indidad- The Guy- Uncle Steve
Nitro Member
Just in case Alan Johnson or Sheikh Khalid check into the Mater, I just want to point out that when LD was on the Al-Anabi team we didn't see so many all DSR finals.
Nitromater
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Just in Case
- Thread starter indidad- The Guy- Uncle Steve
- Start date
Steve- The maroon cars will get their share of victories. The same goes for the DSR Funny Cars, the wins will come.
DAN
Nitro Member
I get what Steve's saying - like many of us, he's a LD fan, and it takes some getting used to not having those 2 guys steer the Al Anabi cars.
Larry has many fans and true, it sux to see him out of a ride, and whatever the reason, I hope he plays spoiler to the big teams if he lands a ride at Vandergriffs. There's a surplus of drivers out there, compared to empty seats. That's the economy, that's the reality of the situation.
In a perfect world, Drag Racing would have big paychecks and every one of our favourites could afford to be out there racing with or without sponsorship.
Larry has many fans and true, it sux to see him out of a ride, and whatever the reason, I hope he plays spoiler to the big teams if he lands a ride at Vandergriffs. There's a surplus of drivers out there, compared to empty seats. That's the economy, that's the reality of the situation.
In a perfect world, Drag Racing would have big paychecks and every one of our favourites could afford to be out there racing with or without sponsorship.
mike
Nitro Member
You obviously haven't been paying much attention the last couple of seasons then.
Really ... just a quick look at 2011 results would show there were 5 all DSR finals in TF. I am sure there are more in the 2 years prior to that.
Your fan loyalty to LD is great but, statistics do not back up your statement just yet after 2 races.
Look, the odds of an all DSR final in TF & FC or an all Force final in FC are high when on any given Sunday those teams each make up 20% - 25% of their respective 16 car fields. Just basic law of averages. You have to go out and win, but when the numbers are on your side it helps.
With that said, I am sure the Al-Anabi cars will have their say in this fight. Add in an improved Lucas team, Millican with $$ now, strong Kalitta cars, etc. This could be great season in TF.
I was NITRO BREATH
Nitro Member
agreed . i think this season has the potential to be a real fight. there are many cars out there that can win. it will be interesting to see if they can step up. kalitta, milligan, lucas, vandergrif, torrence, all have the potential to win more than one race. and i hope it happens early in the season. lets see...
DrRocket
Nitro Member
Man, just two races into the season, and some here are ready to hand out the championship trophys! 
i suppose it would save everyone a lot of money and time if we did that.
I think I'll wait for the rest of the season to tranpire before worrying about DSR/KBR world domination..........
i suppose it would save everyone a lot of money and time if we did that.
I think I'll wait for the rest of the season to tranpire before worrying about DSR/KBR world domination..........
Bill
Nitro Member
"Ingenuity in action" is a concept that had monumental significance in the early stages of this sport. The inexorable march to cookie-cutter cars has rendered that phrase meaningless in this current engineering environment.
Traction control, 4-valve heads, pneumatic valve springs, electronic fuel injection, "anything goes" gearing, digitally-controlled clutches, minimum weights below 2,000-pounds, unlimited displacement, no rev limiters, pure nitro (basically, undiluted,) unrestricted aero, and drag racing could be as exciting as it USED to be, instead of a contest to see who can best walk the fine line between tire spin and maximum effective traction.
The "driver's and tuner's contest" we have now, has taken the innovative engineering aspect completely out of the mix, and to anyone who remembers what it was like to see Eddie Hill's Twin Pontiacs mix it up with Connie Kalitta's single-engine Hemi, what we have now is, in a word, "boring," by comparison...
Over-regulation is killing this sport.
Just my 2-cents...
Traction control, 4-valve heads, pneumatic valve springs, electronic fuel injection, "anything goes" gearing, digitally-controlled clutches, minimum weights below 2,000-pounds, unlimited displacement, no rev limiters, pure nitro (basically, undiluted,) unrestricted aero, and drag racing could be as exciting as it USED to be, instead of a contest to see who can best walk the fine line between tire spin and maximum effective traction.
