New track prep (1 Viewer)

[mikebcurve]

" Those changes should be made in the off season. " They were. I'm sure there wasn't much track prep done in December.

So testing could be done on the new prep before they hit the track during the season and have respectable runs for the fans. I guess I shouldn't have an opinion.

 

[mikebcurve]

A couple of things, this started after Gainesville if wasn't new in Charlotte. Something in Charlotte was different, I don't know what. But The track prep change was made a few races back. Both Vegas and Houston were good races, at least I thought they were and nobody was picking up carbon fiber on the moon.

Ed McCulloch has an interesting take on it here:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...eves-less-traction-is-a-start-to-fixing-nitro

And I said this on WFO Radio Tuesday. Start at 12:30 in:
http://wforadio.com/nhra-nitro-05-01-2018/

Alan

That changes the whole argument to this point. Everything I've seen put out there had said they were notified in advance at Gainesville. Not that Gainesville was the first with new prep. Thank you for just stating facts and not making fun of someone discussing a topic like others.

 

[MM]

At what point are the teams held accountable for not being able to adjust to a change that they were given due notice about and agreed to?

 

[T.Smith]

wasn't that Garlits?

No it was not in my case, but he may have said it too at some point.

 

[T.Smith]

Everyone is complaining because that was an atrocious showing in Charlotte. Those changes should be made in the off season. I'm speaking from a fan experience point of view. Not everyone on here has worked on a fuel car.

I'm speaking from both points of view. I was a huge fan of this sport long before I started participating in the racing aspect of it and I will continue to be long after I quit racing.

 

[Z28LT1]

And how much stuff do they have to blow up and money do they have to spend to establish them? How many events will be full of wasted qualifying sessions and smoke shows until they figure out that all their prior notes are no longer relevant?

How many new parts would they have to buy or money do they have to spend on a rule change? 6 of one half dozen of another. Moot point you're making.

 

[BrianT]

I like the change, back in the day before traction compound it was cool to watch both cars smoke the tires the entire 1/4 mile.
Peddle fests are fun to watch, the crew chiefs and drivers will figure it out.

 

[camaro]

pedal fest are a thing of the past. it went away with the advent of 1000ft racing. now the second car to go up in smoke wins 99% of the time, as there is no opportunity to mount a top end charge from the first car !!

 

[Mooseman]

Besides maybe Jim Dunn and a couple of others. All the tuners out there have come from the era of perfectly prepped tracks. Bad track experience surely must be less now. A lot of the tuners who did their time in the 60's and 70's and saw every bad track condition around have retired.

Its like Garlits when he did so well in the 80's when he came back from retirement. A guy like him had probably experienced everything that could possibly go wrong with a fuel car at one point or another. Also he had probably seen every bad track condition you could find.

If all your data is based around perfect super prepped tracks. When you get a bad bad track what have you got to go on?

 

[TooTall999]

Think back to the good old match race days when you had no choice but to run the track you were given.

 

[megadeth]

So much for new records!
All the 1320 ones don’t matter anymore and now the records set at 1000’ are locked in no more speed or E.T’s will be broken! Oh what fun! LOL

 

[TooTall999]

So much for new records!
All the 1320 ones don’t matter anymore and now the records set at 1000’ are locked in no more speed or E.T’s will be broken! Oh what fun! LOL

Records don't bring points anymore, so they're pretty meaningless.

 

[ironpony]

I understand both sides of the argument, so IMO, if they change the mechanical side if the equation the teams will figure out how to go faster with less, just look at all motorsports every time they try to slow cars down the they manage to go faster.

Now if they reduce traction, even minimally, they teams can only produce so much power or lose traction. Perfect solution? maybe not but actually might be the correct solution.

 

[PJ]

Think back to the good old match race days when you had no choice but to run the track you were given.

They also weren't going for broke on most of those runs either. Keep the motor healthy and together, get paid and head onto the next show.

 

[Pete]

They also weren't going for broke on most of those runs either. Keep the motor healthy and together, get paid and head onto the next show.

Very well said...That engine was their livelihood and it needed to last.

 

[Gordon]

I like the change, regardless of the short term impact on the "show".

When you get right down to it, it's the one change that applies 100% evenly to each and every team out there. Any changes made to compression, blower overdrive, header angle, mags, fuel volume, nitro percentage, or what have you, gives an advantage, however slight, to the well funded teams because they can generally afford those changes immediately. But by reducing traction, it forces everyone to figure out how to get from A to B with what they have. As Ace said in the link provided by Alan, however, it may eventually lead to more innovation which once again probably gives an edge to the high dollar teams. But in the short term, the playing field has been evened out and once the crew chiefs figure it out - and they always figure it out - we should have some fantastic side-by-side racing.

 

[none]

Actually, changes like this perform more like a bell curve. Everyone on the same level at first, then the big teams gain an advantage (more runs, more data). If no changes occur for an extended period of time, the independents and single car teams catch back up. Of course non-team alliances and really smart crew chiefs can affect the curve.............

 

[TooTall999]

They also weren't going for broke on most of those runs either. Keep the motor healthy and together, get paid and head onto the next show.

My point was they still had to tune for the track they were given...

 

[fxconde]

I'll take the Aces's opinion over just about anyone's!
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag...eves-less-traction-is-a-start-to-fixing-nitro

 

[TooTall999]

Bottom line is it's NHRA's playground, if you don't want to play, pack up and go race somewhere else...oh wait, there is nowhere else! Also, this levels the playing field, the track is the same for everyone. Who knows, maybe if the results show it's possible, they may return to quarter mile racing....