Several articles on this HUGE announcement.

http://www.competitionplus.com/2006_08/norwalk_sidebar.html

http://www.competitionplus.com/2006_08/monumental_change.html

NHRA's announcement

http://www.nhra.com/content/news.asp?articleid=15442

IHRA's response

http://www.ihra.com/news/2006/august/29_polburn_interview.htm

This is really a big deal.  When a 20% minority shareholder in the parent company that owns IHRA, former head and principle owner of IHRA  and the owner of what was always billed as the crown jewel of the IHRA jumps ship and goes NHRA, then you really have to wonder about the bigger picture of drag racing.  I don't know over the longhaul how this effects the IHRA but to have the hometown track where the corp. offices of IHRA are located be under the NHRA banner, it just can't be a good sign at all.  Although the parent company Live Nation owns IHRA, Live Nation is in reality an entertainment subsidary of Clear Channel Co. who owns tons of radio stations around the country.  Live Nation also is the head of such events as Monster Truck, Motocross, Freestyle Motocross and other like events.  IHRA is controlled by a company that is publically traded on the NYSE and therefore it's direct and ultimate purpose will be geared towards that end. 

NHRA is not a publically traded company and in fact is setup and controlled via a foundational trust but that said, in the past I do believe IHRA was more innovative and forward looking to the racers and fans than the NHRA.  The Pro Mod class would be a perfect example but NHRA to it's credit have come around to more and more embrace Pro Mod and it's little broken Top Sportsman into various National events. 

Overall, I don't believe this will be a huge announcement for NHRA and will have a big impact in the world of drag racing.  IHRA is going to try and spin this the best it can but I'll bet behind closed doors there's a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth.

"""""""""Live Nation also is the head of such events as Monster Truck, Motocross, Freestyle Motocross and other like events."""""""""""

Surprised that WWF is not in the above; birds of a feather.

I gotta look to find where Norwalk is located, heard of it before; West Virginia???

It's about 45 minutes west of Cleveland, Ohio. I used to attend the Muscle Car Nat's there but event moved to Columbus. I still check out the Super Chevy and Mopar show.  Believe it or not hemisbc, I don't go to the Fun Ford weekend, it's nothing but 5.0 Mustangs.

http://www.norwalkraceway.com/

Below link is just for you hemi,

http://www.norwalkraceway.com/main-events/norwalk-chrysler-dodge-jeep-nationals/

I wonder if Drag Race Central posts the results of the Mopar shindig, I never really paid much attention to these events, but now that you mentioned it, it seems I recall seeing some ads in years past about the Mopar event at Norwalk.

Somehow I had Norwalk, Cn on the brain since I visited Hartford a number of times when I was working and I think I went through Norwalk, Cn in 1951 while in the Army.

I suppose the 5.0 was/is Ford's best performance pushrod motor. Wonder if ant inline 6s are showing up at the FFW events; The guy from Florida, Treadwell has won several NHRA CE classes with an inline 6 Ford. His picture below.

We were taken aback when we saw the "big news".  Norwalk is where the IHRA tracks in our area go for bracket finals.  That's a big deal.

When Hooters left and in came E-max, I was, like, what the heck is an E-max?  I still don't know and really don't care.

I enjoy IHRA races and the famous IHRA "Night of Fire".  We always try to catch SpeedChannel's coverage.  I'm a huge Mark Thomas fan (Corn Power!)and I luv the Pro Mods. 

If IHRA has done better than usual this year, part of that could be attributed to the amount of "cross-over" racing this year.  The IHRA points standings are full of NHRA drivers.  I think Evan Knoll and Torco may have had something to do with that (just my personal opinion). But it's been real, real good for IHRA. 

Also, as NHRA events get more expensive to attend, IHRA events remain VERY affordable.  Another plus for IHRA.

I don't know where IHRA is heading, I hope it stays healthy.  I bet there are a bunch of Canadian race fans who agree. 

On a side note:  If you sit back and look at O'Reilly, Budweiser and Harley Davidson and the roll they play in NHRA.  If they weren't getting 5 cents back for every cent they spend, you wouldn't see them sponsoring races and buying racetracks.  It's really no different.  Miller and Larry Dixon is a perfect example.

I don't like the monopoly Clear Channel is gaining and I despise the way Live Nation sells its shows.   I did not know that there was a correlation.  Thanks for the insight.  I hope Corporate America doesn't get it's black ooze all over IHRA drag racing. 

LadyLuvsHotRods:

 what the heck is an E-max? 

EMax is short for Entertainment Max and is a global media company involved in various formats of entertainment.  If you look at what they do and the fact that IHRA is owned by Clear Channel you see the conncection. 

ABOUT EMAX

http://www.entertainmax.net/about.html