How crazy would it be.....
 

if the NHRA went back to running off of National Records in Stock and SS? No more indexes, no more AHFS.
Any Racer who goes faster than the record or minimum becomes the record holder and don't even tear them all down! All that they can do is hurt themselves and others in their class. Go ahead, go as fast as you want! I've got more than a couple of bodies laying around.
And yes, I have taken my meds this morning.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Not exactly relevant to the thread topic, but wouldn't it be fun if D1 did a quick 8 in STK/SS and ran it like a Comp Eliminator race? They already do a run-off with the top qualifiers in SG/SC/SST. I think a top 8 run-off in STK and SS would be badass. I would absolutely watch that from the grandstands. They could even make it part of the track's event so AHFS wouldn't be in play for the run-off itself. The one they tried to do at class racer nats was easily the highlight of my viewing experience this year.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

No Problem did that years ago, it was a fun race. Your dial in was your index, first to the finish was the winner. And like Comp, your index would be adjusted for the next round based by how far under you ran.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

We could also go back to the way HP factoring was done.
Congratulations on your new National Record! Here's 10 HP!

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I love you Billy.

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G/SA record would be 9.80 by mid summer. LOL

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Frank, we talked about this.......

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So you had your medicine ? Liquid medicine ? LOL

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

That would be my evening meds.

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That idea would be idiotic today as it was back when they did it that way. First off there is no record in most classes just a minimum that is set off the indexes that we have today. Secondly that would kill both of the classes. I like racing but there is no way I would travel to the divisional races where I have absolutely no chance to win or go rounds. Most would feel the same way.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

So you didnt like the idea of lowering indexes by .02 and .03 but you like this idea?

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Well Billy, you say you've taken your meds, but we have no proof of that. In fact this idea would almost suggest otherwise. I think NHRA has a class just
like what you're suggesting. I believe they call it Comp Eliminator. And if for some reason spending that kind of money doesn't scare the pants right off
of you, may I suggest you contact Greg Anderson or Richard Freeman who
will work out a budget for that fits your lifestyle.

J.R.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

I didn't say that I liked the idea. But if ya think about it, lowering the indexes and doing away with the AHFS would have the same effect.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

J.R., think about the repercussions of that and lowering the indexes and doing away with the AHFS (which is what some Racers want). we would wind up in exactly the same place!

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

and it ain't just me!

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Who said they wanted to lower the indexes AND do away with the AHFS? The poll question was for lowering the indexes only.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

And the majority of the replies wanted the AHFS triggers changed to a point where it didn't affect anybody IF the indexes were changed.

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Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

So instead of shooting for a 14.85....I should start shooting for a high 12 or low 13?? (if we went back to the way it was)

Pretty sure that would mean whoever qualifies at the top of the field would keep racing and the rest of us would go back bracket racing.

It would be a weird race, me with say a 13.00 index in U and someone else with an index equally away from their actual ET, wompin to stay ahead but not enough to set a record and be even farther behind in the next round...no thanks.

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Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

The class racers of today haven?t got a clue of what they?re racing for, other than money (which kinda sucks.). They want concessions that won?t allow for heads-ups so they can just shoe polish race. Well, this is class racing. If you want the shoe polish nationals, go back to Saturday and Sunday brackets. I know this is bracket racing, until another car with the same letter on the side window is in the other lane.

We can either lower indexes, so the peeps that ACTUALLY work on their junk can see what they have done over the winter, or make the breaks one pound, so we can get better chances at heads-ups, which is actually what these two categories were made for.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Combine sticks and autos....

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Nope, one pound breaks!

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

How about combine Sticks & Autos, 1 lb. weight breaks and the index reduction?

J.R.

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And national records be the new indexes!

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Way to go Sean and Billy
That puts the Performance back in what some call preformance based classes.
I remember how it used to be. I remember running locally against the guy that had a soft combination and held a record or two.. Seems like a lot of us always came back for more..

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The money? That's a joke! My broker can't understand why certain Racers are willing to spend $100,000 to make $2,000. Not a good investment.

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It sure would fill up the field with some "interesting" combos, wouldn't it?

