[Rich Biebel]

We have a very good racer in our area and he is well known. "Big Bucks" Bob Mullaney. Bob is a pretty damn good racer and has won countless races over the years. He is best in a bottom bulb footbrake car and has driven all kinds of cars from fast to very slow. He once raced an old Nova in Pro bracket and the car was usually about the slowest car in the bracket. He won many many times with that car and did what anyone that races a car like that has to do...HIT THE TREE well first above all else.....Once people know a racers ability, the pressure shifts from the slow car driver to the faster cars driver. He knows he must also cut a good light and then try to judge a much slower car. This perceived disadvantage of racing a slower car is next to nothing. Very few races are double redlights where the faster car redlighted by more than the slower car, Just trying to block the slower car as it leaves the line is also a distraction for the faster car. A much slower car is not that bad...but a car that is about a bulb slower is tough to completely block from view and it attracts the faster driver to follow and leave early. To me the bigger disadvantage to racing a slower car is trying to look over your shoulder and also find the finishline. A slower car is on the track longer and usually has more ET variations than a faster car. You choose what you bring to the track to race. There are plenty of guys that win and have won with slower cars. I raced my street car 2 times in Street et and ran some mid 17 second times......I got to the semi's second time I raced it. I found a comfortable launch technique.....Lost by .001" at the stripe.....dragging the brakes....against a 13 or 14 second car......had the better RT.......That was way to friggen slow for me.......I'd sooner watch paint dry.....

I have to ad that Bob Mullaney drove an R/SA Chevy wagon (SLOW CAR) to the Division 1 Stock championship one year and came pretty close to winning the national event at Maple Grove as I recall. Billy Nees has won also with an even slower car......and Ed F. has won as well. Fast cars outnumber slow cars by a lot these days and that is probably because people like racing faster cars more than any other reason....I have had Stockers and would not race anything slower than a 10 second car, even in Stock....