All things gainesville

[sutton]

And hats off too the safety safari for the clean up.
Larry Sutton---

 

[twostep]

Maybe not immediate, but certainly some stunners.
Junkyard Ed Vickroy 5.77
Brooks Brown in Tom Toppings car 5.60’s

A little later of a stunner- Cristen Powell 5.44 in 1996.
Man how is that almost 30 years ago.

At any rate, the BBB A/fuel car isn’t throwing any one off Hail Marys, it seems to repeat fairly well.

Still depressed somewhat - even with all the hoopla about the A/Fuel FC's there's only 9 cars total running.

 

[65 Goatboy]

This gear problem is a huge issue. Hopefully no one ever gets hurt. I won’t even bring up what could happen. Thankfully they put that plate behind the seat in FC for the driver. Could Possibly junk the whole drivetrain when it lets go. Add to it fans sitting on their thumbs for hours cleaning this shit up. Not good.

Brian Lohnes has a strange sense of time. After Procks rear end exploded he said the delay would be 15-20 minutes, and before the round started they went to commercials and he said we'll be back in 2 minutes I promise. I didn't time it but it was 5 minutes or more. Most of us have sat through a synthetic gear lube clean up and saying it would take 15-20 minutes is ludicrous. I paused the broadcast about 3:30 and left for over an hour and now it's 5:55 and Joe said another 15-20 minutes!

 

[Flicka]

Brian Lohnes has a strange sense of time. After Procks rear end exploded he said the delay would be 15-20 minutes, and before the round started they went to commercials and he said we'll be back in 2 minutes I promise. I didn't time it but it was 5 minutes or more. Most of us have sat through a synthetic gear lube clean up and saying it would take 15-20 minutes is ludicrous. I paused the broadcast about 3:30 and left for over an hour and now it's 5:55 and Joe said another 15-20 minutes!

Of course, there's a need for more power than they wouldn't be breaking him so much. When will?
The madness stop We need close. racing, not safety safari, clean up guys.

 

[mick]

downtime is a tough sell. bring back the traxxas models. get rid of the t-shirt gun. shoot
poker chips into stands that are good for free beers. grab people from stands, make them spin around a baseball bat, then try to walk.
have tricycle races. have traxxas models go up in stands and ask random drag racing trivia questions. a win gets concessions coupon.
...... or fix the parts and the racing.

 

[James]

This is when q2 should be on Friday at Gainesville anyways. Nhra doesn't get it.

Standby for records.

 

[James]

Ps- they cancelled q2 (for today) for pro mod and alky cars (no curfew)

Again, nhra doesn't get it.

 

[65 Goatboy]

Broken rear ends really became a problem last year but I think Joe or Brian said that it was the first time it happened in a funny car. Diapers are NOT going to fix the problem. Procks was catastrophic and JFR surely buys the best parts available.

 

[J. S.]

Broken rear ends really became a problem last year but I think Joe or Brian said that it was the first time it happened in a funny car. Diapers are NOT going to fix the problem. Procks was catastrophic and JFR surely buys the best parts available.

Yes, this is not good. Whoever is supplying these - Chrisman? Strange Engineering? - I thought we would have resolved last year's issues with these rear ends. Ever since forever, the rear ends have been able to withstand the stress from these fuel cars. Not so anymore. Wonder if there is a QC issue? Or some bad material from an outside vendor? Can NHRA specify NO synthetic lubricants to expedite these clean-ups? I guess we will see.

 

[J. S.]

Looks like Tatum is once again running real well at the Gators - currently #2 in T/F. Remember that he won this event in Top Fuel in 2022, a big upset against all the usual favorites. I wonder if he is running as a satellite team car to the Capco's again?

Also, I see Alan Johnson's daughter is #2 in TAD qualifying. I think this is her first National Event.

 

[65 Goatboy]

Interesting, I was thinking to myself you used to never see them break. Watching one of Clay Millicans youtube videos they count the runs on them and take the cover off between rounds. I agree with QC and maybe some off shore parts? Chrisman and Strange have always been the best names in the business.

