Mid-year horsepower posted @ nhra.com

[Ed Wright]

I agree with Jeff.

[Hagen Gary]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

Billy, ain't it funny how suggestions are offered, and the complaining starts, but then no one offers any solutions? No one likes it the way it is, but they sure don't want anyone to change anything. And they wonder why no one will put on a big money class race, when there are big money bracket races at least 4-5 times as year.

Nobody wonders why. Its way to hard to get someone to put up more money than what is offered at a NHRA National. Then you got to get a few good tech people, or have no heads up. Alot of people wont show if there are no heads up. Then its just a another big bracket race. People who want to do that just buy a .90 car and race both big money and NHRA. So once again, To be competative, the cost vs reward for s/ss is way worse than .90 cars. Don't you notice how many SC cars show up vs SS? They can put together a whole racing program for less than We have in our car. Then they don't have to worry about working on thier S!*t or having no shot of winning 5-7% of the time. Cost vs Reward. Seriously do the #s. If everyone can't get together on this point, to hell with trying to get people to agree to Qualifying and Record points, which I agree we should have. Sure would help the AHFS.

[Steve Williams]

Originally Posted by treessavoy

How come the DP"s (with only a few in regular competition) got HP but I didn't see any HP for the blown Mustang CJ's?

Did I miss it?

JimR

Mustang-2008 manual only. 439 to 449. Am I wrong?

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Hagen Gary

Nobody wonders why. Its way to hard to get someone to put up more money than what is offered at a NHRA National. Then you got to get a few good tech people, or have no heads up. Alot of people wont show if there are no heads up. Then its just a another big bracket race. People who want to do that just buy a .90 car and race both big money and NHRA. So once again, To be competative, the cost vs reward for s/ss is way worse than .90 cars. Don't you notice how many SC cars show up vs SS? They can put together a whole racing program for less than We have in our car. Then they don't have to worry about working on thier S!*t or having no shot of winning 5-7% of the time. Cost vs Reward. Seriously do the #s. If everyone can't get together on this point, to hell with trying to get people to agree to Qualifying and Record points, which I agree we should have. Sure would help the AHFS.

If you haven't noticed, there isn't much money available at NHRA races. The purse hasn't gone up in about 15 years ($300 to enter for Stock for a car, driver, 1 crew or family, and $1500 to win?), and the contingency money has dropped 60% to 75% in the last 4 years. There are about 1/3 as many companies paying contingency money as there were in 2006, if there are that many. I'm not talking who is listed in the ND, I'm talking about who is writing good checks and mailing them.

A new or good used dragster to run S/C is about as expensive as a rolling Stock Eliminator car. And all of those 555, 598, 620, and 632 Big Chief headed dry sump big blocks are not free. It ain't as cheap as you think. And S/G ain't no cheaper.


If the racers would show up, instead of whine, you could get several of the companies to put up some money. For the $200-$400 it costs to get in to an NHRA race, with one car, the same entry fee paid to a decent track operator for a 64 car field will generate a pretty decent purse, considering Bowling Green will be hosting a combo and paying $1K to win off of 50 or so cars at $50 to enter.

Now Bowling Green does have help from Comp Cams and TCI, which the racers greatly appreciate, how ever much they are spending. And yeah, they have heads up races in those combo races.

If Comp and TCI will help Bowling Green put on 4-5 combo races that draw maybe 50 cars, I'm sure they, and/or other companies would be willing to at least consider another program, especially if it were bigger, and covered a broader market.

There are companies that run their own contingency programs featuring a lot of the companies that class racers buy parts from, if you had an association with $100 members that paid $25 in dues, you could buy into one of those programs to pay contingencies for 4-5 races.

Example: $200 entry fee x 64 entries is $12,800. Pay to the semis @ $2K to win is $4K, leaving $8800 out of the entry fee for the track. Now, figure that for two classes at 64 cars, running both Stock and Super Stock as separate classes. That's $17,600 for the track for 2 64 car fields after paying the purse, not counting spectators, or concessions.

If the scheduled date of the races was done well, I'd bet 2-3 good tech guys would show up for $100 a day plus expenses. That's about $600 or so a piece, you'd need 2-3.

