Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Look what was just put on NHRA.com WOW!!!!!!!!

http://www.nhra.com/content/news/30355.htm

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

wow

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Thumbs up to NHRA for taking an action quickly on this. T/F's and F/C's are TOO FAST and making too much power. 3 F/C crashes in 15 months and 2 tragic deaths. Dragsters have broken in half.....tires exploding and we should not forget the death of Darrel Russell. I am a huge Nascar fan and have been for many years....some of my favorite people were killed.....and sadly my biggest idol in all of motorsport Dale Earnhardt.Nascar said we have to stop this and they did....NHRA has to stop this as best as they can and NOW not later.....1000' racing will cut speeds and hopefully will cut engine explosions and tire issues as well.......Fans will still come to see them.....It will just take a little getting used to the numbers.....

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

"Do it in style on a 5th of a mile"

make Funny cars look like funny cars again, not bat mobiles
take the big *** wing away from both so they both have to de tune to get them from A-B

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Hats off to n.h.r.a........................................its a big start in the right direction............

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

ditto!!!

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

I think this is a great thing.... it will now make the driver and not the tuner win races. You better be on the tree cause you just lost 320ft. of track to catch up.
They will have to add a speed trap at 1000 ft.now too.
I know there are a lot of people not happy with this, but i know this is a step in the right direction.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Lee, I don't understand why ANYONE would not be happy with NHRA's decision. The Pro Racers endorced it 100%. I would seem to me that any spectator that doesn't like it doesn't really understand all the benefits. Like less loss of life & it should make the races more exciting by tightening them up. I applaude what NHRA has done & done quickly. Hats off to them for stepping up & doing what has to be done.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

I agree Adger, If they do not like it then they have no clue.

My father has been racing Topfuel for 50 years with Chris Karamesines
I spoke to dad today and he said it is a great thing. They been going to the same tracks for 50 years and the short tracks are not safe.

Like Jim Head said... we race on tracks built when we only ran 200mph.
They now run 275 at half track.

If you limit the nitro or gears or pulleys, the crew chiefs will figure a way to go right back to 325 again.

I really think this is right and i bet we see some good racing and the drivers hitting the tree better.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

That's one thing I like about 1/8mi, I can haul the car around with a 6.xx on the window!:)
Seriously, I think it will help safety, but it will take a while to get used to the new ET's.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

"HATE THE NEW IDEAS"

Maybe I am the MINORITY with this post......I am tired of everything in life being altered to suit needs without directly going to the problem. I am sorry but drag racing is 1/4 mile not 1000ft. Scott Kalitta would have died if his car only ran to the 1000' or the entire 1/4 mile. The pro's will be re gearing their cars to top out at the 1000' mark the same as the 1/4 and will have the same devastating explosions just EARLIER. He was knocked out from the explosion and went head on into a steel pole (holding the catch net). If there was a guard rail blocking that pole he would have hit the wall instead of the pole and maybe still been alive today. Why not race to the 1/8mi while you are at it. Maybe they should require all the tracks to extend their shutdown by 320-500 feet.....oh wait that would make sense......I am against this change and do not like change to effect NOTHING.

This is like going to every stop sign in the USA and putting in a traffic light, because there are too many accidents at stop signs......or maybe people should have to pass a better driving test to get their license. Instead of staying below 15mph on a closed course maybe STAY ABOVE 15mph.

Life is not all safe......more people die getting hit by a greyhound bus in december below 2degrees Fahrenheit in 6 feet of snow wearing swim trunks in the past 10 years than people who died in drag racing accidents because the shutdown wasn't long enough.

Mind you I would not disagree for having more shutdown......GAINESVILLE IS AWESOME for shut down...don't even hit the brakes (8.90 @ 170)

Maybe nobody will NOT agree maybe some will........it is my opinion and I stick to it.

P.S. sorry for going Jason Oldfield on this one

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

You said it all!!! How about these track owners making the big bucks from the national evets comming there spend a little and update the tracks.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

posted by sc1153: Scott Kalitta would have died if his car only ran to the 1000' or the entire 1/4 mile.

I beg to differ! His engine let go after the 1000' mark. If that would have been the finish line he would have had the chute out and have shut off the fuel, so there, probably, would not have been the engine explosion that may have knocked him out. I think that NHRA did the right thing. It's just too bad that it wasn't done sooner!

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

The engine did let go at the 1/4 mi mark HOWEVER the fuel teams will be re-gearing their cars to top out at the 1000' mark and will be reving at the same RPM but earlier. This means the engine would have blew up at the 1000' mark and knocked him out the same as it did at the 1/4.......POINTLESS CHANGE!!!!!!

