Return to 1/4 mile (1320ft.)

[65 Goatboy]

I used to have one of those.....
Alan
View attachment 16741View attachment 16742

Is that a Corvair or VW engine in that "trunk"?

 

[none]

Corvair. Hot Rod Magazine called it the "Rubber Tired Rickshaw" in 1970.
Alan

 

[65 Goatboy]

the clincher for me was a dragrace between prop planes, where they took off in a straight line, flew straight for a bit then landed, did u uturn, took off again, raced back to the starting line! Maybe i imagined that because i couldn't believe what i was watching at the time

That sounds a lot like STOL airplane competition which is a real racing series with expensive specially designed planes. STOL stands for Short Takeoff and Landings. They are also commonly called Bush Planes used for landing and taking off in remote area's, ie western US and Alaska. They are easy to spot because they have big balloon tires for "off runway" landings.

 

[Cliff]

On TV, saw a STOL land in 10 feet! Could not believe it. Pilot almost stalled it, but 10 feet. Wow....

 

[mick]

there's a red bull video somewhere with a bush plane landing on the heli-pad of that one dubai hotel that is on small
peninsula. the place looks like a blade. can't remember name.

 

[Nitro Bass!]

My point about allowing SUVs and trucks into Pro Stock is simply to explore ways to make the class more entertaining and diverse. I’m confident the NHRA could find a way to make it competitive and fair.

The era of the “Big Three” dominating the landscape is over, just look at what’s on the road, in garages, and in driveways today. Professional drag racing needs to evolve with the times if it wants to grow and stay relevant.

I’ve also read concerns in here about Pro Mod cars eventually leaving the track and entering the stands. With that in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to add wings or additional downforce to both Pro Stock and Pro Mod? Does it really matter if the cars slow down slightly, if they’re more stable, safer, and likely produce even closer racing?

To me, that seems logical

 

[yoda]

I would rather watch Super Stock and Stock than watch SUVs.
Big part of the reason I was always the first one on the mic in the morning. I wanted to watch and call Stock Eliminator.

Alan

I thought you just liked calling the class because you enjoyed making us all do math problems in the stands without a calculator

RT+ ET+ Handicap= MOV x 3.14739 at the square root of 1320...

 

[Litefoot]

My point about allowing SUVs and trucks into Pro Stock is simply to explore ways to make the class more entertaining and diverse. I’m confident the NHRA could find a way to make it competitive and fair.

The era of the “Big Three” dominating the landscape is over, just look at what’s on the road, in garages, and in driveways today. Professional drag racing needs to evolve with the times if it wants to grow and stay relevant.

I’ve also read concerns in here about Pro Mod cars eventually leaving the track and entering the stands. With that in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to add wings or additional downforce to both Pro Stock and Pro Mod? Does it really matter if the cars slow down slightly, if they’re more stable, safer, and likely produce even closer racing?

To me, that seems logical

The jeeps that ran street outlaws were pretty fast

 

[Cliff]

That is why Alan is great at calling class racing. Also fun hearing him call S/C, cuz he can make the "whomp whomp" noise of a driver getting on & off the throttle.

 

[mick]

in all fairness, there are many former and present nhra and other announcers that are great at calling sportsman racing. it's just math, but
they can talk 'math' in the most entertaining way. it's a true talent.

 

[Billy]

in all fairness, there are many former and present nhra and other announcers that are great at calling sportsman racing. it's just math, but
they can talk 'math' in the most entertaining way. it's a true talent.

Math is exactly why I got interested in the sport as a child, and why I continue to love this sport. The loud is cool and fun, but the real wizardry is the mathematics involved. That's why I'm just as happy watching Top Alcohol Funny Cars run heads-up as I am watching Stock, Super Street and all Lucas Oil Sportsman racing. I have no issue with the throttle stop in the Super-classes.

 

[twostep]

there's a red bull video somewhere with a bush plane landing on the heli-pad of that one dubai hotel that is on small
peninsula. the place looks like a blade. can't remember name.

Anyone ever attend one of these? A local slot-car track tried it for awhile. Look at the stands in this video; fairly decent crowd, no?

 

[twostep]

My point about allowing SUVs and trucks into Pro Stock is simply to explore ways to make the class more entertaining and diverse. I’m confident the NHRA could find a way to make it competitive and fair.

