While others have historically said things could not be changed in the NHRA, that things were the best they would ever be, Compton and his staff went out and proved the doubters wrong. Things could change, things could become better ... and they have with great success since he took over from his predecessor, Dallas Gardner.

RPM.ESPN.com was able to catch the still-ailing Compton on one of his better days recently and asked him for a "State of the NHRA" assessment. Here are some excerpts from that interview:

RPM.ESPN.com: Can you give us a brief overview on how well you feel the NHRA is doing today?

COMPTON: "We're off to by far the best start in the history of the company, by any measure you can come up with: attendance, television, sponsor activation and media coverage. By just about any measure that you can come up with, we're off to the best start. We have more interest and I think we're changing the perception that we're the No. 5 motorsport to what we feel is our rightful place as the No. 2 motorsport in the United States today. Coverage in national publications is unprecedented, current sponsors and what they're doing to activate their association with NHRA is positive, and there's tons of commercials out there from Fram (Filters) to Bud (Budweiser) to Kendall to Miller to Powerade and many other companies. We just haven't had that kind of activity for some time."

RPM.ESPN.com: Can you talk about the transition from Winston to Powerade as the primary sponsor?

COMPTON: "There's really not much negative you can say with the relationship we have with Coke and Powerade. There's a little bit of a transition going on now at the tracks. Powerade's and Coca-Cola's focus is not so much at the tracks but in the marketplace, which is really just what we wanted, whereas Winston's focus was more trackside. So, there's a few transitional situations at the tracks in terms of signage and presence packages and that sort of thing, but aside from that, everything has been totally positive."

RPM.ESPN.com: While other forms of motorsport -- both major and minor series -- are going through some major struggles, the NHRA hasn't had any downturn. What do you attribute that to?

COMPTON: "I think we've been the best-kept secret out there for some time. We have a very exciting motorsports property. On top of that, it's very unique, a very different experience when people come to our events: the open pit areas, the activities that are available to the fans, the up close and personal nature of the sport, which is totally unique, plus we also have the fastest cars around.

"I think the challenge for NHRA is to get the word out there, to let more people know what we have to offer. That has been challenging over the years, but we've made great strides, especially with our television package with ESPN -- both from a broadcast and production side. We now have the association with Coca-Cola and Powerade, which is going to be a tremendous help in getting our message out there, and we're also seeing interest from other sponsors now that we have the deal with Coca-Cola and Powerade.

"Not only are our current sponsors becoming more involved, other companies that haven't traditionally been involved with the NHRA before are taking another look at us about becoming involved with NHRA. It's a very exciting time and we're at the very beginning of something big. I don't foresee a stumble in the foreseeable future. I think for the foreseeable future, we're going to do very, very, very well."

RPM.ESPN.com: What's on the horizon for the series in terms of schedule of races? Will the schedule expand any time soon?

COMPTON: We're at 23 events this year; last year we held 24 because of the special race in honor of the 50th anniversary of the NHRA. Our plan is to try not to increase the schedule much over the next few years. We'd like to keep it to 23 or 24 events for the foreseeable future. But, would we expand beyond that in the future? I probably would be lying if I say we wouldn't.

"When I came on board nine years ago with the NHRA, I was told 18 (races) was the limit, and now we're at 23. We really want to shore up team sponsorship and make sure we're not spreading that too thin. When we're comfortable with that, if there's a market that makes sense for us to go to, we'll consider it."

"Right now, we're in most of the major metropolitan areas of the U.S. We're not in New England, South Florida and the Detroit area. Those are the primary areas we're not in that we would want to be in. But, more than likely, we're going to announce a 23-race schedule for 2003."

RPM.ESPN.com: Some NHRA teams continue to struggle for sponsorship to keep them racing on the circuit. How much of a concern is that for you?

COMPTON: "That's been a major focus for us. I know over the years NHRA has been criticized from time to time for spending more time on race and official sponsorships. We have made a concerted effort to focus on team sponsorship, which we feel by far is the most important form of sponsorship -- without teams, you don't have a show. We've spent a lot of time helping teams in their quest for sponsorship, whether it be myself or anyone else on my staff flying out to make a pitch about what NHRA has to offer, to just providing resource materials and information to a team that's going to make their own presentation.

