Maybe all, some, or none of this will pan out but since I got this info. from a guy with deep connections with NHRA and NASCAR I am willing to bet some of it is true. I am not going to name my source but I can tell you he is interested to see if anyone adds to the information he has given me. If you have something to add or have heard about any of this, please chime in. I have not searched the net yet to see if anyone else is reporting on this so feel free to post a link if you have seen something.
Here are some of the interesting things from our conversation and in no certain order:
Many know that NHRA Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson is campaigning his final year racing in Pro Stock. Some realized he removed these decals from his cars several races ago regarding his farewell tour. Some even reported on it but with no great detail.
Here is where the rumors start.
It is rumored that GM has offered Warren Johnson a high position within GM heading up a division dedicated to shift GM back into drag racing full force. Now this would be great and something GM should have done long ago since Warren helped develop many widely used high performance parts for GM of which GM never compensated Johnson for appropriately. (There is more to GM slighting Warren years ago but that is not as relevant.)
So if this happens GM will finally recognize (and compensate) WJ the way they should have years ago. And while I am no fan of GM I am a big fan of WJ and his profound knowledge of Pro Stock / Drag Racing.
This then brings up some other interesting things to ponder. GM is supposedly going to make a big push back into NHRA (with WJ's help) so does this mean GM is going to start phasing out their presence in NASCAR ? The rumor is yes ! GM has not been getting the return on NASCAR that they had hoped for (in car sales) and with their push into the truck market, back into sports cars (not to mention the rumored return of the Camaro and Firebirds), and cut in cars like the Monte Carlo (NASCAR type platforms) it is plausible. Maybe a stretch but stranger things have happened. Not to mention the next generation NASCAR body scheduled for use in 2007 is not going over well.
Something else to consider is Bruton Smith has been making waves about purchasing the NHRA. (He owns a few NASCAR tracks in case you do not know of him.) Is it possible that Bruton sees the writing on the wall about NASCAR starting to loose some of it's base to organizations like the NHRA so that is why he wants to buy in now ? Hmmmmm... Bruton is a smart business man.
Market research by GM and some other big automakers show drag racing is starting to get popular again and that NASCAR (the convoluted mess it already is) is starting to slide quicker than expected. Advanced ticket sales and RV rental spaces for 2006 are already off to a slower than usual start.
I am a fan of the NHRA and NASCAR but I certainly can see how NASCAR is staring to turn people away on many levels. It would be great to see drag racing come back (with factory based cars) and have the big automakers out spending money to get back into the sport. The only problem I see is the dwindling amount of drag race facilities across the country thanks to local politicians and urban sprawl.
It would be great to see some of this pan out. If you stop and think about some of these things there are many ways that make it plausible. The off season for drag racing and NASCAR should be very interesting this year to say the least.
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