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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 6, 2011 18:51:20 GMT -6
This is just a question. Will the shiek, al thenine(spelling?) getting ready to invest in a mid-western dragstrip in the near future? What do you think?
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Post by doughboy692 on Nov 6, 2011 19:30:18 GMT -6
I read that the shieks family is getting ready to lay low and get out of drag racing or at least scale back their involvement. The talk is that Dell W is not going to be with them next year and the Lucas teams are going to move their money over there and race with them instead of running their own teams. I think it was on DRO last week. If all of thats true I would doubt hes looking at buying a track but who knows
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Post by sg3526 on Nov 6, 2011 19:32:03 GMT -6
Nope, If you read the article in DRO it said that he shiek is pulling some of his money away from Alan Johnson and he is teaming up with Morgan Lucas and Shawn Langdon. Del Worsham is done at AJR and the big question is, what happens to Larry Dixon?
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 7, 2011 5:39:03 GMT -6
Well what DRO is not telling is the contract is up with A J R ,
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Post by sg3526 on Nov 7, 2011 6:54:04 GMT -6
Well what DRO is not telling is the contract is up with A J R , That may be true, but do you pull away from a Championship team that has dominated the Top Fuel ranks unless there is some sort of underlying issues. This has been covered before when someone asked what would happen when the Shiek grew bored with this or as I think happened something of a political nature happened. I think the Royal family of Qatar is pissed at the U.S. because of the way Bin Laden's deal was handled. You haven't seen the Shiek standing on the starting line like you used to since that whole deal went down. My thoughts on it, to freakin bad...
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 7, 2011 7:26:16 GMT -6
They pull away all the time in drag racing, sometimes the drivers are hired guns, some have to pay for the 'ride' To say the shiek is 'bored', might be overstated, He has brought allot to the table of drag racing
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Post by sg3526 on Nov 7, 2011 10:52:46 GMT -6
You're right, he has brought a lot to the table of drag racing especially when no one else was spending any money on the sport the Shiek did and I think it's good that he did. On that same note when he leaves it's going to leave a very large vacuum that isn't going to be filled very easily. There just isn't anyone out there right now that's willing to spend the type of money it takes to run a competitive operation, we've seen more and more of it in the past few years.
When is the last time other than in the past few years that you can remember there being a bye run in any professional class because there weren't enough cars to make a full field. When the brass at NHRA start "calling" racers to get them to show up it's bad.
I've been running S/G, S/C since the late 80's early 90's. When we used to go to either a divisional race or a national race there was always and I mean always 150 to 160 cars entered in each class. You go to one now and there may be 60 to 80 cars, hell the U.S. Nationals didn't have a full quota of cars in any class other than PS Car. People 1) Just don't have the money to spend on fuel and entry fees. 2) Be able to afford to take the time away from work to attend a three to four day race
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 7, 2011 11:50:57 GMT -6
Great statement! Lets say he does pull almost all his support, what happens to the effected divisions that he now, almost totally supports? How do we as racer's ,that make the show keep racing alive? YES, I totally believe you are correct about it being political with the ben laden, and now the over throw of kadaffy,
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Post by miamiman on Nov 9, 2011 12:23:20 GMT -6
how can he be pissed at the united states because i know someone in the military that is stationed in his country
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Post by mongse on Nov 10, 2011 14:51:50 GMT -6
The pulling back of the reigns on his drag racing hobby has more to do w/ his dad putting the proverbial foot down rather than underlying tensions w/ the US. It's not because money is tight, but because of all the political unrest in the Arab nations right now. Qatar didn't want to become the next Egypt.
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 14, 2011 13:05:49 GMT -6
Well I watched the last race,, intrigued by the absence of the sheik, and the comments made by Allen Johnson, ok the lack of comments? will there even be an Al-Anabi team anywhere next year? Rumor has it that Del will be a tuner at another team? Where does that leave Larry Dixon? With the rumor of the Lucas Team going to AJR? Should be an interesting couple winter months with just the top fuel teams being turned over. We haven't even started the talk over funny car?
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 14, 2011 13:40:20 GMT -6
more fallout BERNSTEIN CALLS IT QUITS?
One of the Agent's operatives was at the end of season party thrown by Kenny Bernstein’s major sponsor, Copart, Sunday night after the last race of the NHRA Series. The operative reports that Kenny Bernstein has reportedly let his entire crew go and put the Bernstein Racing assets up for sale. The rumor was that the Copart sponsorship alone wouldn’t support the team and some other major associate declined to re-up.
Bernstein's career has spanned decades in both Funny Car and Top Fuel, with NHRA Fans voting his '92 Gatornationals record breaking 301.70 mph pass as the No. 5 Greatest Moment in NHRA History. Bernstein was acknowledged at Pomona Raceway prior to the second Top Fuel qualifying session at the season-ending World Finals. [11/11/2011]
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 14, 2011 20:17:38 GMT -6
With the Al-Anabi money again rumored to be cut off indefinitely, Johnson and Dixon are both rumored to be moving to the Morgan Lucas Racing camp next season, where Johnson will tune and Dixon will pilot the Lucas Oil-backed dragster. If true, that would put Shawn Langdon, who has driven for Lucas for the last two seasons, out of a ride. Our source has informed us that the future of Al-Anabi racing across the full spectrum of teams for which they finance may be in trouble, but this information is again unconfirmed.
Kenny Bernstein, one of drag racing’s most iconic drivers and team owners through more than 40 years of involvement with professional drag racing, is rumored to have released his crew and staff at the conclusion of the Auto Club Finals in Pomona on Sunday and has placed his operation for sale, citing a lack of necessary funding to accompany his Copart backing.
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Post by dennismopar73 on Nov 14, 2011 20:20:14 GMT -6
So where does this leave the A D R L? already struggling last several years, now what will happen ? unless some other company steps up to solidify it , maybe seeing it in the final stage as well??
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Post by dennismopar73 on Dec 9, 2011 19:40:14 GMT -6
MORE NEWS FROM THE IMIS SHOW
Operatives took a tour of drag racing row in Brownsburg, Ind., and made note of a couple of changes.
this is from drag news
There is a For Sale sign in front of the Lucas Oil race shop. Of more interest is that behind the Alan Johnson shop the Al-Anabi markings are being removed from the transporter. Permanently? We don’t know for sure. [12/09/11]
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