"I think you're going to see the trend get even better, and that goes back to the exposure we're receiving on television and the exposure we're going to receive through the Coca-Cola/Powerade deal. I think it's going to bring a lot more attention to our sport, it's going to turn a lot more heads and I think there are a number of companies excited about partnering not only with us, but also with each other. There's just this excitement and it's starting to build upon itself."

	“	I think we've been the best-kept secret out there for some time. We have a very exciting motorsports property. On top of that, it's very unique, a very different experience when people come to our events: the open pit areas, the activities that are available to the fans, the up close and personal nature of the sport, which is totally unique, plus we also have the fastest cars around. ”
		— Compton

RPM.ESPN.com: What do you feel is the biggest challenge still ahead of both yourself and the NHRA?

COMPTON: "When I took over the company in November 1999, we had a number of hurdles in front of us. We had to make some rule changes to stop some of the down time and explosions that were taking place on the racetrack. We had a fragmented television package. We had a series sponsors that we knew was going to be legislated out of the sport in short order, and there was a certain amount of dissension between the teams and the sanctioning body. We had a lot of things that needed to be addressed.

"I actually feel like, 2½-years later, we're in an even better place than I thought we'd be. That doesn't mean there aren't still challenges: we introduced the new Goodyear tire this year that many teams have struggled with that to some extent, although there have been some modifications made that seem to be working quite well.

"The thing I'm actually most proud of, that makes me feel so confident about the future of the sport, is the spirit of teamwork that we've created between the teams, NHRA, many of our sponsors, the tracks, the racers. I think most people look at it as more of we're all in this together, and to solve problems we have to take that approach, and if we do, we can accomplish great things which we've seen over the last few years.

"I think with what we have in place, we're going to enjoy a period of growth that we've never seen before in NHRA. I really believe that. One of the biggest challenges is to stay on top of the technology, to keep that balance between the technology, safety, speeds and a great entertaining show for the fans, the side-by-side racing. That's an ongoing challenge.

"The other challenge that I think we're starting to make some progress on is perception. What is NHRA? The NHRA is a major motorsport in this country. By just about any measure you can come up with, we're the No. 2 motorsport in the U.S."

RPM.ESPN.com: Is it a concern to you that the big names, like Kenny Bernstein and John Force, that have brought this sport to where it is today are slowly falling by the wayside? And, what about the heirs apparent such as Larry Dixon, Tony Schumacher, etc.?

COMPTON: "We have a whole host of personalities, up and coming stars like Larry Dixon, Tony Schumacher, Brandon Bernstein, Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson Jr., Tony Pedregon, Gary Scelzi, Scotty Cannon and Whit Bazemore. We have a good group of very charismatic drivers now.

"I think the next generation of stars is going to enjoy more exposure by far than their predecessors. As that takes hold, I think they're going to be more of a household name than anyone before them. If you look at people who really don't follow the sport that closely, the only names they really seem to remember are Don Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney and Don Garlits. What we've put together going forward with the ESPN package and the Powerade deal, I truly believe that the up-and-coming drivers like Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher are going to become more visible than any other drivers in NHRA history."

RPM.ESPN.com: You said earlier that you're admittedly surprised that the progress the NHRA has made under your watch is greater than you thought it would be at this time. It must be a good time to be Tom Compton these days, isn't it?

COMPTON: "It's not about Tom Compton, it's about the team we have, not just the NHRA office, but everyone in the pits and anyone that's associated with this sport. Everyone has pitched in in a positive way and asked 'How can we improve things?' and then together we've done that. It's not about me or what I did, it's about what we did. Everyone collectively has done a tremendous job working together to improve the sport.

"Nothing happens overnight. You can't wave a magic wand and have miracles happen. It doesn't work that way. It takes steps, and we've slowly but surely put certain pieces of the puzzle together that have started to pay dividends. It's not going to happen overnight, but it will continue to evolve in a very positive way.

"When we look back in about three or four years, I think we're going to see some tremendous gains for this sport. But, it's going to take time and it's going to take focus. It's a very, very exciting time for NHRA, but we also have to remember that we can't let up."

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR and other forms of motorsport for ESPN.com.