Scrappers Parked (6 Viewers)

[Nunz]

NHRA TOP FUEL LOSES ANOTHER FULL-TIME TEAM DUE TO SPONSORSHIP | Competition Plus

Jasmine Salinas will not compete in the next few NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events, including the American Rebel Light NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

competitionplus.com

 

[Butch]

Until the clown down is eliminated, no need for a team to make the full season.

 

[XPilot]

Until the clown down is eliminated, no need for a team to make the full season.

Yep. More short fields.

 

[J. S.]

Looks like Mike doesn't want to spend just his own money on racing anymore. Even Connie Kalitta only spends some of his own money on his teams. Hard to know how much $$ his sponsors actually contribute, but it all helps.

We seem to be seeing the same with CAPCO, but I have not read where they have claimed they need sponsors to keep running the tour.

 

[stitcherbob]

Will the IHRA offer a cheaper way to play? Then a lot of these teams will have a decision to make....

 

[Jack]

Surprised but not surprised at the same time. The fuel car has mostly been self sponsored since Mike started driving it with an occasional one or two race sponsor on it from time to time. Can he afford it, probably. But why would he. The family business like Capco is not racing and the family business will always come first. The NHRA has been very fortunate to have high quality teams like Salinas coming out and putting money in the NHRAs pocket because of the racers love of the sport.. I hsve no idea how much they assist their racers in finding sponsorship but I'm betting that it is not much. Their round win and race win pay out is also insufficient. With another top team choosing to sit for at least three races a trend has now developed and it's not a good one for either the sanctioning body or the paying fans at the gate.

 

[mick]

wonder if there's another storyline going on here that us keyboard CC's will never hear about?
if it's truly a lack of sponsorship to help fund the car, just think were other teams might be? i.e. rwr/tony schumacher and attempt to be back full time next year.

 

[aakar]

wonder if there's another storyline going on here that us keyboard CC's will never hear about?

My understanding was that Mike prefered to go his own way and not have sponsors dictate his team?
Also that they were planning to be a 2 car team after he was cleared to drive, but Cali fires were keeping him busy with the business.
Whatever the reason, this news sucks

 

[Marchboom]

Until the NHRA starts getting serious about reducing the cost of fuel racing, sponsors will be hard to get and to keep. Every other run results in one or both cars exploding an engine and the costs, especially for the F/Cs are huge. And now the rear ends are coming apart. In this economy sponsors just can't continue to fund these cars. The teams are asking for more money each year and the sponsors are questioning whether it is worth it. And then there is that 4-wide crap where no one can read the sponsor's name on the cars. So where's the ROE for the sponsor?

 

[Leebone]

That is a shame. Jasmine is 5th in the points and her driving has improved greatly this year.

 

[twostep]

Until the NHRA starts getting serious about reducing the cost of fuel racing, sponsors will be hard to get and to keep. Every other run results in one or both cars exploding an engine and the costs, especially for the F/Cs are huge. And now the rear ends are coming apart. In this economy sponsors just can't continue to fund these cars. The teams are asking for more money each year and the sponsors are questioning whether it is worth it. And then there is that 4-wide crap where no one can read the sponsor's name on the cars. So where's the ROE for the sponsor?

What it would take to reduce the cost is where the problem lies. The racers make a valid point - if you reduce blower OD, blower size, smaller fuel pumps, etc it'll only cost a black land farm to convert everything but it'll only be a matter of time before they figure out how to get the performance (and the expense) right back where it is now. 1000' racing was supposed to reduce expense and reduce speeds along with the safety benefits and now they're running 340mph and parts attrition hasn't been reduced one dime. They're not interested in neutering power to the point they're running nostalgia combinations, a class that's not exactly overwhelmed with sponsors, either. And with all the tariff-this and tariff-that still in flux, lots of companies are taking a wait-and-see attitude until everything shakes out.

It'd be nice for NHRA to up the prize money so some more 'little teams' could come out and play but beyond that, competitive supercharged nitro racing is always going to be a sport for the well-healed going forward. Just no other way around it. I'm sure Salinas has a good business but what does it cost to campaign a TF car on the level he does? 3-5 million $$ a season? How much ROI does he get from racing a car sponsored by a San Francisco scrap business in Gainesville, Florida? Epping, New Hampshire? Not much, I would think, and after a while TF racing gets expensive when the funding comes from the Ass National Bank. All that car is to Salinas other than the personal pleasure of racing it is a big tax writeoff and that only goes so far.

