don’t have a big nitro event now. The fears of negative have become true.

 

[Under_Pressure]

I will say, for all the crap that Cycledrag Jack gets (and he definitely knows how to play the click bait game) that was a well done video and he's a sharp guy. He's smart enough to ask the questions EVERYONE should ask about any dealings they're involved in but hardly anyone wanted to in this case- does this make sense? Where is the money coming from? What is the business model that makes this work? Why isn't someone else doing it already?

 

[DragFan2]

This is all very disappointing. When he first bought IHRA and National Trail, I thought, "yes! this is great!" Then he kept buying and kept buying and one could not help but step back and wonder where this was coming from. His company, if reports are correct, only generates about 100M per year. consider that Kalita Air grosses 5 times that amount - enough left over to run a couple top fuel teams but not enough to buy a sanctioning body and multiple tracks plus dump money into them. Then, his public interviews, like PRI, were a bit strange. He was very quiet and his president - at the time - did all the answering and talking for him. Obviously, outside money was available. Then we found out that Elon Musk may have something to do with all of this. Ok, there appears to be money there - but why?

I have questioned since the begining what the need was for "buying" all the tracks was about. It is difficult to run a drag strip at a profit if you just run one track, and to be responsible for 10+ drag strips seemed insane to me. The big payouts concerned me too, as they were more than it seemed possible with the minimal attendance we were hearing. Darryl Cuttel may have assumed that there was an untapped market of fans that would show up for these races, and I had high hopes for that too, but was not seeing it in the reports. As far as the Elon Musk connection, this is the first I have heard of that possibility and if there was some funding lost by his company that was connected to SpaceX or Musks other tech companies, then that could explain things. I hate rumors so won't speculate. I just hope the racers and track personnel are made whole in the process.

 

[DragFan2]

Not only does it appear there may be some serious financial difficulties with with putting on the rest of the 2026 races, and the upgrades to tracks purchased, I now wonder what will happen to the deal to buy Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School. The article on Comp Plus back on April 2nd all sounded so good and I would think Frank Hawley could not have easily been fooled by the vision for IHRA after personal discussions with Darryl Cuttell, so things really unraveled quickly since then.

FRANK HAWLEY SPEAKS TO MEDIA FOR FIRST TIME ABOUT SELLING HIS DRAG RACING SCHOOL TO IHRA | Competition Plus

On March 31, Frank Hawley sent a tidal wave of news through motorsports circles when he – through a press release – announced the International Hot Rod

competitionplus.com

 

[yoda]

Kurt brings up a very good point about something that is concerning. There SHOULD have been a fan base that The I was going to tap into, with reasonably priced tickets, a fun atmosphere, close competition with the type of cars and bikes that - supposedly - we all love to watch.

And yet- Crickets.

If I heard that E-town had 8 nitro cars on a Wednesday night, I'd cut school, hop on a 70 minute bus ride and walk the mile from the main road to the gate to get there, and rely on the kindness of strangers to get me at least close to Manhattan after the night was done.
I have been STUNNED at the lack of attendance for drag races in general over the past 15 years, but nothing could have prepared me for the abject failure of attendance at the races The I has put on this season. Or, for that matter, the empty stands at The N national events.

Is there just no more interest, and if so, what happened?