On NHRA’s wavelength

Not sure if that’s good or bad, a week after I blogged suggesting NHRA move its Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Phoenix from February to October .... it did.

The Arizona Republic reported Friday that the race will be held Oct. 14-16 at Firebird International Raceway, which has repaved its track since this past February’s debacle when the event couldn’t be completed because of poor track conditions.

NHRA has not released its 2011 schedule but I believe its national events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will remain in mid-April and the last weekend of October.

I also hear there will be a week off after Firebird and then a week off after the fall Las Vegas race before the season ends at Pomona, Calif.

I’m a lot worried that I’m starting to think like an NHRA executive.

Another interesting note in the Arizona Republic’s story is that the current lease for Firebird with the Gila River Indian Community runs out in mid-2013 but the track is negotiating for a seven years extension.

BLM to review all races

The Bureau of Land Management said Friday it will review all desert racing events for which it issues permits to allow use of public lands.

BLM Director Bob Abbey announced the action after Saturday’s disaster at a Mojave Desert Racing race when eight spectators were killed and 10 injured in Lucerne Valley, Calif.

Initially, the review was only to focus on MJR events.

Extending it is good because professionally-run groups in Nevada like SCORE, Best in the Desert and Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts seem to follow BLM rules and place a priority on safety.

The agency also says it will be increasing the BLM's presence at all such events. That means race groups will have to pay for it and that likely means racer entries will go up.

But safety isn’t cheap.