The "driver's and tuner's contest" we have now, has taken the innovative engineering aspect completely out of the mix, and to anyone who remembers what it was like to see Eddie Hill's Twin Pontiacs mix it up with Connie Kalitta's single-engine Hemi, what we have now is, in a word, "boring," by comparison...
Over-regulation is killing this sport.
Just my 2-cents...
partsman
Nitro Member
TooTall999
Nitro Member
I don't get what your saying at all because it's just not true. Last year and just like sunday, DSR ESPECIALLY Schumacher has been in MANY finals against his teamates. I'll give it to you by the numbers. Here's how many team finals AJR and DSR have had. Yeah, Dixon is a great driver, but your giving him some tremedous credit. Take his 12 wins in 2010. It had nothing to do with LD, it was the car cause when you win 12 races and 62 rounds it's gonna be hard to stop the team from getting another wally.
That was just an excellent team where an excellent car matched. 2011 was just an excellent team with a car that did not match. 2011 saw all 3 DSR teams closing the gap the used to exist in performance. LD was not a factor at all. This year I am questioning Jason's team and wondering if it's alBalooshi having trouble adapting or if it's gremlins somewhere. Anyway, I think it's clear that this year is nothing outta the ordinary and it's clear as day what team showed they can hold wally hostage. 2010 and 2009 clearly can't be looked at since AJR never fielded 2 teams.
Overall:
DSR: 7 Finals
AJR 2 Finals
2012:
Team DSR 2 Finals
2011:
Team AJR 2 Finals
Team DSR 5 Finals
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What your seeing is the effect of where AJ puts his primary attention. In 2011 most of his attention went to Del's car and Larry's performance suffered. This may have had something to do with Dixon's absence this year.
I believe Dixon requested more attention from Alan than he was able to give because of his commitments to other teams and his desire to make Shawn competitive. I'm guessing it went down hill from there until there was an explosion that ended in Larry leaving.
It's no secret that Dixon and Alan don't exactly live the same life styles and that created something of a wedge between them. Dixon lives a more subdued life style while Johnson lives it to the fullest extend he can. Not saying either is right or wrong they are just different.
I don't have a lot of inside knowledge and in this case 2+2 may have come up with 3 but I don't think so based on what little I've heard from several people inside the circle.
I believe Dixon requested more attention from Alan than he was able to give because of his commitments to other teams and his desire to make Shawn competitive. I'm guessing it went down hill from there until there was an explosion that ended in Larry leaving.
It's no secret that Dixon and Alan don't exactly live the same life styles and that created something of a wedge between them. Dixon lives a more subdued life style while Johnson lives it to the fullest extend he can. Not saying either is right or wrong they are just different.
I don't have a lot of inside knowledge and in this case 2+2 may have come up with 3 but I don't think so based on what little I've heard from several people inside the circle.
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Well put Bill, I agree 100%
Bill I agree as well. I mean only reason why TF and FC is fun to watch is because how tight it is. It's the battle of the rich and it's impressive seeing what dominance can be made this season. I have to admit TF and FC are as level as they can be for championship capable teams, but it's getting old fast.
Jon Asher has a great article in DRA mag and asks if the 1 car team can still win a title and as impressive as it is to see Tasca, Wilkerson, Millican try to contend (as they are the best independent nitro teams out there) unfortunately I have to say no. It's not a knock to them, it's the simple fact that i dont think you can get 1 team to be as reliable on performance when all they have are themselves against teams who have another team to feed off of. If you ask me Tasca/Wilkerson should just combine for the greater good. All small teams should. Densham/Bode or Diehl/Haddock. It's a shame the first FC then TF and PS and PSM are very close to following, have become classes where if you dont have the funds and ducks in line for a teammate, say goodbye to a title.
