On a lighter subject....

[Meeks]

Sam, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you probably don't own a car that makes enough horsepower to break an axle. You know what else is funny? When those guys do break something, they thrash HARD and get it repaired for the next lap/round.

If you really think that it's a wheelie bar you are seeing, you're showing just how lost you are on the technical side of things.

The last paragraph of your rant tells me that either you've never been to an Import race or have not done any kind of research about the people who race there.

Newsflash....there are just as many tarted-up American cars out there as the ones you describe above. They are all lame, and the import racers will tell you the same thing.

I'm not an import racer or a dedicated sport compact racing fan, but it's just annoying when someone bloviates about a topic they know nothing about.

Brian

Wow thanks for sticking up for all us sport compact people..that was a good post.
Sport Compact racing is still very much alive even if its not NOPI thats running the show...
Give us some credit...its not easy to push a lot of power out of a 4 cylinder, especially when your not running a turbo

 

[Rick Rzepka]

Has Sport compact Drag racing completely faded away? I noticed even NOPI's cut events! You don't hear anything from that corner anymore.

thank god...thats great news. only good thing about nopi speed tv was charity hodges! lololol........send the rice burnin fwd cars back to china!

 

[D]

thank god...thats great news. only good thing about nopi speed tv was charity hodges! lololol........send the rice burnin fwd cars back to china!

That would be great except that a) they're Japanese not Chinese, China is where your manufacturing job went. b)most USDM cars are made in America by Americans. c)recent college/high school grads of the 90s/00s couldn't afford the payments/insurance on a V8 Mustang/Camaro/Trans Am but could buy a Civic VTEC and wrench on it. d) Once the Big Three saw the market they jumped into the scene as well hence sport compact vice import.

S/F
D

 

[Toejam]

I think if NHRA/IHRA had had any sense they would have put parallel classes in the mainstream rule books, so they could run their events and then come play on the mainstream divisional/national tours. That combined with the Jrs would have helped grow the fan base and keep the demographics a little younger. The imports were the small block chevys for the Gen x/y crowd its what they could afford and then the addiction is set.

S/F
D

Well NHRA did add the DD/AT index to Comp Eliminator to accomodate the 4 cyl. cars, but you rarely see any show up.

 

[D]

Well NHRA did add the DD/AT index to Comp Eliminator to accomodate the 4 cyl. cars, but you rarely see any show up.

The rules don't quite match up
S/F
D

 

[Mike]

The rules don't quite match up
S/F
D

Tell that to Bruno Mansell. That car hauls.

 

[D]

I know that car moves, its just that when they wrote the rules they did it in a way that guys on the sport compact side would have to change their combinations vice putting they're combination into the main rule book. If I remember right there was a thread on here that talked about that.

S/F
D

 

[Mike]

Bottle, I have a problem with S/C guys coming to run the big show but the big show guys cant run a S/C race. I think that is why some people just wont ever like S/C's. Kinda forced on them.

 

[Rick Rzepka]

That would be great except that a) they're Japanese not Chinese, China is where your manufacturing job went. b)most USDM cars are made in America by Americans. c)recent college/high school grads of the 90s/00s couldn't afford the payments/insurance on a V8 Mustang/Camaro/Trans Am but could buy a Civic VTEC and wrench on it. d) Once the Big Three saw the market they jumped into the scene as well hence sport compact vice import.

S/F
D

ill bet you shop at walmart too!

 

[G'ginna]

ill bet you shop at walmart too!

Is it hard to talk around your feet? I noticed this is the second really negative post you have made tonight. While I don't think D needs anyone to stick up for him, I find it amazing that as long as you have been around you have not noticed that he doesn't live in the states right now.

 

[The Counterfeiter]

ill bet you shop at walmart too!

Well Rick, you're way too new to the Mater to know who D is. Former USMC Captain and one of the very early Maters. I have him to thank for introducing me to the Mater - which should not be held against him by everyone else! -

His posts are always very well thought out and knowledgeable. And . . . I don't think there are any Walmarts where he lives!