Those are just ballpark figures, not anything written in stone, take them for what they are worth. But if you're hoping it will get anything but worse until the racers do something about it, you don't have much hope.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Mike Carr

I'm willing to offer solutions/ideas to whatever problem (real or perceived) there might be?

Okay Mike, how about it? What are your ideas on some sort of 4-6 race series centered in a region such as the one I mentioned? I made some suggestions, tell me what you think? What should be done different? How should it be promoted? Is the chance at a decent payout and decent treatment enough to draw some racers?

[Mike Carr]

Alan, I've been promoting and putting on the Tri-State S/SS Association races in PA, OH, WV and MD since 1999. We get decent car counts, but much lower than one would expect, considering the number of racers we can draw from in a hundred mile radius. At most races, 50+ cars should be no problem, but only once have we had that many (57 at Hagerstown MD in November 2001. 48 ran first round That race draws 35 or more every November since 1995, with the exception of three years. Other races haven't done near as well, despite the proximately of so many cars). We don't have any heads-ups (no scales or fuel check), which I know is a turn-off for some. The only real "rule" is that a car must dial the Class Index or quicker (full rules posted in the Tri-State S/SS Association Forum on Classracer). All NHRA and IHRA-legal cars welcome. The entry vs payout is pretty favorable. $100 race entry (plus any tech card fee, that some tracks charge). Round money is $50 second round loser, 100 third, 200 fourth, and 400 semi, in a six round race. 40 cars pays $700 r/u and $1,500 win (more, if the track kicks any money into the purse, which we don't require from the track). For what is (usually) a one day race. Two or three time trials, race, be home at a reasonable hour. I would be all in favor of a series of regional "super" races for Stock and Super Stock cars (as either a combo or seperate eliminators), and would be willing to do whatever I could to help in any way. The biggest problem would be getting racers to support it. I think if a race has a good entry/payout ratio and is a good location, it can draw well. Anything I can do to help get the ball rolling, let me know. Shoot me an e-mail if you have some ideas. dragrace1302@verizon.net

[Hagen Gary]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

A new or good used dragster to run S/C is about as expensive as a rolling Stock Eliminator car. And all of those 555, 598, 620, and 632 Big Chief headed dry sump big blocks are not free. It ain't as cheap as you think. And S/G ain't no cheaper.

For a person just getting started in racing a .90 class is alot more appealing. If you want to compare apples to apples, the compare a low qualifing cheap s/ss car vs a good used dragster that might not run big MPH but wont get beat everytime he runs someone in his weight class. At least he has a chance, and he can run big money brackets and local brackets all day long. Now compare a Fast New S/SS vs a New Dragster with one of those huge motors. Still going to spend more on S/SS and wouldn't dare take it to a bracket race. How often do you think those .90 cars pull the motor down vs S/SS? Again, S/SS just isn't worth the money to a new player. .90 cars arnt either, but they have alot better shot of winning some back. If NHRA would at least Double the purse they would need, what? 10 more cars in each catagory. Not to metion the crew tix, and other moneys the track will make off of those extra entries.

[danny waters sr]

You talking heads up? If so that could create a problem running IHRA & NHRA classes. IHRA fuel injected classes should be used instead of NHRA F I cars runnuing reg stock classes. I could see a lot of IHRA cars not going for this reason. You know that the Majority of FI cars are a lot faster than the reg class cars. I know i would not want to run my 283 with a F I car ,be like taking a knife to a gun fight. Just asking how would that be handled ?

[Jack Matyas]

Originally Posted by danny waters sr

You talking heads up? You know that the Majority of FI cars are a lot faster than the reg class cars. I know i would not want to run my 283 with a F I car ,be like taking a knife to a gun fight.

Danny -- I don't agree -- just what classes do you feel the FI cars are stronger ? Our team cars fall into AA , A , B , C , D , E , F , G -- and I can get my butte kicked on any Sunday by a carb car ..............And have already this year several times .

[Alan Roehrich]

Jack, if nothing else, the IHRA rules keep the Cobra Jet and Drag Pack cars separate from the rest, at least to a degree. Of course, I've heard complaints at various combo races about all of the other classes for the IHRA cars. So, it's a double edged sword. No easy choice there, but certainly one that must be made.