they seem to have no input or controll on what is shown and who is interviewed!
That may be the way the contract with ESPN is written. If so, that sucks. It also may be the only way that they could get a contract to begin with. If so, that sucks even more. In my opinion, the problem is that NHRA doesn't really have any viable options in looking for another network. Or at least they didn't when they first entered into negotiations. The Speed channel seems like it would be a great outlet, and maybe NHRA looked into partnering with them, who knows. ESPN is the biggest sports network in the world and, like I said before, having them produce and broadcast NHRA events is better than nothing.