I'm Done

[DragFan2]

I 'm not exactly throwing it under the bus either. I 'm going to vegas, because the top elim tickets and plane tickets are bought and paid for.

the key words in your post are 'for the time being'

well I don't get that vibe from austin and alan johnson, just for two prominent examples. Sounds to me like they'd be fine with 1000' forever.

I have to speak up. I love the sport, but I 'm not watching the show tonight.

As far as I 'm concerned NHRA and ALL of the teams should be more emphatic about the temporary nature of this change, and asking us to bear with it TEMPORARILY

not saying oh 'we only race to 1000' feet anyway.

Thanks Tony I hope we see each other at a race someday.

Hey Bob,

I "did" watch the race last night, as well as a good bit of the qualifying show Saturday night (on DVR Sunday afternoon) and to tell you the truth, it did not seem much different on TV. Maybe in person it would so I'd like to hear from several of the Maters (Joe Sherwood?) that attended Denver to get their thoughts. Most of the nitro cars seemed to be at the 1320 stripe so fast (on TV) that it appeared that they were still pulling their chutes there vs. at or near the 1,000 ft. stripe. The racing was close at times although the Right Lane seemed to cause more difficulties than the Left so those with lane choice always took the left lane. Gary Densham (as well as some others) made very good smokeless runs in the right lane, but downtrack it did not seem to hold the horespower. Without the cooling tubes under the 1st 330 ft. of track that the Bandimere's installed, the runs would all have been junk and a smokefest from the hit as the track was HOT all day, at least the last 660 ft. was.

I'm not DONE and I wanted to see what 1000 ft. looked like, at least on TV, and other than the quicker ET's and slower MPH, it seemed pretty much the same. Maybe it was just me, but a few others seem to have the same opinion. I know where you are coming from though, as sometimes an "interim" solution turns into a "permanent" solution and that still could happen I guess. Time will tell.

~Kurt

 

[clwill]

Some of the people here remind me of a five year old running away from home. "That's it, if you're going to make me take a bath, I'm running away." They stand by the door with their teddy bear in their hand. "I'm outta here." More standing by the door. "I mean it, I'm gone." Nothing. "No really, if you do that, I'm leaving!" Nothing...

If drag racing meant so little to you that literally every single person who does it for a living saying something has to change -- and that this is a good temporary change -- doesn't stop you from stomping noisily out the door, then well "see ya!".

 

[Old Sg]

Our pits in Denver were just beyond the finish line(1320) and being considerably above the track we had an excellent view on just how far the fuel cars were under fuel throttle. On Friday it was a mixed bag. Most were going to the 1320 with a few that lifted before the 1000'. We decided that a new terminlogy should be used for those that powered thru the 1320. FULL PULL. By Saturday it looked like they were catching on a little better finding the 1000'. Sunday most were back to the 1320' FULL PULL.
Sure did look funny though with two finish lines. That 1000' stripe looked a long ways from the 1320 stripe. Quite a few cars had to be towed up the hill off the track as they just couldn't coast far enough to make the turn. Fix the cars for next year so we can get back to 1320'.

 

[JT]

1000 foot racing was announced as a temporary move by the NHRA. Now a bunch of you are saying you don't want to go and support the racers until they go back to 1320. Well then Gary Scelzi said it right. He stated that if you don't care about my safety then I don't care about giving you an autograph. This move is for the drivers safety. Without the racers we don't have drag racing so give them some time to slow these cars down the correct way. Support the racers through this time.

 

[90-percent]

I cannot stomach or continue to tolerate the deaths of people like Scott Kalitta, Eric Medlin, Darryl Russell and almost John Force.

I am in favor of any move or moves that makes these cars a lot safer than they are currently.

I hope the leaders of this sport continue to strive to make it safer for everyone out there.

It was Scott this time, but it could have been anybody currently out there in a modern "unlimited" NHRA nitro car.

They turned F1 from mechanised slaughter into a relatively safe motorsport. In part because their whole community made safety job one. NHRA and the nitro racing community can surely do the same.

-90% Jimmy

 

[Dan]

Good job Keith but you have got to quit making so much sense.

 

[BlueStangGT]

I'm deadset against 1000 ft racing. Drag racing is 1320 ft, always has been, always should be I believe...

Wow, I find this kind of surprising to hear from you, J. You didn't dig the ADRL 1/8th mile stuff at Ennis last year?

 

[Terry]

Well, I'm another purist, and I wasn't happy with this decision when first announced. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to unwad my shorts, and wait to see how it worked. The very first reaction I had when I watched my recording last night was "Wow, that was over quick!" I got used to it though, and began to notice a lot of clean, oildown free racing, at least on TV. Some were still hurting parts of course. That will always happen. I mean, this is nitromethane. But there was nothing catastrophic as far as I could see.

