Top Dragster at Norwalk (1 Viewer)

[Cliff]

I noticed that there were a bunch of 6.00 dials in's Rd 1. A number of cars broke out at 5.99, 5.98 and a couple won at 5.99, 5.98 cuz opponent red lighted. Can never remember so many cars with a 6.00 dial. Wow, that was a fast eliminator! See who wins the final. Jeff Strickland, the champ, is in the final against Kathy Fisher, who won her race at 5.98 on a 6.01 cuz of red light. It is getting to the point where you better run 6.50's just to qualify at some races.

 

[Cliff]

Strickland won, 6.33 on a 6.33 & Kathy broke out at 5.99.

 

[Reese]

I don't think you can run or dial 5.99 or faster in top dragster or top sportsman without it being a d.q..

 

[Chili]

Fisher was dialing 6.00. She won the semi's with a 5.98 on her 6.00 dial. Her opponent ran further under their dial so she won in a double breakout.

Previously I thought any run under 6.00 is an automatic dq but that is only in qualifying.

 

[ironpony]

you can dial a 6.00 and win if BOTH cars breakout

yes Chris is correct, missed his post when I replied

 

[Cliff]

There are quite a few T/D that can run 5.90's if they push it just a bit. We have a few Div 7 cars that can do that. I notice the the T/D in the eastern states seem to run really quick, like the field they had at Norwalk. Have watched some videos of T/D qualifying at place like Englishtown & those guys are flying. Some can run MPH like 236, 237, 238. I remember when T/AD first ran in the 5's and their speed was around 238 at the time.

 

[Nemo]

We run 6.50's with our T/D and have failed to qualify at a couple races....it's tough for sure. Most fun class I've ran in a long time and all the racers I've dealt with are supper good guys/gals which make it even better.

 

[Cliff]

T/D is a great class to watch. Lotsa blower cars, always remind me of T/AD. Also the blown altereds and some front motor cars. The nitrous cars that run low 6's. All that makes for a good mix. Keith, hope you do well with your car. I've heard lots of former racers who say they miss the friends they made more than the racing itself.

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Denny Hills from here was one of the first to flirt with 5 second times. Thought any run in the 5's was a DQ. Interesting loophole!

 

[Cliff]

I like Denny's car, Gone Draggin' with the dragon on the body. He has run that car since the old 7.90 class, Super Elim. We have some heavy hitters in a lot of classes here in AZ.

 

[Nunz]

I remember Denny's car from that 7.90 deal. In the mid '90s I lived in Phoenix and helped a buddy, Danny Adragna with his TAD and his brother Vito a couple times. Vito ran the 7.90 class. Was a lot of fun.

 

[Cliff]

I remember the Adragna car in T/AD. One of the few AZ T/AD cars. It was a good running car.

 

[Bob]

Denny Hills from here was one of the first to flirt with 5 second times. Thought any run in the 5's was a DQ. Interesting loophole!

It used to be any TD that ran under 6.000 was invited to leave the property during qualifying. That was changed to the run being DQ'd during qualifying but they were still allowed to qualify and race. I had Live Timing running yesterday, and when I saw that it showed Kathy got the win even though she ran under 6 seconds, I called a friend in the media center at Norwalk to ask him if that was right. He told me it was right because they both broke out, her opponent by more than she did. I didn't know that could happen....now I do!

 

[Mike]

Cant qualify in the 5's, cant dial in the 5's but you can run under a 6 flat dial and win. Doubt you'll be tossed.

 

[Bubba]

T/D is great to watch and T/S is more interesting than Pro Stock.

 

[Jeff]

The dial in/ET is getting less important from a safety standpoint than MPH. We regularly see super comp cars running 22x mph 8.90s. Those sub sixes are usually in the mid 230's. As long as people can stay in their lane with their set up, I don't the the NHRA playing with a very heavy hand. I wouldn't be surprised to see more rules changed to include a MPH component, but I don't see the NHRA getting too excited about MPH in TD or TS (beyond the current rules). I could see a brake system redundancy rule making some sense .... and I'm being stupid here, but I recall at some point in the recent past where redundant brakes were specifically not allowed .... maybe I'm remembering wrong there.

We are miles from Comp or Pro Mod, but I do enjoy all the different set ups and power plants you see in these classes. Andrew Johnson and his dad are extremely impressive to watch and run against.

 

[Nunz]

Hey Jeff I'm liking TD more and more, what combo do the Johnson's that you referenced run?

 

[Jeff]

I thought he may have been referring to Lester Johnson. Procharged BBC in a "55 chevy". 6.0's at 230+

 

[Jeff]

Lester is Andrew's dad. They run BAE engines, I think with the FX3 pro charger ... they are bad fast, and under their tune fairly durable and consistent.

Talking to Lester in Bristol, I think Andrew is switching over to TS slowly, although I noticed he ran TD in Norwalk.

This reminds me I meant to call Lester today to talk about some factory automation stuff we had started talking about in Bristol....

 

[Cliff]

The Pro Charger cars are interesting. Reminds me of years & years ago when dragsters ran front mounted roots blowers, altho the Pro Chargers are way more advanced in technology.. They don't sound like a roots blower engine but seem to be able to run as quick as anything out there. Love T/D!