FalconRacer
Nitro Member
Isn't it about time for Ashton Kucher to step out and say something about ya'll are being Punk'd??
Nitromater
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New NHRA Nitro 'Spec' Engine for Top Fuel and Funny Cars
- Thread starter Raconteur
- Start date
d'kid
Nitro Member
I don't know, who is he? And why would he call me a punk?
Tim5636sc
Nitro Member
Joe, you know your my pal but there is a hell of alot more to fuel cars than just how 'loud' they are. A nostalgia car produces a much better 'sound' than todays Pro Nitro car. Its deeper, has more 'life' to them. More POP. To me, that is a better sound.
shane
Nitro Member
Joe, Just because something is louder DOES NOT make it sound better
I know you have heard them irratating car steroes that rattle the licenses plates and trunks.. Just becuase they are louder doesnt make them sound better then a home system... I was talking the quality of the sound... your just talking about how loud they are....
When Ron Capps drove for Jeff gaynor I asked him what he liked about the nostalgia funnycars. One thing he told me is they sound so much better... So I guess he is legally deaf too....
How close have you ever gotten to a funnycar as its making a pass? I stand within 3 feet of both NHRA big show cars and Nostalgia cars.. I could be going deaf but i can still tell which one sounds better to me...
How many Nostalgia Funnycar shows have you been to joe? I know you are a die hard No Hot Rods Anymore fan.. Just curious if you have ever seen a show of Nostalgia funnycars....
I know you have heard them irratating car steroes that rattle the licenses plates and trunks.. Just becuase they are louder doesnt make them sound better then a home system... I was talking the quality of the sound... your just talking about how loud they are....
When Ron Capps drove for Jeff gaynor I asked him what he liked about the nostalgia funnycars. One thing he told me is they sound so much better... So I guess he is legally deaf too....
How close have you ever gotten to a funnycar as its making a pass? I stand within 3 feet of both NHRA big show cars and Nostalgia cars.. I could be going deaf but i can still tell which one sounds better to me...
How many Nostalgia Funnycar shows have you been to joe? I know you are a die hard No Hot Rods Anymore fan.. Just curious if you have ever seen a show of Nostalgia funnycars....
Just Paul
Nitro Member
I was walking through the pits in Pomona a few years back, and I heard a car fire up, just at idle. Within seconds, I heard a pop and crackle I had not heard in YEARS! I thought WTF is that???? I quickly walked over in that direction, and sure enough, it was Del Worshams Blue Max warming up for a pass later that night. It sounded awesome!
I'm not going to comment on the engine deal. I highly doubt it will be that drastic, but who knows.
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Nitrohaulic
Nitro Member
Would someone have to be legally blind to mistake "better" for "louder"? 
Raconteur
Nitro Member
Joe, no reason to be defensive about the NHRA, if that's your fave then grab hold of it and don't let go!
There's a growing number of long-time fans who are weary of what used to be "unlimited" NHRA racing and while nostalgia nitro racing is limited it is significantly less expensive to compete and burn nitro. Competition in the NHRA Big Show is something most racers cannot afford any longer and there are limited ways to support the competiton, so there are now alternatives all over the place since racers want to race. The interest in competing and buying a ticket to watch nostalgia racing is not a slap in the face for you, it is born out of a deep need to compete and see the quickest of the assembled racecars.
If NHRA can reign in the costs by creating a simpler engine package that continues to sneak up on an occasional 300 mile per hour run, good deal... they must do something, there is not an unlimited supply of money to run those machines as we have seen this year. If the only sound you can hear is a 14:71 supercharger, dual mag, dual plug, 300 mph nitro car, then you still have it, however the future for this kind of "unlimited" racing is not very bright if continued on the present course.
For some, nostalgia racing provides the buzz a lot of racers and spectators used to experience on a weekly basis, something that was lost when NHRA removed nitro cars from the Divisional level. Now for some of us, it is back, I still enjoy the NHRA Big Show, but I equally enjoy nostalgia, Pro Street, Pro Mod, SS/AH Shootouts and the gambit of racing shows.
