attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers gone

[ALMACK]

Originally Posted by chris3racing

Jack, you just hit a button. Very few will take the time to teach a young person about our sport. Some just go try on their own but very few. The future of our sport is passing the history on to the next generations. Open up your shop to younger generations and teach them how to work on engines, set up a car and take it to the track. I enjoy working with my son and grandsons, 13 and 6. I have about 6 young men who come in the shop on week nights, after they get off work, and work on either the race car or on one of the classics. Three have engines on engine stands and are learning to build their own engines. You are correct take young people with you to the track, give them some small part to do at the track. Intoduce them to your old friends at the track

Don't forget to give that young gear head a ride around the pits in a open header class car !
I was interested in race cars before my free ride, but afterwards I was hooked !


This is my first season running in IHRA Stock, but it took me 30 years to get to do it, so cost is a big issue for alot of the younger gearheads.
Plus, for the same cost, alot of the younger guys can run heads up classes in the NMRA and NMCA without fear of going "too fast"...

[THE LEGEND]

Rick,
I agree.
I've got a 24,22,20 year olds that all still live at home.
One can't keep a job.
One leaves for the Army in 3 weeks.
One works 30 hrs a week for minimum wage.
They can't buy gas and Lunch forget about racing.

[X-TECH MAN]

You got it Rick. Bottom line is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and lots of it. Even the well off are feeling the pinch umless they have "STUPID" money to begin with.
Wade I hate to say this but there was no one in the stands watching the .90 cars either back in the day unless it was friends or family. Not trying to be funny but just telling it like it was.
I remember when Allan Johnson was about 4 or 5 years old at the track with his dad Roy with his 2 IHRA S/S cars. Today because of an oil business he is racing Pro Stock or whatever you want to call it today. That takes the "STUPID" kind of money plus major sponsorship.

[FINESPLINE]

Bottom line is stock class racing ceased to be entry level racing a long time ago compounded by the economy in which college graduates cannot make enough money to pay back their college loans or even find a job period . Do you really think class racing is going to draw new members from that. Wake up ! Class racing is surviving on money made a long time ago and it is slowly drying up. It is what it is ---Reality !

[Paul Precht]

Today's stockers and (especially) super stockers are pro classes. With exception of the rare dime rocket as noted there's no way a guy can put together a quality stocker on a young man's salary. A huge percentage of all the competitive stockers in the country have engines built by the same 10 or so engine builders and they are not cheap, in earlier times a good local engine builder could at least have a chance. Stock racers by nature have pushed the envelope that brought it to this point along with the many high dollar race teams. I try not to let it bother me but it can be intimidating to see a stocker show up with a motorhome that is worth more than my 2 race cars, tow rig and house combined. What's a 20 year old kid with a pickup truck and a 78 Camaro bracket car, that want's to race stock, think when he see's today's stocker teams, he's got a better shot at dating a supermodel.

[69Cobra]

Originally Posted by ALMACK

Don't forget to give that young gear head a ride around the pits in a open header class car !
I was interested in race cars before my free ride, but afterwards I was hooked !


This is my first season running in IHRA Stock, but it took me 30 years to get to do it, so cost is a big issue for alot of the younger gearheads.
Plus, for the same cost, alot of the younger guys can run heads up classes in the NMRA and NMCA without fear of going "too fast"...

Alan YOU hit the nail on the head in my opinion as far as running NMRA and NMCA heads up classes. If I wasn't raised around Stock Eliminator racing there is NO WAY I would spend the money I'm spending to build a mid 10 second Stocker. For the money I'm spending to build a mid 10 stocker I could build a mid 8 second Hot Street car or a mid 9 second Mean Street car and from what I remember when I was running NMRA's Open Comp (10 years ago) the payouts with contingency put NHRA to shame and its true heads up racing. Not shoe polish. Now there is a down side to this. True heads up racing is going to be way more expensive to keep up with year after year and their car counts are now showing that. The other thing is there is no press and no prestige anymore for the NHRA sportsman racers. There's no help from the sponsors like there used to be. I can remember Dad telling me that this company would give them this or that as far as new products if they advertised that product on the car (sticker). Now again if I didn't grow up around Stock I would not know anything about Stock Eliminator racing because you don't see a Stocker at your local weekend bracket races for the most part. Now I'm lucky to go out and see IHRA Stock Eliminator Champ Phil Combs and NHRA Div 3 stand out Bill Sempsrott at my local races but most people don't even know what they are looking at when they see these cars nor do they care. When you tell them that they are class cars they have no idea what you are talking about. Then when you explain it to them they are impressed for a second and then they walk to the next tube chassis 10 second bracket car with a 555 BBC with nitrous and a PG in it and think its the coolest thing there. All in all I agree that we need to help spread the word and teach others about class racing. Like the others have said take someone to the races with you its the only way to get the awareness out there. The other side of that is the money. Its not cheap at all. But its not impossible. There are cheaper cars to get started with and for those guys the shoe polish will help them get started. Everybody has a chance with the shoe polish.

