Is 1000ft. any safer or better than 1320? (3 Viewers)

[mike]

If you are so stuck on the World Champs and tradition, why not go back all the way and just name the winner of the NHRA Finals the champ.

Face it, the COUNTdown and 1000' racing are here to stay. All the complaining coming from here will not change it.

well if nobody questions it, it sure as #@!! is gunna stay...

me, I don't like seeing 3/4 of a race, if that's OK for you fine, but don't tell me I shouldn't want to change back to 1320' racing

I guess eventually everyone that doesn't like 1000' racing, the Countdown, etc. will go away...that should be good for the sport right?


(BTW it wouldn't kill me if they invited the top 8 in points to the World Finals and the winner of the race was the season champ...if you are gunna have a "playoff" have a playoff )

 

[Rat]

I want to start by saying I am NOT speaking for the NHRA, this is simply my observation.

If you wanted to go back to 4.90s at 290ish all you need to do is allow AFD clutch and fuel management. Do you really want to turn the clock back that far?

Alan

Yes I do, I really do. The entertainment factor would NOT BE LOST. The costs may go down. It's unreal what these cars cost to run. You may even see a hell of alot more names. Going back to 1320 will cancel out the savings from going 1000, but overall a slower combination may get these cars to be cheaper to run.

 

[Toejam]

Patrick, you're seriously beating a dead horse. If the owners, crew chiefs and racers wanted it back so bad we would have been back by now. The facts are the crew chiefs like it, the racers enjoy it. The only ones not enjoying it are people like yourself who constantly sulk over it. So why you and the others continue sulking, ill continue to enjoy some excellent racing and performance.

1000' hasn't stopped me from going, but I know at least 6-7 people who I used to see at 2-3 races per year who refuse to pay to see 1000' racing, Barry Fegh is one of them! And if I know a few people, I'm willing to bet most of us here do.

 

[Rat]

Patrick I understand yer pain, tradition and all. But besides lowering the speeds, it preserved several tracks. Many tracks are land locked, they can't buy more land for shut down area. Under todays rules TF would be at or near 350mph. Going to 1,000ft gave them the added room they needed. NHRA keeps adding weight so it takes longer to stop them.

Your idea about slowing Nitro to 5.1's sounds good at first, but that opens another can of worms. TAD is running 5 teens and 20's. NHRA likes a big gap between sportsman and Pro's. So then we would have to slow the alky cars costing them big $$$.

1,000ft, much like the countdown, is here to stay sir. We may not like it, but...

I have total confidence in our crew chiefs, ET's will continue to fall - MPH will continue to raise.

if we turn back the clock to 5.0 tf, they would be 4.80's quick. These tracks has no issue with 4.70's, 4.80's. I will buy the length of the track deal with you. Then why don't we meet on common ground and go back to 1320 on the tracks that have the length. There is no excuse why you cant run 1320 on the tracks with the long shutoff. Indy should NEVER EVER be 1000, They have the length.

 

[Toejam]

Didn't Alexis fail to qualify because of this rule??

So has Karamasenes and Lex Joon!

 

[Rat]

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Thanks for your intelligent comment.

 

[Rat]

NHRA needs to at least hear the opinion from someone other that the people that they pay and to shut the doors after that. If they cared what fans think when's the last time they asked for opinion? This is an important fight to never give up on. There needs to be a tea party type movement for 1320 that the NHRA listens to.

At very, very minimum, can we at least start 2013 or 2014 going 1320 at the long tracks and 1000 at short.

Ways to go 1320:
1. 413 block
2. Compression changes
3. 80% nitro
4. Alan's TAD Idea with the clutch.

Any of those 4 and im sure so much more are out their. Rev-limiters and restrictor plates are not the answer.

 

[mick]

randy, like your comments about 'are we doing all we can to stop...'

drag racing innovated itself into a corner;we've all realized in the
last few years that the cars and tracks were at points of diminishing returns.
regardless of the catalyst for change, something was on the horizon and
1000' became the first real change in the sport in the name of safety.

now the et's and mph's are rite back knocking on same door.
sooner than later it will be time for another change.
will it be the car's turn this time, instead of the track?... the track length
is cheaper (human nature).... sooner than later the cars are going to
have to slow down.

safety, insurance and entertainment - do we really need 8000hp and
320+mph to fulfill these?...... my answer is no.