 

[Topfuel386]

Strange is the manufacturer having the issue. It’s QC/material issue from the gear manufacturer that is outside of USA. They are breaking after 2-4 runs sometimes. Teams are swapping rears between runs now out of caution and to inspect the gear as close as possible. No diaper is going to prevent all of the oil flying out. It may help prevent some chunks hurling and hurting someone.

 

[Professional Fan]

Surprised no one mentioned Greg Anderson quickest pass in PS history!

 

[Nitro1102]

That was quite the pass in PRO. Congrats Greg and Titan!

 

[LoPony]

Surprised no one mentioned Greg Anderson quickest pass in PS history!

Well, since you mentioned it, I’ll second this. That was really cool to see.

 

[LoPony]

nice to see 56th annual as part of advertising for this years race.
5 TAFC's entered, 3 are of nitro variety.
alexis entered in banderos toyota fc. ida not on tf list yet. (thought there was chance she would switch to tf)
team pontiac supposedly making official debut in orlando this weekend, will joe drag it up to babies too?
442 entries for gators already and growing. will be a great race. hope for good weather.

Here’s another thing. I am very surprised to see Steve Torrence out there, instead of his father. I thought Billy was supposed to be running this season? I don’t see Billy, I see Steve. I’m happy to see him, no doubt about that. I thought the rumor was that Billy was going to run this season, and Steve was going to sit out. Any clue here?

 

[ch streetcars]

Of course, there's a need for more power than they wouldn't be breaking him so much. When will?
The madness stop We need close. racing, not safety safari, clean up guys.

Broken parts, now rear ends and losing tires again , oildowns , do not make for a good show, especially in person on a hot day. Maybe less glue again? I can rarely get friends or people new to the sport to go to more than two races. My wife gave up on National events years ago. Nitro racing is exciting enough , most fans would rather see, good , close racing than one car going up in smoke, or breaking. Other motorsports have stayed healthy by keeping close racing , not escalating the speeds every year. Seems the faster NHRA cars go over the years, the worse the total fan experience is for all but the the most diehard of us fans. Something needs to change, quickly.

 

[z28]

Here’s another thing. I am very surprised to see Steve Torrence out there, instead of his father. I thought Billy was supposed to be running this season? I don’t see Billy, I see Steve. I’m happy to see him, no doubt about that. I thought the rumor was that Billy was going to run this season, and Steve was going to sit out. Any clue here?

may be because of the call out here this race. Neither is on the list for Phoenix so far.

 

[sutton]

Broken parts, now rear ends and losing tires again , oildowns , do not make for a good show, especially in person on a hot day. Maybe less glue again? I can rarely get friends or people new to the sport to go to more than two races. My wife gave up on National events years ago. Nitro racing is exciting enough , most fans would rather see, good , close racing than one car going up in smoke, or breaking. Other motorsports have stayed healthy by keeping close racing , not escalating the speeds every year. Seems the faster NHRA cars go over the years, the worse the total fan experience is for all but the the most diehard of us fans. Something needs to change, quickly.

In my 68 years around drag racing there has always been a weak link. many in the performance end, and also in the safety side of drag racing. they have always been addressed and corrected by the sanction body's or the great drag racer them self. everyone has a opinion on do this or do that for the betterment of the sport. Scotty Finn years ago said no car would ever go faster then 150 MPH in the quarter mile now 341 MPH in 1000 ft. Drag racing is the most exciting motor car sport in all types of racing in my opinion. I watch very little NASCAR anymore it has become follow the leader until the last few laps then all hell brakes loose and everyone crashes. the winner is declared, the pictures are taken, then the next day the winner of the race is disqualified for one loose lug nut or some other small issue. nascar has lost much of their fan base for that reason. So bottom line I will keep enjoying my beloved drag racing. the weak link is now the rear end and it is also mine. they will fix the problem, I can't LOL. Enjoy
Larry Sutton---

 

[65 Goatboy]

Prock lost a rear end and we are down for a long clean up. I was at the fall Vegas race and the down time from these rear end clean ups was torture. I guess this would have been a much longer clean up if it wasn't for the new blanket over the rear end?

No blanket. Only dragsters which use a different rear end due to the design of the chassis. Funny cars will have to have blankets later this year, a design is in the works. This came from Nhra.tv during yesterdays delay.