I'm guessing that the mono stut may re-appear some day - maybe 2009. It was so cool. The way I see it - its only the lack of true leadership in Glendora that's to blame for ingenuity such as this being constantly frowned upon.
Darrell Russell's death (and it's pending law suits) put the fear in NHRA's to brass slow down the fuel cars. The mono-strut was suddenly viewed
though their eyes as a liability.
Then Dan Olson came on board at NHRA and gave David Powers a "tentative" ok to move forward with its developement. It was tested - and it worked well. The problem at the time was the fact that Fuller was running
so well - without it - and leading the points chase. Powers appeared to do the prudent thing - put the monostut on ice and concentrate on the new
"Countdown to a Crapshoot" and the eventual title. It's the old "don't try to fix it if it ain't broken" mentality which was the wise thing to do for someone in David Powers position.
Well, Fuller went on to have a great year - and should be the one with the championship trophy - but that's another topic. As the year 2007 went on I believe that a few more nails went into the monostrut's "casket" with Eric's tragedy and John's horrific accident. These insidents made it crystal clear to NHRA that "we've got a BIG problem brewing here". The LAST thing they would endorce at this point in time is a device that will theoretically
increase trap speeds such as what a monostrut wing design might do. Giving final approval to a monostrut is probably on the bottom of NHRA's to-do list.
Since that horrible day in Dallas NHRA's leadership deficiencies have only become more magnified -
for all of us to see. It's just so sad to see this sport I love so dearly being marginalized by a few "corporate minded suits" who care more about building sky boxes than the lives of their own drivers - the ones that fill those sky box seats. Afer all these months the chassis builders are still in a quandary as to what to do and what's going to be legal. Bill Miller - one of the sharpest minds in our sport - goes outside the box and gets the expert advice that is so vital at this time (and the data to back it up) - and builds a
better chassis. We all know the "thankyou" he got from NHRA for all his time and personal expence. Unbelievable.
So - I'm thinking that if and when all this chassis controversy ever gets settled and Goodyear figures out how to build a tire that's actually
safe at 335 mph we'll see team owners and crew chiefs starting to think about monostruts - not only for the performance benefits but for the added safety that this design brings.
John Waters;
I hear ya man. I remember going to the Winternational or the US Nationals every year with much anticipation, because I knew that someone would be debuting something entirely new - and never seen before. It was awsome.
Now - I'm just going through the motions when I go to a race. IHRA has actually been my saving grace the last decade with their Pro Mod class. At least there was a little diversity.
I
was a fan of all forms of racing - and even a huge NASCAR fan. Now it's a series made up of GQ magazine looking "pretty boy drivers" driving cookie-cutter kit cars that have all the sex appeal of the bumper cars at the local carnival. Their driver interviews are about as intesting as that of a "pull string" doll. And 35
pre-qualified cars at every event
What's that all about?
The IRL has they Pinocchio-nosed kit cars, Champcar has their rather bland looking kit cars driven by spoiled mega-rich South American nobodies. F1 holds some interest for me because of the advanced technology - but when was the last time you saw an actual pass for the lead -
on the track? I'm starting to really enjoy the non-winged sprint cars but there's not to much tv coverage. The Daytona Prototypes are also coming into their own. They put on a good show at Daytona on the weekend.
Hope you 'Mater guys don't mind me sharing a few opinions.
Dale
