Testing rumor..... (2 Viewers)

[Joker]

Paul,

The average fan couldn't even tell you what the national records are, let alone who holds them.

I gotta agree with Greg on this one. Us diehards, well the numbers mean something but to the casual fan, they dont even know what the records are.

 

[Just Paul]

Paul,

The average fan couldn't even tell you what the national records are, let alone who holds them.

Point taken....

I still hear people say "when he shifted it" or the last good one was "I wonder what kind of stall they have to run in order to get them off the line".

 

[JP1Special]

I have to call bull sh!t on that one.

I have seen several national record runs, and below national record runs, and the place has gone crazy every time. Going back to when Dixon ran the first 4.40 or when Force ran 323 at E-Town which I both saw, Magic monents.

My favorite pass ever, is the 1997 Winston Finals top fuel final round-the last run of the year, Amato (Prock)vs. Scelzi (AJ) the two baddest cars around at the time. It was a repeat of the 1997 Winters where they both smoked the tires. Here they are, same cars, same track, same lanes, Pomona, dark- awesome! Scelzi goes about 60 feet and smokes the tires. Amato blasts to a 4.55 (quickest ever) and 320 (only the 3rd ever pass over 320) WOW! Would that have the same meaning to me if Joe ran 4.75 instead? no way. Cool, but it would not make it my most memorable moment. The numbers put the WOW factor on that one.

For me, when I am at the track, espically Joliet, Pomona, or Vegas, and the conditions are right for records, it makes that session a little more special to me.

Just my .02

Paul, what you say is true about good runs like that and the wow factor but I can tell you that the whole place goes just as nuts over a great pedal fest like those two had at the Winters that year. Most fans just want to see good racing period.

 

[Nunz]

I really don't think racing for 1000 feet is the answer. Crewchiefs will find ways to go 330mph in 1000 feet in short order. Meanwhile the stresses on components and the costs will both continue to climb. What would the next fix be in a few years, shorten the distance some more? I don't have the ultimate answer, but I do know that while the braintrusts exist to eventually have cars go into the 3's at 350 MPH, that probably shouldn't happen, for many reasons. I think somehow the fuel classes have to be reinvented to become safer, more affordable, and yet put on a great show. Think about it, does anyone on this board get excited when seeing 2 modern day AA/FAs run side by side 5's at 250-270? I know it's a rarity, but you get my point. I know we all grew up with the thrill of seeing records fall, but the fuel classes have definitely reached a crossroads, and safety and escalating costs, IMO, are the most important things right now.

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

Was there a testing rumor in here somewhere?

 

[none]

Yeah, that there is a conspiracy theory that JFR was taken out in Dallas
by someone from the grassy knoll!

 

[Mr. Fix It]

I do have to say that in my humble opinion, without the scoreboards showing the MPH and ET, it is hard to tell the difference between a 4.70 and 4.40 ET or a 315 MPH and a 325 MPH pass from most of the stands. The easiest way to see that difference is the finish line camera. Unfortunately, that view is often reserved for the TV audience and only shows up on the scoreboards occasionally.

With that, I personally enjoy a pedaling race as much as the faster passes with the fuel cars and funny cars. The driver’s skill is often the deciding factor. I also find when you see any race that has a margin of victory of just few thousandths of a second that it is very exciting too. So, my vote is to slow things down. I think the tires are at their physical limits.

It really is unfair to blame Goodyear for tire problems when you think of what it takes to harness 8,000 HP, connect it to the track and withstand 330 MPH passes in the heat. Sometimes the laws of physics come into play and you simply cannot change that.

My humble observations have noted that most problems do occur with the teams that are on the cutting edge. Not because they are cutting corners for that little bit more performance, but because they are stressing things far more that other teams.

The Force team is at the cutting edge right now. Think of the two big crashes that Tony Schumacher had when the chassis broke in two. He did not suffer the injuries that Force did or Shirley or Darrell Gwynn or Darryl Russell. That team has been on the cutting edge for a long time.

