Funny car Trouble in Nostalgia Land (1 Viewer)

[rocketman]

I was reading Utterbeck's column on DRO about boycotts and blackballing going on over in the nostalgia funny car ranks over money, so I got curious and went over to headerflames and oh boy what a fiasco! It sounds like quite a bruhaha is brewing Nitroland style!

I'm an outsider and I know those guy could careless about what I have to say, but it's to damn bad that those guys are fighting. Because Those cars are maybe what saves nitro match racing from total extinction. It's to bad they can't all come together make nitro match racing stronger rather than weaker.

If they get just a handful of cars in both Spokane and Boise it will mean fewer races for them next year.

 

[Buzzz Miller]

It is like a husband and wife fighting. You can see a quick solution from the outside, but once you are apart of the fight, the vision is blinded.
It is really too bad.
But I am choosing to steer clear of it. In fact, re-thinking my idea of making a nostalgia body.

 

[Darryl]

I've heard you could never get two racers to agree on anything but I've got to wonder if some of these folks have dreams bigger than reality. I have always thought that these cars could be a big draw for some smaller tracks but I'm not certain they aren't busy pricing themselves out of the market. I don't have a dog in the hunt so I certainly don't deserve an opinon...doesn't mean a don't HAVE one though.

Guys, please tell me I'm wrong, but are you sure it's not better to show the customer how good you can be and how much money you could make for them BEFORE raising the prices?

 

[Mike]

Always the problem when racers run the show. Where are the Good Guys when you need them

 

[Chi-Town Brown]

I was reading Utterbeck's column on DRO about boycotts and blackballing going on over in the nostalgia funny car ranks over money, so I got curious and went over to headerflames and oh boy what a fiasco! It sounds like quite a bruhaha is brewing Nitroland style!

I'm an outsider and I know those guy could careless about what I have to say, but it's to damn bad that those guys are fighting. Because Those cars are maybe what saves nitro match racing from total extinction. It's to bad they can't all come together make nitro match racing stronger rather than weaker.

If they get just a handful of cars in both Spokane and Boise it will mean fewer races for them next year.

Don't get all a fluster and think the sky is falling. It's not. Every org. has its internal strife. It will work out before next years calander starts to fill in. Those cars do run on money. It takes a good $$ to send one 1320 feet. Not to mention travel expenses lodging for owner AND crew. When its all said and done. Even getting paid the current top $$ you still loose money. And if you break something? Your DEEP in the Red for the day.

Speaking of Nitroland. IT'S BACK!! Nitroland.US

 

[rocketman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know all about the costs of racing a car. The politics and all that crap but I think racers are sometimes their worst enemy.

 

[Tom]

I worked on a FED for 5 years and never heard any whinning about money or the lack of from the folks running their NTF cars. We are trying to get our car off the ground with the knowledge that we will be in debt while running the car. Lets face it, this is a very expensive hobby!!!!

I haven't worked on the Funny side of racing, so could someone tell me where the difference is between running a funny and a NTF concerning cost outlay and cost to keep their program afloat?

 

[Chi-Town Brown]

I worked on a FED for 5 years and never heard any whinning about money or the lack of from the folks running their NTF cars. We are trying to get our car off the ground with the knowledge that we will be in debt while running the car. Lets face it, this is a very expensive hobby!!!!

I haven't worked on the Funny side of racing, so could someone tell me where the difference is between running a funny and a NTF concerning cost outlay and cost to keep their program afloat?

They may not have argued between themselves because they always held a gun to Goodguys head every March meet for whatever it was they wanted at that time.

But to compare the commodity of pipe racks to F/Cs is Apples and Oranges. The F/Cs put more butts in the stands. That’s more income for track operators and therefore a share of the wealth is appropriate. That’s what all the current hooppla is about. The F/Cs ran a program last year for the tracks in question for negotiated (discounted) rate and the projected attendance for that event was exceeded almost 3 fold. This years should have equaled or exceeded that and the F/C contingent wanted its fair share. The track wanted them to "Do it cheap One more time" and said no. The track then went to try and book a few of them on there own.

As for the cost difference of T/F vs F/C? The F/Cs cost less because you have 1 less crew guy. There isn't any oil to clean up on the F/Cs.

 

[Tom]

Why do you beleive that the oil down is less with the Funnys than the FEDs? Is it the motors, 92 verse the 26 or the maintenance?

 

[Nitrohaulic]

I know when I was picking Brendan Murry's brain in Bowling Green last year, I asked them if their center section was 9" or 9.5" I practically called him a liar and he got everyone on his team to tell me that, not only was it a 9", but it was the same 9" STREET gear in the car for two years! He said it was because of the narrow tires slipping and soft clutch setting, that they never shake.

As soon as I told him I was doing a funny, he said I'd better run a pro gear and mag it often, because I'd be hammering the ring gear. I may have found a way around that, though. I've got modern 17" wide tires on old 16x13 wheels. The big tires give the car the look it needs, but with six pounds of air pressure, you can slide a metal ruler 3" under the tire on each side, so I've got 11" on the ground.

LOL, watching the video of his boomer in Columbus, I couldn't help thinking how small the pieces would have been if that'd been in a funny car body.

 

[Chi-Town Brown]

As soon as I told him I was doing a funny, he said I'd better run a pro gear and mag it often, because I'd be hammering the ring gear. I may have found a way around that, though. I've got modern 17" wide tires on old 16x13 wheels. The big tires give the car the look it needs, but with six pounds of air pressure, you can slide a metal ruler 3" under the tire on each side, so I've got 11" on the ground.