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Chris FYI,
The gear ratio is fixed for fuel cars . . . They are not allowed to change it or the tire size.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

All racers know that if you shorten the track to 1000 feet, then I need to get to 1000 feet ASAP! So I'll make the engine run to 990 feet or so, same ending. Not gonna change Jack Squat. But less than 2 weeks after Scott K dies, Von Smith darn near hit a tree in the shut down at Norwalk. (They cut it down after). 1. Clear the shut downs of all obstructions. 2. Make all cars carry a device that can be controled by someone outside the car that a. deploys the chuts, b. turn on the fire bottles, c. shuts off the fuel. NHRA could have a person at 1000 or 660 to set this RF signal off in the event of a massive explosion. The people are already there. This combined with CLEAR AMPLE SHUT DOWNS is the answer, we already have fans bewildered by all the classes. Lets not toss in a distance change to boot.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Anyone who thinks the nitro tuners haven't already been throwing everything they have at the track to get to the 1000' mark is mistaken. They've had to due to the rev limiter that kicks in on the top end. Also, how can they can magically achieve more traction on the same racing surface by turning up the wick just because the finish line is closer? They can't.

This is a change that may or may not be temporary. It will be in place for the rest of this season. It was the one thing that they could do that wouldn't have immediate significant financial impacts on both the teams and the tracks.

Remote shut off of some systems and activation of others is definitely worth looking into. Measures to slow the cars down is too, but they shouldn't be measures that will cause even more engine carnage than there is now, or reduce the likelihood of side-by-side racing because the changes render the cars more prone to getting out of shape and/or losing traction.

The end of the racing surface most certainly needs to be addressed at many tracks. How it is addressed differs from track to track due to the availability or unavailability of real estate to expand it. None of them should serve as launch pads producing airborne race cars. They should all have real sand traps. There should be nothing to run into other than catch nets, and there should be multiple catch nets at every national event track.

While there are no absolute guarantees that any of these changes will prevent another driver from dying in a racing accident, they could well go a long way toward reducing the number of funerals the sport has experienced in the last few years.

Some folks don't watch or care about some classes of drag racing, and that's fine. I watch and care about them all. When too many people die doing something, the companies that insure the activity stop doing so - see rocket cars in the USA and class B rally cars world wide. I think it is far better to do this (move the finish line) now, and spend some time looking at other remedies to prevent potential catastrophes than to lose more lives and the ability to contest the sport at all.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Just another late night thought, If the grand stands were moved to the finish line, all of the classes would make more sense to the fans as they would see the point to altered start times and throttle stops. Also I am not against moving the fuel cars to 1000 feet. But I fear we are not addressing the problem with this measure. The big money sponsors and events along with the insurance companies will leave if we keep killing people. We may have to leave some tracks just like NASCAR.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

I personally do not agree with the 1000 foot deal, I think it is a bandage for the problem.
My thoughts are as long as there is a contest for speed, there will always be danger. Just try to keep improving on safety.

BB

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

I agree, it is a band aid, but one that needs to be put on until other things can be figured out. I don't believe they can make the cars run any harder to the 1000' mark, they can't change the gear rule or tire size. I think it is great of NHRA to do something fast. I don't know much about the forces involved in these cars but someone who does in Jim Head (if you did not know, he is a scientist) The first words out of his mouth is "we should be racing to 1000' and when they had a drivers meeting, all the other drivers agreed. I think we should all stop bench racing and let the people who put their lives on the line to entertain us decide whats best for them. I believe that drag racing should be 1320' and would not be happy if it stayed @ 1000' but if it is what needs to happen for now, I think we should all be o.k. with it.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Here's my 2 cents.

It should be the race tracks responsibility to ensure that there is ample turn-offs and track distance. PERIOD. It is NHRA's responsiblity to determine what that track distance should be (based on the speeds). And it is also NHRA's responsiblity to ensure the tracks comply with the rules. Hell! That's one of the reasons we pay our membership dues for isn't it?

So I say, (1) don't slow down; (2) don't shorten the run; and (3) don't put band-ads where they aren't needed.

If lengthening the track means I pay a bit more to race, so be it. Hell I'm already poor, what's a few more dollars.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Sorry Bill I disagree with you!!!! on the paying part!!

If NHRA tells me new seat belts every 2 years, i change them.
If NHRA says new flex plate every 3 years, I change it.
If NHRA tells me new trans and housing shield every 5 years i change them.

