....3.20 deal was to keep the speeds down...
That's not quite correct, the plan was to reduce the "rate of increase" in speeds...
Goodyear has maintained for around twenty years now that the maximum speed for this size tire design is 340 mph , they wanted a safety factor of at least 10 mph slower and ideally a 325 limit...
The Nitro crew chiefs wanted the gear rule @ 3.20 back then (I was for 3.40) as the simplest method to stop the 3-5 mph "jumps" in top speed that were taking place due to the fuel & clutch management system gains in technology...
For the last ten years the blower engineering has greatly improved the product, if I was the Glendoran Nitro Dictator
, the current overdrive maximums for all classes would be cut in half tomorrow , next the throttle blade openings would be no larger than 45 square inches for all classes in 2012...
" Win a Few ... Lose a Lot " ...a drag racer...