On the Dragraceresults.com board, there is a posting about the "NHRA Not for Profit"? In this posting, the general attitude is that the sanctioning bodies "make millions and draw off huge salaries" and some even suggest that sanctioning bodies should never be privately owned or "for profit".
There is a very simple matter of return on investment for anyone who owns any type of business. While I understand that the billionaire in the original example Tom posted may not care about their return on investment or capital, in the real world it is extremely critical to virtually every business's survival.
We have a local dragstrip in Michigan that is for sale. Price is approx 1.75 Million ( that was the original asking price ). I personally contacted Bill Bader about this track to ask his opinion. His response was interesting. 1. The track, with a total of 110 acres in it's facility, has approximately 90 acres to few to host any large regional or national events. 2. The asking price, when considered with the probable "real" purchase price and the cost of necessary upgrades to be able to be sanctioned was far to high. 3. The track, as so many have,has been under attack due to urban sprawl and many neighbors would love to see it closed. The local officials would never zone any more land so it could be added to the track to get it up to size, per Bill's opinion.
I have to respect Bill's opinion and insight. He has owned a track for many years and in my opinion has done a great job building Norwalk, operating Norwalk and with his acquisition of the IHRA.
I wish more people would respect the track owners efforts, continued commitment to operation, razor thin profit margins and how tough it is to make every one happy. Yes, there are some very big jerks running a few tracks, but they are not the sports future.
I personally know Mary Ledford, Mike and Jeff who own Mid Michigan Motorplex. For those of you who have never been to Mid Michigan, they are running the Torco $50,000 race which is a 4 day event on August 10-13. Mary runs a good operation and is dedicated to maintaining a clean facility and constantly puts money back in. She is by no means making a fortune, but I respect her commitment to the racers.I drive 90 minutes past a closer, competing track to go to Stanton every time we race. Track operators like Mary Ledford deserve to be supported. Incidentially, it is NOT Mid Michigan which is for sale..........
Well, this was off track of Tom's original question, but I had to weigh in with my 1.5 cents worth....... Bruce
Posted on Jul 30, 2000, 9:21 AM from IP address 208.46.50.88