Someone once said the best way to campaign a top fuel dragster for $1 million a season is to start with $5 million. No one knows this better than Mike Salinas and now it's down to "either we find a primary sponsor or we go back to being spectators."

 

[Chili]

I don’t think it’s that they can’t afford to do it. For his daughters to race they need to find the funding to do so. He is not giving them anything. They have to earn it just like he did.

 

[Mike]

Bob Reese, please explain why IHRA will make it cheaper?????????

 

[Joe]

Im hoping Jerry Freeman and Cameron Ferre run the IHRA races, along with the other lower tier teams. Maybe some from 06,07 and 08 that ran IHRA then will come back. Some may be holding back to see what IHRA has to offer. Less than 2 months away.

 

[z28]

What it would take to reduce the cost is where the problem lies. The racers make a valid point - if you reduce blower OD, blower size, smaller fuel pumps, etc it'll only cost a black land farm to convert everything but it'll only be a matter of time before they figure out how to get the performance (and the expense) right back where it is now. 1000' racing was supposed to reduce expense and reduce speeds along with the safety benefits and now they're running 340mph and parts attrition hasn't been reduced one dime. They're not interested in neutering power to the point they're running nostalgia combinations, a class that's not exactly overwhelmed with sponsors, either. And with all the tariff-this and tariff-that still in flux, lots of companies are taking a wait-and-see attitude until everything shakes out.

It'd be nice for NHRA to up the prize money so some more 'little teams' could come out and play but beyond that, competitive supercharged nitro racing is always going to be a sport for the well-healed going forward. Just no other way around it. I'm sure Salinas has a good business but what does it cost to campaign a TF car on the level he does? 3-5 million $$ a season? How much ROI does he get from racing a car sponsored by a San Francisco scrap business in Gainesville, Florida? Epping, New Hampshire? Not much, I would think, and after a while TF racing gets expensive when the funding comes from the Ass National Bank. All that car is to Salinas other than the personal pleasure of racing it is a big tax writeoff and that only goes so far.

Someone once said the best way to campaign a top fuel dragster for $1 million a season is to start with $5 million. No one knows this better than Mike Salinas and now it's down to "either we find a primary sponsor or we go back to being spectators."

after they went to 1000' they asked Coil if it would save parts. He said they'd just figure out how to blow them up sooner.

 

[TSK]

Didn't Prudhomme say something to the effect of, "Even if they raced to 60 feet, they'd still figure out how to blow it up."?

 

[Flicka]

Until the NHRA starts getting serious about reducing the cost of fuel racing, sponsors will be hard to get and to keep. Every other run results in one or both cars exploding an engine and the costs, especially for the F/Cs are huge. And now the rear ends are coming apart. In this economy sponsors just can't continue to fund these cars. The teams are asking for more money each year and the sponsors are questioning whether it is worth it. And then there is that 4-wide crap where no one can read the sponsor's name on the cars. So where's the ROE for the sponsor?

For the?
4 lane sponsor reading Problem.
Letter cars on hood and roof.. Dragster nose Replay race slow Motion. from drone

 

[ironpony]

Based on my experience no matter how much money you have writing a check and getting nothing back gets old. Every "rich" person I have dealt with is rich for a reason, there has to be some sort of return to them. All money spent is an investment to make money and if it doesn't it is eliminated.

 

[none]

Respcetfully Ken, I disagree.
People spend a fortune on cars, boats, golf club memberships, stero equipment, gaming computers, and on and on. If you are passionate about something you will spend money never expeting to get a return.

I never once thought when upgrading the driveline in my Mustang or sending him to the paint shop, that it was an investment that would return anything except a "thumbs up" or "nice car" from a guy at a stop sign or cruise night.

I know people who own boats that cost more my house. It's their passion and they will spend to feed that passion. And the time spent (on the boat, or track, or golf course) relaxes and refreshes them so they can go make more money.

Alan

 

[StevieP]

Based on my experience no matter how much money you have writing a check and getting nothing back gets old. Every "rich" person I have dealt with is rich for a reason, there has to be some sort of return to them. All money spent is an investment to make money and if it doesn't it is eliminated.

I agree with you until you get to the last sentence, Ken. Rich people, poor people and everyone in between all expect to get some sort of return on their investment. The return just isn't always quantifiable in dollars and cents.