NHRA shortens track to 1000 ft for fuel cars

YEP!

YEAH, I agree....

That's not funny, I think it's quite possible....That would TRULY be a DRAG!

Seems obvious to me, but I'm not a racer, just a fan.

 

I agree with pussification and see foam as the next step... Crap-on-a-stick!!! It's drag RACING!!! let them run...lengthen the shutdown area and stay away from speed restrictions and shortening the track. The whole thing is absurd... The competitior that Scott was, I'd be willing to bet that he would be against any of this...

 

I'm with you 100%.

I can't stand to watch an NHRA drag race - haven't in probably 20 years.

JH

 

"Wade Gray of VP Race Fuels, the official fuel distributor for the NHRA, spoke with CompetitionPlus.com on Monday afternoon, confirming a supply and demand issue exists with nitromethane."

Could be there isn't enough nitro to last the year anyway, at 1/4 mile runs, but just enough for shorter runs.

 

What a knee-jerk reaction. Slow 'em down? Just how slow is slow enough? Its drag racing. Who is quicker and faster. Build longer runoff areas with better catchment. It is a dangerous sport and everybody knows it. The racers have already come up with some really good ideas to improve the cars because of this. Too bad Scott dying is what it took. My guess is Scott didn't survive the engine explosion. If that is what happened, then what? I don't think Scott would approve. It could take a year for them to discover what happened. In the meantime every run no longer has any meaning. Would Scott want the rest of everyone's season to be nothing more than a sham? So much for drag racing for now.

 

I agree with most that has been written here...but,

Maybe Chili Phil can back me up here, but I grew up at the drags in the late 50's and the 60's, and there was nothing more exciting than the match race battles of the A/FX cars or the gassers...or the fuel altereds, and none of them went over 210 MPH.

The speed today is stunning, but the racing stinks. I go to the CHRR and the March Meet and thats it. The rest of it is just a bore with an occasional "holy shit" moment, like "Metalshapes" said earlier.
I, personally don't care what NHRA does. After seeing and experiancing the 60's at LIONS, Fontana, etc., etc., the NHRA events are just overly organized "shows".
Drag racing in the 60's meant getting a splinter in your ass from a crappy wooden bleacher, being within 15 feet of the starting line at LIONS and seeing guys drive fuel A/FX cars in open face helmets and t-shirts.

 

Why not just change the Indy500 to the Indy400,so there would be more cars running at the end.
The point i'm trying to make is,the length of the run isn't the problem,the speeds aren't the problem. The problem,to me,is the run-off lengths!
I don't see what all the confusion is about. Shortening the run...WTF! Why not 1/8 mile then?
320ft less wouldn't have saved Scott,and i'm sure you'ld agree...

I bet Scott would be the first to say BULLSHIT!!!!

 

From Competitionplus.com

&#8220;The board members of the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) wholeheartedly and unanimously support this decision,&#8221; said its president Kenny Bernstein. &#8220;We want to thank NHRA for listening to our input and suggestions to incorporate these changes. It is not lost on any of us that this constitutes a change in our history of running a quarter-mile, but it&#8217;s the most immediate adjustment we can make in the interest of safety which is foremost on everyone&#8217;s mind. This may be a temporary change and we recognize it is not the total answer. We will continue to work hand in hand with NHRA to evaluate other methods of making Top Fuel and Funny Car competition safer so that we might return to our quarter-mile racing standard. We also want to thank Connie Kalitta for his invaluable input. He has been a rock through these difficult times.&#8221;[FONT='Times New Roman','serif']<o></o>[/FONT]
Numerous crew chiefs have pointed out that if this is an effort to slow the cars down it won&#8217;t produce major results because most of the cars are already well over the 300 MPH mark at 1,000 feet. What it would produce, of course, is an additional 320 feet of shut-down room, a very serious matter at facilities like Bandimere Speedway, Pomona and
one or two other tracks.

According to our sources, at least a handful of prominent team owners have urged the adoption of 1,000 feet for fuel cars prior to the Denver race and were prepared to sit out if changes weren't made. "

 

the 1 mile long fuelers and funky looking floppers of today are exhibition cars. how does anyone fuckin spectate a 3 second pass?? the shit happens so fast. like you said, pure show...

CHRR and March Meet with their "slower cars " are definitely more interesting to spectate....

 

It's called a RACE so you can go faster than the other guy.. anybody enjoy restrictor plate racing..... whata snoozer. Engine builders build em to get it on.......if you aint got enough sack to run it stay home...dont slow em down....IMO

 

Its a start

 

Top fuel cars are not unlimited as it is, they already have restrictions. Engine size is limited, tire isze is limited, rear gear is limited, weight, length, etc. IS limited. Just think how fast and quick these things would be if they were truley unlimited. They have enough limits, they need more room, Shut off areas have to grow as the speeds grow. Some more safety devices could always be incorporated, but don't change the fundementals; track length and the quest for the fastest car under the rules should continue.

 

These cars aren't "unlimited" to start with. Maybe with single mags and/or single spec fuel pumps things would slow down AND get a little more affordable. Maybe NHRA wouldn't have trouble filling a 16 car field at some events.
Garlits has advocated 1 short block for YEARS.
Lots of options to make things safer (and more affordable) without shortening the track. Problem is you can't change the rules in the middle of the season, so they need a stop gap measure. I guess this is it.
But if you slow the Pro cars down, the top alky classes are gonna be almost as fast as the fuelers, so are you going to slow them down to keep the "Kings of the Sport" on their throne?
Bunch of questions, not many answers.
Larry T

 

Nobody has mentioned a trip back to the 50s yet when the NHRA banned Nitro and you could only run gas. That was their idea of "making racing safer" then. I dunno, could work. I'd rather see better shut down areas and aircraft carrier type catch devices. N.N.