Good luck on your crusade, but to many racers who still have the need to compete, NHRA left them behind. That is NOT NHRA Bashing, just a fact of life.
All the best.
Darr Hawthorne
mick
Nitro Member
nice post darr.
as a life long fan of drag racing, my allegiances are towards returning
to 1/4 mile racing at slower speeds and e.t.'s and the return of the
nitro 'cackle'.
have not attended a nostalgia event, but videos and pics online have
already convinced me the entertainment level of present day nostalgia
racings exceeds the present day 'big show'.
i do not dislike the 'big show', only selecting a
preference between two different ways to drag race on nitro.
as a life long fan of drag racing, my allegiances are towards returning
to 1/4 mile racing at slower speeds and e.t.'s and the return of the
nitro 'cackle'.
have not attended a nostalgia event, but videos and pics online have
already convinced me the entertainment level of present day nostalgia
racings exceeds the present day 'big show'.
i do not dislike the 'big show', only selecting a
preference between two different ways to drag race on nitro.
Since we are into fixing all the problems now lets start with
A = Have President Bail out Evan Knoll and then he can buyout NHRA
B= Make all the track runoffs longer
C= Unlimited Nitro percentage ,blower overdrive and rear end gears be what you want .
E = Find a ride for Skuza
F= Tell the Shake {sheik,isn't that a rubber } him and his Foreign monies can take a hike ...
Geez
P.s A Spec motor, What's next Anheuser Busch gets bought by a Foreign owner
Who'd a thunk it !
A = Have President Bail out Evan Knoll and then he can buyout NHRA
B= Make all the track runoffs longer
C= Unlimited Nitro percentage ,blower overdrive and rear end gears be what you want .
E = Find a ride for Skuza
F= Tell the Shake {sheik,isn't that a rubber } him and his Foreign monies can take a hike ...
Geez
P.s A Spec motor, What's next Anheuser Busch gets bought by a Foreign owner
Who'd a thunk it !
Fuel FC Fan
Nitro Member
Not trying to side step the conversation, but I went to my first ever Nostalgia event over a year ago at the "March Meet" in Bakersfield. It was huge! I still can't stop thinking about it. They put on a fantastic show and the FC's were just a Blast to watch. Smokin!!!!
What really surprised me the most was the fan turn out. It was "Five" deep standing at the fence the entire length of the track and those old rotted out bleachers at Famoso were filled with people standing Bumber to Elbow's thick.
Famoso is out in the middle of those orchards and farm land.....they ran Fuel Cars it seemed forever trying to get everyone a shot at getting in the field.
I lost count how many Fuel Cars were there. Seemed like over 70 FC's and 60 rails. Made me a serious fan of that Act!
What really surprised me the most was the fan turn out. It was "Five" deep standing at the fence the entire length of the track and those old rotted out bleachers at Famoso were filled with people standing Bumber to Elbow's thick.
Famoso is out in the middle of those orchards and farm land.....they ran Fuel Cars it seemed forever trying to get everyone a shot at getting in the field.
I lost count how many Fuel Cars were there. Seemed like over 70 FC's and 60 rails. Made me a serious fan of that Act!
Well Darr, I guess I'm part of a dying breed of fan that enjoys 300 MPH Fuel racing. I'll leave it at that.
Raconteur
Nitro Member
Well Darr, I guess I'm part of a dying breed of fan that enjoys 300 MPH Fuel racing. I'll leave it at that.
Well Joe, if that is all you got out of my post.... I'll leave it at that.
Just Paul
Nitro Member
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My thoughts about the consequences with less power in overbuilt pipe
With less horsepower and the extra fuel weight off the nose. The chassis of todays top fuel cars may behave differently. However this could be interesting if NHRA would at the same time lighten up on some of the chassis technology restrictions. Since the cars will in all likelihood retain the same minimum weight requirement, And because NHRA forbids extra ballast. Give the car builders something to work with. Perhaps allow some monostruts. or Streamlining? or canopy's? Sort of a return to the mid eighties. If I recall many of those ideas were discarded because of the extra weight in an era when NHRA didn't have much of a minimum weight requirement.