Track owners do not help pay for it!!!

If NHRA says your track needs to be another 1000ft longer THEY PAY IT!

The sportsman guys are nickeled and dimmed to death all ready.
I feel it is up to the track owners to make it right not me and you.

That is my 2 cents

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

You left out another option. The track can't expand and it loses their national event(s). E-Town would be off the schedule. So would Pomona, and probably St. Louis, Norwalk, Denver, Seattle, Maple Grove, Bristol and even Indy. The real estate just isn't there, no matter who might be expected to pay for it.

It's still 1320' for everything but the two nitro classes. Let them work it out for those two classes before the national event schedule gets reduced due to impossible-to-meet mandates.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

In the beginning, I hated 1/8 mile, and still prefer 1320 but I live with it. None of us know what 334 mph feels like, but the pros do...they sound unanimous in wanting more shut down area even if it means a shorter track. Makes sense to me. Our industry is in enough of a financial bind as things are. Requiring tracks to extend or die is unrealistic. I don't think fans care about the big mph. NHRA needs to slow these things down and give more shut down area to the drivers. Nobody goes to the races to see a tragedy.

Just my .02 cents

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

I think most are missing the real reason why the fuel cars are going to fast and exploding engines. It is the allowed percentage of NITRO. Why dont they cut the percentage back to say 50 % or less and or the amount of blower boost. You know why....its because its an EGO thing with the drivers and crew chiefs. Structure the rules to cut back on the high dollar madness. The larger the "LOAD" the more timing needed, larger and dual fuel pumps, hotter ignitions, more blower boost, etc. and on and on and most cant keep the candles lit (all 8 cylinders) for a full run as it is. How many real races accually happen when both cars get down the track together to even call it a drag race? How many times is it that one car or another hasnt blown the tires off, dropped a few cylinders, thrown a blower belt, etc. Years ago they used to have 64 car fields for Top Fuel and the winner most often ran the whole race WITHOUT pulling the heads, clutch, or rebuilding the engine every run. WHY....smaller blowers, less nitro percentage, ONE smaller fuel pump, etc. Think of the cost savings and they just MIGHT have more than 15 fuel cars show up trying to fill out a 16 car field. Its all about MONEY and the SHOW. OK just my thoughts after being around this stuff for 47 + years and dont tell me I dont know wht Im talking about when it comes to fuel cars. I worked with Gene Snow on his funny car one summer before most of you guys were out of diapers. Its NO FUN pulling the heads after every run and replacing pistons. I say keep the 1/4 mile and limit the fuel rules for closer racing and save some $$$$$ also. OK....you can all jump on me now. Terry Bell

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

AA Dale disagrees with you and says……compression is the answer …..but who the hell am I to disagree with you with your 47 years experience or AA Dale for that matter. However, I do know where I would place my bet.

I think that their is a better chance of lightning hitting me 5 times in one week than another Scott Kalitta incident in the next 20 years, that being said, not that I don’t think that something needs to be addressed and now.

As far as 1000ft ? ……..hmmmm????? ……..well I guess we better get used to seeing at lot of * asterisks * in the record books eah .

Gene Snow?

Kids in diapers?

Police reports have confirm that "in diapers" may be a bit young for his taste.

Amazing what some $$$$ can do.

Gene WAS one of my heroes …….but he is what he is…..and their is a special place for cats like him that are guilty :>(

It’s called the “ ELECTRIC CHAIR”

What these mis-wired folks need is to spend years in a prison thinking every waking hour of every day for years thinking about being fried until these usless bodies can no longer conduct current.

Sounds pretty harsh I’m sure, but PALE in comparison to the mental terror that theses folks inflict on our kids IMO.



Just my .02$ and worth every penny.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Yes...Compression is just part of the problem also known as blower boost (overdrive). It just one of the ETC. items I mentioned. I didnt list them ALL on the post. As for the electric chair and prison remarks??????????? I dont know what you are talking about. The last time I saw Gene Snow was around 1975 when Woody Hatten was a photographer for Super Stock Magazine! It was thru Woody that I spent some time working on the funny car.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw....856485d2.html
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw...m.596c8c7.html


Useless inf. I remember in the 80’s Gene paying Bill Mullins(sp) way on his dragster to develop the high gear only deal. Bills car was the guinea pig to develop that deal.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Hummmmmm, I guess that gives some credence to the old saying "FUEL QUEER's".....LOL. I never read about those charges against him. I guess you never know about people. I only knew he was good with tunning a fuel funny car and he tought me a little about nitro fueled engine back in the "Dark Ages" of drag racing.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Jeff,

