Shirley Muldowney’s NHRA Exhibition Plans

A few weeks back Shirley was interviewed on ESPN regarding her plans to build a nostalgia funny car that would be matched raced with Bruce Larson’s funny car at select national events. I have heard the plan is that NHRA will be paying them good money to make these passes, which I am sure will be filled with smoky burnouts, but will provide little in the form of competitiveness; the ideology from which the sport all of us love was born.

To me this is utterly disrespectful and a smack in the face to all of the hard working sportsman racers that struggle to get respect at NHRA national events, especially those racers in TAD and TAFC. I know how hard it is to be competitive within those categories and the financial sacrifice many racers endure to bring there cars out to the racetrack. The alcohol racers I know don’t do this for the money; they do it for the love and passion for the sport. The side-by-side racing action that these cars provide is rarely matched by the other “pro” categories. I am all for nostalgia, but think they should remain separate from our current national events. No need for another “dog and pony show”!

Rant over, curious to see what others think.

 

Well to be honest anything to improve the show would be great is it going to fill the empty stands probably not back in the day Shirley was the lone woman much respect but now there are many solid woman in the sport maybe no room for nostalgia as you said we do have side by sidealcohol cars!

 

She is fishing...if any of her ideas had merit, DSR would fund them in a minute. To me, a 16 car N/FC eliminator would improve the show.

 

16 car nostalgia funny car eliminations are indeed a great show and they already have their current venues. If she builds a car for that series I am all for it. But 2 car match racing and being paid to do that at national events is crap. It sends the wrong message to many of the sportsman classes.

 

This is a way for NHRA to make money from the Nostalgia cars. They start out as an exhibition at National events. Then NHRA will shop the pony show around to member tracks as a main ticket draw for a track event. NHRA tried to shop the current crop of F/Cs as a "Heritage Series" . Tracks are not stupid. Why pay NHRA 10K for the name to an event they already had? So this is the next stab at trying to make $$$ from the current movement that has legs.
Cars are being built without NHRA $$. Transporters are on order to drag all the cars around. Will that actually cost NHRA Anything? I see a "Official Transporter of NHRA" in the near future.

 

Top, I have to agree with you.

 

Its not just 2 cars. Its 4 at least I heard. Gordy Bonnin in a Bubble up remake and a hired driver in a Kallita car added to the list. Might be more