Okay, we know these are being used. They are for sale in National Dragster and they say they are “NHRA-approved.” Why? Are you kidding me?
If NHRA wants to allow these types of switches why not just allow a basic four-digit delay box? Some of these “slow switches” come with a price tag of nearly $350! You can get a good used delay box from a bracket racer for $100-200 and they could quit worrying about who has the latest “slow switch” or “slow solenoid” or “slow air-bleed trans-brake solenoid.”
When these switches and solenoids start showing up in local No Box bracket races there will be all sorts of accusations of cheating and such. The NHRA should extinguish this “gray area” right now. All they need to do is enforce the rules they have.
NASCAR stood behind their rules, even in the face of new major sponsor Toyota, and everyone respected their integrity for it. C’mon guys, stand up.
If NHRA decides to do that, the next thing you can count on finding on cars is a trans-brake solenoid that has the same technology in it as the “delay” switches do. Drivers of fast cars need help slowing reaction times down; it is that simple. Not all of them are using these “slow switches.” Slowing a car’s reaction time can be done with converters, launch rpm, tire pressure, valve bodies that don’t “dump” fluid as fast as a “pro-brake” valve body. That’s cool, that is how they are supposed to do it. Change the car, not just install a $350
electronic switch (that’s what the delay box racers do).
If NHRA actually enforces their rules you will see a lot less eight-second Super Stockers and seven-second Comp cars cutting killer lights round after round. Of course this is just my opinion. Maybe the fast cars and winning racers will still win, they usually do, but I’d just like to see it done the right way.
If you are thinking I’m just a bracket racer who has used delay boxes since they were invented, you are right. But I also raced Gene Mosbeck’s H/SA Stocker for one season. I was one of the first drivers in Stock to use a “blinder” to cover all but my bottom bulb and I was using a two-step hooked to the brake pedal. Did it work? First race in the car, Aug. 1991, we got runner-up at the NHRA national event in Brainerd and went to the semis two weeks later at the Topeka national event. We got two NHRA division wins out of five events in 1992. Yes, I’d say it worked. The travel and time involved cut things short in Stock for me but I enjoyed the heck out if it. Great guys and good racing.
In the end I hope this article will inspire enough “No Box” racers in both Stock, Super Stock, Comp and especially ET Brackets to write to NHRA and IHRA and tell them to keep the “No Delay Box classes” the way they should be: NO DELAY BOX or DELAY SWITCH CLASSES! If they enforce their own rules it will remain the way it was intended.
If you race in a NO DELAY BOX/DEVICE class or bracket, these are your classes they are letting these new switches into. Don’t care? Then don’t complain later when you have to shuck out $300-$400 for a slow trans-brake switch.
I think this is an important subject that should be dealt with right away. If not, it will undermine the NO BOX classes and the uniqueness they offer in today’s drag racing world. Agree or disagree? I am always open to hear opinions on my articles. If you don’t care, don’t write. If you are passionate about the sport like I am, let’s hear your thoughts.
Spring is getting closer here in the Midwest. I can hardly wait for the warmer air to fill with the many fragrances of spring: burnt methanol and race gas!
