This is having major repercussions in all racing circles, not just drag racing. I think you can forget any future involvement by Jack Daniels. Allegedly Brett Stevens got into a big bar brawl with an executive from Jack Daniels at the Canberra Summernats which didn't help his cause. Add that to the Capitano situation and another impending bout of bad ju ju from another top line racer and you'd have to think that Drag Racing as a sport is going to have to go into some deep damage control.
Anyone who ever saw the Stevens operation at the drags must have asked themselves the question as to where the money was coming from. It was a bigger setup than any two V8 Supercar teams combined. Stevens had a severe 'bad boy' attitude problem on top of the blatant display of wealth which surely had to draw the attention of the cops.
This scenario reminds me of back in the early seventies and the idiot drug dealer in my beloved Maroubra. This particular bloke worked for Botany Council as a garbage truck driver but owned a '69 427 Camaro, a phase 3 Falcon and a Lotus Elan. He wore a Rolex to work and basically acted like a Double Bay Johnny on council worker income. The cops naturally took an interest in his source of income and uncovered his huge speed and pot network. If he'd acted a bit more low key, like his main opposition in the business (who drove a second hand E49 Charger but paid it off and still lived with mum and dad) he wouldn't have gone to gaol (and died there from a shiv in the neck). His opposition never got caught and today lives in middle class suburban bliss and is a pilar of society and good living. If Stevens had stuck to the one top fuel bike or one doorslammer instead of his 11 race vehicle overkill he may have got away with it.
