Why the Focus on the Past? (3 Viewers)

[clwill]

Here I am, stirring the pot. But I just got the latest "Drag Racer" magazine, and I get the National Dragster, and so on. And I'm watching what NHRA posts on their web site. And what they do at the races. And it all seems to be so focused on the past.

We have "legends" starting the races. The top moments of the last 60 years. Cacklefests. An NHRA broadcast isn't complete without some kind of grainy footage of someone doing something 40-50 years ago. Seems like virtually every column in the magazines is some trip down memory lane about the good old days. We even had an thread on here about how Indy is only "the Big Go" anymore because of its history.

The whole theme of this year is the 60th anniversary. Really? I understand 50, that's a big milestone. But 60? Are we going to get special trophies for the 65th year? Reminds me of the 23 year old who's still trying to make a big deal out of their birthday... Dude, 21 was your last big birthday, get over it... And NHRA, let me know when you get to 75, that's the next time I want to hear about it.

Even the cars are throwbacks. Of the several hundred cars at any event, the lion's share are big block pushrod v8s with a carburetor. You haven't been able to buy a car with a carb in well over a decade. Sure there's a blower, or a turbo, and the odd injected car. But they are in the minority.

And don't get me started on the Nostalgia thing, which was started as a whole way to remember the past and run cheaper. Seems like the second part of that went out the window pretty quickly.

I watch NASCAR and IndyCar and F1 and if they talk about the past, it's rare. They certainly aren't as fixated on it as the NHRA. F1 is ALL about the new thing, the hottest new technology. IndyCar used to be, and still the cars are using reasonably new technology. And even old-school NASCAR is going all EFI next year.

Is it because there IS nothing new in drag racing? Is it because the rules keep us back there, or the rules stay back there because no one is pushing them forward? Is this the reason why the crowds at NHRA events seem to get older every time I go there? And is this part of why I can't get my 18 year old to give a crap about the 1000+ hp dragster in the garage as he drives away in his Honda Civic?

 

[mw6789]

I am 56 years old (and one of the grey NHRA fans), and when I was 18, you basically had 2 things----your car and your girlfriend. And your lifes ambition was to make your car fast and get your girlfriend in the back seat. We didn't have Ipods, Iphones, CDs, DVDs, Twitter, Facebook, internet to connect with the whole world, 300 channels on TV (we had 3 and only got the 3rd one on clear days), email, texting, and the whole host of stuff kids today have to occupy their time. Personally, I love the nostalgia stuff because quite frankly the cubic money required by the upper classes in the sport really turns me off. Its almost like which of the half dozen or so highly financed team owners will add another trophy today. And watching super class cars that can run 200 mph spit and sputter to run their index ain't doing it for me either (and dont take offense---I do appreciate the work it takes to run dead on). I guess the "good ole days" always seem better than they actually were, but it sure seemed like this sport was more fun back in the "good ole days". Just my two cents worth and probably overpriced at that.

 

[clwill]

Mike, I get that. I'm 55 and gray too. I don't think they should ignore the past. As the saying goes "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it". And I don't mind the occasional flashback/cacklefest/whatever.

But it seems like that's ALL that NHRA is hanging their hat on. No comment of any kind about EFI in Pro Stock (or other categories). No new combination to get it back to 1320'. No embracing of the rice-burner categories that the kids all drive today. Nothing. Just all in the rear view mirror.

When you and I and all the rest of us die, does drag racing?

 

[yoda]

NHRA STARTED in the past. It was extremely rare for someone to buy a new car and dice it up to go drag racing in the beginning. Over the decades, drag racing has always allowed us to proudly proclaim to a new fan that a car, modified or not, is able to perform in our arena at its maximum capabilitiy, especially when that car is of vintage, or even historic status.

1968 Barracudas going into the 8's. 1957 Chevys- iconic in the automotive world- still racing all over the USA. 1940's iron- considered new when the sport was- adding some flavor to auto racing as a whole. Folks still DRAG RACING replicas of the first assembly cars ever built in the 20's.

The cars in this sport are like no others anywhere else in motorsports. Exotic or plain, they maintain their history and in most cases, can actually back it up with performance. I'm sure your kid totally digs his Honda/Nissan/etc. ride, but also has an appreciation- as a car guy- for a well turned out piece of vintage iron.

