Decreasing the live audience
Let's hope that 1,000 feet is not a permanent staple for NHRA or any form of drag racing. Thanks to the economy, and the 1,000-foot policy on the nitro cars, the attendance will be down at Vegas 2 and Pomona 2 (at least down by two - me and my wife). Since the implementation of the 1,000-foot rule, it is much easier for me to keep my hard earned money in my wallet, and catch the results online. Thanks!
Mike Parsons
San Diego, CA
Less track prep makes IHRA racing safer?
I attended the IHRA North American Nationals in Epping, NH, this weekend and the one observation I took away from it was this: Out of the two nitro classes, I only witnessed two minor oil downs. The racing was side-by-side and it was a quarter mile. Why?
I think it has to do with track prep. IHRA doesn't prep a track nearly as sticky as the NHRA does, nor do they take as long. Result: Everyone adjusts. We still had Top Fuel cars running 4.60's (Lagana vs. Litton first round was excellent, 4.69 to a 4.68) at over 305 mph. Mike Strasburg set a track record at 325 mph in qualifying. Funny Cars were in the 4.90 - 5.20 range, 275-295 mph.
Everyone loved it. It was side-by-side racing and good racing at that. No one really cared about the times. And it was a quarter mile. Heck, more than half the nitro cars were only using one parachute to stop. No one came close to a crash.
My point is that quarter-mile racing is still viable and should remain as such. There are so many factors going into why these cars go so fast; take away two or three and you solve your problem. With the IHRA, they prep the track less than NHRA and the big cars slow down. Sure, lots of these operations are low bucks and they run more conservatively. But I bet if you brought any NHRA team over and had them run on a track prepared by the IHRA crew, they would slow down as well...and not at the expense of safety. (Which begs a question: Why don't we see NHRA teams cross over? Besides Aaron Polburn being Aaron Polburn, that is. If they're so superior, this should be a cakewalk and some easy money, right? But Densham, Pedregon, Worsham, Gilbertson and others have all seen it ain't that easy.)
I stood at the 1,000-foot mark almost all weekend and watched the nitro categories. It just isn't the same. Drag racing should survive as a quarter-mile race. A footnote: these nitro cars weren't blowing up everything at the 1320 stripe, either. Without re-creating the parts specialty aftermarket, taking away the track brings everything down a notch and in turn creates a safer, more competitive environment.
Lee Hunsaker
Dover, New Hampshire
Good question
Regarding your comment about Paul Page: I've cringed at his miss-statements for quite some time. I found myself wondering if he had motel pictures of someone in charge of his hiring. Seriously, why does this man have that job instead of someone who could do it effectively?
Just wondering, myself.
Richard E. Tassano
Northern California
Marty, come back!
Where the hell is Marty Reid? Paul Page is an IDIOT!
D. Reed
Texas
Under the IHRA Big Top
Jeff, one of the knocks on NHRA has been that the sanctioning body is being run by bean counters and not racers. It's going to be very interesting to see what happens over at IHRA with the new owner. Will drag racing be turned into more of a sideshow than it is now?
Tom Schiltz
North Canton, Ohio
Correction
The correct e.t. and mph for Blaine Johnson in 1996 was 4.612 @ 310. No biggie. Just sayin'.
Mitch Johnson
Saint Petersburg, Florida
Hey, drag racers use this stuff too
Went into the local Wal-Mart to get some oil for my car and noticed a display for the Q horsepower oil that Tony Pedregon is sponsored by, and once again was disappointed to see NASCAR and 4x4 drivers on the bottles on display, but no Tony, or mention of NHRA! WHAT GIVES!?