 

[----NONE----]

WOW! That's kinda harsh isn't it? It wasn't too long ago that the "founding fathers" of drag racing faced the same sort of thing. Instead of imports with fart can exhausts,tattoed, backward baseball hat wearing, baggy pants, pierced, throwing up "gang signs" kids, wasn't it greased and slicked back hair, white t-shirts with a pack of cigs rolled up in the sleeve, engineer boot wearing, rock and roll music, chopped and bobbed T's and Mercs with flatheads and lakes pipes? Oh, how about my favorite.... The flame throwing exhaust?
Come on guys..... How many parts do you think that these guys are buying that support American businesses? Heck, last that I saw, a lot of regular V-8 racers have been cleaning up in Nopi's top class the past few years.
Heck, my first car was a VW. That was only because I couldn't afford to buy a 67-68 Camaro. My car has evolved to where it doesn't have too many parts from Germany anymore. I'm pretty sure that the only thing in my motor that is from Germany is the bearings. Everything else that I buy is made in the USA.
I would think that losing a series, no matter if it is Sport Compact or drifting or whatever would be sad, rather than a "lighter subject". How much do you think companies like Arias pistons, MSD, Autometer, Flowmaster, Magnaflow, Garrett, Summit, Jegs, etc. are going to lose if the whole sport compact market totally dried up and went away?
Just one thing to remember..... All Hot Rodders at one point were looked down on by previous generations. Hot rodding and Drag Racing shouldn't be divided, since a 6 second pass is a 6 second pass, no matter if it comes from an Import or a domestic vehicle.
Okay, off of my soapbox and putting on my flame suit. Fire away......

 

[D]

ill bet you shop at walmart too!

Never, they're one of the big reasons manufacturing/textile jobs have gone to China/Bangladesh/Thailand/Vietnam. They're poison to the American economy.

S/F
D

 

[nedannouncer]

Gary,

You.....hit the nail directly on the head.

Sam "the sham" has suddenly become mum on the subject and Rick's working hard to come up with his next one liner on the topic. Give him a couple hours because stringing all those words together is tough work.

Yeesh.

Brian

 

[D]

Thanks Jim and G. Great post Gary. I think the sanctioning bodies missed the boat on the import/sport compact scene.

S/F
D

 

[Mike]

Shouldnt this post really be NHRA/NOPI Sports Compacts had dried up. Plenty of other groups around still putting on S/C races.

 

[Rick Rzepka]

Well Rick, you're way too new to the Mater to know who D is. Former USMC Captain and one of the very early Maters. I have him to thank for introducing me to the Mater - which should not be held against him by everyone else! -

His posts are always very well thought out and knowledgeable. And . . . I don't think there are any Walmarts where he lives!

who doesnt live near a china cheap crap selling walmart?

 

[clwill]

I think the sanctioning bodies missed the boat on the import/sport compact scene.

NOPI / Sport Compact / FWD racing isn't my particular cup of tea, but then again neither is PS/B. Still, I don't understand why people here are so down on it. Why would any drag racer look down their nose at another drag racer? It's not like it's roundy-round racing...

And I don't get why NHRA decided to separate them from the mainstream. Why would they want to turn off a whole bunch of potential fans of the sport just because it's a little different?

I think it'd be cool to have some demo runs at nat'l events -- like they do with nitro harleys or pro-mod. Maybe it'd get some more folks under 50 in the stands

 

[clwill]

who doesnt live near a china cheap crap selling walmart?

he doesn't live in the states right now.

Any questions?

 

[Student of the sport]

As a manufacturer of parts for cars, there is no difference between a part for a 1500 hp turbo'ed 4 banger and a part for an 8,000 hp fuel burner.

Both will keep my machines running and keep my employees employed, therefore, I am grateful for every part used.

As a sidenote, the Ecotec motor was a fun and challenging project, and when all was said and done, seeing it do 7.80's @ 180+ was a real treat!

"D"