With less horsepower and the extra fuel weight off the nose. The chassis of todays top fuel cars may behave differently. However this could be interesting if NHRA would at the same time lighten up on some of the chassis technology restrictions. Since the cars will in all likelihood retain the same minimum weight requirement, And because NHRA forbids extra ballast. Give the car builders something to work with. Perhaps allow some monostruts. or Streamlining? or canopy's? Sort of a return to the mid eighties. If I recall many of those ideas were discarded because of the extra weight in an era when NHRA didn't have much of a minimum weight requirement.
For the life of me I cannot figure out why I bothered to hitchhike 8.3 miles there and back (more like walk, no one except Bobby Doerrer would pick up a long hair then) to raceway park to see fuel funny cars running 6:70s. and top fuel cars running 6:50s. WTF was I thinking?
Let's face it, we are already at the point, and have been for a few years, where we are no longer holding our breath to see the scoreboard light up with a new world record, at least not in the fuel classes. The strides made in the past few decades have been huge, but can't continue for several reasons, mostly safety and cost. I believe most drivers feel 300ish is fast enough, we don't need 3.90s at 360 mph or whatever, it seems we have reached a barrier as far as what is safe. And the costs are out of control. The cars are starting to hurt themselves before 1000 feet now, and I suspect it will get worse. For all those who want no limitations, how would you feel if everything kept shrinking, such as the length of the track and the number of teams that could afford to be there? I watched an 1/8 mile IHRA TF race on TV the other night, and I hated it. I honestly think a 100 yd. sand-drag race would be more exciting. I don't claim to have the correct tune-up to produce a safe, 4.80-90 305 mph 1/4 mile car, but I believe it can be done, and should be. I'm with Virgil (but what does he really know, right?) I think if done correctly, this could be a huge boost to the big picture of fuel racing.
Surfer Ed
Nitro Member
First I have to say I love nitro racing. Since I first saw Garlits thunder past me in 1964 on a low 8 second pass, I have been hooked.
We all knew 20 years ago that Hydrogen Peroxide powered rocket cars could do the 1320 in 3 seconds, yet we never saw 16 car fields of rockets, they remained track freaks.
Today we have about 8 piston driven cars with enough sponsorship dollars to run the 1000 feet under 4 seconds and about 10 other guys going broke trying to get down the track without leaving too many parts and a few quarts of oil behind.
I feel the 2 nitro classes are in danger of becoming exhibition classes, maybe named Top Force Team Eliminator or Top Shumacher Team Eliminator.
For that reason, I say anything that will make the class more affordable and competitive and still give us the nitro rush is fine by me.
I can’t honestly say the 4 second runs I have seen are twice as exciting as that Garlits 8 second run I saw in 64.
I can live with a little less speed and more realistic looking funny cars if it means a return to the day where the local heroes without Fortune 500 companies on the side of their cars had a shot at being competitive.
Just look at all of the off-season talk on this message board. It wasn’t about new technology, it was about who had what sponsorship.
But maybe I am a bit unrealistic.
We all knew 20 years ago that Hydrogen Peroxide powered rocket cars could do the 1320 in 3 seconds, yet we never saw 16 car fields of rockets, they remained track freaks.
Today we have about 8 piston driven cars with enough sponsorship dollars to run the 1000 feet under 4 seconds and about 10 other guys going broke trying to get down the track without leaving too many parts and a few quarts of oil behind.
I feel the 2 nitro classes are in danger of becoming exhibition classes, maybe named Top Force Team Eliminator or Top Shumacher Team Eliminator.
For that reason, I say anything that will make the class more affordable and competitive and still give us the nitro rush is fine by me.
I can’t honestly say the 4 second runs I have seen are twice as exciting as that Garlits 8 second run I saw in 64.
I can live with a little less speed and more realistic looking funny cars if it means a return to the day where the local heroes without Fortune 500 companies on the side of their cars had a shot at being competitive.
Just look at all of the off-season talk on this message board. It wasn’t about new technology, it was about who had what sponsorship.
But maybe I am a bit unrealistic.
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