Sonoma 2025

[J]

Trust me the tethers will stay. A NHRA V.P. years ago told me drivers can be replaced. But we can't hurt a Spector. NHRA does not want anyone's opinions.
Larry Sutton---

Ouch that really sucks

 

[sutton]

Trust me the tethers will stay. A NHRA V.P. years ago told me drivers can be replaced. But we can't hurt a Spector. NHRA does not want anyone's opinions.
Larry Sutton---

I would recommend a Braille course for all funny car drivers. it happened to Force, Wilkerson, and Hull today to name a few. It is very hard to drive a funny car if you can't see.
Larry Sutton---

 

[Nappy]

Rob Wendland posted this….

That was nuts. What were they on the track for already!

 

[glofria]

It could be the depth of field setting on the camera could have been wide and that's why the truck and car look close together. The camera can play tricks on the eye.

 

[sutton]

It could be the depth of field setting on the camera could have been wide and that's why the truck and car look close together. The camera can play tricks on the eye.

Gino
I agree with you cameras can play tricks, But not this time it was a near miss in my opinion. Buddy was hauling ass and could not see. luckily he was going straight if not there would had been a different outcome. even the announcer panicked and the cut the replay. all's well that ends well.
Larry Sutton---

 

[twostep]

Have you ever been at a stop sign and pulled out and didn’t notice how fast a car was coming and say “oh sh!t”. Even Galvin shouted “Watch out”.

Wow....talk about a money shot....

I have indeed, pulling a 3/4 ton Chevy pickup loaded on a trailer. A kid in a Mustang GT was approaching running about 90 and I slung the truck off the trailer right in front of the guy as I floored my hauler and yanked it to the right trying to get out of the way. Bad move on both our parts - his, speeding 90 in a 45; me forgetting to tie the truck down. Pretty sure we both talk about the time we sheet our pants that afternoon.

 

[Rich D]

The thing that I noticed about Buddy Hull was that the parachutes did not appear to come out, AGAIN.. I know that boomers can cause havoc with chute deployment, but usually when you see a body shredding explosion, the chutes come out immediately. What is it with his car that has kept that from happening?

 

[LoPony]

With only seeing your picture. I’m assuming that the guy’s sitting on the tailgate are saying, “Oh Sh!t!”

The thing that I noticed about Buddy Hull was that the parachutes did not appear to come out, AGAIN.. I know that boomers can cause havoc with chute deployment, but usually when you see a body shredding explosion, the chutes come out immediately. What is it with his car that has kept that from happening?

Needs to swap bodies with Dave Richards.
But seriously, I have the same thoughts as you. That’s rough.

 

[Paul]

From start to finish, Sonoma was one of the better races we have seen recently. Plenty of stout runs in all the classes and some great side by side racing throughout the weekend. Fans who attended that race got a good show. Now, if we could just bottle that up and bring it to every race.

 

[you]

From start to finish, Sonoma was one of the better races we have seen recently. Plenty of stout runs in all the classes and some great side by side racing throughout the weekend. Fans who attended that race got a good show. Now, if we could just bottle that up and bring it to every race.

Agreed. The Stanfield vs. Stanfield pro stock final was the cherry on top for me. Such a rare feat and I’m glad I got to see it.

 

[Rich D]

And how about the interview with Ida after her early exit? She was clearly devastated. I am guessing that she saw an opportunity to chase for a countdown spot with Shawn Reed out for the near future. A 1st round exit hurt her chances significantly. That's a team with tuner talent, that cannot seem get anything going.

