LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO RACE AND THE MONEY TO DO IT
Dear friends: My name is Michael. I'm in my mid 40s. I started drag racing {legally} when I realized that street racing can kill innocent people, but being from the lower New York state metro area, high buck street racing happens PERIOD. Why? Well, instead of tracks opening they are closing!
I can't begin to tell you how many smaller tracks and some even larger tracks have gone the way of the commercial land developer to the point of not being able to tell one town from the other with each town having the exact same strip plaza malls, whatever, and in the same order from east to west, but drag strips NO!
And guys be honest, how many of you are even old enough to remember what it used to cost to put together something you could be proud of and even kick but with? I once purchased a ‘63 Chevy II and installed a 12:5:1 331 inch motor and ran mid-high 10s. Sure it was a few years ago and the 12 bolt 4:88 rear I got from the Customart press for 150 dollars along with a set of used Stahl racing headers, the only thing that cost was the glide and the converter. The heads were fuelies with new valve train and a nasty solid cam. No back half with tubs or mega buck strut front end and NOT ONE computer delay. Nothing, in fact all I used was a dual point double life Mallory with an old juice box coil, a set of cut down front Moroso trick springs with 15X3 Cragar S/S, and a 90/10s Batt relocater kit and installed a gas tank sump with 3/8s fuel line and a donated set of M&H Racemasters.
The point is I earned enough money at my job to pay my bills and go drag racing with enough left over to eat at the Arches versus today's 10 grand crate motors that aren't even race motors.
Now how about sharing with your readers just how a kid goes about pulling that one off with the outrageous cost. Today, everything’s so far out of reach that it forbids so very many guys and girls from ever getting involved with any of it! Makes me want to PUKE what has been allowed to take place in this country,
Michael Laverty
Savannah, New York
TIME TO RE-INVENT DRAG RACING?
I was thinking about how drag racing classes have changed over the years. We used to have classes called Modified Roadsters, Competition Coupes and Sedans, etc. All long gone for whatever reasons. I'm looking at classes we have today and I wonder why some of these classes still exist?
I'll pick on Pro Stock as an example. This class grew out of the Super Stock wars of the 1960's (as did Funny Car). When the class first existed, it really represented a car that a spectator could relate to. You could actually go to a dealer and buy a 426 Hemi Mopar, or a 427 Ford or 427 Camaro. As time has gone by, the class has become something that is just hanging on. I don't think it's relevant to car buyers anymore. How many people in the stands actually drive Chevy Cobalts or Pontiac GTOs or Dodge Avengers? If a poll was taken of spectators, how many drive American cars Vs Toyotas, or Hondas, etc? How many people drive a 4-door car with a V-6 and an auto trans? Or a 4-cycle sedan? Probably most people and yet you don't see those cars represented in Pro Stock.
The class originally reflected what people could actually buy and drive; but no more. So why not have a Pro Stock class that reflects what people actually drive? Would spectators be interested in a class like that? Probably not; it would be too slow. So why have Pro Stock? Why have Funny Cars, for that matter? They don't look like "real cars", as the F/C's of the 60's and 70's did.
Just for the sake of argument, what if those 2 classes "got the axe"? What would you replace them with? What would fans want to see? A pro nitro class, yeah, and some sort of Pro Mod class that might reflect what people really drive.
I'm just throwing ideas out here. I'm wondering if drag racing doesn't need to be "re-invented" and what could be done to accomplish that. I've been around the drags since 1961 and it's like it's lost so much of what made it unique years ago. I wish we could get that back. Maybe reinventing some of the classes could be a step in that direction.
Cliff Morgan
Phoenix, Arizona
RENEW THE RIVALRY
I believe the fans in drag racing come to see Ford vs. Chevy vs. Chrysler, and at this point the NHRA has allowed bodies of Chevys, Fords in FC but everyone knows they have a HEMI under the hood. Also Pro Stock needs FORD bad in its class and the class will die if it continues down the same path.
I personally think Pro Mod should replace the factory hot rods if they are not going to have a Ford vs. Chevy rivalry!