Return to 1/4 mile (1320ft.) (18 Viewers)

[Ponyhntr]

Just to add to my post above...
Back in 2009, the year after going to 1000', Funny Cars were routinely in the mid 4.0's. In fact Low ET of the Finals in Pomona was Ashley Force at a 4.05 @ 310 (she did it in Q4, if you are curious). Remember the reason for going to 1000'....

Little known fact... several of the Funny Cars running in the IHRA in 2025 were, in fact, pretty much the same combo you are asking for... single mag, small pump (~70 gallon), 5 disc clutch. One of those was Dan Hix, who probably had the best running car of that combo, and he won the second Columbus race. His best run was 4.31 and best MPH of 295. While all due respect to Dan (he is an AWESOME guy and a great racer), he has good parts, but not the BEST parts. Don't you think if someone like Jimmy Prock got ahold of that combo they could go much faster? Probably knock on the door of what they were running back in 2009. Take that to 1/4-mile, and bam, right back to the speeds and ET's that were being run 1/4 mile in 2008, before the move to 1000'.

Kinda defeats the purpose, don't you think?

 

[Just Paul]

Doesn't Dan Hix run single mag? And pump? He won IHRA race this year.

Of the 8 car field, 4 of them were not traditional "big show" set up cars. Taking nothing away from his consistency that weekend. He earned it 1000%

 

[Steve Wayne]

I believe most of the nitro combinations in Funny Car Chaos are single mag and pump, I think Jack Wyatt was running match races with a single mag and pump several years ago as well.
But no matter what you make them run, crew chiefs are gonna continue to push the combination as far as they can and eventually they will figure out a way to run 330 and blow stuff up with that combo as well. No matter how much we beat this horse, the name of the game is to beat the guy in the other lane, and we can throw around all the ideas we can come up with to slow these cars down, but a drag racer will always find a way to go faster.

 

[Sparky]

A major change in nitro drag racing needs to occur. The greatest drag racer in history, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits long ago advised a return to 1/4 (1320 ft.) nitro racing via one magneto and one spark plug per cylinder. This change would achieve what many racing fans want - 1/4 (1320 ft.) without breaking the bank. There would still be 300 mph runs but not unacceptable speeds. Don't understand why NHRA hasn't already followed his guidance. Give the teams a 2 year notice to use up current cylinder head inventory and other parts. Then prepare for the return to 1320ft racing!

When you say many fans have you taken a poll of the fans that attend a national event? I have a friend that I started taking to the Mile High's over 30 years ago, as our family's grew etc., he continued to go until the end. He didn't even realize that they were only racing 1000 ft. I bet a large amount of the attendees at a national event don't care. Yes people on this board care greatly but the average fan that attends an event didn't even notice the lack of 320 ft.

 

[luxexpress]

Well there's still nitro cars running quarter mile at Divisional Events. Doesn't seem to help attendance as they're usually lots of empty stands. Yes I know they don't have blowers but I don't think distance is the key to improving attendance.

 

[ironpony]

Wouldn't it just be easier to eliminate 2 cylinders make them V6's.....................................

 

[Burnnitro1320]

Well there's still nitro cars running quarter mile at Divisional Events. Doesn't seem to help attendance as they're usually lots of empty stands. Yes I know they don't have blowers but I don't think distance is the key to improving attendance.

National events too! And in 2026 they will be allowed to run blowers.

 

[Steve Wayne]

What I think gets overlooked in these discussions is everyone is looking at and speaking from a view of someone who is already a fan. If we want to build a larger fan base and bring more people to drag racing, we should be looking from their point of view, not our own, because they are the ones we need to attract. I can tell you first hand, my wife loves drag racing, she doesn’t understand most of the technical stuff about it and doesn’t care. All she cares about is the noise and speed and cool cars. Same with my kids. They could tell no difference between Columbus and Galot, they had no idea one was 1/8 and the other 1000 feet. All they cared about was how badass the nitro cars were and how they felt going down the track. And that’s the way it’s gonna be for someone who has never been to a race or just a casual. So the difference in 1000 and 1/4 mile probably makes absolutely zero difference to most, only the long time fans who yearn for the days of old

 

[winr]

Let me preface the following comment with this... I am a 30+yr NHRA member and racer for over 40 yrs. I was not happy when the decision to go 1000' was introduced. But here we are all these years later still bitch'n. What are we missing out on watching (as most of the complainers are) 1000' racing? The only ones I don't hear bitch'n are the owners/drivers of these mechanical marvels. Call me complacent or whatever, but I'm happy we have completive racing. Things change, especially in this sport, look where it started vs today Throughout the history of the sport, changes have been made to deal with the increased speeds...if we go back to 1/4 mi we might as well go back to open face helmets, no fire suppression systems. single hoop roll bars lets get really gritty... rant off