Z28LT1
Nitro Member
Agreed.
Back to the 1/4 Mile??? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Porkchop
- Start date
mick
Nitro Member
somebody should get a board of about 20-30 people.....1/3 racers, 1/3 nhra/mello yello, 1/3 aftermarket industry.....everybody formulates 2 new ideas that could effect nhra pro racing within
next 5 years......at vegas 2, have an informal meeting and discuss the ideas......all 30 people leave with a list of all the ideas.......from discussion, some of ideas have become front runners.
hold a meeting early in off-season and seriously discuss where this sport is headed..........insurance, track length, nitro%, 2 day events, nite racing, rev limiters, gear ratios, amount of races,
one or two nitro categories, track prep, throttle wacks, tv and online, marketing, the countdown........talk about it all. a little change could be really good
next 5 years......at vegas 2, have an informal meeting and discuss the ideas......all 30 people leave with a list of all the ideas.......from discussion, some of ideas have become front runners.
hold a meeting early in off-season and seriously discuss where this sport is headed..........insurance, track length, nitro%, 2 day events, nite racing, rev limiters, gear ratios, amount of races,
one or two nitro categories, track prep, throttle wacks, tv and online, marketing, the countdown........talk about it all. a little change could be really good
To be forward thinking, which is a must in business now more than ever, this is definitely what should be happening Mike.
I like the idea but way to many agendas to be successful.
Sean D, shondoo
Nitro Member
GARLITS BELIEVES NITRO CAN RETURN TO 1320, CREW CHIEFS NOT IN FAVOR | Competition Plus
Garlits speaks.
TooTall999
Nitro Member
Garlits says:
“And television, for openers, would disappear. And for the second thing, a lot of other guys would get into drag racing, like me, that don’t like to blow up stuff, and we would overcome all these rich billionaires that are controlling the sport now. A regular little team could run as good as anybody because it ain’t a question of who can blow up the most parts and spend the most money.”
Basically the reduced track prep is accomplishing this.
And Oswald says:
“Personally, I wouldn’t go to see it. Drag racing’s an acceleration contest,” Oswald said. “What is a 300 mile-an-hour car in a quarter-mile? It’s a glorified alcohol car. People will not watch that; I won’t watch that. Don’t you go for the noise and the acceleration? I do. To me, it’s the noise and the acceleration that the people like.”
Food for thought.
“And television, for openers, would disappear. And for the second thing, a lot of other guys would get into drag racing, like me, that don’t like to blow up stuff, and we would overcome all these rich billionaires that are controlling the sport now. A regular little team could run as good as anybody because it ain’t a question of who can blow up the most parts and spend the most money.”
Basically the reduced track prep is accomplishing this.
And Oswald says:
“Personally, I wouldn’t go to see it. Drag racing’s an acceleration contest,” Oswald said. “What is a 300 mile-an-hour car in a quarter-mile? It’s a glorified alcohol car. People will not watch that; I won’t watch that. Don’t you go for the noise and the acceleration? I do. To me, it’s the noise and the acceleration that the people like.”
Food for thought.
Sean D, shondoo
Nitro Member
I can see both sides of the argument, especially as it pertains to nitro, but the bottom line is can the sport sustain (at the nitro level, especially) the continued support in participation under the current platform of expense the classes have evolved to. Participation numbers suggest no.
For me, it still comes back to doing what is necessary to reign in the operational costs to a level where many of the parked teams, along with some new ones may come back out, or figure out the hole we appear to have on the marketing end of things so the big players in business are more enticed to partner with our guys and gals to offset the astronomical costs they've evolved to. Trying to have our cake and eat it too doesn't seem to be working......
Sean D
For me, it still comes back to doing what is necessary to reign in the operational costs to a level where many of the parked teams, along with some new ones may come back out, or figure out the hole we appear to have on the marketing end of things so the big players in business are more enticed to partner with our guys and gals to offset the astronomical costs they've evolved to. Trying to have our cake and eat it too doesn't seem to be working......
Sean D
I’ve asked this before: why are people still pushing to go back to 1320, knowing that would mean slowing the cars down? Here’s the reality, if this was going to happen, it should have happened shortly after the initial move to 1000 feet. If NHRA had shortened the distance for a few events while coming up with some rules to slow the cars down and then returned to 1320, that could’ve worked long term. But it’s been over 10 years, and we’ve since seen 340mph in 1000 feet. I’ve sat at 1000 feet and they cover the last 320 so quickly you cannot tell they’re off the pedal. So again, why is a slower car going a bit farther better? Like Alan says, not arguing just discussing.