 

They also limit the size of the blower,the helix angle on the rotors,
and the drive ratio. Max two plugs per cyl,maximum 90&#37; Nitro, etc.

This is NOT unlimited racing.

Shortening the track,as a temporary measure,was one "easy way"
to make the events safer on shirt notice,without the teams having
to buy new parts and develop new tune ups.

I'd like to see a reduced blower drive % and smaller fuel tanks.
HP is a function of fuel flow on these cars,less fuel available equals less HP.

 

NHRA Pro Racing is driven by the same engine as NASCAR - marketing. I believe they're trying to salvage the pro side of the sport, which they thought they had sold (but the buyer's shareholders didn't see the value in the purchase and backed out). The sponsors on the pro side are non-racing products and want the exposure to the fan in the stands and the national TV audience (as opposed to the sportsman sponsors which market to the enthusiast and the local market). Lengthening the shut down by shortening the track provides good press by appearing pro-active and hopefully avoids bad press (injuries, loss of life). Having spent the last 25 years in professional racing, I can tell you that the $$ leave pretty quickly if the sponsor feels he isn't getting positive exposure. It is, at the pro level, just the entertainment business, even though the owners, drivers and mechanics are true competitors. Kinda glad I'm going to Bonneville. vic

 

man this sucks, Wally would have never let this happen. What are they thinking, they will be pushing these cars harder in 1000ft and start blowing them up @800ft. The best way to slow the cars done is to use a singlr mag and pump. If they do this I am going to give NHRA the boot and start making IHRA events.

 

yet... NASA can't launch the shuttle or a rocket when it's raining out?

at least they're still racing... right? i'll speculate this won't last forever... at least until the NHRA can mandate some ***new*** & ***improved*** safety standards for all of the tracks and the cars and related safety issues involved. remember... NHRA already set their schedule, tracks have been approved for events, tickets have been bought, broadcast rights have been paid for... blah, blah, blah. hopefully by next season it'll be better for EVERYONE involved in drag racing.

nice rant btw!

 

This sounds like a knee jerk reaction. An extra 320 feet would not have helped Scott Kalitta's situation. I was there. His car blew at about 1000 feet and he wasn't driving the car from that point on.

 

This will get little acknowledgment here. After all, would, could the above group possibly know about it? I'm for anything in the interim that will help prevent further loss of life. I also believe that nitro as a fuel has far outlived it's usefulness. These types of cars can go wickedly fast without this dangerous addition. Even as a kid in the 60s, perusing every car mag I could get my hands on, I remember wondering if a few more MPH gain was worth using such a dangerous substance. Absolute speed has nothing to do with the quality of racing in any series. Competition is what makes racing an exciting sport. Exotic fuels, unlimited technology and such have absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

I could watch pro-stockers run all day long... jus' sayin'

 

How fast does 320 feet go by at 300mph? That's just a token effort, a band-aid at best. Better tracks and run-offs for the fuel cars is the long-term answer.

 

NHRA was sold for 121 MILLION dollars recently ...
new guys
new rules
SAME OLD BORING races ...

 

Sale didn't go through.

 

IMO the problem is that the saftey rules haven't been implemented as fast as they need to be for how fast the cars are going. If you look at a funny car without the body it isn't really that much different from and old digger, it's just got 8000 horsepower instead of 2000. There are new saftey rules nearly every year. But unless it's a drastic change, i.e. restrictor plates, some one has figured out a way around it by the time the season starts.
There is no "safe" at 300mph, only safer. If you crash, you may die. Our guts can't handle that kind of impact. I'm all for longer shut-down lanes. Give the guys time to slow down. If your track can't handle the top fuelers, you don't get to see 'em.

 

I have watched a slow motion of the crash. The car did blow up at 800 feet and this decision dosn't change what would have happened to Scott.
dwrfab Don Ross

 

Ive seen enough freakin slow ass bracket racing to last me a lifetime. I dont know how you guys can think that a top fuel or funny car is boring, maybe on TV ? but in person its amazing. Changing to 1000 feet is lame but if they want safer races they need time to think of the right rule changes to make that happen, its hard to change engine rules and such mid season. It is strange to start this in Denver, Ive spent a ton of time at that track, its pretty big and has a good run off area. I really hope they get it worked out cause I love watching it.

 

why couldn't the nhra adopt a setup similar to monster trucks with a remote shutoff. if scotty's car was equipped with one maybe the end result wouldn't have been the massive crash at the end.

 

If you decide to go to 400 inches, or one pump, or any of the other things that make the car slower, you make the teams spend tons of bucks buying new stuff. It's already hard to get 16 cars to show. Tell them it's going to cost an extra million this month and see how many turn out. 1000 ft costs almost nothing. IRL slowed there cars down. NASCAR slowed there cars down. It's cheaper than new tracks.

 

I'll say it again. The Pusification of the NHRA.

As someone who has actualy tuned a fuel car, I say that Drag Racing has EVERYTHING to do with absolute speed. Three fourths (or more depending on who the shoe is) of the 'competition' is Crew Chief vs Crew Chief. How else is that done without absolute speed? It's a Drag Race, not a Enduro run.