The sport has an amazing amount of participants that were around for the inception, and every year that list gets smaller, and we grieve at the loss of the greats that nurtured our sport through its infancy and helped it gain worldwide popularity. The teams like Kalitta, Karamesines and the like, still pushing through in the old-school style, make a lot of us old timers wish for the day when almost anyone could aspire to being The Champion. Those days are rapidly dissapating with multi-million dollar race teams and hundred-thousand dollar "buy-a-rides". It's always been a family dream to be able to run a nitro car before I get planted, but my son already knows that unless we hit the BIG lottery, that future is just not ours. Sad, because by the time my kid graduates from juniors, it will be even more expensive to become a Pro in this sport.

But no one has ever said that racing was cheap.

The past allows us old guys to bathe in the easier, more enjoyable light. But we'll all be gone at some point, and the need to reflect on the past and the amazing history that it offers, will no longer be the focus. Sad, because everyone should know their history, or else they will be doomed to repeat it.

 

[Rajunz]

I can remember in the 80's & 90's when all the rage was putting bubbles on dragsters, etc., and seeing sketches of them looking like spaceships. Controlling costs is the biggest issue with innovations, that and the fact that the cars really need to be slowed.

 

[Bill]

NHRA STARTED in the past.

Everyone should know their history, or else they will be doomed to repeat it.

I was at the 1962 NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis.

There were 1,200 cars racing.

ALL racing was "heads-up"

That was DRAG RACING. It was very popular...

Variety was the keyword.... Top Eliminator involved several different (manufacturers') powerplants.

There was no nitro.

Standing room only in the grandstands...

I am not suggesting that we can return to the past, but, what we have lost in terms of innovation and "ingenuity in action" has killed drag racing as it used to exist.

I have no answers, but I DO remember what drag racing used to be.
And, it saddens me, no end...

 

[clwill]

I remember a long time ago too. I thought it was cool back then. Back then people were on the cutting edge. Developing new head designs. Pushing envelopes. And the cars were on the front of engine design trends.

Now we're tailing them. And all the NHRA talks about is how it was. Not how it could be.

 

[robinjackson]

I was at the 1062 NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis...

Wow...

 

[clwill]

Wow...

That was the year of the Viking Nationals.

 

[robinjackson]

Yep. Harald Hardrada won Top Eliminator.

 

[mick]

That was the year of the Viking Nationals.

.... and the Vikings still lost

i think randy said something a few threads ago about this matter;
something along the lines of.....'we live in the present, but when going after
the public's hard earned entertainment dollar, there is 60 years of experience
to pull from; what worked and what didn't, and sometimes pulling from the
past is not all bad.'

 

[SundayNiagara]

Here I am, stirring the pot. But I just got the latest "Drag Racer" magazine, and I get the National Dragster, and so on. And I'm watching what NHRA posts on their web site. And what they do at the races. And it all seems to be so focused on the past.

We have "legends" starting the races. The top moments of the last 60 years. Cacklefests. An NHRA broadcast isn't complete without some kind of grainy footage of someone doing something 40-50 years ago. Seems like virtually every column in the magazines is some trip down memory lane about the good old days. We even had an thread on here about how Indy is only "the Big Go" anymore because of its history.

The whole theme of this year is the 60th anniversary. Really? I understand 50, that's a big milestone. But 60? Are we going to get special trophies for the 65th year? Reminds me of the 23 year old who's still trying to make a big deal out of their birthday... Dude, 21 was your last big birthday, get over it... And NHRA, let me know when you get to 75, that's the next time I want to hear about it.

Even the cars are throwbacks. Of the several hundred cars at any event, the lion's share are big block pushrod v8s with a carburetor. You haven't been able to buy a car with a carb in well over a decade. Sure there's a blower, or a turbo, and the odd injected car. But they are in the minority.

And don't get me started on the Nostalgia thing, which was started as a whole way to remember the past and run cheaper. Seems like the second part of that went out the window pretty quickly.

I watch NASCAR and IndyCar and F1 and if they talk about the past, it's rare. They certainly aren't as fixated on it as the NHRA. F1 is ALL about the new thing, the hottest new technology. IndyCar used to be, and still the cars are using reasonably new technology. And even old-school NASCAR is going all EFI next year.

Is it because there IS nothing new in drag racing? Is it because the rules keep us back there, or the rules stay back there because no one is pushing them forward? Is this the reason why the crowds at NHRA events seem to get older every time I go there? And is this part of why I can't get my 18 year old to give a crap about the 1000+ hp dragster in the garage as he drives away in his Honda Civic?