Dave
Nitro Member
So were the stands empty in the 90's when they were going 300 in the quarter mile? Doesn't a top fuel or funny car make noise and accelerate really fast to make it to 300 in less than 4 seconds? People will come and watch what they want to watch no matter what. The cars make enough noise and show as it is that the people still come. The switch back to the 1,320 is giving the novelty of something different again. Something this sport severely lacks in right now. Same routine, same rut, same old same old.
SoCal Racer
Nitro Member
Correct on the early acceleration being the greatest... but people won't watch 1/8 mile fuel cars. I've seen it, not interesting.
Nothing against Mark Oswald, but it is this head-in-the-sand attitude that is ruining the sport. Bottom line is people WILL still watch 300 mph cars. No other motorsport or extreme sport comes even close. It's loud, exciting, and has plenty of acceleration even at that speed. The slowing of the cars is inevitable regardless of whether or not we return to 1320 racing - and fans won't stay home because of it. NHRA is already doing it via track prep. The costs of the current fuel car model are out of control and it is hurting the sport overall with less participation. And Garlits is right - it's only by the grace of God that someone hasn't been seriously injured in these nuclear fuel car explosions.
Nothing against Mark Oswald, but it is this head-in-the-sand attitude that is ruining the sport. Bottom line is people WILL still watch 300 mph cars. No other motorsport or extreme sport comes even close. It's loud, exciting, and has plenty of acceleration even at that speed. The slowing of the cars is inevitable regardless of whether or not we return to 1320 racing - and fans won't stay home because of it. NHRA is already doing it via track prep. The costs of the current fuel car model are out of control and it is hurting the sport overall with less participation. And Garlits is right - it's only by the grace of God that someone hasn't been seriously injured in these nuclear fuel car explosions.
TopFuel@Lions
Nitro Member
It is still nitro folks, the snap, crackle and pop of the pineapple juice makes this stuff great. I will start going back to national events if it goes back to the 1320, that is why I love the CHHR and other events. We lost the top end charge, cars truly driving around another racer. I disagree with Oswald. I would be very happy to see 4.90 or high 4.80s' on the 1/4 mi. I can dream I reckon.
[email protected] feet of magic and history!
[email protected] feet of magic and history!
TooTall999
Nitro Member
But the 300 mph quarter mile speeds in the 90's were the fastest the cars had ever gone on a drag strip. Don't you think that added to the excitement level? It's not like they had been going faster before, and then got slowed down. I say leave it as it is. Let people work out their current combinations and adjust to the new track prep. You want quarter mile go watch the nostalgia cars go 250-260 in the quarter and pretend you've gone back in time.
Dave
Nitro Member
Blount: The quarter-mile conundrum
It's been a year since the NHRA reduced the length of races from a quarter-mile to 1,000 feet for safety reasons. Will we ever get those 360 feet back? Ideas abound, but no solution is standing out.
Exactly. Why can't we do both? Everyone was on board with that in 2009, but now its 2019 and 1,320 feet on a track that can handle it is such a horrible idea.
If I was a crew chief i'd say no too. I'm getting paid the same salary and just increased the amount of work I have to do to figure out my tune up.
Unless NHRA mandates they run 1320 at certain tracks I dont see how this happens. According to the article “Don Schumacher said, ‘Well, my cars aren’t going there — and if they do, they’re shutting off at 1,000 feet,’ “Oswald said. Sounds like most owners/drivers are against it. Why would an independent racer race 1320?
Just my 2 cents. The thing about nitro racing is the noise & the excitement of seeing two nitro cars race. Even better at night when you can see the flames. I've noticed that even the nostalgia fuelers make enough noise to deafen you. So to see two fuelers race, even if they only run 4.80 & 305, that would still be really exciting, especially side by side. By the way, I well remember when T/F broke 300. There really was a lot of excitement about that. I remember Doug Herbert running 299 at Firebird. He signed a hero card for me & I asked him to write the speed too. I also remember when 200 was broken and that was "over the top" at the time. The 300 barrier was (to me) the ultimate, because we will never see 400.
FWIW: people in the stands get more excited at night, seeing the nitro cars run. That is a show unlike anything else, and yet all we get is daytime racing.
FWIW: people in the stands get more excited at night, seeing the nitro cars run. That is a show unlike anything else, and yet all we get is daytime racing.
