Dive - Dive - Dive !!!!!!!! (3 Viewers)

[PJ]

I don't mind when it gets sewed up early. Thats part of racing, some times you win some times you get your arse handed to you. It makes guys work that much harder next year to catch them.

I would rather have the rightful champ clinch 5 races early then to allow someone to back into a championship.

I'm curious as to what people want out of this.

Is it the hope of a final round pairing where winner takes all?

Is it that the guy in 7th or 5th or whatever that now wins the championship?

Is it so no team has hurt feeling and feels like they can run with the big dogs really late into the year?

 

[PJ]

It was just pointed out to me in a pm how ironic it is that this first end of the final countdown with all its supposed excitment is being played out in front of empty stands....and possibly no tv

 

[Suzie Q]

The rain is making my blood pressure go up!!!!!!

 

[PJ]

The rain is making my blood pressure go up!!!!!!

nah its just cuz your're posting close to me

 

[Reese]

I never posted anything about the countdown before so here goes:
I should like the countdown because I love to root for underdog(underfunded) teams. They are getting a lot of air time because of the countdown.
But I don't like the countdown. I hate to watch the telecasts and have to pick thru my national dragster so don't have to read or see anything about it. Maybe I feel like P.J., tried of getting it forced down my thoat. I was talking to some friends the other day and they think John Force is in 1st in the funny car standings and Brandon is leading top fuel. I don't see how the sponsor of the cars(dragster) that is leading the points could like it. How can Rod Fuller get a sponsor if the only way he gets on t.v. is if he wins the race. At this time of year I could tell you who was leading and by how much, now I don't even bother looking at the standings because it don't mean much unless you haven't made the countdown.

 

[d'kid]

Plus side.... championship locked up by Indy means then people are just racing for the win....

minus side... hype... I really wonder if Glendora understands I could care less who's the Champ... it's who wins and who sets low et and top time...
who wins Indy, The Winters, Gators, Summers(E-town) and the Finals.... not who's champ....

Stop cramming HYPE down our throat, I'm watching the race for the racing, not for who comes out on top at the end of the year....

 

[Rajunz]

This is one of the most exciting, intense events I've ever witnessed, and they are only going to get more intense from here on out. The Countdown definitely adds excitement.

 

[kingcobrafan]

This is one of the most exciting, intense events I've ever witnessed, and they are only going to get more intense from here on out. The Countdown definitely adds excitement.

Contrived, manufactured excitement. And diving. Weak, phony bullshit all the way around.

 

[paoldtimer]

Plus side.... championship locked up by Indy means then people are just racing for the win....

minus side... hype... I really wonder if Glendora understands I could care less who's the Champ... it's who wins and who sets low et and top time...
who wins Indy, The Winters, Gators, Summers(E-town) and the Finals.... not who's champ....

Stop cramming HYPE down our throat, I'm watching the race for the racing, not for who comes out on top at the end of the year....

What he said!!! (i agree with it)

 

[mick]

Plus side.... championship locked up by Indy means then people are just racing for the win....

minus side... hype... I really wonder if Glendora understands I could care less who's the Champ... it's who wins and who sets low et and top time...
who wins Indy, The Winters, Gators, Summers(E-town) and the Finals.... not who's champ....

Stop cramming HYPE down our throat, I'm watching the race for the racing, not for who comes out on top at the end of the year....

exactly. motorsports in general has so long been known for season long points
battles; now we have NASCAR & NHRA throwing the proverbial "fork in the road": it's a tough pill to swallow, but I really think both these two sanc. bodies have realized one of the keys, if not THE key to increasing revenue, is to maximize excitement surrounding each individual race in the series.
With a manipulation of the points, that alone is one common thread that adds
excitement earlier in the year and follows through to the end.
Yes, it's a gimic, but if it brings more exposure and sponsor $$ to the sport,
who's the better for it? I would say everyone is.
I can't find the article on comp. plus and I read it earlier today, but read
Jim Head's comments about some of the pro teams dying, some just at
greater rates than others.

 

[Rajunz]

...............I would rather have the rightful champ clinch 5 races early then to allow someone to back into a championship.........................

What you really mean to say is you would rather have the fattest wallets take home their Championships 5 races early then to allow someone to back into a championship.

That's what has happened for ever, Where's the excitement in that?

