bwmudd
Nitro Member
I know you are venting on Compton here Bill ... This is not really a joking matter. Virtually every fulltime employee of NHRA was hit with a 10% pay cut (unless they were let go) which has been in place almost a year now. You may not know how widespread this was. Start with National Event fulltimers from Marketing, Tech Services, National Dragster, Safety Safari, etc. Throw in all 7 Division Directors, all 7 Division Tech Directors and any full time support staff. These people all have families and bills to pay just like we do. These people know what Tom Compton makes, but they also know he is the Boss. It is that way all around us no matter what type of business it is. Would you storm into your bosses office and ask what sacrifice he might be making during these hard times? My answer would be NO, but maybe you like living on the edge.
Most people here don't seem to want to admit that NHRA is a business first and foremost. Get over it, the low buck days are gone and over. This is a big boys game now not the recreational sport it started as. it is called evolution. Executive level leaders are compensated in a manner that reflects thier status within that Business not outsider personal feelings. Compton is probably under paid when compared to Presidents of other companies of a similar size/stature.
I work for a company that sponsors a Sprint Cup team (Hint #16). Last year when they announced no raises for ALL salaried employees, I was angry but I understood the economics of the WHOLE situation and I still had my job. The first thing many of my colleagues argued was that if the company can afford 10's of millions of $$ to sponsor a race car and title rights to a race, what about raises. Not me. By the way ... we also handed all customers a 4% across the board price increase this past July. You don't necessarily get through tough times by slashing income sources. It is typically done by cutting / controlling COST. The unfortunate part is that usually that means jobs first, then you control indirect spending next. It is how our Economic system works.
As somebody said earlier in this thread, do you like the new IHRA? Basically a glorified touring show now just like monster trucks and the WWE. Let NHRA take its course ... it is not going anywhere, it just has to weather a tough time like the rest of us.
In turn, all of us should be respectful of the many who have had to make real financial sacrifices to operate this sport instead of trying to convince others you as a fan have made some great sacrifice. A great boss I had some time ago told me ... "You will never be successful if you spend your time sweating details you have no control over. Doing so, will just mark you as a complainer, but things will still be the same when you come back tomorrow."
Great post.