I agree with most of your point, but I do think another 300 feet of shut down is worth looking at. I also don't think speed is the whole issue, I've seen some major kaboomz in the 70's and 80's at much slower speeds. Your point on a remote "dead man" button is well taken, the tractor pull guys have done it for years.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Was watching Denver Coverage and they asked Don Prudhome if he liked the 1000" deal and he said "give it six months and we will be blowing them up at 1000ft" They need to look elsewhere. NO NITRO (there is a shortage anyway) Tiny Blowers....anything I do not like watching 1000' passes this sucks.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

It won't be long and they will have us all running 1/8 mi............O GOODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Bob, I like 1/8 mile, but I don't think that it will happen for fuel classes. If you blink, you'll miss it! 1000' is okay, though. Good competition, and just as exciting.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Mark, my point is simple. Even racing to 1000 feet, a driver could get knocked out or have a heart attack, sucome to fumes, whatever. There is no way to stop the car. Give the crew chief the remote kill. I do like the anti lock brake idea, alot!
I am sure that I do not know enough about running a fuel car but, Don Prudohm appears to agree with me that in 6 months they blow them up at 6-800 feet.
Scott died because no one could shut his car off. New chute material is good, but without a remote deploy for a driver in real trouble, this 1000 foot, is politics with no function. So, the remote needs to, deploy chutes (BOFUM), set off fire bottles, again (BOFUM), cut off the FUEL!, I beleive this is the real solution. Not because I think so, anyone have a better thought? Mine are for the drivers survival.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

I'm in total agreement.

I watched the Denver 1000' deal and was sick of the announcers hyping the shorter distance.

Cut the blower size, give em a single fuel pump, and take the big wing/greenhouse off of the cars.

And I really like the remote chute deploy, fuel/ignition shutoff idea. I would add one thing, a pressurized accumulator on the brake system, not enough pressure to lock the brakes at speed but enough to apply maybe 50 to 60 percent braking to slow the car.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

make FC's look like cars again, not bat mobiles, take the big wing away from TF, make all run 55 gallon fuel pumps. That will do alot.
Mainly like Prudhomme and Garlits said on TV, it has gotten way out of hand.

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Garlits seemed much more PRO 1000 ft. than against it. Prudhomme on the other hand...well, he was definitely vocal.

I don't know what the answer is to slow the cars down while maintaining costs, but I'd love to see the body styles revised so that they much more closely resemble their production counterparts. I don't think its a coincidence that the nostalgia funny cars are so popular...you can look at them and immediately identify what model car it is that they are running. Take the headlight decals off of today's machines, and I don't think you could tell one from the other. They're all big bubbles with a huge wing on the back.

Alternatively, I'd say loosen the rules up considerably and let them do to the bodies as they like, so we could actually see innovation in action (ala Kenny Bernstein's Reatta). But, this would be a distant second choice IMHO as it won't do anything to curtail costs or slow the cars down.

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You know what......this is completely stupid......most of the fuel guys were running the cars to the 1/4 mile.....they forgot?.......i saw more cars with the chutes out past the 1/4mi than at the 1000'.......wow this rule is really working good.......pointless

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Jeff,

From what I saw, Kalitta had no chance. Once the car lost the body (original explosion) there was nothing that could be done to help him. Cars run 330, and now over 300 in the 1,000 ft, because they have the power and aero to do so. Take it away from them and they'll slow down. Shut down areas need improvement, no new technology in shutdown areas in years. Worsham has a good idea with the chute deployment with burst panel failure. I still like the 1,000 because it gives more shut down, like Chris said however, they're running the cars out the back door...big time as a result. Driver choice. If MPH really doesn't matter, take it off the time slip and the score boards. As far as what Snake and Kenny, or Garlits think, it shouldn't matter....ask the drivers.

Just my .02 cents

Re: Nhra shortens t/f and f/c race to 1000 ft.
 

Mark,

What Garlits thinks is inconsequential, but what Prudhomme thinks is another story as he's still a car owner. Sure, in the end I know NHRA will sample the opinions of the drivers, but it's the car OWNERS opinions that will really count (Prudhomme, Don Schumacher, John Force, David Powers, Ken Black, the Pedregons, etc.) The owners are the ones that control this sport, not the drivers as its much easier to find a pilot than it is to find somebody with deep pockets to fund one of these operations.