Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

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jim sanders
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby jim sanders » Sat May 21, 2011 11:32 am

great old thread BP.... i am not positive about the rules regarding mandatory laps for the big show pros but think it was designed this way as was mentioned somewhere when friday under the lights/cooler temps/track conditions were favorable to low et's... these days i am much more interested in what Wally's show, your show,BOT,The greatlakes nostalgia f/c group etc. Like Wally i do follow the promods a lot more now than i did in the past as they remind me more about what it is all about....
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WildcatOne
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby WildcatOne » Sat May 21, 2011 3:24 pm

Great posts by BP and Doc...I remember Barb saying something a couple of years ago about how DA's Funny Car team was going to sit out a day after making a run good enough to make the show and compete, but NHRA made them make another run...she'd have the details. I don't want to put words in her mouth...this is something I remembered her saying when I saw BP's post. We'll need Barb to clarify it...but a nitro FC run costs a LOT of money and they were just trying to save some bucks for later (going rounds) after getting in the show, being an independent team, ya know. The Big Show is Big Business up in the tower and you must abide by their rules or they're gonna send you home.

I enjoy drag racing as much now as I did when I was a kid. It's the great joy of my life. It's different now. I have to admit I quit following the IHRA. Their format does not appeal to me (except for 23T's deal). I also miss the days of match racing, barnstorming dragsters, gassers and funny cars that light up the memories that I treasure. With the BOT, the ADRL, the NHRA, the Outlaw Fuel Altereds and the Nostalgia races they have these days, I'm still as excited as ever about the sport. A BIG plus is the internet...I get to stay up to the minute on what's going on, and we're a part of it! Good luck and safe racing to all. WC1
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WCB
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby WCB » Sun May 22, 2011 6:37 am

Great posts by BP and Doc...I remember Barb saying something a couple of years ago about how DA's Funny Car team was going to sit out a day after making a run good enough to make the show and compete, but NHRA made them make another run...she'd have the details. I don't want to put words in her mouth...this is something I remembered her saying when I saw BP's post. We'll need Barb to clarify it...but a nitro FC run costs a LOT of money and they were just trying to save some bucks for later (going rounds) after getting in the show, being an independent team, ya know. The Big Show is Big Business up in the tower and you must abide by their rules or they're gonna send you home.

I enjoy drag racing as much now as I did when I was a kid. It's the great joy of my life. It's different now. I have to admit I quit following the IHRA. Their format does not appeal to me (except for 23T's deal). I also miss the days of match racing, barnstorming dragsters, gassers and funny cars that light up the memories that I treasure. With the BOT, the ADRL, the NHRA, the Outlaw Fuel Altereds and the Nostalgia races they have these days, I'm still as excited as ever about the sport. A BIG plus is the internet...I get to stay up to the minute on what's going on, and we're a part of it! Good luck and safe racing to all. WC1

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Diana The Doc
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby Diana The Doc » Mon May 23, 2011 9:44 am

In regards to BP's recent post where he addresses the reduced numbers of Top Fuel cars that now show up for NHRA's national events... We (BIG STICK) have a track that we've been working on for quite some time called "DRAGUMENTARY", which is basically a music track with little snippits from various driver and crew interviews we've done over the years-- The latest touch we've given the track is saxophone work from a fellow named Tom Timko (Tom plays with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen)--- Well, to get more directly to the point of this thread, there's a snippet on the track from Gary Peters of the HEMI HUNTER camp-- As you may or may not know, I'm talking about the front engined HEMI HUNTER Top Fuel recreation (it's a truly beautiful period-correct recreation of the original 1970s fueler of the same name, built by basically the same people who campaigned the orig car)... Anyways, on Gary's snippet, he says something about how back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, "there would be no less than 20-24 Top Fuel Dragsters that would show up at Englishtown on any given Sunday, just trying to qualify for an 8 car open competition field", that's right, on any given Sunday, you'd have like TWO DOZEN T/F teams trying to qualify for an 8 car field with a relatively "conservative" purse (back then, if you won the T/F class, you'd get paid around the same amount of money that most of today's teams probably spend on paper towels for the weekend) when you think of that, compared to the current state of nitro drag racing affairs today, it truly boggles the mind... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...