Larry Dixon and Cory Mac have had breaking chassis also. Others leading the performance pack like Eddie Hill also had their share of crashes. Was there a common thread with chassis builders among these racers or was it their level of performance that increased the odds of them breaking something?

One last question please, will the 90% nitro rule somehow help the situation or will it strictly be an engine saving move?

For those of you who have race cars like mine that reach 100 MPH in the 1/8th and enjoy the ride, imagine going 2 1/2 times that speed in that same distance and reaching that same 100 MPH in the first second of your pass! WOW!

 

[willy]

Randy,
no I was not referring to you at the time but that may change in light of the above post. Less than an hour ago I was on the phone with a senior member of JFR and he told me that breaking the X or K under the seat is not an unusual occurrence on their cars and that it happened when they ran Steve's chassis as well. None of these cars are bulletproof and prior to Eric's deal a lot of stuff got fixed between events (or even runs) without the great unwashed knowing or caring about it. Robert's car broke the wheelie bar at the step and did not get up on the tire. With the tire wadded up it shook and tore a 3/4" 4130 tube that attaches to the anti rotation bracket on the rear end housing.
I think that my sources are fairly credible as we do work for JFR, the Pedregon's, KBR, Dexter Tuttle/JR Todd, Cory Mac, and Densham with all but Densham based here in Brownsburg where we see a lot of the crew guys when they are not on the road. Would you like me to give you the cell phone numbers for Dickie Venables, Jimmy Walsh, Kevin Poynter, Tony Shortall, Ed Boytim or even Guido so that you can confirm any of this statement?

I also know quite a few teams that run either Steve or Murf's frames and do not have any problems. This problem has been confined to the JFR cars and the consensus is leaning towards that fact that they make more power than anyone else out there.

Roo

I have to tell ya Roo..you are maintaining some real class in your presentations here.

Instead of all the divisiveness that some seem so willing to partake in..for reasons I'm glad I don't know..I tend to lean on the fact that the people that need to work on this..are doing so.


Besides the Force power issue..are the Mustang bodies creating more downforce than others?

 

[nick name]

It really is unfair to blame Goodyear for tire problems when you think of what it takes to harness 8,000 HP, connect it to the track and withstand 330 MPH passes in the heat. Sometimes the laws of physics come into play and you simply cannot change that.

That's an excellent point I was hoping someone would make.

While I am a big supporter of the notion that competition improves the breed, sometimes there's a limit to available technology.

I'm not sure if people realize that the Land Speed Record cars haven't used rubber tires for a while as no one could engineer one that would stand up to the speeds. Craig Breedlove's cars used a machined aluminum disc to roll on. Now that drag racing is in the 330 mph range, we're getting very near the same limit the LSR vehicles ran into and they didn't have the massive rear wings that we use.

I'm in favor of an immediate 25% reduction in the rear wing size, starting with Funny Cars. Along with easing the load on the tires (yes, you might blister them from tire spin but I've never seen any chunk or delaminate except from load) maybe the cars could begin to look just a bit more like their production counterparts if we lose the pickup bed sitting on top of the rear quarters.

 

[Bobby]

Bob,

I don't think "fans" give a rats butt about what E.T. or MPH the cars actually run. They are there for the experience... the sights, the sounds, meet the Pros, gets some autographs and souveniors. As long as there are nitro cars to "pound the ground" it won't matter what the performance levels are... for that matter, shorten the tracks to 1000 feet. That would stop a lot of the regular carnage!

well I agree to a point. As long as they hit 300 most of the time the fans will be happy.
1000ft? no way . half the interesting pedal fests would be gone. There'd be no time to catch up.

 

[none]

I know this doesn't fit in with where this particular thread is right now but has anyone heard that the test sessions for next year(Vegas and Arizona) are rapidly disappearing due to fear of cold(Cool) weather, tire issues and 90% ??

Just wondering about testing rumors.......

I guess I got my answer..........the NHRA support has disappered