[cicero819]

Generation Y's lack of interest in cars. This is the headline most newspaper carry everyday, they're right but unfortunately many NHRA and IHRA executive have decided to ignore it. How many business you know will overcharge and have but contempt for it's customer base. Let's go back to the beginning of organize drag racing, 98.9% of cars we're jalopies or nearly used vehicle(not abused) where you had no choice but to learn how to fix it or leave it in the lane-way(if you had one) Unfortunately man being man, we can't stop improving on a good thing. We cannot ask young men and women or should we expect them to make the hyper jump to race in a top notch set-up right out of the box with their first meager paychecks, remember how it was for you, this generation have been brought up on McLife(everything done in two minutes) and Toyotas,Hondas(these are their Camaros and Mustangs of our times, even their 55's is the Civic) we don't even have a place for them to race with us, we call them rice burners and poo poo them away. So come on and give them some slack. I've written to Div1 Director and spoke about a new class to allow new style cars that allows all type of performance cars to participate at Division level(much better that having snowmobiles in the middle of summer, no matter how well they're put together it's still a snowmobile) this might bring some new blood back into the sport. Like so many of you know and I hope you remember that it was hard as a young person to separate yourself from your disposable income(why do you think it was called SCRATCH after-all). Next time you're in the lanes at a bracket race at your local track, try approaching that new racer and passing on some of that incredible experience that you possess. We the Bald, the White hairs better get with the program because our legacy will be I pods and Apple androids drag racing games for our grandchildren. Claude Ruel

[Wade Mahaffey]

They say history repeats itself, maybe we'll get lucky LOL. I feel that getting into class racing can be done on a budget...you can do like me and shoot for the index instead of the record. My approach is to move on down the scale, and away from the busy classes. Down in SS/LA there are some really fast cars, but only a hand full in the country. I love the fast cars and it would be great to be one....on someone elses money LOL. I can only hope for success on the elininator side, which is the bigger picture for me. I look at it like this, I can spend 10K on a good engine program that will run a little under the index (11.20). Or I can spend 25K on something fast (10.60)....either way I'll be looking out the rear window with a 283. Other than class, you don't get a nickel for being fast, and MPH means nothing on the eliminator side. More money allows you to look out the front window instead of the back, it does'nt stop you from racing. Also I never was a guy that wanted what everybody else had, or whatever was most competitive. I like something different (not crazy different...just not another Camaro). I like the really cool cars....that folks choose to race

Our scale has been leaning toward (reasons not to go) for a while now. It's up to those that love it to tip the scale back the other way.

Wade Mahaffey

[ALMACK]

Originally Posted by Wade Mahaffey

They say history repeats itself, maybe we'll get lucky LOL. I feel that getting into class racing can be done on a budget...you can do like me and shoot for the index instead of the record. My approach is to move on down the scale, and away from the busy classes. Down in SS/LA there are some really fast cars, but only a hand full in the country. I love the fast cars and it would be great to be one....on someone elses money LOL. I can only hope for success on the elininator side, which is the bigger picture for me. I look at it like this, I can spend 10K on a good engine program that will run a little under the index (11.20). Or I can spend 25K on something fast (10.60)....either way I'll be looking out the rear window with a 283. Other than class, you don't get a nickel for being fast, and MPH means nothing on the eliminator side. More money allows you to look out the front window instead of the back, it does'nt stop you from racing. Also I never was a guy that that wanted what everybody else had, or whatever was most competitive. I like something different (not crazy different...just not another Camaro). I like the really cool cars....that folks choose to race

Our scale has been leaning toward (reasons not to go) for a while now. It's up to those that love it to tip the scale back the other way.

Wade Mahaffey

Very good points Wade !

I like the "looking out the (front or back) window" deal.

I also cannot afford to shoot for the record.
Since there are very few cars that run in my class, I'm just happy to run the index and survive the bracket race from there.

I will not say my total to date investment for my Pure Stocker is "cheap" (about 4.5K ), it is a car I am comfortable with.

Gotta love shoe polish... it's the great equalizer.....LOL

[Myron Piatek]

Originally Posted by 69Cobra

Now I'm lucky to go out and see IHRA Stock Eliminator Champ Phil Combs and NHRA Div 3 stand out Bill Sempsrott at my local races but most people don't even know what they are looking at when they see these cars nor do they care. When you tell them that they are class cars they have no idea what you are talking about. Then when you explain it to them they are impressed for a second and then they walk to the next tube chassis 10 second bracket car with a 555 BBC with nitrous and a PG in it and think its the coolest thing there. All in all I agree that we need to help spread the word and teach others about class racing. Like the others have said take someone to the races with you its the only way to get the awareness out there. The other side of that is the money. Its not cheap at all. But its not impossible. There are cheaper cars to get started with and for those guys the shoe polish will help them get started. Everybody has a chance with the shoe polish.

Every once in a while, a Stock or SS racer can grab their attention for at least a while longer when they see that Stock or SS car with the wheels in the air and outrunning that big block chassis car! It feels good when they ask if you have a big block or nitrous when all you really have is a small block in an all-steel car. But, unfortunately, that impression still doesn't always last and they go back to the shiney, custom chassied vehicles with power adders.

As discussed, bottom line is time and money. Kids these days want to go as fast as they can afford to and not have to spend time working to get there. I always liked to tinker, experiment and improvise with what I have.and can afford. But even in "Stock" these days, you can buy too much trick, aftermarket stuff to go faster. That's making it harder on the little guy along with the economy. A 1-2 punch!