We need a sport back similar to how it was not even 10 years ago, where a single car team had as good a chance as anyone to go for it. This sport needs to be less expensive because all your gonna see are 2-3 car teams that can afford it and it's gonna push the independent guy out. After awhile, the independent guy is gonna say, "what's the point if I can't win a title let alone a round, let alone qualify.
Jon Asher has a great article in DRA mag and asks if the 1 car team can still win a title and as impressive as it is to see Tasca, Wilkerson, Millican try to contend (as they are the best independent nitro teams out there) unfortunately I have to say no. It's not a knock to them, it's the simple fact that i dont think you can get 1 team to be as reliable on performance when all they have are themselves against teams who have another team to feed off of. If you ask me Tasca/Wilkerson should just combine for the greater good. All small teams should. Densham/Bode or Diehl/Haddock. It's a shame the first FC then TF and PS and PSM are very close to following, have become classes where if you dont have the funds and ducks in line for a teammate, say goodbye to a title.
We need a sport back similar to how it was not even 10 years ago, where a single car team had as good a chance as anyone to go for it. This sport needs to be less expensive because all your gonna see are 2-3 car teams that can afford it and it's gonna push the independent guy out. After awhile, the independent guy is gonna say, "what's the point if I can't win a title let alone a round, let alone qualify.
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Sorry it might be a mood I am in or not but Steve's topic itself and saying the reason the Al Anabi team has not won is because Larry is not in the seat is almost the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. To no surprise an arab driver is in the seat and he is a rookie. to think this team was going to be part of the NHRA and not have an Arab driver in it is niave at best. I would be willing to bet that even Larry (Alan for sure) knew the time would come. As far as Shawn being in the seat, While I am not saying that Larry is not a good driver, in most cases a Top Fuel driver these days whole worth is based on Rt's and Shawn has proven to be better than Larry by a pretty good margin (Patrick correct me if I am wrong). So yes, Al Balooshi may be a bit of a weak link (for now) But to insinuate that If Larry was in the seat the Al Anabi team would have a win or at least a couple finalist is showing your bias to your favorite driver, simple as that on not based on the facts of the first two races.
With the way these cars are built these days, I don't think any expert or knowledgeable person would say that any driver could not step into any competitors car and make it run the same. Driver RT is the only variable (other then slight car setup differences).
John Waters unless you have inside info (which you have stated you really don't) your comments are also not really valid. Having been around the sport as long as I have, Alan's way of Life is 100% revolved around drag racing. Their personalities likely did not clash too much as Alan hand picked Larry to be his driver.
I understand a fans response is to defend their favorite driver but man these comments are so off the wall.
(Sorry for the spelling mistakes when I originally posted I was in a real hurry)
Dean
With the way these cars are built these days, I don't think any expert or knowledgeable person would say that any driver could not step into any competitors car and make it run the same. Driver RT is the only variable (other then slight car setup differences).
John Waters unless you have inside info (which you have stated you really don't) your comments are also not really valid. Having been around the sport as long as I have, Alan's way of Life is 100% revolved around drag racing. Their personalities likely did not clash too much as Alan hand picked Larry to be his driver.
I understand a fans response is to defend their favorite driver but man these comments are so off the wall.
(Sorry for the spelling mistakes when I originally posted I was in a real hurry)
Dean
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Well said. Let's say LD was in the car this year. Nothing would of changed this year expect for the holeshot loss Khalid had. Dean makes a good point. For LD from 2009-11 was 44.9% left first on the tree, yet when you have the fastest car you dont always need to leave first, but it leaves alot on the table. Langdon was 72%, Brown was 71.9%, Massey was 57.9 (really 86%) when I don't count his 1 race 2010 but this is 2011-2009), Lucas was 54.8%, during the same period. Dont let the stats fool you yes LD was 44.9 and one of the worst statistically his lights were good, meaning just because you leave 2nd doesn't always mean you cut a bad light. Shoe was 46.9% during the time, same issue as LD, all of the top 5 had great lights, but not everyone gets to leave first.
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