Four-Wide It still stinks

[d'kid]

Lets see maybe I'm wrong but,...
1st rd - 16 cars go down = just like 2-wide
2nd rd - 8 cars go down = just like 2-wide
3rd rd - 4 cars go down = just like 2-wide
TOTAL 28 RUNS

2-WIDE HAS 1 MORE PAIR OF 2 CARS
TOTAL 30 RUNS

Zappy,
4 wide has 7 races... 4 + 2 + 1 (Winners & Runner-ups advance)
2 wide has 15 races... 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 (winners only)

d'kid

 

[Mark]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to pay the same price and see half the amount of racing. Is it twice as loud? A nitro car pass is mighty impressive. So you go there to watch rounds. Instead of 15 you get seven.

This is my biggest beef with 4 wide, which is why in all honesty I would rather see them to back to 2 wide at least in eliminations, however I have to remind myself that I don't go to national events to only see the pros. There were 12 classes running at Charlotte, only 4 of which were 4 wide.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Zappy,
4 wide has 7 races... 4 + 2 + 1 (Winners & Runner-ups advance)
2 wide has 15 races... 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 (winners only)

d'kid

Yes Karl but like I showed, the difference in total amount of cars going down the track, is only two.

 

[jackass]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to pay the same price and see half the amount of racing. Is it twice as loud? A nitro car pass is mighty impressive. So you go there to watch rounds. Instead of 15 you get seven.
QUOTE]


Actualy it cost $5 more to go to the 4 wide over the 2 wide that is in the Countdown later in the year at the same track.....

and personaly.. i might be slightly deaf..but i cant tell the difference in 2 or 4 running at the same time....

 

[Muddy]

Yes Karl but like I showed, the difference in total amount of cars going down the track, is only two.

Assuming you can watch 4 cars in 3.8 or 4.10 seconds. If you can watch them and be satisfied with what you see and don't see then more power to you. Personally, I'll take mine in the same time with only 2 cars. Much more enjoyable but that is only my opinion (and the opinion of most on here).

 

[d'kid]

Yes Karl but like I showed, the difference in total amount of cars going down the track, is only two.

Zappy,

Total number of CARS going down the track is 16 to start, that does not change. The difference is with four wide you see half the races.

 

[jpee]

Would anyone think "Badly" of me if I suggested 8..... W-I-D-E I think it would make one helluva show... Think of all the fun seeing who won & by how much...

 

[Huge]

Would anyone think "Badly" of me if I suggested 8..... W-I-D-E I think it would make one helluva show... Think of all the fun seeing who won & by how much...

Damn, talk about walking up to a hornets nest and spraying water.

 

[clwill]

Zappy,
4 wide has 7 races... 4 + 2 + 1 (Winners & Runner-ups advance)
2 wide has 15 races... 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 (winners only)

d'kid

4 wide: 28 seconds of racing.
2 wide: a full minute of racing!

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Assuming you can watch 4 cars in 3.8 or 4.10 seconds. If you can watch them and be satisfied with what you see and don't see then more power to you. Personally, I'll take mine in the same time with only 2 cars. Much more enjoyable but that is only my opinion (and the opinion of most on here).

If we, as drag fans can't watch 4 cars for 4 seconds go straight......
then how can we face our brethern nascar fans who can watch 40 cars for 4 hours go in a circle??????

 

[PJ]

If we, as drag fans can't watch 4 cars for 4 seconds go straight......
then how can we face our brethern nascar fans who can watch 40 cars for 4 hours go in a circle??????

ahhh they don't either. Watch a nascar race they focus on only a few cars chasing each other bumper to bumper, you rarely see the entire field and if so it is from the blimp when you can't tell what car is what.

Even if the do see a pack of cars they are bunched tighter than two lanes of drag racing.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Zappy,

Total number of CARS going down the track is 16 to start, that does not change. The difference is with four wide you see half the races.

Not necessarily sir. All depends on how you look at it. In one quad we have lanes:
1vs2
3vs4
1vs3
2vs4
1vs4
2vs3
total of 6 pairings. x 4 quads = 24 pairings in first rd.

Rd 2 - 6 pairings x two quads = 12 pairings

final rd 6 pairing x one quad = 6 pairings / total 40 pairings :eek
With 2 wide, 16 car field you get 15 pairings......hmmmm
is the glass half empty, or half full???

 

[d'kid]

Not necessarily sir. All depends on how you look at it. In one quad we have lanes:
1vs2
3vs4
1vs3
2vs4
1vs4
2vs3
total of 6 pairings. x 4 quads = 24 pairings in first rd.

Rd 2 - 6 pairings x two quads = 12 pairings

final rd 6 pairing x one quad = 6 pairings / total 40 pairings :eek
With 2 wide, 16 car field you get 15 pairings......hmmmm
is the glass half empty, or half full???

zap. 4 wide you have NO pairs, it's lane 1 v 2 v 3 v 4.... and they screwed up; just take the four winners from round one and they run round two for the title... everyone could then pack up and go home by two-thirty or so. All of which is why I DID NOT WATCH IT.
On a good weekend, I only watch to see Bob, Court,Brit & Erica run. when they done running, I'm no longer watching... all else is just background noise... just look at results at DRC... sundays, have espn3 on computer while I'm doing other things, most likely reading or playing with grandkids.

 

[rckymtn3]

Kevin, it sounds like you must have an inside scoop here...so can you share with us which drivers told you this interesting info?

Just going from my memory of the first 4wide on TV. The drivers when interviewed, especially at a loss, or being hung out on the starting line, weren't too keen on it, with the staging mostly. I also recall how Bruton was saying (I paraphrase) "I spend all this money on improving drag racing, building tracks etc, and then I get bad-mouthed about it, maybe I should just not do it." or something to that effect. NHRA instantly did some damage control and reassured him he was very important.

