NHRA President Tom Compton on Wednesday "resigned from the position he held for 15 years and was quickly replaced" by Exec VP & GM Peter Clifford, according to Louis Brewster of the INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN. Clifford after his appointment "laid out a plan with six major points that included a number of incentives that will be rolled out in the next few weeks." The list of projects "includes improved television shows and competition, an increase of sportsman participation, and expanding marketing partners and media coverage." One of the changes "will be to take television production in-house." However, Clifford said a new announcement regarding the TV package, currently aired on ESPN2, would be "a big change" and "will be well-received." Clifford also "quelled recent rumors that NHRA was attempting to sell its pro classes." NHRA did "come close to such a sale, but the new president said the sanctioning body was 'going forward' and 'confident.'” Clifford also said that there was "no immediate plan to increase purses for drivers." Rather, he noted that NHRA would "instead focus on bringing new sponsorships to the sport" (INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN, 7/2). NBCSPORTS.com's Jerry Bonkowski noted no reason "was given for the 56-year-old Compton’s decision" to step down. He has been "noticeably absent from NHRA events for more than three months, prompting the sanctioning body to take the unusual step nearly a month ago to issue a press release that Compton was 'away for personal and family reasons.'” Compton was installed as NHRA president on Jan. 1, 2000, succeeding the retiring Dallas Gardner. Compton "helped lead NHRA’s continued growth into the 21st century, but the last few seasons have seen challenges including attendance levels at several tracks, and inconsistent TV coverage" (NBCSPORTS.com, 7/1).