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I happen to race in one of the more populated classes in our division. At any of our divisional races we sometimes have as many as 6 SS/IA cars there. I am usually the slowest and take my lumps when I get a heads up. One race we had 30 cars total and had 6 SS/IA cars in the field. Most all the cars that I race against have a 25 Cu In advantage and carry less weight so my chances are remote that I could ever catch up with them. I dont let that bother me. I just keep trudging along. My program is to be a consistent driver and predictable car. I do go rounds and would have most likely finished top ten in D2 if it hadnt been for the 2 hurricanes we had this year in Florida. That caused me to miss 2 of the last races of the year. I race for enjoyment. If I win that is great. If I loose i just pack my stuff up and head to the house.
Personally i dont see that an index reduction will enhance our classes. Maybe accelerate the eventual end of the classes. we have been loosing racetracks here in D2 this year we only have 4 tracks hosting divisional races. Lower car counts will not help that. We all need to do what is necessary to improve the health of the classes to preserve our style of racing. I have been racing SS for over 40 years. its always been a shoe polish class since I started. There are classes that run all out, no dial, no break out in NHRA if that is your style then maybe step up to comp, pro stock, FX or pro mod.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by 1 lb breaks? Does that mean instead of 14, 14.5, 15 lb/hp it would just be 14 and 15 lb/hp? I can see how that would simplify Stock and cut the number of classes in half. It'd suck for me, but would make the class even more performance oriented. Be a blast to watch, but not so fun to race.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Can Stock or Super Stock even run in comp?

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There were way more car brand battles that made fastest car in class fun. No driver weight was in play in the early days. Those battles for the new generation vehicles and the folks that relate to them are only available at E.T. races now.

Paul H

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

1 lb. breaks get tougher at higher HP ratings. At 200 hp a racer could easily bounce between 2 classes. At 400+ HP a racer could be stuck, and there are several combinations in the 500-650 HP range.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ so the guys who want 1lb. breaks, don't forget this!
Different deal but just an FYI because I've run into it, some of the FWD stuff is 3 lb. breaks. Imagine what it's like with a 140 HP combo having to add or subtract 420 lbs..
It kinda makes a combo a 1 class car in a hurry.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Billy all the rear wheel drive cars I ever raced had a natural class.

I don?t know when it became fashionable to go up a class and down a class.

If everyone was forced to run their natural class more heads up would result.

The AHFS would have a better chance to work if that is what racers want.

Forgive me if it doesn?t work for FW drive cars because I don?t have any idea how they work.

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It wasn't. 02-.03 it was .200-.300 (2 or 3 tenths, not hundredths).

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If there is not a class for you there, they will make 1 up. But, they face but at the end of each day Comp has the same issues as far as indexes. And a cure, personal permanent and immediate personal index hits. Watch the class closely as 1,000 ft drops are common among fearful yet very competitive racers.

The expensive hobby is not for the meek and you better run it like a real business or broke even the rich will be.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

No need to tell me, mine is exactly 345 lbs between DF/S and EF/S...I attempted it in March, not even close to the index. And all due to the 6hp current factoring
And extra 150lbs that tacks on in both classes..

Billy sees all the pros and cons.. They call it reality and it sucks.

Re: How crazy would it be.....
 

Jim, it works the same way as the upper classes (with a big hitch thrown in over time that screwed the pooch), back in 1994 I started racing this same FWD car in GF/SA (same Index, at 110hp). Ran I till 97 (never competitive). They lowered it in Feb 96 to 99hp...where it belonged originally. By that time I had spent a bunch chasing the impossible.

Then over time the combined FWD classes and got rid of GF-and FF recently. EF now bottom class at same 17.45 sea level index. (But added 6hp).

Imagine you run a G/SA car and one day you wake up and you are magically put into E/SA, and then they also tack on 6.5 percent more HP onto your combo.

You would run up a class also at least until you could make both the weight and the E.T. index to get it down to natural DF/S class (the car was never that light the day it drove off the assembly line), It took a ton of work to shave off 345lbs. And do it by the book. It happened, but reality bites because it
wasn't a full second faster...yet. Putting the weight back on was a necessary evil.

Parts removed went right back on in a day. 2/10ths above index was 2/10s below index at same high elevation track and down 1 class in EF/S I sit. Flogging away spending time and effort to get it to run at elevation what it is proven capable of running at sea level. We do what we must,, heads up or shoe polish driving against much faster dance partners at the stripe. And I prefer both.

But the faster the partner in the other lane is the most fun of all.