What iced it for me was when Big Daddy said that, for now, "It's the right thing to do!" Big Daddy's been my hero since I first saw him race in Kansas City back in the sixties. If it's OK with him, I can live with it.

Very few times in the threes, but I attribute that to the mile high conditions. The proof in the pudding will be when they reach Seattle and California. By the time they reach Sonoma, I think the crew chiefs will have had time to analyze all the data and put together a new game plan. I'll be at Brainerd this year on Saturday only, due to time constraints. (Hope to see you there.) Remember this is the track that Allen Johnson produced what at the time was a jaw dropping 337.58 mph run on the then-new rev limiter.

The track chiller seemed to work well. It kept things consistant and I didn't notice nearly as many up-in-smoke-at-the-hit runs. Could this be the wave of the future??

Hi, David. I was one who went along with the 1000 ft deal in the interest of safety and buying some time to look at other solutions. But I was at Denver and was pleasantly suprised by the action. We were at the far end of the pit side grandstands (really close to the 1000 ft mark) and I saw some outstanding side by side runs even though it was just qualifying. And the oil down clean up time was minimal, but that may have just been coincidence--I'm not chalking that up totally to 1000 ft.
But never the less, the crowd truly went wild when Antron went 3.99 and was even louder when Hillary carded the first 300. And when Shoe came up with a "3 and 3" as we were calling it in the grandstands, the crowd, as Bob Frey would say, went wild! And then when Cory Mac ended the session with his 3.92 at I believe 308 everyone went nuts.

I thought it was a great show from a spectator standpoint, and with the potential of a bunch of "new " milestones to be bested for a while, I say, let's give 1000 ft a chance--if it gives us time to save a life it is critical, and after what I saw at Bandimere, it's a darn good show to boot!

 

[Nunz]

Justin, it may not be 1968, but I believe most agree that the fuel classes are out of control. Fuel racing has always been expensive, but right now, unless you have a big sponsorship deal in place, and/or are extremely wealthy, you are not going to own a fuel car that runs for the title. There are a lot of wealthy people out there, but it's one thing to have a multi-million dollar net worth, it's a whole different animal to be able to spend 1, 2, or 3 or more million a year to race (after a sizeable investment in equipment). That's 3Mil that you need to be able to set a match to. And we are not exactly attracting a ton of new compaines willing to underwrite these teams. And, with the current economy, it may be awhile. That's why, to me, after safety, the next big thing has got to be coming up with a different fuel car, because right now, while 1000ft is a good interim move, we've got the same bombs that less and less people can afford to light the fuse on.

 

[Joker]

Wow, I find this kind of surprising to hear from you, J. You didn't dig the ADRL 1/8th mile stuff at Ennis last year?

Tom, I LOVE the 1/8th mile ADRL races. I'll watch pro mods, outlaw 10.5's, any fast door car run the 1/8th mile any day of the week. Hell, last year and this year I even went to an ADRL race over a NHRA national event. But even so, if I had my choice the ADRL would be 1/4 mile also.

However, its all about the cars. I was at the San Antonio IHRA National Event this year for 1/8th mile Top Fuel and Funny Car racing. Its not my cup of tea at all. Its over way to fast. The doorcar stuff is wild and crazy and still almost out of control mayhem thats really exciting to watch. The fuelers arent like that. Its boring to me compared to 1/4th mile. I'm not against slowing the cars down, I think thats fine. I dont want to see anyone get hurt, but I dont like the 1000 ft deal. Though it was the easiest and less expensive way to fix it quick.

 

[Randy]

Justin, it may not be 1968, but I believe most agree that the fuel classes are out of control. Fuel racing has always been expensive, but right now, unless you have a big sponsorship deal in place, and/or are extremely wealthy, you are not going to own a fuel car that runs for the title. There are a lot of wealthy people out there, but it's one thing to have a multi-million dollar net worth, it's a whole different animal to be able to spend 1, 2, or 3 or more million a year to race (after a sizeable investment in equipment). That's 3Mil that you need to be able to set a match to. And we are not exactly attracting a ton of new compaines willing to underwrite these teams. And, with the current economy, it may be awhile. That's why, to me, after safety, the next big thing has got to be coming up with a different fuel car, because right now, while 1000ft is a good interim move, we've got the same bombs that less and less people can afford to light the fuse on.

Back in the good ol' days a couple of guys with a decent job could put together a pretty nice car and run competitively. I think there is a lot of talent on the sidelines because of the idiotic cost to do it, anymore.

Hats off to Steve Chrisman for showing up. He made a very good run against TS first round, yet nobody has said a word.

