First, the throttle whacks are gone, and now...

[flapjack]

the warm ups are really short. I would hear a car start up and by the time I got there, the warm up was done.

 

[Butch]

The pit experience sure isn't what it used to be. Two throttle whacks should be mandatory. If they all did it, who cares how it affected the clutch?

Also, these things are total eye candy and all the teams should have a public space between the transporter awning and their hospitality trailers. That may be a bit of an inconvenience for the team but it would sure make the fans happier. Happy fans = ticket sales.

The last few national meets I've gone to, I end up spending more time in the sportsman pits. These guys are much more accessible and will usually let you walk around their cars, take pics and answer questions (E.g. Randy Meyer actually took me into his trailer to show me some clutch parts I was curious about). And, there's no crowd to elbow through.

Of the many issues there are with the current nitro racing, no more throttle whacks is just another part of why NHRA is having trouble filling the bleachers.

 

[StockersRock]

The last few national meets I've gone to, I end up spending more time in the sportsman pits. These guys are much more accessible and will usually let you walk around their cars, take pics and answer questions (E.g. Randy Meyer actually took me into his trailer to show me some clutch parts I was curious about). And, there's no crowd to elbow through.

Shhhh, don't give away the secret. We'll lose our elbow room!

 

[T.Smith]

The pit experience sure isn't what it used to be. Two throttle whacks should be mandatory. If they all did it, who cares how it affected the clutch?

Also, these things are total eye candy and all the teams should have a public space between the transporter awning and their hospitality trailers. That may be a bit of an inconvenience for the team but it would sure make the fans happier. Happy fans = ticket sales.

The last few national meets I've gone to, I end up spending more time in the sportsman pits. These guys are much more accessible and will usually let you walk around their cars, take pics and answer questions (E.g. Randy Meyer actually took me into his trailer to show me some clutch parts I was curious about). And, there's no crowd to elbow through.

Of the many issues there are with the current nitro racing, no more throttle whacks is just another part of why NHRA is having trouble filling the bleachers.

Maybe so, but drag racing still has the most access for fans compared to any other motorsport or sports entertainment for that matter.

We try to be more accessible than other teams. We give trailer tours if time permits. We encourage our crew guys to be friendly to fans and answer whatever questions that are asked. T.J. just about signs everything. We still pit our car nose first, so the fans can get a better look at the car and the work being done and in the evening, we typically take the rope down and fans tend to come in for a better look at the car.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Tony is right, drag racing fans have more access than anyone. As technology changes so will our sport. You can't dictate how a team prepares/warms
their car.

 

[DrRocket]

When I atttended the Indy 500 in 2013, we had the run of the pits the day before the race. That same "privilidge" cost $120 a pop this year.

 

[Huge]

When I atttended the Indy 500 in 2013, we had the run of the pits the day before the race. That same "privilidge" cost $120 a pop this year.

What really goes on the day before the Indy 500? They are not running any cars on the track are they?

 

[vegasnitro]

What really goes on the day before the Indy 500? They are not running any cars on the track are they?

Nope. By that point, you got what you got. There is no track time between Carb Day (Friday) and the race. Saturday used to mean IRP and the "Night Before the 500" USAC Sprint Cars, was one of the biggest races of the year for the sprinters, I saw Jeff Gordon win it in '90 or '91. Don't know if they still do that or not. Now that I think about it, I probably saw Sprint Cars at IRP a while before I ever saw the US Nationals. Seems weird to say.

EDIT: Yup, they still run it.

http://www.lucasoilraceway.com/apcm/templates/racedivisions.asp?articleid=41241

 

[JC]

At Epping last weekend I noticed some teams doing a very short (for todays standards) burnouts... Not sure if the whole six disc clutch has an effect on this or not but it sure was a lot more fun to watch when Force would burn the hides to the 1/8 mile.

 

[PJ]

Maybe so, but drag racing still has the most access for fans compared to any other motorsport or sports entertainment for that matter.

We try to be more accessible than other teams. We give trailer tours if time permits. We encourage our crew guys to be friendly to fans and answer whatever questions that are asked. T.J. just about signs everything. We still pit our car nose first, so the fans can get a better look at the car and the work being done and in the evening, we typically take the rope down and fans tend to come in for a better look at the car.

Very true my daughter remembers being with John Roger's girls and I think is was Kathy showing them the parachute. Maybe 7 yrs ago. Been fans of the team ever since.

 

[PJ]

The is a tough balance between making sponsors happy, going rounds and keeping the fans happy. You need each element to be successful. Sponsors keep you out there, if fans like you they buy from your sponsor hopefully which is why the sponsors are there. Going rounds gets you more fans and more time in front of cameras which makes the sponsors happy. It's hard to keep each happy at all times.
Perhaps bringing back more of the "show" would help but would something else suffer for that to happen?