With the sidewalls pulled up so the tire is crowned it will wear the centers. Eventually it will have all the rubber on the ground. Unless your going to be a 6 second Alcohol car you worry to much. Your better off with the correct tire and wheel combination. What's that saying? "Don't try and reinvent the wheel"

 

[Tom]

We want to go another direction with the race car. We plan to run a 426. We feel that the motor will be cheaper to run than the 92. Now is the time for us to make that move. We have been talking to one team that is running the 26 and they are happy with what they see so far. I understand that others may be going that direction also.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

With the sidewalls pulled up so the tire is crowned it will wear the centers. Eventually it will have all the rubber on the ground. Unless your going to be a 6 second Alcohol car you worry to much. Your better off with the correct tire and wheel combination. What's that saying? "Don't try and reinvent the wheel"

I just don't want to be the blown alcohol FED with beadlocks and 17 wide tires we watched last year. Immediately hooked, did a little wheelstand, and proceeded to shake like hell. I half guessed that's what it would do, too.

If I can get the amount of slippage that I want, I'll take wearing out the centers early as opposed to shaking.

 

[Chi-Town Brown]

I just don't want to be the blown alcohol FED with beadlocks and 17 wide tires we watched last year. Immediately hooked, did a little wheelstand, and proceeded to shake like hell. I half guessed that's what it would do, too.

If I can get the amount of slippage that I want, I'll take wearing out the centers early as opposed to shaking.

Why not 16 or 14 wide tire? Isn't that in a round about way what your doing? The only differance being your carrying more tire mass and adding to the difficulty of getting on the tire with your idea?

 

[Silly Savage]

This only my opinion and an observation. The NFC guys promoted the hell out of themselves, started to build the cars (with limited race options) and then wanted places to run. I guess what I see is that it was their idea to build the cars and they wanted to race and now they won't race because they can't get the money they "NEED"....did someone put a gun to their head and tell them to build the cars???? I think there are guys out there racing for all the wrong reasons, especially with the current state of affairs with track availability and fan attraction. This isn't the 60 and 70's.....

I wouldn't build a race car if I can't afford to race it....

 

[Chi-Town Brown]

I really don't think its the case of the money they NEED!! I think its more the money they DESERVE!! If the F/Cs are putting 5000 extra butts in the stands then they deserve the appropriate compensation. If there putting 10,000 more butts in the stands then they deserve twice the compensation as the 5000 turnout venue. If you negotiate a deal with a projected 5000 seat turnout (Just using a number for compairison) and the venue sells 15,000 tickets there not going to pay you any extra are they? Of coarse not. But the following year you will want the appropriate compensation for the 15K seat sales arn't you? And what do you say when the track wants the same arrangement as the previous year?

 

[Silly Savage]

Well , are we comparing an event at Famoso, with one in Utah and one in Arizona, etc, etc.....

You have to look at each show independently. Who's to say that the NFCs (or any class for that matter) put more butts in the seats. I know of a group that said they had a great turn out at a certain event and how packed it was....problem was the "crowd" was mainly there to see the advertised show (imports and bracket racing) and not their little side show of index dragsters....

You have to look at the entertainment value of nostalgia racing. The number of actual fans that come to a race (not counting racers and their family and crew) is not what it needs to be for the tracks to make the money they coudl with an import race or bracket race. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending tracks promotors, nor am I on any one side. I've seen how it works from both sides and it comes down to working together. As I said before, this isn't the old days when there wasn't a lot of other hobbies and venues for the public to spend their money on. With gas prices and the price of racing going up and up, can anyone really expect to be paid well to do their "hobby?"

Nostalgia racing isn't as big as the PSCA, NHRA, etc. Nostalgia racing is based and supported around the small group of racers that used to do it and want to do it the old way...not the new way.....

Just facts....

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Why not 16 or 14 wide tire? Isn't that in a round about way what your doing? The only differance being your carrying more tire mass and adding to the difficulty of getting on the tire with your idea?

Yes, it is. I want to have about the same amount of rubber on the ground that the FEDs have, but have the big tire look to fill the wells of the body. I believe the tire and wheel combination I have IS what was used in the early 80s. (80 Omni) The common knowledge seems to be that shake happens if the car hooks too soon. I remember Frank Hawley writing that the way to avoid shake is to apply more power/make the tires slip longer. When Brendan's telling me he's had a 9" street gear in a nitro FED for two years, that's a situation I want to emulate, even if I'm using a bigger tire, but achieving a similar footprint. If it doesn't work, I'll find out.

 

[Toejam]

I really don't think its the case of the money they NEED!! I think its more the money they DESERVE!! If the F/Cs are putting 5000 extra butts in the stands then they deserve the appropriate compensation. If there putting 10,000 more butts in the stands then they deserve twice the compensation as the 5000 turnout venue. If you negotiate a deal with a projected 5000 seat turnout (Just using a number for compairison) and the venue sells 15,000 tickets there not going to pay you any extra are they? Of coarse not. But the following year you will want the appropriate compensation for the 15K seat sales arn't you? And what do you say when the track wants the same arrangement as the previous year?

Dan I think every racer thinks they deserve more Money! What exactly are the NFC guys demanding purse-wise anyway? $5,000 to win, $1,500 First round? I know that's a guess....

 

[Chi-Town Brown]

Dan I think every racer thinks they deserve more Money! What exactly are the NFC guys demanding purse-wise anyway? $5,000 to win, $1,500 First round? I know that's a guess....

That base figure is a bit LITE Joe. The figure depends on who and where and how many and what else is attached with it. Sometimes there are more to things than just what you see in print.