 

[mick]

- anyone know what the story is with blake alexander rite now?
- kalitta TF'rs used both byes to perfection. will watch the same 10 car ladder unfold in three weeks
- how strange to see both kb cars rattle tires in semis. richard freeman with great comments regarding win.
- i think john schaffer is doing a good job with ida. there's a new level the top tuners have pushed, and not everyone knows how yet,
just like the FC tuners can't keep up with jfr. they still have a slight edge.
- what is going on with wilk camp? sorry, but ever since tim quit driving, their performance is spotty at best.
- clay lines up with justin and gets holeshotted by another .03 light, only to watch justin become human and lose to ant with an .06
- can't believe i actually used the phrase 'used both byes to perfection' ....... terrible

 

[LoPony]

- anyone know what the story is with blake alexander rite now?
- kalitta TF'rs used both byes to perfection. will watch the same 10 car ladder unfold in three weeks
- how strange to see both kb cars rattle tires in semis. richard freeman with great comments regarding win.
- i think john schaffer is doing a good job with ida. there's a new level the top tuners have pushed, and not everyone knows how yet,
just like the FC tuners can't keep up with jfr. they still have a slight edge.
- what is going on with wilk camp? sorry, but ever since tim quit driving, their performance is spotty at best.
- clay lines up with justin and gets holeshotted by another .03 light, only to watch justin become human and lose to ant with an .06
- can't believe i actually used the phrase 'used both byes to perfection' ....... terrible

Clay is taking it harder than he should in blaming himself for losses to Ashley. Clay’s lights are good, Ashley is just superhuman.

Those cars run about dead even, but Ashley will get a couple hundredths on EVERYONE IN THE CLASS at the tree. That’s just the way it is. Teams should probably start looking at their cars and getting them set up to react better at the stomp, that’s the only way they will start to narrow the gap. Surely there is room for some innovation here without sacrificing the ability to drive the car through a pedaling situation.

Just throwing your hands up and saying “it’s my fault we lost” is basically saying there is nothing we can do, and I don’t think that is acceptable. But, I don’t know what the answer is either.

 

[Butch]

Isn't Mike Green Ashley's main CC? If so when he was with Sarge, how was his RT? Is it something with the car or is it something with the driver.

 

[LoPony]

Isn't Mike Green Ashley's main CC? If so when he was with Sarge, how was his RT? Is it something with the car or is it something with the driver.

Schumacher’s RTs were not terrible, but not stellar either. Not Justin Ashley territory. I keep hearing on here that people are convinced it is the combination of driver and car that make his RTs so quick, but nobody can seem to say what the setup is.

 

[mick]

.......... but nobody can seem to say what the setup is.

EXACTLY!! if you have an edge, why let anyone know ..... JMHO

 

[LoPony]

EXACTLY!! if you have an edge, why let anyone know ..... JMHO

Well, among all of us “experts“, we ought to be able to come up with some ideas, don’t you agree?

My idea was throttle rate, (duh) but then Alan came in and Pooh-poohed it, but seems like there’s really something there. If you look back at Tony Schumacher‘s lights, they are historically pretty bad. He had a long pedal travel and thus, a slow rate, but he argued that that helped him pedal and drive the car down the track with precision. I don’t dispute that, but let’s look at how to improve reaction times, specifically.

The other thing is the rate at which the chassis torques once the throttle is applied. Maybe there’s that.

 

[Nappy]

Well, among all of us “experts“, we ought to be able to come up with some ideas, don’t you agree?

How about he's just damn good on the tree !!

 

[Professional Fan]

Some athletes are born with a skill that others can't match despite immense practicing. I think Justin is one of those. Jeg is another example. Despite being one of the older PS drivers now, his reaction times are still top of the class. Steph Curry is another example. There are many others. But I think Justin has changed top fuel racing. It used to be that .70 or .80 were good reaction times. Now you're late with those.

 

[mick]

i remember back in 90's when wiley x glasses sponsored jim yates. the line he used had something to do with seeing the lights better,
and it was either him or someone else joked they could see the filament inside the bulb turning on. i think a few racers over the years had
the inside scoop on glasses and/or visor clarity.
whatever is working for justin, (i think it's a combination of mechanical and human skills) he's certainly getting the cheapest advertising for scag.
dwilk on the other hand is providing the most expensive advertising for them