Force vs Hagan (1 Viewer)

[Nunz]

Once three bulbs are on (i.e. one driver is fully staged and the other is pre-staged), that's when auto-start kicks in. If the first racer double-bulbs, then the other can take as much time as he wants until his own pre-stage light is on, at which point the clock is triggered.

Thanks Brad, that's what I thought, which is why Hagan was in a position to really screw with Force if he wanted, but it rattled him.

 

[Jeff]

I wonder, is there a limit on fuel tank size?

 

[sammi]

I accidentally double bulb'd a guy at the Summit super pro race in June. I went over and apologized, fist bumped him and nobody got butt hurt.

JR has the right idea. Just F with him every chance you get.

 

[Randy]

Being new to top sportsman and not knowing everyone yet in the class, at Las Vegas I had a guy double bulb me while my wheelie bars were being adjusted. I continued on and did my normal deal. In the shut down area I see him climb out of his car and here he comes. I thought, "Here we go, he thinks I took too long." He started apologizing right off letting me know he "doesn't race that way," and it was only qualifying. I thought that was pretty classy of him and told him so.

Just pay attention to what you can control and not what you can't. My experience has been 10 times out of 13, typically, the driver trying to screw with you ends up screwing himself.

 

[Dragracer]

I wonder, is there a limit on fuel tank size?

No limit on fuel tank size. Teams talk before the race to determine how long it takes them to be ready to stage as they have their cars set up for a certain period of running time before staging. An example is a team like Jim Dunn's does a short burn out and takes less time to be ready than one that takes a longer burnout so he starts his engine later. Each team plans how long they want their engine running before staging so they coordinate with the other team so they are both ready at the same time. It's extremely rare that you will see a burn down in the fuel classes like you do in Pro Stock.

 

[vegasnitro]

I just watched the NHRA.tv replay and couldn’t see anything. Was there something on the Fox show that showed what happened on the line?
If no one goes into stage, well that’s on both drivers. They are both making that choice - no one has a God given right to stage second. But from the comments above it seems like John went in first.
As for double bulbing, if you’re an elite driver you should be able to handle that. This is a sport, and one that is more a mental game than most, so I’m with Force. Any advantage a driver can get, within the realms of safety, is acceptable.

Hagan switched lanes on Force right before the run. Force double bulbed him. Force out ran him anyway in the lane they didn't want. Hagan gets pissy at the top end with Force.

I like Hagan and Force both, but I don't see why Hagan got so upset. Everything that occurred was within the boundaries of the rules.

 

[Jeff]

No limit on fuel tank size. Teams talk before the race to determine how long it takes them to be ready to stage as they have their cars set up for a certain period of running time before staging. An example is a team like Jim Dunn's does a short burn out and takes less time to be ready than one that takes a longer burnout so he starts his engine later. Each team plans how long they want their engine running before staging so they coordinate with the other team so they are both ready at the same time. It's extremely rare that you will see a burn down in the fuel classes like you do in Pro Stock.

Thanks Terry. I was aware of the timing and cooperation amongst the crew chiefs.
My thought was kind of thinking ahead with a tank a gallon or 2 bigger for the possibility of a burndown.
The heat in the Clutch on the other hand, is another story...

 

[yoda]

Could it also been that John knows who has the better car? He made mention of that in the post-race spot and I found it telling, especially after having to pay that fine for the illegal mods...

Couple that with setting Amanda on fire back in Denver after she asked about the fine, and it looks like the pressure is on a bit...

 

[TD5023]

Being new to top sportsman and not knowing everyone yet in the class, at Las Vegas I had a guy double bulb me while my wheelie bars were being adjusted. I continued on and did my normal deal. In the shut down area I see him climb out of his car and here he comes. I thought, "Here we go, he thinks I took too long." He started apologizing right off letting me know he "doesn't race that way," and it was only qualifying. I thought that was pretty classy of him and told him so.

Just pay attention to what you can control and not what you can't. My experience has been 10 times out of 13, typically, the driver trying to screw with you ends up screwing himself.

In my experience, if a racer in a sportsman class double bulbs, the starter will back him out and force courtesy staging. I'm not sure if that's handled differently across divisions, though.

 

[Nunz]

Thanks Terry. I was aware of the timing and cooperation amongst the crew chiefs.
My thought was kind of thinking ahead with a tank a gallon or 2 bigger for the possibility of a burndown.
The heat in the Clutch on the other hand, is another story...

As unreal as it seems, my understanding is that hanging just a couple pounds of weight on the front end of these cars affects them, so I don't think 1-2 gallons of extra fuel in case of a burndown would be practical, especially given how rare they are in the fuel classes.

 

[Jeff]

As unreal as it seems, my understanding is that hanging just a couple pounds of weight on the front end of these cars affects them, so I don't think 1-2 gallons of extra fuel in case of a burndown would be practical, especially given how rare they are in the fuel classes.

If there is a burndown, weight problem solved...
I know that when we would put weight on our car, 5 lbs. did not do much.
10 or 15, made some difference on a 8 sec dragster

 

[Nunz]

If there is a burndown, weight problem solved...
I know that when we would put weight on our car, 5 lbs. did not do much.
10 or 15, made some difference on a 8 sec dragster

Ahh but IF there is a burndown, lol. Otherwise you're carrying a gallon or two of fuel for no reason, and I'm not sure what that weighs. In all reality, burndowns don't really happen in the fuel classes anymore.

 

[65 Goatboy]

I may be wrong, but my understanding is, after the first driver lights up the second bulb, the other driver only has 7 seconds to get their second bulb on. I may be wrong though.

I think it's up to the starter who has finger on the button but I to could be wrong. Remember all the famous Warren Johnson burn downs?

 

[zippy]

http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/what-happened-when-hagan-and-john-force-exchanged-words

 

[Dennis]

I like Hagan, so I'm not trying to bad mouth him.

The whole "respect the other driver" has its limits, and quite frankly could be part of the problem that is today's NHRA borefest. Don't get me wrong, drivers shouldn't be disrespecting to other drivers but once those engines are running, every driver can and should use every legal tool to gain an advantage.

These aren't the old days where people like Garlits are looking in their mirrors to see if the pipes are dry. Or wondering if there's too much clutch. Today's drivers are hired solely to drive and you need to own that process once the engine is running and the body is down.

Again not knocking Hagan because from what I can tell he's a good guy and good driver. I'm just surprised that he is doubling down on this rather than just say "yeah I got heated, I'm over it on to the next race."

 

[Joker]

Hagan's just a big headed baby

 

[n/a]

Don't know him personally so I can't take a side although he seems like a likeable guy. When you get out of one of those timebombs you're probably a tidbit amped up.