I guess I'm type #2
I’ll admit my tuning experience doesn’t include nitro, but the “1000 ft. is cheaper” or “changes would bankrupt smaller teams” arguments just don’t seem to ring true. Since the cars are being run harder than ever to get to 1320 speeds in 1000 feet, parts attrition has to be as high or higher than ever. There are some solutions that cost very little (reduce blower overdrive, nitro percentages) and some slightly more expensive (smaller mags and fuel pumps) that would get us back to safe speeds for 1320. Remember that “safe” is an illusory term when you’re talking about accelerating cars from 0 – 300+ mph in a quarter mile. There are also some much pricier fixes like lower compression ratios, smaller blowers, the 413 combo, and others that involve a lot of expensive parts. But if you save the cost of a few boxes of pistons and rods and have less catastrophic failures by running a slightly milder combination, wouldn’t that offset the initial costs? And if costs could be reduced by slightly softening up the cars while returning to 1320 wouldn’t that draw more competitors? ? I see that as a win-win vs. runaway costs that are causing car counts to dwindle.
Someone said “I highly doubt the average fan can tell a 340 mph pass from a 300 mph with out the aid of the scoreboards.” If that’s true, it’s true both ways. If they can’t tell 300 from, say 320, at 1000 feet, then what’s the problem with 300 at 1320? Thing is anyone CAN tell the difference between a full track pass and one clicked early at 1000 feet.