 

[d'kid]

Okay, let's look at this a different way

maybe it's because of my age, but what I don't like about drag racing 2007 vs drag racing 1967....
(Besides too Many National Events?)

One word HYPE
Same reason I will not eat at Hardies, ever Buy GEICO insurance... their advertising is based on 'we, the customers are idiots' and I find that offensive...
Powerade Commercials and the Powerade Pitch Men at the Track... I can't believe what some people willl do at the track for a free flippin' T-shirt...

you know what, if Herbert can pass Fuller in the point before the end of the year, he should be champion... that is, if he can do it without reset, same goes for Papa John or Del...

Just watch today on tape.... some really great racing... fantastic ET's.... and ya know what, if it rains the rest of the week, this whole championship thing is screwed.... best bet would be run the last two rounds next weekend...
if not, Thursday Morning at Indy

Still think we should divide the country into 8 divisions and the world finals should be a Chicago show between the top 2 cars from each Division.... winner is the champion...

 

[d'kid]

What you really mean to say is you would rather have the fattest wallets take home their Championships 5 races early then to allow someone to back into a championship.

That's what has happened for ever, Where's the excitement in that?

Yepper, that's what I'm saying....
The Excitement is the racing, not who wins the Championship...

I spent years as an Angeles fan... it was fun going to the games at the Big A... and ya know what, they didn't win a world series 'til just a couple of years ago... but I was still a fan.... until the first time MLB went on strike.... then I walk away from the game and haven't gone back...

Stick and ball sports left me, and now it's looking like drag racing is going to do the same thing....

 

[mike]

I'm not that old (in my mind anyway)...

but I sure miss the days when it was all about winning the FREAKIN' RACE...now it seems like winning an event is just a consolation prize and all that matters is fewer first round losses than the next guy

I'm just sick to death of the "championship" being the be all and end all of racing...

heck maybe they should just invite all the event winners during the year to "The Nationals" and the winner of that event is the champion for the year <shrug>

 

[Erik]

I can't believe what some people willl do at the track for a free flippin' T-shirt...

got knocked to the ground at topeka when every one around me went crazy when the Powerlosers sent a t-shirt to my section

 

[yoda]

Way to go team Lucas-

Sorry Mel

Man, isn't that just been how it's been over there for her? Personally, I am looking forward to the mass influx of women to the floppers next year... Whoops, was I not supposed to mention that yet RG??

 

[D]

Contrived, manufactured excitement. And diving. Weak, phony bullshit all the way around.

The Clowndown is like adding MSG to food, it makes poor cooking taste good and is bad for you. I hate the reality TV/WWE feel to it. If the NHRA wanted to generate fan interest they should work with all of the "official" sponsors and get them to help promote the sport and stop preaching to the choir. In the interest of full disclosure I'm still rooting for V to make it, because I always root for V. Hopefully next year we can return to real racing championships.

D
Glad I'm not booked on China Airlines for Thailand

 

[D]

got knocked to the ground at topeka when every one around me went crazy when the Powerlosers sent a t-shirt to my section

Operative word T-shirt, singular, I'd almost be able to to stomach those clowns if they fired off a few hundred t-shirts per race. Or better yet evryone through the gate gets a free t-shirt to help promote the sport and have videos explaining all of the classes and the various aspects of the sport during down time and maybe the powerade guys could just hand out cold free Powerade (and while they're at it they could hand out some NHRA branded Coke and Dasani) to the teams and fans.

D

 

[camaro]

so far i've counted 2 or 3 dives, Arends and Kurt Johnson and possibly Naylor. Its bad enuff that the 2007 champion will be someone who just had a couple of good races, but now with all this potential of diving, the Powerade title may be truly be undeserved. with Arend and Johnson, they both went in the tank against a car with the same sponsor , but Naylor, if he did in fact lose on purpose is risking pissing off his sponsor. Its gonna be difficult for a car owner to order a dive with two different sponsors paying the bills so maybe whoever's funding the car will be the determining factor on who tanks or not.

 

[farmje]

Man, isn't that just been how it's been over there for her?

I'm with you 100% Martin. While I appreciate the dignified thing to do, and that team taking a stand, I would have loved to see her in the chase...and to me, Morgan should have taken a dive with or without Mel's approval. "It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

It just made me ill watching her lose that race.