Admittedly, I have been a long time "lurker" on here often reading through the threads. I have often thought about joining, but haven't gotten around to it. I saw this post and I thought I would enter the mix and include my thoughts.
First, a little background. I grew up about 10 minutes from US 30 dragstrip in Merrillville, Indiana. Unfortunately, it closed when I was 3 years old. My Dad, had been attending races there and eventually throughout the Midwest since the late 60's. During that time he had become an accomplished photographer. Some of you on this forum may know of him or have looked through his old website quartermileclassics.com. His photos, magazines, the Diamond P shows, and Main Event videos all became a part of my drag racing education. I didn't go on family vacations as a kid, I went to the dragstrip when we could financially afford it. This all lead to this addiction everyone on here is familiar with. As I grew my Dad taught me how to take photos and the two of us have been blessed to cover many events, most frequently for nostalgiadragworld.com. I share this, because I'm and always will be a fan.
After many years of wanting to, I was finally in a position to add racer next to the title of fan. In 2018 I purchased a 23-T Altered rolling chassis. As part of my fandom, nostalgia drag racing has always been mine and my Dad's favorite, which is why I went this route. The next part of this (which relates to the initial questions and replies in this thread) was how we built this car to compete. The goal was to be able to compete in local bracket races, nostalgia events with the Nostalgia Drag Racing League (NDRL), and any Super Comp events within the Division 3 area.
We have done things a little differently than most. My Dad's best friend who I consider an Uncle races in NHRA Division 3 Super Street with a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, is our crew chief and has lead us in the build of this car. First of all, we run a Mopar, a sister motor to my Uncle's. Our block started off as a 440 and has been bored and stroked to a 493. Next we are not a fan of electronic throttle stops, which has been a continuous theme in this thread. So to help us run 8.90 in Super Comp trim and 9.00 in NDRL we run a bolt on our carburetor to tune the car by how much throttle we give it. In NDRL trim we trip the lights at about 146 mph and in 8.90 trim at about 148 mph. In order to run this set up we have our throttle set up just past halfway, which I realize is not all out, but also doesn't push our equipment too hard.
So to get back to the question, I would like to see no electronic throttle stops, but I don't think that is going to happen. I realize as a fan, it's not entertaining to see a car come off the starting line and "die," only to take off a second or two later. In my case behind the wheel, I know I'm going to be chased 99% of the time if not more, unless I run someone with a reverse throttle stop.
The other thing that has been mentioned are delay boxes. My first year competing in 2022 we did not run with the use of a delay box and we cannot run one with the NDRL. To be honest, I don't necessarily need one on a 4 tenths pro tree, but it has become essential for me when I bracket race. At first, I didn't think I would like it and would have a hard time getting used to it, but truthfully it doesn't bother me at all. And from a fan's perspective it's not a factor.
One of the other topics, and I get it, is to lower the ET in Super Class racing. I like seeing quick and fast cars as much as anyone. However, for those that race like us (and I know we are in the minority) it would be difficult for us to push our car to 8.50 and I don't know that 8.00 is an option for us. So as much as some may disagree I hope the .90 indexes stay as they are for Super Class racing.
Last just some observations over the last three years of competing. Prior to competing in bracket and .90 racing, I don't know how often I would watch it when it was streaming online. After competing in it, it has made it truly more entertaining, which again I realize as a fan is not always that appealing. However, watching some of the packages these racers put together is simply astonishing and has added a level of interest I didn't initially have. Back to the topic of electronic throttle stops. Though most run electronic throttle stop in super class racing, it has been my experience in watching, photographing, and racing in nostalgia racing that many of those racers are just as good without the use of electronics. Many tune using an ET Genie, a grid, or like us a mechanical throttle stop and can run right on the index frequently. We qualified 4th our of 22 cars at this year's Wally Parks Nostalgia Nationals with a 9.004. The three ahead of us were one that was dead on with a 0, and two that were .002 over. I have to admit I enjoy running side by side in the NDRL with someone else on a 9.00 index as opposed to looking over my shoulder when Super Comp racing, but ironically I have had better luck in Super Comp. Even winning a round against a blown big block dragster that passed me at 190 mph to my out of the throttle 146 mph. In bracket racing, we usually run between mid 5.50's to mid 5.60's in the 1/8th and I have had experience both chasing and being chased.
Lastly, one other thing I would like to add on a side note is my Dad received his first drag racing license in the car last year at the age of 68, and this year he and I rotated in the seat for weekend bracket races. I've attached a picture to give you a better idea of our car, taken by my 15 year old son who has also been bitten by the drag racing bug and shares the same name as his Dad and Grandpa.
Sorry for the long post, but thanks for the opportunity to share.