 

[Tumbleweed]

I'm not an advocate saying yeah or ney, just an observation of the players when the decision was made to go to 1000 ft. It was stated at the time -- so that T/F and NFC didn't exceed a particular speed that was inherent to the 1320 Speeds at the time and some horrific accidents occurred.

I was privy to a well known crew chief conversation at the time that stated, in two years it won't matter. We'll be running speeds in a 1000 ft what we are currently doing now in 1320 ft. Guess that person was pretty accurate in that statement........

 

[Adam]

Sign me up for the guy who would rather see 1320 with adjusted parts, than 1000-ft.

Rapid

X2, and i'll sulk all i want

 

[Rat]

Mike and Nancy thanks for the points. It's not better anymore now that's these cars are right back to where they were.

Ok let's say I agreed with 1000ft. Let's say we leave it alone. Is it really safe having a fuel car run 3.60 at 340? Where exactly was the safety gain now? Yes IT WAS SAFER when they were still figuring out how to crack 3.9 as that's a 4.57/4.58 but i mean now it's not much different then 1320 was. TF anf FC advance so much that the safety part of 1000 went out the window. Cracking the 3.6 barrier next season is no safer then running the 1320 and cracking a 4.3. What are we always gonna do?

oh 1000 is not say 800....then 660.....that will kill the sport. 1320 needs to come back in a way where there is no way that a 4.4 will ever be allowed again on a short track. NHRA needs to have a few races a year where fans can see a 4.5 race, it would be easy to make a rule to dnq any car faster than that. Just because you have a dragster than can go 4.42 it does not mean you cant tune a 4.55, and where tracks are short give them the 4.90's combo

 

[Nick]

"The Ace" said it best...he said something to the effect of...'if the racetrack is not safe, then NHRA should not race there' He was referring to the fact that there are plenty of safe racetracks out there where NHRA can race and race safely.

The only death that could have been prevented (based on the racetrack) this decade is Kalitta's...and they have fixed that problem. That shutdown area was a tragedy waiting to happen.

 

[Clark W.]

How much longer can we continue this downward spiral? Soon its going to be 3.50's @ 335MPH. Then what do we do? Add weight, change the gear ratio, nitro %? Then, we add new safety measures and much, much more cost. We are in quite the conundrum. It seems NHRA does not have a direction on this major issue. When are we finally going to realize - its the cars and the stars and competition that fans want to come out to see, not the slot cars we have today. We need loud, competitive, driveable, sometimes unpredictable race cars and drivers with personality driving them. We really don't need to be much over 300MPH to make it a great show. We also need some new blood in this tired same old show. We need some vision. How many different owners do we have out there that truly could win an event? The number is scary! The time has come to make some major changes before its too late....................just my 3 cents..

 

[MHayes]

Ok let's say I agreed with 1000ft. Let's say we leave it alone. Is it really safe having a fuel car run 3.60 at 340? Where exactly was the safety gain now?

They have 320 more feet to stop

 

[PJ]

I don't like 1000' but I can live it.

It's cheaper to change a car or shorten a track then it is to add to a track or even worse tell a track that it is too short and now off the schedule. Now there is a point when a track *ahem* Pomona is no longer long enough and needs to be retired like Columbus was. Lets remember that there are not a bunch of places willing allow these loud tracks to be built next to their homes so we do not want to outlaw ourselves into oblivion.

There are really only two safety advantages that have been gained. First the cars are not going as fast. Of course we could debate if there is much of a difference between hitting a wall at 315mph vs 335mph but slower is slower. The main advatange though is the extra shutdown length that the cars are given to slow down. Of course we have seen horrible accidents happen before the 1320' or even 1000' marks but more often than these events happen on that end of the track.

Ideally I would like to see them use 1/4 mile at the tracks that can handle it and 1000' at the ones that can not. Every baseball park is different. We copy enough of nascar and all of their tracks are different so why not. You then have two sets of records. I would also add 10 points for setting a track record but thats a different story.

I do miss knowing that pedal jobs don't have as good of a chance as they used too and why often you see teams don't even try. Takes some of the excitement out, but who needs excitement right?