RG

 

[BlueStangGT]

Tom, I LOVE the 1/8th mile ADRL races. I'll watch pro mods, outlaw 10.5's, any fast door car run the 1/8th mile any day of the week. Hell, last year and this year I even went to an ADRL race over a NHRA national event. But even so, if I had my choice the ADRL would be 1/4 mile also.

Cool, got it. It's the fuel cars specifically, not drag racing in general.

 

[Nunz]

Randy, I think it's cool when Steve comes out with his car. I hope that NHRA can create a formula that allows Steve to come out more often, and be competitive, as well as entice others to do so.

 

[FABMAN]

Well I'm a purist, and hope the fuel cars get back to 1320 next year. Randy G's post was a good one. To me, I'd rather have all the noise and fury for the full 1320. But going 300 at the the 1320 is fine. Think about all the safety improvements made of late. Now combine all the latest safety improvements with a new tune-up or engine combo that results in a high 4 sec, 300mph, fuel car in the 1/4 mile. That's where we need to head. It would be a great show, much, much safer, and also a lot less expensive. Did everyone hear what Snake said? I thought he was on the money. 1000 ft. gives everyone a chance to breathe while coming up with a long term plan. Safety first, but right behind it is economics. The fuel classes have been forced into an overhaul, and it's been needed. We can't hope that we attract more super rich people to come into the sport and play. It has to make more business sense. A car that accelerates to 300 in the 1/4 vs. the current combos that are 330mph cars shutting off early, is going to be a safer, less destructive, more economical race car, that still puts on a great show. The great thing is, we have the talent in the sport to come up with the right package.

They better have a good set of enforcible rules, because none of them are going to slow down, I wonder if Alan J. will admit that his car runs slower first.

 

[Toejam]

After 2 days in Denver I can honestly that 1000' is better than I thought, but I'd take 1320 back in a heartbeat! Seeing a 4.33 to a 4.35 in FC just doesn't make any sense to me!

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Way to go Joe. Sure it'll take time to get used to the numbers, but we'll learn. Glad you had a great time.

1,ooo FT - we can LIVE with it.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Maybe in person it would so I'd like to hear from several of the Maters (Joe Sherwood?) that attended Denver to get their thoughts. ~Kurt

Uh, Kurt, did you miss Joe's post when it was first announced that they would run 1000' for the rest of the season? http://www.nitromater.com/nhra/16060-1000ft-drag-racing-denver.html Might want to find a Mater who went into this with a bit of an open mind.

This may come as a shock, but this is about people dying in drag racing. No one is a more staunch supporter of traditional 1320' racing than I am, but I'll be darned if I think what I want is more important then the safety of the people driving these cars.

And because of that, I feel it's worth hanging in there until something can be worked out and they're racing the quarter mile again.

 

[Toejam]

Uh, Kurt, did you miss Joe's post when it was first announced that they would run 1000' for the rest of the season? http://www.nitromater.com/nhra/16060-1000ft-drag-racing-denver.html Might want to find a Mater who went into this with a bit of an open mind.

This may come as a shock, but this is about people dying in drag racing. No one is a more staunch supporter of traditional 1320' racing than I am, but I'll be darned if I think what I want is more important then the safety of the people driving these cars.

And because of that, I feel it's worth hanging in there until something can be worked out and they're racing the quarter mile again.

Jackie, I guess you missed my post on this thread as well...

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Jackie, I guess you missed my post on this thread as well...

Maybe? Have you changed your thinking on the issue of nitro cars running 1000' since you posted what you did after Norwalk? If so, I will stand corrected.

Unfortunately, when you quote someone, you don't see what comes after it.

I went back to the top of this page, and saw your post so I will offer my apology for not reading the entire thread before posting my reply.

In any case, I will stand by my statement about this being about the safety of the racers, first and foremost. If there are those that cannot tolerate a change that will enable the drivers to be safer, while a permanent solution is worked out, so be it.

The thing that I have loved about drag racing from the first time I went through the pit gates at Island Dragway in 1966, was that to me, it is technologically heads and shoulders above other forms of motor sports. The history of the sport has always been to go faster and quicker. And even when some restrictions were placed on the cars, to slow them down for one reason or another, the technology was always there to overcome those restrictions and they went even faster and quicker. Now, it seems, we stand at the edge of drag racing as we know it, and people are dying. No matter how much I love the sport, and the technology involved with it to ever increase the speed and et, nothing is worth the loss of life.

Perhaps the technology will evolve so that the sport can continue to go faster and quicker, AND keep the drivers safe. If not, 1000' racing it will be.

I love drag racing. Period.

 

[Terry]

Kurt and Jackee I posted my impressions of the 1000 ft racing at Denver on post #88 of this thread. I guess I will toss that in here in the "for what it's worth" dept if anyone wants to see my take on the racing at Denver. If not, guess that's ok also.