Wanna see the beautiful HEMI HUNTER Top Fueler and neat Nostalgia Funny Cars?--- Click on the Drag Racing Underground YouTube video below...
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WCB
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby WCB » Mon May 23, 2011 2:44 pm

NHRA Show was great again last weekend.....

Drag Racing was , is, and will be GOOD......( no Rapture?...... :P :P :P )
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby Race4Wheels » Mon May 23, 2011 10:00 pm

Well, this thread perfectly illustrates the reasoning behind American DRAGCAR and why it should be given the support it needs to get launched on a national basis by racers wishing for something fresh in drag racing, real drag racing.

Bracket racing is fun and it does take talent. Super category racing is fun and it does take talent. But neither one of these venues are truly drag "racing". I liken them to high speed chess games. "What do I dial if I'm running a slower car?" "What do I dial if I'm running a faster car?" "Should I take the stripe or should I take my opponent to the traps and then dump him for the break-out?"

DRAGCAR will bring Racing back to Drag Racing.

"Cut the best light you can and get to the finish line first!" is the only racing strategy needed to run DRAGCAR.

And once it catches on to the point that racers will want to build cars for and compete in DRAGCAR venues, the fun of class racing will again become a part of drag racing's landscape here in this new age.

Check out USDRAGCAR.com and imagine a drag race with no 2 second throttle delays off of the line or racers dipping the front ends trying to NOT take the stripe first, or going home from a loss because you lifted just a little too much and the other car got there first without breaking out.

How many times have you had to try to explain to a spectator the reason behind a car that just "won" being disqualified for going too fast, IN A RACE? Isn't the whole premise of racing to go as fast as you can???

The first argument I will hear is that class racing is too expensive, but that is truly not the case in DRAGCAR. DRAGCAR's indexing system has taken the "more money wins" aspect out of the game and any well combined bracket set up can be just as competitive as a well combined and funded PRO set -up.

Here is an example, an NHRA Pro Stocker would index at 7.30, and where is the record, 6.60??? That's the record! Normally these cars are running in the 6.70-6.80 range which is 5 to 6 tenths of a second under the DRAGCAR index.

My own garage built '65 Mustang S/ST car with a poor mans budget 351W ran .480 under the DRAGCAR index for this set-up in it's first and only time to the track at this point. (@ an actual 1200' above sea level with a corrected altituted of closer to 3000')

Check it out! I bet if you gave it a shot, you would enjoy it. Most of you anyway.

It's unbelievably simple in premise but a bit of complicated formula to establish the indexes and it really does show promise. Up to this point, no car that has been known to be truly running the combination in which they were indexed by has been witnessed to run more than 6 tenths under the established index.

DRAGCAR can fly! And when it gets large enough to be an alternative to the other hot rod associations for tracks to consider, then may come the ability to actually establish more realistic rules regarding seat belts and bell housings, for example.

I was born to a drag racer, and I love drag racing! I live for it! And I will likely put up with all of the crap that they will throw at us just so I can make one more pass, but I would much rather do something to make the sport better for the sportsman racers like myself, than to continually do the same huffin' and puffin' every time something brings me back onto the subject, which is nearly every week.

Let the XHRA's keep the PRO fields, as thay have spent many years working that stuff all out, but lets put the sportsman back on the map in the drag racing world with American DRAGCAR. Imagine sportsman drag racing events being televised for those of us who are interested. And there are obviously a great many who are as is evident by the popularity of the Pinks and Pass Time tv shows. The reasons behind those shows falling off the list is merely because only racers were watching them, and many racers got bored with them. Imagine a real racing show for racers to watch.

