Did I hit my head on something? Surely this ain't true

Dan Bennett · 03-27-2024, 03:02 PM

It may have changed over the years, but neither NHRA or Compulink ever showed much desire to be using the latest tech so probably not.

I saw this happen fairly often, and for a lot of reasons.

First of the year is always a minefield as people may have changed combinations and/or classes. When any entry goes into that race's database, it's done by car number. So you also get people whose number has changed due to their previous year's performance.

Prefilled tech cards filled out by racers can cause it. Yes, it saves time but if you've changed things you have to remember to update your card.

After tech, the cards come up to the tower for the entry list to be generated. Most of the time that was done by the clock operator but also sometimes other track staff would take over. I'm not trying to throw stones at anybody, but when you're sitting there with hundreds of cards and a limited amount of time to get through them sometimes minor changes (like even one character on the class) can get missed.

And EVERYTHING is attached to that number. Name, car make, engine, class, address, everything.

The Compulink program handles it from there. Whatever it has listed as the index for the class that was entered is automatically inserted everytime that car number is keyed in.

Even if DRC staff is on site and sees a crazy number appear, it has always been the standard that they will not and can not change anything. The track and NHRA are the only ones who can authorize that.

It's why the reports are sometimes delayed. The reporter already has the report for the session and it is complete. But until tech radios the tower that tech for that group is complete and clear (everyone passed), you never hit the button to send the report to the server.

03-27-2024, 03:02 PM	#9
Dan Bennett Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 361 Likes: 573 Liked 359 Times in 82 Posts	Re: Did I hit my head on something? Surely this ain't true It may have changed over the years, but neither NHRA or Compulink ever showed much desire to be using the latest tech so probably not. I saw this happen fairly often, and for a lot of reasons. First of the year is always a minefield as people may have changed combinations and/or classes. When any entry goes into that race's database, it's done by car number. So you also get people whose number has changed due to their previous year's performance. Prefilled tech cards filled out by racers can cause it. Yes, it saves time but if you've changed things you have to remember to update your card. After tech, the cards come up to the tower for the entry list to be generated. Most of the time that was done by the clock operator but also sometimes other track staff would take over. I'm not trying to throw stones at anybody, but when you're sitting there with hundreds of cards and a limited amount of time to get through them sometimes minor changes (like even one character on the class) can get missed. And EVERYTHING is attached to that number. Name, car make, engine, class, address, everything. The Compulink program handles it from there. Whatever it has listed as the index for the class that was entered is automatically inserted everytime that car number is keyed in. Even if DRC staff is on site and sees a crazy number appear, it has always been the standard that they will not and can not change anything. The track and NHRA are the only ones who can authorize that. It's why the reports are sometimes delayed. The reporter already has the report for the session and it is complete. But until tech radios the tower that tech for that group is complete and clear (everyone passed), you never hit the button to send the report to the server.