BREAKING NEWS - NHRA PS BURNOUT CONTEST IN INDY (1 Viewer)

[Sean D, shondoo]

.....it's entertainment baby (for the fans paying to watch)

And this is what I believe has happened to our sport, and it has happened so slowly that by the time we realized it, the sport is now suffering. It's simply not as entertaining as it once was, imho.

Back in the heyday before major money entered the sport, participation was up and the playing field was much more level. When the money came along, here came an accelerated experimental program of all this new stuff to try that slowly weeded out a percentage of the participants from a cost standpoint. But what is just as important, or possibly more so as it pertains to this discussion, in order for much of these developments to work better together, it allowed the teams to remove, or in some cases forced them to remove some of these "fun" things a lot of us die hards that have been around awhile used to not only enjoy, but actually use to "market" our sport to our friends in order to get them to come. I know I did, particularly the nitro warm-up procedures and long burnouts of John Force, Norm Wilding, etc. For me, there was nothing more satisfying than bringing somebody new to the track and standing back while they ran for their lives after witnessing their first throttle whack from less than 10-feet away. One of my buddies to this day recalls that experience for him that happened over 25 years ago.

And here were are all these years later, learning (re-learning, actually.....) through some innocent tire scrubbing by a part-time Pro Stocker just what the fans want to see. There was a lot of belly-aching going on after this little contest was announced, but I was at Indy Saturday and it was VERY well received.

Sean D

 

[stitcherbob]

Burn the tires to the wires Deric!

 

[TSK]

Burn the tires to the wires Deric!

The crowd's reaction after Kramer's burnout should clue people into the fact pro stock needs something to reinvigorate interest in what has become a somewhat stagnant class.

 

[Paul]

The crowd's reaction after Kramer's burnout should clue people into the fact pro stock needs something to reinvigorate interest in what has become a somewhat stagnant class.

Bingo!! The crowd loved it because it was entertaining. Get a FC to do a burnout to half track and watch the crowd lose its mind.

 

[TooTall999]

The odd thing is whenever a funny car driver is asked what they like best about driving, most answer doing the burnouts. Drivers like them, the crowd misses them and loves them, the only ones that don't are the crew chiefs and some owners.

 

[Nunz]

So what's the answer guys? I miss all that stuff too, but national events are not match races. For racers trying to win races and even championships, it's kind of tough to expect them to resort to doing things that may hinder their performance even the slightest amount. A modern fuel car couldn't do a burnout that matches say, a Force '90s style, if it wanted to. Notice the difference in smoke? Ever pay attention to the burnouts at the March Meet? Nothing like the old days, and I believe it's because even the tires are different now. As a matter of fact, I remember reading an interview with Dale Pulde, who said the modern tires wouldn't allow for billows of smoke. So, I just choose to enjoy the present show, because to me it's still the most badass of all motorsports.

 

[TooTall999]

So what's the answer guys? I miss all that stuff too, but national events are not match races. For racers trying to win races and even championships, it's kind of tough to expect them to resort to doing things that may hinder their performance even the slightest amount. A modern fuel car couldn't do a burnout that matches say, a Force '90s style, if it wanted to. Notice the difference in smoke? Ever pay attention to the burnouts at the March Meet? Nothing like the old days, and I believe it's because even the tires are different now. As a matter of fact, I remember reading an interview with Dale Pulde, who said the modern tires wouldn't allow for billows of smoke. So, I just choose to enjoy the present show, because to me it's still the most badass of all motorsports.

I'm thinking a one round burnout competition with little points awarded. Get the fuel cars to at least burnout a little further past the tree. Do the same with pro stock, pro mod and the alky classes. Liven the show up a little and make it less robotic.

 

[ironpony]

Have you seen the chunking of a Goodyear after a good nitro burnout? Tires do not like it, clutches do not like it........