New Win Light Format beginning at Winternationals (2 Viewers)

[TK]

http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/new-win-light-format-starting-winternationals . . . A good idea, and will help the new fans understand qualifying times

 

[Pete]

I'm interested at hearing from Alan, why this is a good idea...

 

[Murrieta Mad Man]

I think it would be great if the scoreboard showed what position they qualified in. You could see if they went up or down the ladder on each run.

 

[camaro]

okay to do that, but they should still have some indicator as to who cross the finish line first. Even tho the racing doesn't mean anything, there is grudge racing on some level going on in qualifying with racers and spectators. with only an average 16 cars showing up in each pro category, there is very little drama, in fact if i was in charge i would incorporate a 'Chicago style' racing during qualifying or some sorta competition format that would make Saturdays a little more interesting1

 

[stitcherbob]

I think it's a good idea,as long as the programming doesn't go wonky and mess with times on race day

 

[none]

Pete,
The idea came from seeing one car go to the #1 spot but the other win light came on. I was talking to a first time fan who asked how one guy won the race but the other guy was #1? In qualifying the object is to run quick so why not designate that? It's not going to come into play very often, probably not more than a handful of times a week, if that. But my feeling was if the light is to show who did the better job it should take into account that in qualifying the better job is the better E.T. and that reaction time doesn't matter. I have often said that during qualifying in NHRA the cars qualify and the drivers practice. The win light was showing who "won" practice, it should show who "won" qualifying.

I asked Bob Brockmeyer (CompuLink) if it could be done and he said he would be happy to help. I checked with Graham Light and he didn't object so we are going to make the change.

The original win light was simply who got there first, then with the advent of CompuLink we got the "True Win" light for eliminations that accounted for holeshots, breakouts, and red lights. This is just another step to utilize the "Win" light to show which team did the better job in qualifying.

Alan

 

[Just Paul]

So, now a car that is a half car length behind can have the win light come on. That's going to confuse people even more. I would just do away with win lights all together in qualifying and let the numbers on the scoreboard be good enough.

 

[TSK]

Why show the win light at all during any qualifying? Who gets to the finish line first is irrelevant.
Just don’t forget to turn it back on Sunday.

 

[Jer]

No win light would be ok,since in qualifying nobody actually wins and score round win points. Lets get rid of the delay boxes in 90 classes. Surly when a newcomer comes to a drag race and see a super gas take off then fall on its face for 3 seconds then pick back up,its like WTH?

 

[.]

Whatever happened to the 'new' timing lights that were supposed to debut a couple years ago?

 

[Cliff]

The system we have now is really good, compared to years ago. In the 1950's, they had a guy at the top end & he was the finish line judge. He determined who won. There were a lot of "dead heats" in those days. Now, one car is ONE INCH ahead of the other & the "winner picker" will tell you who won. That just boggles what's left of my mind... one inch. .000000000000000001 or something like that.

 

[Dave]

But what about the betting sections that only care about who gets there first?! You're going to drive them insane with these new lights!

 

[Pete]

Pete,
The idea came from seeing one car go to the #1 spot but the other win light came on. I was talking to a first time fan who asked how one guy won the race but the other guy was #1? In qualifying the object is to run quick so why not designate that? It's not going to come into play very often, probably not more than a handful of times a week, if that. But my feeling was if the light is to show who did the better job it should take into account that in qualifying the better job is the better E.T. and that reaction time doesn't matter. I have often said that during qualifying in NHRA the cars qualify and the drivers practice. The win light was showing who "won" practice, it should show who "won" qualifying.

I asked Bob Brockmeyer (CompuLink) if it could be done and he said he would be happy to help. I checked with Graham Light and he didn't object so we are going to make the change.

The original win light was simply who got there first, then with the advent of CompuLink we got the "True Win" light for eliminations that accounted for holeshots, breakouts, and red lights. This is just another step to utilize the "Win" light to show which team did the better job in qualifying.

Alan

I understand the concept. In my opinion it makes sense if they’re watching from the stands, but it would be confusing if the newbies are downtrack and see the “slower” car cross first, without a win light.
Give it a shot and see how it works.

 

[Randy]

Just make sure the win light is in your lane. Problem solved!

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

Not needed. The scoreboard already shows what car performed better. Alan tells a car moved up, and to what place. RT is a big part of who gets there first, the "old" way shows who would have won, had it been race day. This will take a lot of fun out of qualifying days, picking the winner against your friend.
Just my .02

 

[MidnightbluS10]

Saw this on Facebook. One of the comments was "...give everybody a trophy". Another said something about "...now make the 1/4 mile 875 feet" which doesn't even make sense. Many others said it was just stupid.

Why not just turn it off since they're not racing each other and no one can actually be the loser? Since there's no loser, doesn't that make there no winner by default? Why use a win light when there's no winner?

 

[Jimbo]

I think this comment is correct,

Why not just turn it off since they're not racing each other and no one can actually be the loser? Since there's no loser, doesn't that make there no winner by default? Why use a win light when there's no winner?

Just my opinion but this was something that did not need fixing!!!

Jim Hill
www.nostalgicracingdecals.com

 

[Dennis]

In my humble opinion I think this makes things more difficult to explain - like we're solving a problem that doesn't need to be solved. If someone is so new that they don't understand the concept of qualifying - I'm not sure that this translates well. The opposite is for that one person this change is intended for there are going to be thousands of newbies who are saying "Well that other car got there first, why didn't they get the win light?".

Again, in my opinion, you have the huge Winston Vision, wouldn't it make much more sense to use that with some graphics? Something similar to what's currently on the TV program? You could have the driver's name, qualifying position and the +2 (or whatever). Maybe list their previous qualifying time...I don't know. I feel like there is so much more upside to something that could actually explain the point rather than renaming the "win light". What do we even call it, the "qualifying light"?

I'm not knocking the thought behind it because I think it's good to branch out, and I think that making changes that end up in repeat customers is a good thing. But it's like I said a few months ago - I don't think the NHRA really knows about the butts in the seats. Sure they have the demographics of the TV audience locked down, but I don't think they have ever made an effort to know what the newbie doesn't understand. Unfortunately the feeling I get is that they spending money to get a return on that money is not high on the NHRA's list.

 

[none]

I appreciate the opinions, and for the record turning it off was part of the discussion, since is has always been known as the "Win" light and in qualifying there isn't a winner. But it was changed in eliminations to show the true winner, so it has more value than just who got there first. Why not use it the same way in qualifying? To show who did the better job?

This isn't meant to revolutionize the sport, it's a small tweak that I seriously doubt will even come up more than a few times per event.

And Dennis, I'm curious, when was the last time you attended a National Event?NHRA has made and still makes a very big effort to know what the new fans want. The new "Welcome Center" that will debut this years as well as the daily Pit Tours for new fans are a direct result of listening to new fan feedback.

One of the other things we're doing for the new fans is giving them a direct line to ask questions via email. I tried this a couple of years ago and my email turned into the complaint department. Well, I'm trying it again. [email protected] comes straight to me. So if a new fan has a question or comment I will get it.

Give everyone a trophy? Seriously? Recognizing who did the better job is NOT giving everyone a trophy.

Alan

 

[ironpony]

this reminds me of Richard Rawlings when GM ran Street Outlaws, Richard said "we went faster so we won right?"

IMO this will get very confusing but NHRA is trying different things so A for effort, on this one.