 

[CJDeeds]

I think that the time crunch between rounds has definitely had a major impact on the fan experience. I remember when I was younger being able to watch the pros and the alcohol classes run and still have time to cruise the pits and manufacturer midway. A lot harder to do that these days. You also don't have the wide variety of meet and greets like you did in the 1990s, where the majority of the sponsors would bring drivers in town the week before the race. There are still some but not the plethora that there used to be.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

I think that the time crunch between rounds has definitely had a major impact on the fan experience. I remember when I was younger being able to watch the pros and the alcohol classes run and still have time to cruise the pits and manufacturer midway. A lot harder to do that these days. You also don't have the wide variety of meet and greets like you did in the 1990s, where the majority of the sponsors would bring drivers in town the week before the race. There are still some but not the plethora that there used to be.

Very good point Cory. The quick turn around does make the between rd pit experience tough to do.

 

[mick]

said it before, i'll say it again....somewhere between the late 80's and early 2000's NHRA stumbled into IMO it's most exciting
period where the whole day at the drags sold itself very easily.....also IMO i don't think it will ever be quite that good again and
am glad to have witnessed this period.

throttle wacks / long burnout & no throttle stops / dry hops up till '88 / 1320' / tracks not as prepped as today /
chasing mph and et records / 290, 300, 310, 320, 330 mph / 4 sec. runs / 200 mph PS / 300" TFr's / 90% & 100% nitro
tons of time in pits between rounds and the fans didn't seem to mind / closer access to cars in pits /
winston / better mfgr. midway / more independent teams / and a few more i'm sure i'm missing

about the only thing that's the same now is the greek

 

[DrRocket]

What really goes on the day before the Indy 500? They are not running any cars on the track are they?

They empty out the museum, and run some laps with the vintage cars. That was fun to watch. (Those old Offenhouser 4 cylinders made some serious noise!) and also the "formal" driver's meeting. Afterwards, we roamed the pit area and watched them work on the cars.

 

[vegasnitro]

They empty out the museum, and run some laps with the vintage cars. That was fun to watch. (Those old Offenhouser 4 cylinders made some serious noise!) and also the "formal" driver's meeting. Afterwards, we roamed the pit area and watched them work on the cars.

Those Offy's are amazing engines. DOHC and 4 valves per cylinder in the 1930's!!! Later on they did unit construction so there was no separate cylinder head from the block (Porsche became the first company to do this for street cars on the latest 911s) and ran the compression as high as 18-1 . And they were all 4 cylinders crushing competition with much more displacement/cylinders. I believe they are still way ahead on the leaderboard for Indy 500 wins, they won in every decade more than once from the 30's to the 70's with an engine of the same basic design. Way, way ahead of their time.

Those parades they do are pretty cool, they used to do that on Carb Day, but I guess with the Indy Lights race now on Carb Day too ... They pushed the historic stuff back to Saturday. I am curious as to what work they do on the race cars on Saturday as I was under the impression the cars were basically under impound between Carb Day and the race.

 

[DrRocket]

I am curious as to what work they do on the race cars on Saturday as I was under the impression the cars were basically under impound between Carb Day and the race.

In Pippa Mann's case, they were replacing the transmission due to a vibration she felt during practice.

 

[n/a]

If NHRA offered some bonus points: throttle whacks, dry hops and long burnouts would return.
How cool would it be to see a dry hop today after a long burnout?

 

[Toejam]

Maybe so, but drag racing still has the most access for fans compared to any other motorsport or sports entertainment for that matter.

We try to be more accessible than other teams. We give trailer tours if time permits. We encourage our crew guys to be friendly to fans and answer whatever questions that are asked. T.J. just about signs everything. We still pit our car nose first, so the fans can get a better look at the car and the work being done and in the evening, we typically take the rope down and fans tend to come in for a better look at the car.

I remember taking a couple of Diehard NASCAR fans to the track in Ennis back around 1998? They couldn't believe fans could just walk in the pits like they do, since you can't do that in NASCAR! They loved that....and yes they have been back on a number of occasions.

 

[Toejam]

Those Offy's are amazing engines. DOHC and 4 valves per cylinder in the 1930's!!! Later on they did unit construction so there was no separate cylinder head from the block (Porsche became the first company to do this for street cars on the latest 911s) and ran the compression as high as 18-1 . And they were all 4 cylinders crushing competition with much more displacement/cylinders. I believe they are still way ahead on the leaderboard for Indy 500 wins, they won in every decade more than once from the 30's to the 70's with an engine of the same basic design. Way, way ahead of their time.

Those parades they do are pretty cool, they used to do that on Carb Day, but I guess with the Indy Lights race now on Carb Day too ... They pushed the historic stuff back to Saturday. I am curious as to what work they do on the race cars on Saturday as I was under the impression the cars were basically under impound between Carb Day and the race.

Chris, there is a guy here in town with a 1947 Curtis Midget with a Offy. He fires that thing every once in awhile, strange sound out of those things!