1000ft drag racing in Denver (4 Viewers)

[Rich]

I would like the people who are so deadset against this to remember one thing: PRO (i.e. the guys/gals who put their lives on the line every race) is 100% behind this. This has little/nothing to do with NHRA, as far as who made the decision. So make sure you let your favorite driver(s) know that they have "killed" drag racing.

Perhaps so. But it doesn't mean that paying fans like me who attend the races have to buy tickets. I certainly won't from now on. I would have definitely supported slowing the cars down, but not this. By shortening the length of the race they are tampering with tradition every bit as much as if Major League Baseball shortened the base paths or went to playing only seven innings per game.

 

[rollingthunder]

I agree with Rich. If i wasn't seeing family while in denver i wouldn't be attending the mile high.

 

[Toejam]

Did you ever suppose for a moment that this has been stirring among the drivers/owners for some time, but has only now been taken seriously due to Scott K's accident?

I don't buy that at all, E-town was a death trap this year but not last year or the year before that? If any of these Drivers protested by sitting out a race in the past due to unsafe conditions, I'd take what they say to heart! 330 MPH never kept Jim Head from getting behind the wheel did it?

 

[Fuel FC Fan]

Just hope that nobody drive's it out the back door......

 

[Bob]

Perhaps so. But it doesn't mean that paying fans like me who attend the races have to buy tickets. I certainly won't from now on. I would have definitely supported slowing the cars down, but not this. By shortening the length of the race they are tampering with tradition every bit as much as if Major League Baseball shortened the base paths or went to playing only seven innings per game.

And you've got the right to make that choice. Let's imagine that the drivers got together and said "Look....we need to slow down NOW. What can we do NOW to make this happen?". Obviously, you can't make performance/parts changes (it's the middle of the season two weeks from a race) so what's the other option? Shorten the race. I've been a fan for most of my life. I understand the tradition. What I further understand is that the people driving the tradition need to also consider their own lives. They are not going to let "tradition" get in the way of their right to feel safe while they do their jobs.

 

[Jenn]

Sure wish I'd known about this a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have wasted $500 going to this race!

Oh get a grip! That's probably the fanboy in ya there Joe.

Pussification of the sport? Maybe if this 1000 foot racing will weed out some of the whiney ash fanboys and girls around here, the sport wouldn't be so 'p-*****-' as you put it.

Because all the racers I know, will race across the parking lot for a good dose of competition.

 

[SAS]

yeah too bad I hadn't bought tickets to that instead of Vegas.

Vegas is a very nice track. Nice mountain views. And you can see the Strip from there too.

 

[Fuel FC Fan]

Thank you!

Might as well make the nitro 100% now.

 

[Tony]

I think this is the first step in a major overhaul of the fuel catagories. Reducing the length of the track is the easiest way to implement a short-term answer to a long-term solution. I think once the big-picture scenario has been investigated by the NHRA, their insurance carrier, PRO, and the racers, the track length will be returned to the standard quarter-mile, and major technical restrictions will be implemented in an orderly, agreed-upon time frame. It wouldn't do any good to obselete millions of dollars of equipment in a few months. I say slow them down, costs will be reduced and better side-by-side racing will result. The NHRA and PRO will have to work together to develop a plan to limit new technology.

 

[SAS]

That's roughly 1/4 less than what they were running, so the next headline on NHRA.com should be that ticket prices are cut by 25%. I hope this is a temporary fix, but I don't see why they can't run 1320 feet in Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see if they take a hit at the gate over this decision, although I don't think the initial hit will be that bad because many people already purchased tickets and or airfare. I had planned on going to Sonoma, Reading, Charlotte, and Vegas, but now I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. If I didn't already book airfare to Charlotte and Sonoma I wouldn't be going to either of those two.

On the upside , 25% less track to clean up after a oil down.

 

[Bobby]

I don't buy that at all, E-town was a death trap this year but not last year or the year before that? If any of these Drivers protested by sitting out a race in the past due to unsafe conditions, I'd take what they say to heart! 330 MPH never kept Jim Head from getting behind the wheel did it?

well I think they wanted to shorten the track before this happened and now they can force their hand.