I have been working on this DRAGCAR idea for over 15 years and the idea has been nearly scrapped on numerous occasions due to the negative sceptisism typically encountered by bracket and "Super" racers who really have never experienced class racing due to the tremendous expense of even trying it in the other venues. But the periodic brush with a racer who expresses similar desires as myself, like many in this thread, is what has kept this idea percolating and finally coming to life this year, as an American DRAGCAR (FREE ENTRY) race has been scheduled to audition this new venue in Phoenix, Arizona and put this new system to the test.

Now then, Who Wants To Race?

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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby WildcatOne » Tue May 24, 2011 6:50 pm

That is an awesome concept, Race4Wheels. I like the idea; I agree with ideas that make sense...I still haven't visited your site, just read your post. I'd like to see something happen with it. Good luck and safe racing to all. WC1
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby Race4Wheels » Tue May 24, 2011 7:33 pm

As for my own personal opinion of drag racing;

First, there are two different ways this question can be taken, Pro drag racing (T/F, F/C, P/S, and T/A falls into this) or Sportsman drag racing (Stock, S/S, Comp, "Super" categories, and Brackets)

Pro Drag Racing:
I don't get the same thrill from watching Pro cars at the track or on TV like I used to many years ago. I think it is a combination of factors attributing to this.
!st of all---In Fuel, the nitro percentage cap has really taken alot of the thunder away. When I took my wife (who had never seen a National event before) to the Nationals a few years ago, I was dumbfounded by the fact that I needed no ear protection when the fuel cars were running until I heard of the new rule bumping the nitro allowance up to 85% or 90%. "No wonder they are so alcohol sounding" I said to my informant.
2nd---The fact that you cannot get close to the pits anymore really is a downer for me as well. I was never one to get in the way of the teams working on the cars but being able to get a good view of the pit from the side was most interesting as you got to watch the celebraties of the sport in the behind the scenes (backstage) aspect. Now you have to wait in a mob to get a glimpse into a 12' wide window at the back of the car of interest.
3rd---1000' stinks! If they are so worried about speeds, slow the cars down. Drop a hundred cubic inches, raise the minimum weight, restrict air inlet openings, limit the size of the intake valves. There are any number of ways to slow these cars down without cutting off the last quarter of the track.
4th---Pro Stock is gone! They don't look like the stock version of the car being represented and they certainly have lost ALL of the "stock" component completely. 500c.i. in cars that cannot even be purchased with a small V-8, 2300+ cfm carbs where electronic fuel injection is the only option, rear wheel drive on cars that have not been rear wheel drive in 20 years. It's just naturally aspirated Pro Mod and maybe the class should be named more suitably.
5th---Only Approved Engines Allowed ruins it also! I don't know a whole lot about this area because I don't even pay much attention to the rules for this class anymore but I do know there are only a limited few blocks and heads even allowed into the class. So everybody is running one of the same five engines allowed by the sanctionaing body and they are only allowed a particular few approved body styles as well. BORING!

Now I will stop there but with even all that said, the performances nowadays are phenomenal and very impressive without a doubt. Pro Stocks are running what Fuel casr were running when I was a kid! To think of it in those terms in incredible! But there is much to be said in allowing for variety in any class, and, I would much rather watch a 5 second quarter mile pass than a 3.5 second 1000' pass without question.

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Race4Wheels
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby Race4Wheels » Tue May 24, 2011 8:53 pm

Well, Thank You for the vote of support Wildcat!

Now for my views on the Sportsman side of drag racing;

