What do you think of the new staging lights? (1 Viewer)

[Vince]

After attending the Friday qualifying session at Englishtown, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of the new staging lights. I guess the drivers like them, and it appears that they're going to be used for all National events in the future, but speaking strictly from a fan's prospective, I didn't like them. We were sitting on the spectator side, right around the 100' mark, and it was impossible to see any of the staging lights. Every once in a while, if I really stared, I could get a glimpse of the lights. Even as the sun went down, it was difficult. I never really gave a thought as to how we, as spectators, rely on the staging lights to really get a feel for what's going on up there on the starting line. I suddenly felt at a big disadvantage. Is it a game breaker? No of course not. Will it stop me from attending future events? No way. Did it make watching the quailfying sessions different? Yup.

I'd be interested to hear everyone else's thoughts on these new lights. I wonder if there's any way that NHRA can put some different lights on the back side of the tree to make it easier for spectators down track to see what's going on up there on the line?

 

[Jer]

ill find out soon hahah

 

[Larry]

The lights are great for the racers ! Guess the fans don't count !

 

[troy boy]

Why not put the LEDs on the drivers side of the tree and the incandescents on the spectators side. Would seam to be a easy fix.

 

[Ugly one]

There awesome

 

[.]

I don't like them. There's been several times while watching on TV where I couldn't tell if they were just pre-staged or staged.

 

[mick]

.............I never really gave a thought as to how we, as spectators, rely on the staging lights to really get a feel for what's going on up there on the starting line...........

agreed - always watch lites, no matter what location am viewing from.
they are especially useful when viewing from top end.
personally will not like them if difficult to see from stands; one more
visual aspect of the entertainment taken away from the fans.
in a heads up pro drag race with no breakout/handicap starts a newbie
can easily understand stage and prestage prior to green; now gone is
a casual fan's best visual clue to the start

 

[Tumbleweed]

They take a little getting used to, but they are okay.......

From a spectator view point, not so great, but again, they take getting a little used to........

 

[Butch]

Ya, From a spectator view point they suck. Wasn't the count down created for the spectator/fan. NHRA makes 1 step forward and 2 back again. throw in 4-wide and it really becomes a cluster F. Thanks Mr. Smith NOT

 

[Rexfiles]

They take a little getting used to, but they are okay.......

From a spectator view point, not so great, but again, they take getting a little used to........

No slam on you Nancy, you 'walk the walk'.

from my point of view, as a pure fan and spectator......live?

awful.

I film a lot when I go.....I never ever saw a pre, staged, or any tree at all.

with all due respect, we ALL pay the bills.

as far as I'm concerned, that includes the 'light' bill.

REX

 

[Tumbleweed]

No Slam taken Rex

If you're not in the right location, It's Hard to see them.........I bet at night they look cool though

Have a Safe Weekend Everyone!!

 

[Guy]

At E-Town last week I was dissapointed with the lights.They are very difficult to see.The blue just blends into the backround.
The white lights were easily visible.I hope they change it back,but I won't hold my breath!

 

[clwill]

Perhaps the color is wrong, but there are some things right about the new lights. They combine the two functions (pre- and stage) into one compact space, a great thing for many cars with massive hood scoops and other visibility issues. They also are LEDs which are far more robust in the harsh starting line environment. So perhaps we could argue design and/or color, but IMO, the general idea is great.

 

[.]

They also are LEDs which are far more robust in the harsh starting line environment.

The previous lights were also LEDs though, so nothing gained there.

 

[You!]

Stage bulbs were not LEDs. Ambers were/are, but not the stage bulbs.

 

[.]

Stage bulbs were not LEDs. Ambers were/are, but not the stage bulbs.

My apologies, didn't realize that.

 

[sammy]

[
I like them because they remind me of the injectors covers plus the blue and white are cool looking.

 

[Prestaged]

There awesome

Brilliant!

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

I like them. I was at 300ft at the 4-Wide and knew the status of all four lanes, both Pre-staged and staged no problem.

 

[FC138fan]

Didn't think about till now what they're going to look like at the race. Just realized that the old bulbs pretty much projected light 360 deg, meaning you could still see them even watching from the side and the new LED stage lights look to be more directional. It makes sense it would be more difficult to see at an angle.

Oh well, no big deal... the cars still make the same noise.. and to the knowledgeable fan, they're pre-staged when the RPM's are high and the pops are clearer, and staged when you see the nitro shooting from the pipes and the pops are muffled with a lower RPM.