The era of the “Big Three” dominating the landscape is over, just look at what’s on the road, in garages, and in driveways today. Professional drag racing needs to evolve with the times if it wants to grow and stay relevant.

I’ve also read concerns in here about Pro Mod cars eventually leaving the track and entering the stands. With that in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to add wings or additional downforce to both Pro Stock and Pro Mod? Does it really matter if the cars slow down slightly, if they’re more stable, safer, and likely produce even closer racing?

To me, that seems logical

Except Pro Stock as we know it now couldn't exist. No way a PS SUV or a Pickup could compete in the current class. Pro Stock Truck was tried; it failed (although I enjoyed it). Pro SUV might be an occasional interesting competition but not as a recognized NHRA Pro class.

Of interest - I read where NHRA is going to run some Street Outlaws stuff next year called the Outlaw Street Series featuring the guys from the show itself. I'm curious as to the interest it could potentially generate; Street Outlaws is pretty popular even among those who don't frequent drag strips. A few of them show up here on occasion and seem to draw good crowds. Guaranteed not to be Pro Camaro.

Regarding the wings, I don't see very many PS cars flying around but if the teams care to add a bit more downforce at the expense of a little performance, especially on marginal tracks in marginal conditions, sure. Most won't but they should have that option. I'd say the PM stuff could use a bit more wing and it should be mandatory. Who cares if they lose a couple of MPH.

 

[GumbyWVU]

Except Pro Stock as we know it now couldn't exist. No way a PS SUV or a Pickup could compete in the current class. Pro Stock Truck was tried; it failed (although I enjoyed it). Pro SUV might be an occasional interesting competition but not as a recognized NHRA Pro class.

Of interest - I read where NHRA is going to run some Street Outlaws stuff next year called the Outlaw Street Series featuring the guys from the show itself. I'm curious as to the interest it could potentially generate; Street Outlaws is pretty popular even among those who don't frequent drag strips. A few of them show up here on occasion and seem to draw good crowds. Guaranteed not to be Pro Camaro.

Regarding the wings, I don't see very many PS cars flying around but if the teams care to add a bit more downforce at the expense of a little performance, especially on marginal tracks in marginal conditions, sure. Most won't but they should have that option. I'd say the PM stuff could use a bit more wing and it should be mandatory. Who cares if they lose a couple of MPH.

I liked PS Truck too. Did it fail or was it "failed", if you know what I mean? Amazing that it's still around on the NASCAR circuit. Talk about empty seats at an event!

Maybe the field itself would survive but it's given a new name instead of having "stock" in it? Maybe the name doesn't fit the perception of it anymore.

 

[yoda]

How about this for a throwback: Put together a safety rule book for all the basics for all specific E.T.s, then let people build any freakin thing they want, ala the NHRA of 1950-60s.

Drag it to the track, pass inspection, get a shakedown pass, take two ET runs and then get slotted into whatever class your best pass drops you into.

Bring back fun hot rodding.

 

[yoda]

Corvair. Hot Rod Magazine called it the "Rubber Tired Rickshaw" in 1970.
Alan

I kinda miss that thing. It was always a big hit at the Christmas party

 

[Chili]

I liked PS Truck too. Did it fail or was it "failed", if you know what I mean? Amazing that it's still around on the NASCAR circuit. Talk about empty seats at an event!

Maybe the field itself would survive but it's given a new name instead of having "stock" in it? Maybe the name doesn't fit the perception of it anymore.

I just don’t think it offered much to the fans. It was close racing but I think 80% of the trucks were Chevy S-10’s. They seemed to get 30+ trucks regularly but there wasn’t much excitement of 7.50’s at 177 MPH. I find Comp, TS and TD much more exciting. A large variety of different cars with racing that is faster than PST was. I felt bad for all the competitors that invested into the class only to see it go away in the manner it did. I think the only thing NHRA could have done differently was not crest the class in the first place. I could say the same thing about Factory X but that is another discussion.

 

[Nitro Bass!]

I think it would be cool to see the trucks with the exact same 500 ci engine as todays Pro Stocks, that's just me....

 

[65 Goatboy]

And full size.

 

[Butch]

Trucks are for towing