So when we end up with a short field, what does that prove? Where's the speculation? The worst financial crisis since the depression and we're actually debating about when we will start to see short fields? Hey, there are people losing homes, businesses, jobs, retirement accounts, etc., is it really that big of a deal if we're short a few fuel cars at some races this year? Given the circumstances, Drag Racing as a whole seems pretty healthy.
Nitromater
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Amazing the difference a month makes...
- Thread starter Toejam
- Start date
That's a great analogy, just this past weekend I along with a lot of folks were suggesting the Recession wasn't hurting attendance at the Gators!
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Well Joe cut another notch my friend. Yer 6 for 6. A quarter thru the season and no shorts.....yet. Good on ya mate. 
Well Joe cut another notch my friend. Yer 6 for 6. A quarter thru the season and no shorts.....yet. Good on ya mate.
I was thinking about this just yesterday, thanks Paul!
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
took me a while to find it Joe. I had to go back about 10 pages.
Sooner or later it may come back to bite us, but till then.........
Do these types of runs really excite everybody? Again, not a knock on the team efforts ... just trying to understand if Mater's prefer quantity over quality.
Atlanta: Final Order
17) Todd Paton - 4.038 285.05
18) Luigi Novelli - 4.180 296.96
19) Chris Karamesines - NT
Vegas: Final Order
15) Mike Strasburg - 4.213 220.73
16) Steven Chrisman - 4.243 273.16
17) Steve Faria - 4.837 189.39
18) Rob Passey - 19.041 42.41
Phoenix: Final Order
#16 Terry Haddock 4.094 237.80
#17 Steven Chrisman 4.167 279.79
#18 Steve Faria 4.505 222.14
#19 Rob Passey 7.530 81.82
#20 Arley Langlo 15.695 51.17
Gainesville: Final Order
#17 Tim Boychuk 4.178 273.16
#18 Chris Karamesines 6.137 107.21
#19 Terry Haddock 8.228 96.53
clwill
Nitro Member
Let me speak for one of these guys, who I happen to know personally: Terry Haddock. First, let's back up to remember that last year he won the IHRA F/C Championship -- just in time for IHRA to kill the class. But he had a T/F car in the garage and thought that T/F was probably the class with the best chance to be competitive. So he dragged it out of the garage and is making a run for it. With a volunteer crew and scratching and scraping for every dollar.
Yep, he had some tough outings in Pomona and Phoenix. It's hard to pull a T/F car out of the garage and be competitive. But he's getting better every time. He qualified 11th in Atlanta and is currently 12th in points -- just two spots out of the countdown. He figures that getting in the countdown gets him a shot at some sponsorship, and a long shot (pretty Vegas-like, but a shot) at the Championship.
Does this get me excited? You bet! New faces in the fuel ranks, and a super nice guy to boot. We need more of him.
Jim, with limits on testing, the only way an up and coming team can progress is to make runs at a National event, and now more teams are doing that. Look how Bobby Lagana is improving. How cool would it be to see him pull of a victory? I get your point about quality, but remember, Force was a leaker at one time. While the economy has put a hurt on a lot of teams and many big names are sidelined, I think it's great to see the Laganas and Chrismans and Simpsons and others come out more often.
That's what drag racing used to be all about. Not dollars but competition. It's a shame we lost that.
clwill
Nitro Member
By the way, PJ and others, like it or not, for Terry, the countdown is a great thing. It gives him a realistic goal to shoot for for the first 18 races. Being in the countdown will be a real selling point to potential sponsors. And it gives him an outside shot at a championship, or at least a top 5 finish. If he continues to improve as the year goes on, he could just squeak in and then hit his stride in the countdown and finish with a flourish. That would be very cool!
luxexpress
Nitro Member
Sorry if I am wrong on this, but with the "testing rules" doesn't the fact that Terry has also been running over at the IHRA eliminate him from getting points toward the Countdown. If so, then the ban really sucks.
Jim I understand what you are saying, I prefer Quality over Quantity anytime, especially when your talking 30-45 minute Oildowns! Fortunatly this years been good on that issue. Arley Langlo had one of his patented 30 minute clean-ups in Vegas till NHRA parked him. However I don't want to see 12 cars out there either...
AAFA-Freak
Nitro Member
It will be very intresting to see the Indy fields as this race has more qualifing rounds than any other race.
Both TF and FC will use up many parts by then and budget will be tight.
If you have noticed if your a part timer and make it in Friday then maybe Sat you run once and sit the other.
How many teams will make every qualifing passes at Indy?
That was how Indy was different from every other race BITD 5 rounds of qualifing and if you burnt your stuff up and got in would you have enough for Monday's race?
Then if you running IHRA as Terry, Bobby and others are if they have tough outing there or at NHRA event either one could have short fields next week.
BTW I love everyone of the Independent Fuel teams out there.
Keep the Dream alive Boys and Girls.
Then the sportsman side we will not even start that converstion in this thread.
We for one have sidelined the AA/FA for this year.
Both TF and FC will use up many parts by then and budget will be tight.
If you have noticed if your a part timer and make it in Friday then maybe Sat you run once and sit the other.
How many teams will make every qualifing passes at Indy?
That was how Indy was different from every other race BITD 5 rounds of qualifing and if you burnt your stuff up and got in would you have enough for Monday's race?
Then if you running IHRA as Terry, Bobby and others are if they have tough outing there or at NHRA event either one could have short fields next week.
BTW I love everyone of the Independent Fuel teams out there.
Keep the Dream alive Boys and Girls.
Then the sportsman side we will not even start that converstion in this thread.
We for one have sidelined the AA/FA for this year.
clwill
Nitro Member
Sorry if I am wrong on this, but with the "testing rules" doesn't the fact that Terry has also been running over at the IHRA eliminate him from getting points toward the Countdown. If so, then the ban really sucks.
No, he ran in IHRA last year. He's been all NHRA this year, AFAIK.
joe fuchita
Nitro Member
How about that IHRA star Terry McMillen and the kid from Cananda, Todd Paton. Hope they have the funds to run more national events this year.
G'ginna
Nitro Member
It's has nothing to do with quantity over quality. It's racing. Notice that you picked out everything that was #15 and slower. People have to start somewhere and everyone has a bad day now and then, but if races were limited to the top 8, how much fun would that be? At a time when the economy has affected many people in a sport that wants to encourage a larger fan base are you really telling me that you would give up on people trying to do what they love in favor of a minimum achievement score?
Yah, I understand your point of view also Joe. Others have noted progress of some of the independants (Haddock, Lagana) and you can't argue with that. Hell, if Lagana could have cut a light of .050 or better against a sleeping Cory Mac in Atlanta, he would have been in another semi final.
clwill
Nitro Member
Similarly, Terry got beat on a holeshot in Round 1 but ran the 7th fastest time of that round. Quite respectable.
Say what you will about quality vs. quantity, but for the first time in years some pretty good independents have realistic chances to make some fields. Sure it means that some stumbling and bumbling occurs, but if you want to find the silver lining to the lower car counts, that's it.