In order to go back to 1/4 full time they would need to set rules to get the cars slower. They need to make sure that 300 isn't a rare event though as that is a selling point over other motorsports. Getting the cars to still be able to hit that number several times an event might be acceptable. My worry is what a neutered nitro car would be like. Would we all accept such a car? I wonder if 1000' is the lesser of two evils. With my faith in NHRA, I question their ability to bring forth an acceptable combo so I'll suffer with 1000'. Of course I have snuck off to other series that somehow are still able to run 1320 to get my fix.


Oh and just so I don't disappoint some of you out there. Yup I still hate the countdown. I hope they gained enough fans to cover the four races I went to the year before vs now and the TV coverage I used to watch vs now

 

[Rat]

They have 320 more feet to stop

Seriously?? Come on. What's the difference when we are looking toward 340-350's. It's not gonna matter. Let's get one thing straight that everyone can agree on, this sport even at it's most safe we are still rolling dice.

 

[Rat]

Ideally I would like to see them use 1/4 mile at the tracks that can handle it and 1000' at the ones that can not.

And you think that the NHRA would get that, but then again it's logic and the NHRA management and Logic and NHRA management should never be in the same sentence. Their only action is 1. Let's leave it alone 2. Let's make a really overboard harsh rule

 

[TSK]

Personally, I prefer 1320 racing. But, that's because I'm looking at it as a spectator.
I miss seeing and hearing quarter mile top end charges, when the car's hooked up and all eight cylinders are firing. You just don't get that in 1000 feet.
Some friends of mine campaign a very competitive TAFC and they told me they wish they could race only to 1000 feet because it would be so much easier on parts and, subsequently, their pocketbooks.
It won't surprise me in the least if NHRA goes to 1000 feet across the board. But, that's only because nothing that group of yahoos does surprises me anymore.

 

[SoCal Racer]

Instead of having timebombs to 1320 we now have timebombs to 1000ft.

I think you’re right. There are just as many catastrophic engine failures at 1000 ft. as there was at 1320. And with 1320 speeds occurring regularly at 1000 ft. it doesn’t take a physicist to understand that that you have to make more power to go the same speed in less distance. In the world of nitro that means building a bigger bomb - or shortening the fuse. 1000 foot safer? Nope. Cheaper? Nope - not when you have to run the equipment harder.

If we don’t slow the cars down sooner or later the tragic will happen again. Then what? Shorten the track to 786 feet or some other arbitrary length? (BTW, wouldn’t 990 feet have been the next logical interval short of 1320? Just sayin’.)

If you wanted to go back to 4.90s at 290ish all you need to do is allow AFD clutch and fuel management. Do you really want to turn the clock back that far?

Yes, I’m all for slowing the cars down by whatever means necessary if it gets us back to 1320 – and there are plenty of viable ways to do so despite NHRA dinking around with it for years and claiming they can’t find a solution. Let’s be honest – they don’t want a solution. I’ve spoken candidly with a well known FC owner/tuner who has been told by NHRA that “fans won’t come unless we run these speeds.” Yet the polls I’ve seen show at least a 2:1 ratio of fans preferring 1320 over 1000 ft. even at slower speeds, so I’m calling BS on NHRA. Nobody will stay home from quarter mile 4.90 at 290ish racing. I’ve been in and around this sport for over three decades and one thing is certain – innovation will always happen regardless of rules, and cars will get quicker and faster as a result. So I say slow them down now, get back to 1320, and let innovation creep the speeds up until a change needs to be made again. Then repeat as required. It has worked for NASCAR – the racing form NHRA tries so hard to emulate.

 

[MHayes]

Seriously?? Come on. What's the difference when we are looking toward 340-350's. It's not gonna matter. Let's get one thing straight that everyone can agree on, this sport even at it's most safe we are still rolling dice.

Sorry, but the closest speed I've seen to 340 was Tony Schumacher's 337.58, and that was back in the 1320' days (2005). If you're saying that 340-350 is what we'll be approaching at 1000', then what would it be at 1320'?

So yes, 1000' has slowed the cars down and 320' does make a difference on the top end, especially with carbon fiber brakes and twin parachutes!