There seem to be a few ways to get a lot of television exposure.
The first way is undeniably winning. It gives you the best way to get the media to follow you and your progress.
Having something new, new sponsors or a new look generates coverage as well.
If you get into a fight or a good argument on TV, that will do it too.
The worst way is to have an explosion. It seems like this year I’ve done everything on the list. Needless to say, we’ve had a lot of exposure….
The weather in Memphis was conducive to fast times and fast speeds. After qualifying in a solid fourth position, our Sunday eliminations were rained out and postponed until Monday. Everything went well as we started out with a first round win over a John Force car….
Tags: Countdown, Memphis, NHRA Fuel Funny Car
Tony
First let me say that I feel you and your brother are good for the sport and you can drive the hell out of a flopper.
BUT !!! Your not doing yourself any favors by continuing the Force bashing. OK , he threw the race and it looks like he might have done it a second time (who knows).
Where you made a mistake is saying it on TV before he raced a second time. That makes it look like it’s not behind you and your coming accross like a “cry-baby”
If you had just kept your openion to yourself, you’d have made your point without saying a word. Force is good for the sport because he fields 4 cars and fills up the field. He’s a loud mouth and thinks way too much of himself but he sells tickets to the sport I love.
The fans know he threw the race. The NHRA also knows it……Tony please cool it and you’ll make your point with class (which is what you and your brother are).
Bob
Farnum
Oh…one final thing. I’m a big Ron Capps fan because of Ed the “ace”. Ever since Ed drove his Funny car back down the return road in Pamona (your too young to remember that). Boy was the NHRA honked off
Tony and Cruz, I waited a while to send this note but wanted to let you know that I, along with those who appreciate fair competition, am darn glad the incident at Indy brought to light what too many real fans and especially you drivers deserve to see changed. I only hope you received the support you should have from the other drivers/teams.
It was pointed out during the telecast (thankfully Mike Dunn wasn’t afraid to speak his mind!), but even the casual fan who watched could see for themselves the clear truth. I’m sure you wish it hadn’t escalated to the point it did but you and Cruz as well as ALL the others in Funny Car as well as all other classes deserve fair competition. There is simply too much at stake these days for someone to manipulate the results. JF compomised his integrity and sportsmanship with that decision. Apparently money and satisfying corporate America trumped honesty.
Most of all, I was truly embarrassed to learn from your comments at Richmond that there are some out there who considered the Indy issue racial – What an absolute shame. Thank you for handling it with class. I have talked to you and Cruz a few times at the races (Firebird Raceway) and appreciate you demeanor and professionalism. I hope all those who sent negative feedback to you take a look at the Brainerd race where you and Cruz raced heads-up. You certainly could have thrown that race and the Indy mess would probably never have happened. I’m sure there has been plenty of discussions with the NHRA and inside the racing community in general regarding team orders that the average fan will never hear of and hopefully something can be done to stop team orders.
Personally I think you should be limited to owning only one, or at the most, two teams in any catagory. But then again I would also like to see no countdown and 1320 feet of racing, but those two items are now sadly just reference points on the timeline of progress(?) in the sport.
Congratulations on a great season so far and good luck – man I would love to see you win this thing!