Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Series seeks new sponsor after Federal-Mogul pulls out

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

NHRA president Tom Compton reiterated his support for the national and divisional sportsman drag racing series after Federal-Mogul announced this week that it was pulling out as the series' title sponsor.

Federal-Mogul has been the series' title sponsor since its inception in 1997 but has decided to restructure its financial commitment to the series. According to a spokesman from the company, F-M will continue to support sportsman racing through a variety of bonus programs.

Compton said NHRA was close to naming a new series sponsor to fill the void left by Federal-Mogul.

"The NHRA Sportsman Drag Racing Series is in a very strong position, both from a competitive and sponsorship perspective, and NHRA is committed to running a full schedule for 2002 and beyond," Compton said in a statement. 'Soon, we will introduce a new divisional series sponsor who will help carry this growth forward and continue to build upon this foundation."

The NHRA Sportsman Series will maintain its current structure, in its entirety, for the 2002 season, regardless of the series sponsorship situation, according to Compton.

"Sportsman racing is at the core of NHRA and, to that end, we will always continue to grow, support and encourage sportsman racing at all levels," Compton said.

In addition to Bernstein and Force, Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon and NHRA Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson were nominated in the drag racing category.

Two drivers from each of six disciplines --drag racing, open wheel, stock car, road racing, short track and at-large -- will be selected to the first team by the members of the motor sports press association, and two second-team drivers from each category also will be named. The remaining drivers in each category receiving five percent of the vote will receive honorable mention status.

"Johnny brings the commitment and experience we need to be a race contender week in and week out," Herbert said. "We lacked consistency this year. If we had been able to run on race day like we ran in qualifying, we could have won more races."