1st---Comp Eliminator is far too expensive to really be considered Sportsman level but the concept is totally Sportman level. It's just that the classification standards and restrictions are so simply written and outdated that the category has simply been overtaken by the teams with the resources to field a quarter of a million dollar operation or more. Comp Eliminator is the only opening in NHRA for my own car (other than S/ST or S/G which I don't even consider classes) and the budget required to get my car even close to qualifying in the field would excede that of building a Pro Stock engine, and I am just not that well off. Too many times is the story of a racer who has not been in the seat for the last 5 years because they are stepping up their program to a faster category that has them simply building the car as they can afford it. One friend of mine after 20 years finally got his gorgeous A/A '33 Ford coupe finished only to be failed on the physical exam for his competition license. He only got to make a couple of 60' pops with his dream car before having to sell it.
2nd---Stock and Super Stock are awsome cars but the classes are little more than glorified non-electronics brackets for show cars. These cars are beautiful and the performances of these cars are incredible yet they still put a dial-in on the window and lift or hit the brakes if they are more than a foot in front of the competition. The racers and builders are proud of their works and I have to think that they would much rather be allowed to win with a true showing of power rather than dipping the front end to keep from breaking out.
3rd---Super categories are far from being a class by any means. These are merely heads-up brackets. Beautifully built machines indeed with many having very respectable performances but there are truly few rules when it comes to the performance capabilities of these vehicles. I am really not very impressed by a 2800 pound tube chassied S/ST car running 10.99 at 150mph when it has a 565ci engine in it with no limitations as to what can be done to it to increase the horsepower output. I am only impressed with the funding and the workmanship of these cars when I take the time to look the nicer ones over.
4th---The obvious, throttle stops and delay boxes are rediculously overused in today's "drag racing" venues. Delay boxes should only be used on Pro Light categories where very quick car/driver combinations simply outperforn the time elapsing between the ambers and the green, and throttle stops should also be limited in these categories to something much more reasonable and appealing to the spectating crowd.
5th---Bracket Racing rocks! Yes, I do applaud bracket racing because there are always going to be the cars that for whatever reason do not perform to the standard of others in an all out class racing format, and this should in no way keep a racer off of the track or even out of an event. AHRA used to allow for cars that did not make the weight or meet the performance standards of their class to drop down into a bracket category. This was very cool in that no matter what, you were afforded the chance to take to the track in a National event and be tested against your competition.
6th---Safety Saves Lives! But the extreme ignorance in the writing of todays safety rules can only be accounted for in one word, MONEY! It is so obvious that someone is getting paid a "kickback" to institute these rediculously written rules that nearly every racer knows this, and yet they continue to flock to the websites and the few rare speedshops left to make their orders for new parts to replace the still new parts they have in order to be allowed to race their car a few more times before having to do it all over again. There is no need for me to elaborate on this point, you all know the deal.

I was born just a little too late. My elders got to experience drag racings heydays when you could build a funny car on a blue collar budget and campaign a competitive class car on a weekly basis without any corporate sponsorship taking up every inch the body visible to every angle possible. I just want to do that!

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Diana The Doc
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Re: Your Opinion Of Drag Racing Today?

Postby Diana The Doc » Wed May 25, 2011 9:03 am

On a positive note, in regard to the subject of "Drag Racing Today"... We all have to honestly admit, that while we still do occasionally have our unfortunate fatal mishaps, overall, the many modern safety considerations that have been implemented in the sport have resulted in saved lives and far better outcomes when drag racing goes terribly wrong... Case in point, Pat Musi's recent Pro Mod crash at NHRA's Southern Nationals... Pat has made it pretty clear that all the safety related regulations and construction of the car mandated from the NHRA rulebook are responsible for him surviving that horrific crash... I was shopping at my local LOEWS store this past weekend, in Woodbridge NJ, picking up some stuff for my home garden, when I ran into Ralph Musi (Pat Musi's younger brother, an accomplished racer/wrench in his own right), anyways, Ralph told me that Pat smacked into the shut-down area wall at around 238mph!!-- Back during drag racing's "old days", that would have most surely resulted in termination of life... Pat acknowledges that all the safety stuff built into the car is the reason why he's still among the living... That said, Ralph told me that Pat still has a long while to go before fully recovering from the crash, it's gonna be a long road to recovery with Pat's broken back-- Fortunately, Pat has a great family who are there to help him every step of the way... So, we should all count our blessings that have resulted from drag racing's improved and vigilant safety considerations... That's one of the "good things" about drag racing today... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...

A pic of Pat Musi's former "Popeye" car from the DRU photo gallery...
http://www.dragracingunderground.com/in ... &Itemid=49

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