I've never been a McMillen fan but geez that poor guy seems to have a black cloud over his head and I feel bad for him. He seems to have had good crew chiefs, is it just that he has a much smaller budget than everyone else? If that's the case why not sit out some of the qualifying sessions especially like last weekend when there are short car counts. Or is he under contract to make all the passes? I would rather see him make less runs per event than leave the tour early. He seems to have such passion for the sport!
Nitromater
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Terry McMillen
- Thread starter kegs
- Start date
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Yeah, but does the team have enough funding to replace them. Terry's comment was more about running out of money, as we all know it takes a lot of it in this class. His heart still in it so I'm sure he will be in St Louis. He could learn a lot from racers like Tim Wilkerson, Jim Dunn about managing parts on a budget.
none
Nitro Member
Wilkerson told me a long time ago. "you start this motor and everything wants out" To run those cars as hard as they run they cycle parts often, If the budget isn't big enough to do that and you run them a little more than you would like, the result can be a big boom. Just a guess on my part that's a part of the issue. Monumental task to run a big show car. Hope he can find a way to keep his team out there.
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Sean D, shondoo
Nitro Member
mick
Nitro Member
marc that is my .02 guess too......terry is very capable of and does run some very good early e.t.'s before problems set in.
i hope he can stay out there too. i enjoy watching him and his team, he is very passionate about what he does.
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
ahh, for the good ol' days when 4father Eddie Hill used to keep the heads on between rounds....or was it pull one head to inspect and pull one bearing out from the bottom end.....?
yoda
Nitro Member
Terry's a nice guy, but he's a thousand-aire in a millionaire sport. Sorry, but reality is reality- if he was playing in F1, they would have booted his ass to the curb by now. Substandard parts and a rag tag crew doesn't cut it in the major leagues. There ain't no room for halfway anymore; sad, but everyone wanted this sport to be big time- big tv, big celebrities, big purses.... Be careful what you wish for.....
Treeshaker
Nitro Member
Over 70% of this team's explosions are caused by the team's driver. There isn't a crew or available parts that can clean up the majority of this team's problems. Until he learns to drive the explosions/oil downs will continue.
At Zmax, he drove the car til the motor's tongue was hanging out (3 - 5 dropped cylinders) then he pedaled it and blew the top off the motor. Driver error, pure and simple and that is the brutally honest truth.
At Zmax, he drove the car til the motor's tongue was hanging out (3 - 5 dropped cylinders) then he pedaled it and blew the top off the motor. Driver error, pure and simple and that is the brutally honest truth.
Huge
Nitro Member
We are still waiting for the big purses.$$$$$$$
yoda
Nitro Member
Eugene- do you remember going to the races, working in the dirt all day, and winning $150 for your final round efforts- and being happy about it? I'm sure there are a couple of guys on the Big Show tour that can- Conrad and The Greek being two that come to mind.We are still waiting for the big purses.$$$$$$$
The purses are not NASCAR/F1 level, but neither is the draw. You get what you play for....
Huge
Nitro Member
Martin, i understand what you are saying. I don't think anyone out here expects Nascar or F1 level purses, but i think a lot of fans would like to see enough return on the investment that would allow racers like Gary Densham, Chuck Worsham, the Hartmans, and a few others that would love to be out here more then they are. Yes, Conrad loves being out here...but, he doesn't have to worry about the purses. Some love dragracing as a pure hobby...and some love it so much that they are trying to make a halfway decent living doing it, or, at least trying to let the racing support it's self so they can afford to keep doing it. A lot of sportsman bracket races have much larger purses then the pro teams get, and you know it costs a fraction of the expense to run a bracket car. Maybe we should start bracket racing the nitro cars, they are pretty consistent and you won't have to worry about a slower car dumping at the stripe.
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yoda
Nitro Member
I can not express strongly enough that EVERY fan should read Dr. Robert Post's book on the history of drag racing, in particular the chapter that has to do with the low budget racers that got priced out of the sport.
In the 1960s.
History is a constant and available reminder of how not to do it wrong.
We may be entering a time where the sport becomes "golden" again, but we have been through such an amazing amount of turmoil in the past 10-15 years, I am amazed that we have any privateers running in the pro ranks at all. The cost of running a fuel car in just the past decade has at least tripled, if for no other cost, the fuel it takes just to GET to the races. It's not filling up the 100 gallon tank in the dually anymore; its 300 gallons in the tractor. It's not getting it down the track and figuring it out in eliminations; its fighting to be in the Top 12 on Friday, or being ass out or completely lucky on Saturday. It's not counting your lucky stars when the rods kick out that you weren't hurt or worse; its looking at your bank account close when a strap on your diaper breaks loose after a boomer.
It's guys that can afford to replace a $30,000 body three times a year.
It's guys that look at the bottom line with a championship-level car that just decide to hang it up.
It has gotten way out of hand. Again.
In the 1960s.
History is a constant and available reminder of how not to do it wrong.
We may be entering a time where the sport becomes "golden" again, but we have been through such an amazing amount of turmoil in the past 10-15 years, I am amazed that we have any privateers running in the pro ranks at all. The cost of running a fuel car in just the past decade has at least tripled, if for no other cost, the fuel it takes just to GET to the races. It's not filling up the 100 gallon tank in the dually anymore; its 300 gallons in the tractor. It's not getting it down the track and figuring it out in eliminations; its fighting to be in the Top 12 on Friday, or being ass out or completely lucky on Saturday. It's not counting your lucky stars when the rods kick out that you weren't hurt or worse; its looking at your bank account close when a strap on your diaper breaks loose after a boomer.
It's guys that can afford to replace a $30,000 body three times a year.
It's guys that look at the bottom line with a championship-level car that just decide to hang it up.
It has gotten way out of hand. Again.