The thing is , the problem was Etown's shutdown area. It was a tragedy waiting to happen , and they knew it!
They had an alky car in the trees earlier this year!

so we get 1000' racing because etown put a pole where it didn't belong?
Jim Head said that too.The pole was where it shouldn't have been , quote unqote.

so in his next breath he said we should shorten the tracks. at the time I thought 'what's that got to do with the pole jim'

nothing. they just see an opportunity to force their hand, so they are, and I don't blame them. NHRA doesn't listen. PRO is like what we used to call a 'company union'

hopefully nhra takes this to heart, realizes they have to make the drivers happy and the fans happy, and FIX THIS SPORT NOW, by making funny cars CARS again.

I can just see the IHRA ads now

QUARTERMILE DRAG RACING.

P.S

what would Frank Oglesby's 'quarter horse' have been called in 1000ft racing?

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

It's an attempt at a solution but is it a knee-jerk reaction at that? Besides everything else that has been mentioned, it's got me to thinking:
* The new race will be only 75.76% of the old 1320 race
* Roughly the length of one football field will be removed from the overall race
* Records from the past will become a moot point
* Milestones in our sport may be set aside forever (first 5, first 4, first 300, etc.)
* Opportunities now present themselves for creative tuning for the new track length
* Will gear ratios become a new topic of discussion & experimentation?
* Will new rules have to be implemented to reduce creativity?
* Will Jeff Foster lose his mind switching between 1000 and 1320 every time the fuel cars come and go?
* Will all the old Beach Boys et/al songs that refer to the 1/4 Mile races leave future generations wondering what they were referring to?
* Will Larry Morgan's t-shirt sales skyrocket?

I'm sure more thoughts and questions will arise but for now I'm just looking for answers?

 

[Ugly one]

Why stop with fuel cars? It's going to be okay for the alcohol cars to run 260-280 in 1320. Ask Von Smith how his off-road adventure was in Norwalk.

And if any of you thing that the engine carnage will be less in 1000ft and it's going to help reduce the costs of racing...........I have a really nice swamp in Florida for sale. Given a race or two the crew chiefs will find a way to shorten the fuses enough to make better bombs and start blowing them up with regularity, just like they have been.

Maybe NHRA should look into cutting everything by 25%, starting with their salaries.

 

[Bobby]

On the upside , 25% less track to clean up after a oil down.

nice thought but not true. they clean up the shutdown area too.....

 

[Fuel FC Fan]

Johnson will have this figured out in 2 races. Remember who this man is.
This guy will find the right "everything" and they have the budget.
This, IMO, is maybe only taking less than 1 second off the length of the track at the top end in Top Fuel. Add Timing more Fuel and blower without the limiter................only time will tell now. He's not the only one.
The real issues are still there.

"this will mean the crew chiefs will only make the wick shorter, more fuel, more blower , more everything because they wont be hitting the rev-limiter. and god forbid there is an accident, then what? 660ft racing?"

I agree with this. Alan Johnson and the other tuners will make it run stronger yet. You can never go backwards. The human spirit always wants to push it a little further.

 

[Ugly one]

Bobby,
Lets lobby for Morgans quote to be inscripted on every Wally from now on.

 

[Tom]

This decision was made purely by emotion! I've heard some things about the Scott K crash that I've NOT seen written anywhere, and I can tell you a 1000' track wouldn't have made a bit of difference!

Here we go with the "I heard"'s again.

Frankly I am surprised it took 5 pages.

I "heard" Jenny McCarthy is hot for my ass! Does it mean it's true?

 

[merc49]

So now this begs the question, what happens with points and how they're awarded for National Records? Do they start over with a clean slate effective at Denver so that whomever runs low ET gets 20 bonus points for a new record?

Well, that's a helluva first post! Good one Mark!

 

[Kelly]

Well, that's a helluva first post! Good one Mark!

First post? What the......?!

 

[Rexfiles]

Would Scott have still died that day in Englishtown had the track been 1,000 feet?

The length of the race wasn't the problem. The length of the shutdown area, and a pole and a wall were the problem. Just my opinion.

No.

the car exploded a little after 1100'.

So no, at E-Town, no.

REX