If you weren't there, you'll never understand.

 

[Rajunz]

A huge part of the problem now is that all of the pro classes besides PSM are spec cars. They all pretty much look exactly alike. At least DSR had the shrouds which made them different and they took that away too. When Ormsby came out with his streamliner, he instantly gained new interest and new fans. So what's the answer? Smaller engine combonations and allow new onnovation?

 

[FABMAN]

This must be Old Fogies thread. I'm 57 and grey and Drag Racing in the 70's and 80's was fun, and if you needed parts you either barter paid for them money was not an issue then. Hell I was a Front end mechanic at local Linc-Merc dealer and it was no problem making $1000 a week.

 

[glofria]

Coming from a sportsman racer's POV, no the rules are not holding anyone back. They are making it harder and harder for the average guy/gal to keep up.

It's safe to say that for many what made you happy as a kid is what will make you happy as an adult. Who doesn't want a copy of their first car or hot rod. And to race it is even better.

I don't think that NHRA is focusing on the past, but is more than willing to acknoledge their heritage than some of the other sactioning bodies do. Nor is there anything wrong with it either.

Perhaps your putting too much thought into this and need to fine something else in your life to add balance.

 

[DrRocket]

I also think that one of the reasons the NHRA is making a big deal about the "legends" of the sport at year sixty instead of waiting around until the 75th anniversary rolls around is that, well, to be quite blunt, there probably won't be many left by then.......

 

[PDQ]

I thought your daughter drove the dragster.

 

[Toejam]

I am 51, and as much as I love Drag racing. I think Chris is right on a lot of points! Unless we can attract more of the 18-24 Demo, this sport will whither away IMO!

 

[vegasnitro]

F1 sold out it's past. When the "traditional" tracks refused to pay Bernie's outrageous sanctioning fees, he went and chased dollars in places that have no earthly business hosting an F1 race (Malaysia) or to places where the super rich can afford it (Bahrain, Abu Dhabi) or places where the government will pay the sanctioning fee for a place on the World Stage (Turkey, Singapore, Korea, TEXAS). India hosted their first Grand Prix last weekend, and the promoter has already figured out he has ZERO chance of making his money back, and wants the fee reduced for next season's event (good luck ... ask Tony George how that went). There was a tremendous treatise in Autosport about how F1 is a first world event, in third world venues largely disconnected from it European fanbase and how much longer the business model is sustainable (the answer is not very long). AND Bernie/FOM own the rights to all of the old footage for classic events, so if you wanna use it, you gotta pay. Probably why you rarely see footage of Jimmy Clark or Juan Manuel Fangio or Ayrton Senna ...

At least NHRA makes legends available, and the footage available.

 

[Bill]

At least NHRA makes legends available, and the footage available.

Well, I wasn't REALLY at the 1062 NHRA Nationals... but compared to what we have, today, in terms of real drag racing, it seems like that long ago.

I, in recent years, have bemoaned the fact that (in my eyes, anyway) the only "pure" drag racing left for the Sportsman racers, was in Stock and Super Stock "class eliminations," which is all heads-up, no breakout racing... first car the the finish line wins. No B.S., just true, unadulterated, drag racing.

Enter the A.H.F.S. ("automatic horsepower factoring system,") an automated system that awards factored horsepower to the cars that run so well (quick) that they fall victim to their own success.

NHRA rewards the front-runners who run a certain amount (approximately a full second, generally) quicker than their class indexes, with an increase in their car's factored horsepower... the result being, they have to add weight to stay in the same class. Roughly speaking, 100 pounds equals a car-length in cars like these.

The racers' reaction to this, to avoid this penalty, have learned to shut off at the 1,000-foot marker, so they won't run afoul of the system, and incur the A.H.F.S-mandated performance-killing weight.

The racers mostly, have an unspoken agreement among themselves, to keep things in "order," that whoever is ahead at 1,000-feet, will be allowed to cross the finish line first, and a winner will be determined commensurate with what went on in the first 1,000.

The upshot of this, as far as the "fan" (me) is concerned, is that they have put the final nail in the coffin of true Sportsman drag racing. I have NO WAY of knowing what those cars are capable of, now.

Sort of takes all the fun out of it...