I was going to place a link here, but once I googled "bruton smith upset nhra" it seems any of the articles, though they show-up, are now scrubbed from the system...most likely because it was some time ago, and the archived the article.

here's an example of the first site that pops up on that search from espn

What are the NHRA racers thinking? - ESPN.com
sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/nhra/columns/story?columnist...id...

Apr 7, 2010 – ... letter-of-no to NHRA president Tom Compton, along with Bruton Smith, chairman ... And what if the NHRA tells Smith, based on the PRO vote, it won't race ... We were asked to send out a petition by drivers who were upset." ...

wasn't trying to gossip, honest. Just going off of what I remember, which is spotty at times, I'll agree.

 

[rckymtn3]

even though the rule change makes determing a winner of this sport similar to the other two that they watch.

I'm rather sure that is the definition of a lemming.

They've already messed-up qualifying and the national points system with the countdown (chase) and 12 carry-over etc.

It's your view, so I understand how you can see it that way. But changing the dynamics of a sport to better package it to entice more viewers is selling it's soul. Sounds dramatic, I know, but my point is, drag racing has existed as a two lane acceleration sport since it's inception, and let's face it, it's exciting enough as it is. One on One. The victor moves forward to compete, the loser goes home. Packaging it to get a few more lookie-loos versus making it more accessible to fans seems to be the over-all mistake here in my mind.

New Coke is a fine example of a similar move. Change the recipe, and the core fans react, and really, you only gain a few temporary sales in the curiosity category.

Just my view, and you have yours. It's cool.

 

[rckymtn3]

If we, as drag fans can't watch 4 cars for 4 seconds go straight......
then how can we face our brethern nascar fans who can watch 40 cars for 4 hours go in a circle??????

We pack a bunch into a very brief moment in time. Roundy-rounds have up to five hundred miles to drink it in and pick and choose who they'll watch. It's apple and oranges as I see it. If the roundies had a one lap race, and there's a pile-up in turn 3, no one would watch who crossed the finish line first.
Besides, I would bet you money that if you and I stood next to each other in the stands, after a run, and I ask you about what the three other cars did while you watched the fourth car, you wouldn't have an answer other than "so and so smoked the tires"

We all choose a car and watch it, and in our periphery we keep track of the other car, but at these speeds and times involved, at some point, you choose which car you're going to watch until the laundry gets thrown.

In 4x, two cars are completely ignored unless in that VERY rare chance, all four cross the line together.

 

[mick]

i agree that 4-wide is challenging to monitor, on TV and i'm sure the same
in person. TV provides replay which helps interpret what transpired and
similarly the nhra-vision live display should be in place to do the same.

I had read that Bruton was going to debut a new large video screen
at last weekend's race, in addition to the traveling nhra unit.....anyone
know if this was in place? if so, how was it?

 

[TooTall999]

I always find it interesting how people have such a hard time dealing with change. Whether they're unable or unwilling to accept it, or both. Let me give you some examples. Golf purists absolutely despise match play. Golfer A plays against golfer B. Golfer A shoots a 67 and golfer B shoots a 68 and gets eliminated. Meanwhile, golfer C plays golfer D. Golfer C shoots a 71 and golfer D shoots a 72, and golfer C gets to advance even though he shot 3 shots worse than golfer B who was eliminated. Both golf fans and players think this is completely absurd and should never happen.

In drag racing, it happens all the time and we are just fine with it. Car A runs a 3.77 and beats car B who ran a 3.85. Car C and D race each other and it's a peddle fest and car C wins 4.60 to 4.95. It's funny how we as drag racing fans have absolutely no problem whatsoever that car C is advancing to the next round with a 4.60 yet, car B is eliminated after running a 3.85. Why are drag racing fans okay with this scenario but golf fans are not? I think it's truly just because it's what they are used to, or better still, this is the way it's always been.

I think it would be hilarious to see the reactions from NASCAR fans if they decided to have one race a year where they take the #1 qualified car and race them heads up against the #40 qualifier for a predetermined amount of laps. (I know there are 43 cars that qualify for a NASCAR race, I was just picking an even number) Take the #2 qualifier and race him heads up against the #39 qualifier, and so on until the field is whittled down to the final 2.
The NASCAR fans would complain that it's not a real race when only 2 cars are running, you need all 43 on the track. Conversely, drag racing fans say 4 cars is not a real race, you need to have just 2 on the track to be a real race.

There are plenty of people who are either casual, semi, or hardcore fans of all 3 of the sports I mentioned above. They are just fine with the way each sport determines a winner, yet you change the rules just a bit on one of them and there is a huge backlash, even though the rule change makes determing a winner of this sport similar to the other two that they watch.

So let's just make it 16 wide and everyone runs once..better for live TV and it might interest the NASCRAP fans...

 

[murdock]

I had read that Bruton was going to debut a new large video screen
and last weekend's race, in addition to the traveling nhra unit.....anyone
know if this was in place? if so, how was it?

No new screen, just the NHRA unit. There was talk of having a screen at the start line area, but they would have had to take down some of the sponsor boards, and they didn't want to lose that revenue.

 

[PJ]

Not necessarily sir. All depends on how you look at it. In one quad we have lanes:
1vs2
3vs4
1vs3
2vs4
1vs4
2vs3
total of 6 pairings. x 4 quads = 24 pairings in first rd.

Rd 2 - 6 pairings x two quads = 12 pairings

final rd 6 pairing x one quad = 6 pairings / total 40 pairings :eek
With 2 wide, 16 car field you get 15 pairings......hmmmm
is the glass half empty, or half full???

Holy crap, Pops, with that logic I may need to put you in a home sooner that I thought