Page 3 of 6

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:53 am
by RH
We got the bestest,smartest,in the know Gals in racin' right here on Draglist! :D :D 8) 8)
I knew Barb and Diana would be here on this one! :wink:
Good stuff! 8)

Ron

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:34 am
by RickO
I am leery of 4 wide racing at a national event. Maybe, and just maybe I'd say its ok as a match race format. Then any kind of "winner" rules can be made up by this 4 wide BS. But, this two winners in a round is BS. One winner period please!
As stated above, I have safety issues with more flying pieces and parts getting into other lanes. Also, as "semi-knowledgable" spectator I like to see and hear what each car did during a run, with this 4 car format, my sensory is going to mesh into a glob of motion and noise.
I truely hope this is a one time deal for national events.
RO

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:57 pm
by WCB
They could use the return roads and go 6 wide :shock: :shock: :shock: :roll:

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:36 pm
by pro70z28
They could use the return roads and go 6 wide :shock: :shock: :shock: :roll:
And have the stunt bike riders jump over all 6 lanes as they pass the 300 ft. cones with roman candles zip tied to the spokes. :mrgreen: This might require removing some bleachers though so maybe not. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:50 pm
by WildcatOne
There are a few concerns that I have and I'd like to say that this thread is one of the most astute and seriously provocative sources of thought that I've ever seen on this board. I don't claim to posess the same level of experience and knowledge that most of you folks have but I have loved the sport of drag racing all my life and I appreciate being able to express my opinion here. Thank you.

I see 4-wide racing as almost doubling the already inherent risk. We've all seen these cars jump the wall, blow up, shake to pieces, crash, break in half, turn around backwards and folks get hurt. The closest I ever came to being in a real pickle at the dragstrip aside from Cory Mac's blower explosion on the top end at Dallas in '95 (the supercharger came off and flew over our heads at the finish line) was in '66 at Houston when a flywheel broke out of a Nomad at the hit and came tearing through the pits like a buzz saw throwing sparks. It went right across the path in front of where me and my young cousins were walking before spinning to a stop against a telephone pole next to the pit road. It missed our shoes by about 2 feet. It was nothing anybody else here hasn't already seen and I'm sure there are worse scenarios that have happened to many of us.

It's a POINTS meet...they're going to RACE and try to WIN. I don't want to believe they're going to hang it out over the edge like they usually do. I'm probably wrong about that, though. When they ran this last season I thought it was pretty cool...4-wide racing was an interesting feature back in the day...but I didn't consider the points that have been made about it since and I have come to see it differently now. The cars have more than 5 times the horsepower now than they did then...Some of the racers think it's a great idea in spite of the fact that the PRO board was not consulted. Those guys were not pleased.

I agree with the clown act take, Diana. That's what it looks like to me, too. The integrity is degraded in my opinion. It's a National Event, it's not supposed to be a glorified circus. Whether it makes more money or not, we'll see. For what Bruton Smith has done to help the NHRA, it does seem to balance out into taking a format that we all hold in our highest esteem and turning it into something else entirely, with the ultimate goal being money.

If it was purely for exhibition, like the dragsters vs funny cars show at Bruton's Bristol track was a few years back, I probably wouldn't see it as so much of a blasphemy. But this kind of entertainment combined with REAL racing does appear to me to undermine the greatness of the fundamentals and add real danger at the same time...that said, I will hope for the best outcome as opposed to the worst. There doesn't seem to be anywhere esle to place one's preferences with this deal. Hope I haven't offended.

Good luck and safe racing to all. Cheers, WC1

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:59 pm
by Zappy
I agree Cat, very good thread. Couple things here. 1 if the concern is for saftey...then why is it OK for exhibition but not races?? If it's unsafe...then it's unsafe. 2 Why the worry about staging??? lets give our drivers some credit. They are Pro's, I think they can walk & chew gum at the same time. 3 We've all seen cars & motors come apart, it happens, from the pit warm up to the shut down. To prevent stuff hitting the other car, the only answer is to run one car at a time. I know we don't want this.

And 4, why am I, of all people defending nhra??? Must be a full moon. :o

Oh and I agree they (nhra) did screw up Elims. 1-2-4 8-10, whatever, there should be ONE RD. winner only.

We'll have to change that old saying: close only counts in,.."horse shoes, handgrenades, and now nhra" :P :P

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:44 pm
by Rapid Randy Baker
There are a lot of great posts and some deep thought behind them already posted here. 8)

My 2.5 cents. I thought it was different/cool as a novelty deal last season. Having it effect the outcome of the race and points is total BS. I will admit to rarely watching NHRA racing after Indy but did catch this event. I got VERY TIRED of seeing it replayed 50-times. :roll: JMO

As far as the racers not hanging it out too far,,,that is crazy. No driver wants to come in 2nd, and HELL NO to coming in 4th!! :D Again, JMO

Too many people are trying to make it a 3-hour show and go home deal so the people don't get bored. I say, if they are at a drag race and are bored, go play golf and leave our sport alone. They don't have the mental capacity to appreciate what we do here. :P I believe it is about the racing, bottom line. Now to go along with that, showmanship from the racers is a big part of the racing program. Forcing a days worth of experiences, into a small time window doesn't do anybody any favors. :wink:

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:35 pm
by Zappy
Randy, a lot of folks have safety concerns here. You're a driver, givin the chance, would YOU run 4 wide??? Just wondering..

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:34 am
by WCB
There are a lot of great posts and some deep thought behind them already posted here. 8)

My 2.5 cents. I thought it was different/cool as a novelty deal last season. Having it effect the outcome of the race and points is total BS. I will admit to rarely watching NHRA racing after Indy but did catch this event. I got VERY TIRED of seeing it replayed 50-times. :roll: JMO

As far as the racers not hanging it out too far,,,that is crazy. No driver wants to come in 2nd, and HELL NO to coming in 4th!! :D Again, JMO

Too many people are trying to make it a 3-hour show and go home deal so the people don't get bored. I say, if they are at a drag race and are bored, go play golf and leave our sport alone. They don't have the mental capacity to appreciate what we do here. :P I believe it is about the racing, bottom line. Now to go along with that, showmanship from the racers is a big part of the racing program. Forcing a days worth of experiences, into a small time window doen't do anybody any favors. :wink:

good points Randy......

Re: Bruton Smith's dog & pony show...just what I thought!

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:50 am
by Rapid Randy Baker
Thanks Wally, you know how much I respect your opinion. 8)

Zappy, the problem isn't really would I do it, as I see it, they are making it a points impacting deal. So the choice is gone.