CS
Nitro Member
BIG, Kenny and Joe say we should return to 1/4 mile drag racing! I agree. https://competitionplus.com/garlits...rter-mile-return-as-nhra-celebrates-75-years/
When three legends of the sport speak NHRA needs to listen! (9 Viewers)
- Thread starter CS
- Start date
Here we go again, it's been nearly 20 years since we went to 1,000ft, we aren't going back. Those 3 haven't owned cars in about the same time, I bet Joe and Kenny's point of view would be different if they still owned teams and had to pony up the cash to slow the cars down.
Absolutely. I get it they are legends, and they have done a lot for this sport. But at the same time, they have not been involved in a day to day capacity for a long time. I highly doubt many of the current owners or even drivers would agree with this.
At this point I think it's too big of an undertaking. Which way do you do it? Do you back down the current cars so that they're still running 330-340 but in 1320 feet? That is a huge tuneup change, and now you have 320 less feet to slow down. Do you slow them down to 300ish in the 1/4mile? That's a gigantic swing, pretty much a completely different car. At that point, it would probably be easier to speed up the TA categories if the goal is 300mph in 1320 feet.
Just Paul
Nitro Member
This. If they unrestricted the nitro percentage, eliminated the pounds per CI rule, and ran all the same management systems the "big show" cars have, it wouldn't take them long to get there IMO.
mick
Nitro Member
i know we're not going back, but i still contend that the late 80's and the 90's were a sweet spot in nhra's history. from the first 4
to 300, that was the era of innovation that will never be equaled. the entertainment level was better. i still contend that today.
no stupid cel phones, same day tape delayed sunday broadcasts of race. throttle wacks, smoky burnouts, higher nitro %, i loved it.
i could care less if other classes go similar or close mph as the pros. PS goes 210+. PM is over 260. TS and TD are over 230.
to 300, that was the era of innovation that will never be equaled. the entertainment level was better. i still contend that today.
no stupid cel phones, same day tape delayed sunday broadcasts of race. throttle wacks, smoky burnouts, higher nitro %, i loved it.
i could care less if other classes go similar or close mph as the pros. PS goes 210+. PM is over 260. TS and TD are over 230.
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You may be right. But now we have to ask, are we racing or putting on a show? Ideally both, right? Think of this, by "tweaking" modern cars to run around 300 in the 1320 we're essentially erasing 35 years of progress. Do we want to do that? Lots of ways to look at this. And just like that, I'm down the rabbit hole of the track length discussion...
mick
Nitro Member
yes, we are doing both. balancing act of money, safety, and speed. what we have right now @ 1000' is pretty spectacular.
IMO it is a very saleable racing product. keep up the social media and exploit the drivers and other personalities for all they're worth.
z28
Nitro Member
When I started following Drag Racing in the late 60's TF was running mid to hi 6's and FC mid 7s and I thought they were the baddest cars on the planet. I mostly saw match races as that was all we had near me. Compared to a mid 13 second street car they were twice at quick. I took about a 35 year hiatus (life happens) and really didn't follow it much until late 90s so I missed a lot of those golden years but I will say with todays rules package the competition has certainly gotten closer and the gap between a stock car and a TF car is wider today than it was then. Certainly more money in the sport now that tends to exclude guys that could afford it back then. Today is the best competition where the show was probably better to a 16 year old in 1969 but it was all new to me back then. That's just the evolution of the sport.
Custom Body Fan
Nitro Member
I think if time could be rolled back, it would have been better not to allow all the innovation that led to today's high speeds and shorter races. When I watch old racing from say the early '90s, a car could still smoke the tires but have a chance to recover and win - that doesn't really happen anymore. And costs might (or might not be) lower, resulting in bigger fields. But we cannot roll back time, and we are where we are. I don't think Garlits, Amato or Kenny have to deal with insurance companies, liability, team relationships, or any of that, making it easier to say "let's go back to the 1/4 mile!"
ironpony
Nitro Member
IMO if you were to go back to 1320 and change nothing else the cars are going to run at 340ish. It becomes a simple problem of RPM x Gear x Tire Diameter, they blow up now at 1000' if they ran the same combo they will be blowing up before 1320. They will need to slow down the timers so they hit the max at 1320. The MPH is going to stay close the race is going to last .xx more. Yes some will maybe hit everything perfect, a little less tire slippage and go a few MPH more.
Me personally I would like to see 300-320 MPH, 1320 racing. The noise and feel is what makes it a nitro show to the average spectator.
Look at tractor pulling, loud dirty trying to rotate the earth for 10 seconds people go nuts.
Me personally I would like to see 300-320 MPH, 1320 racing. The noise and feel is what makes it a nitro show to the average spectator.
Look at tractor pulling, loud dirty trying to rotate the earth for 10 seconds people go nuts.
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
Maybe IHRA goes to 1/4 mile and we see what happens to attendance ......
Forget where the timers are set; they’re already blowing them up at the hit.
As far as the fuel cars returning to the 1/4 mile; it ain’t going to happen.
I have a feeling NHRA, the insurance company and Goodyear wouldn’t mind seeing the current combination being slowed. Yeah, 340 looks neat on the scoreboard. But who can really tell the difference between 325 and 340?
We don’t need to keep getting closer to the edge of the tire safety limit.
Crossing that line won’t be pretty.
I still get a big rush when two blown fuel cars go WOT for 1000 feet.
And I’m glad they still race that far.
As far as the fuel cars returning to the 1/4 mile; it ain’t going to happen.
I have a feeling NHRA, the insurance company and Goodyear wouldn’t mind seeing the current combination being slowed. Yeah, 340 looks neat on the scoreboard. But who can really tell the difference between 325 and 340?
We don’t need to keep getting closer to the edge of the tire safety limit.
Crossing that line won’t be pretty.
I still get a big rush when two blown fuel cars go WOT for 1000 feet.
And I’m glad they still race that far.
I'd like to hear current owners/crew chiefs/drivers address this. Then we'd know how out of touch the others are, IF they are.....
yes, we are doing both. balancing act of money, safety, and speed. what we have right now @ 1000' is pretty spectacular.
IMO it is a very saleable racing product. keep up the social media and exploit the drivers and other personalities for all they're worth.
I agree with both your posts. At first I didn't like the switch but the first 1000 foot race we went to I was just as happy a customer. But I am glad, though, that Pro Stock stayed with 1/4.
IMO it is a very saleable racing product. keep up the social media and exploit the drivers and other personalities for all they're worth.
I agree with both your posts. At first I didn't like the switch but the first 1000 foot race we went to I was just as happy a customer. But I am glad, though, that Pro Stock stayed with 1/4.
65 Goatboy
Nitro Member
According to NHRA, nearly every race is a sellout ... even though they will not tell us the capacity of the venue or how many tickets were sold.
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