Covid-19 Continues to screw Drag Racing

I know that this is a topic that is a sore subject for a lot of people, but I will not tread lightly about it. The fact is that if we don’t do something to mitigate what is going on in our industry, there won’t be much of an industry to come back to.

For decades the drag racing industry has had its ups and downs, yet we have all strive towards the same goal, and that goal was to make and keep drag racing in front of the masses and enjoy the best sport on the planet. Well in the last month and a half I have started to see a complete collapse of that family structure, along with business owners having to make tough decisions regarding events, facilities, people, ect. So when are we all just going to have enough of this?

One of the biggest issues that I see 24 hours a day, every day of the week is the misinformation and fear-mongering that is happening within mainstream media. I don’t care if you tune in to CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc. they are all spewing things to scare you into being utter complacent to the government. Add to that the fact that you have a completely overreaching government that is slowly, and really at this point not even slowly, destroying the economy of our country while stomping on personal rights and freedoms.

The federal government isn’t the only one to blame in this situation though either. The reason for that is because President Trump has limitations to what he can do that were put in place hundreds of years ago by our Constitution. Now, if you look at your local and state governments, they don’t seem to have nearly the restrictions placed on them. There are fewer “checks & balances” when it comes to your state government and their “emergency powers” than the federal government has. Add to that the fact that the worst outbreaks are in overly populated metro areas, where your state government cares much more because of political reasons, and you start to see more glaringly obvious issues.

Now let me say this, I do believe that there is a nasty virus, I do believe that it kills people and makes people sick, and I believe that there are some more high risk than others. I also believe that the government and media are scaring people into believing that if you don’t stay home that the damn world will end. You add to that the fact that the CDC is trying to say that flu activity is low at this time, and you start to really confuse numbers. The CDC has the ability to tilt numbers any way that they want. You could very well have pneumonia and die from it, but it sounds better for the masses if we label is another corona-virus death.

What does any of this have to do with drag racing though? Well let’s see…we have already had to postpone NHRA, PDRA, NMCA, NMRA, MWPMS, numerous smaller events, and larger events like Sweet 16. Do you have any idea the strain that you put on the industry because of this? The amount of money that people lose, that tracks lose, that communities lose from all of this? Why is this not a personal choice to be made? Why are track owners not allowed to open THEIR business and make the best decisions for THEIR businesses? The government has proven time after time, at least in the 40+ years I have been alive, that they usually don’t have the best interest of the people in mind.

Please explain to me why it is that the Taco Bell drive thru is essential. Please explain to me how WWE having wrestling is essential. Or numerous other businesses that someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and lives a very comfortable lifestyle is determining. So what you are telling me is that someone living in a very big and beautiful home, with a pool, and tools at their disposal to get whatever they need and not worry about their mortgage, their car payments, their insurance, etc. That is the person that is going to determine with is essential and not essential? Yet there are so many of you in this country that see no problem with blindly following the government around like sheep.

I for one don’t want people to get sick, and I don’t want people to die. I also don’t want someone else’s fears to supersede my rights. I don’t want the government and mainstream media to keep trying to fear people into losing everything by having to stay home. They have done at a great job at the fear, half the time all they are doing is looking for someone to blame. The other half the time they are trying to blame those heathen selfish assholes that believe in their personal rights and don’t feel that the government should be able to force them to wear anything.

Here is a wild thought…let people decide for themselves. You as the mainstream media and government have already scared half the population into believing they will die if they go outside, touch a box from FedEx, or do anything that you don’t specifically instruct them to do. So why can’t we make the decision on our own if we want to go to the drag strip? Why can’t we make the decisions on what is essential? Paying my bills is essential to me and thousands of others in this industry.

I can tell you exactly why companies like the WWE are able to continue doing what they are doing, and it isn’t because they do it in an empty arena. It is because of the money and influence they have in the political world. You think if a billionaire would owns a race track and was all friendly with political figures would ever be told that drag racing wasn’t essential? Common sense would tell you the answer is no. The problem is that government, and the general population sees auto racing as a red neck, uneducated, bunch of dumb ass hillbillies.

The thing that most don’t realize is that drag racing is littered with people from all walks of like. Black, White, Brown, rich, poor, educated, and not educated. I see men and women in this sport with PhD’s, MBA’s, Business owners, NFL players, and just about every walk of life that you can think of. Yet to those that don’t understand, we will always be nothing more than unessential. You don’t find us unessential when your community is raking in hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars over the weekend because of our events.

Listen, I will be the first to admit that I don’t have all the answers, but the answer I have is not to lock everyone at home and let the business that line government pockets continue to determine what is essential and what is not. We need drag racing to come back. Communities need drag racing events to happen. Those hotels aren’t going to fill themselves. Those gas stations, restaurants, etc aren’t going to make nearly the money they could to feed their own families until you open your arms to the motorsports industry.

In reality, I am not even sure what’s worse at this point, the virus itself, or all the things that the government in their infinite wisdom has been doing over the last two months. Yes, the virus has gotten people sick and has unfortunately caused the deaths of many, but our own government has singlehandedly caused the potential downfall of the entire country and our economy. This is a tragedy that your grandchildren will still be paying off when they are my age.

2020 is going to be the year when we damn near lost it all in drag racing. Yet I hope that we will all look back on this at some point and realize a few things. First, we are essential to a lot of people. Second, don’t take advice from the ivory tower, while they look down on their peasants, and believe that they really have anyone’s best interest in mind but their own. And lastly, I hope that we learn that we can all have opinions without being nasty and hateful towards each other. We are a family, and families need the support of each other to get through the rough times. So yes, you can all agree to disagree, but don’t, I repeat don’t be nasty to each other out of fear and the unknown. We will get through this, and we will be even stronger on the flipside of things.

Take care and be safe!!

Damon Steinke

Co-Founder E3xtreme