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bill dedman · 11-11-2007, 12:55 AM

The guy who wrote that article is a case in point regarding the very reason that NHRA drag racing will never approach the popularity of NASCAR.

In order to enjoy drag racing, you need to know something about cars... In order to enjoy NASCAR racing, you only need to know who's driving, because the cookie-cutter cars are so much alike that it doesn't really matter which driver is in which car, and with the advent of the spec "Car of Tomorrow," it's about to get worse.

You can't really enjoy handicapped racing unless you have at least SOME understanding of breakouts and the REASON one car leaves first. Let alone, why two otherwise identical cars leave the line at separate times, just because one is an automatic. The sheer number of classes and humongous variety of cars (Stocker Pinto wagon vs. A/SA Hemi Barracuda), and types of cars (4-cylinder turbo Altered vs sbc/FED (nostalgia car) in Comp, running for the same pot is not easy to rationally explain to a novice fan.

The fact is, (and I'm not insulting anybody here; just a fact) a low-grade moron can figure out the winner in a NASCAR race; you have to KNOW something to appreciate the multitude of significant aspects in a drag race, and determine why the second car to get there WON..

REAL drag fans are, I believe, way more knowledgeable about their chosen sport thn any of the circle track types, just because it's necessary to have a certain amount of information in your head to fully appreciate the nuances of a wheelstanding Super Stocker than some dumbed-down roundy-round car that is EXACTLY like the 15 others traveling the circle, with him.

I'm not talking about the quality of the race mechanics; I know that the NASCAR techs get an amazing amount of power out of very little, make it last for 500 miles at 8+ grand, and make it get acceptable gas mileage, all the while.... This is about the fans; not the mechanics.

The circle track main race has ONE WINNER, traditionally...

NHRA racing has a lot of winners... Very confusing for the fans.

I'm not at all sure that trying to make drag racing "big business" was ever a very good idea, anyway.
Maybe SCCA had the right idea all along... I know that drag racing back in the '50s was a lot more fun than it is, now...

11-11-2007, 12:55 AM	#10
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Calif. newspaper article The guy who wrote that article is a case in point regarding the very reason that NHRA drag racing will never approach the popularity of NASCAR. In order to enjoy drag racing, you need to know something about cars... In order to enjoy NASCAR racing, you only need to know who's driving, because the cookie-cutter cars are so much alike that it doesn't really matter which driver is in which car, and with the advent of the spec "Car of Tomorrow," it's about to get worse. You can't really enjoy handicapped racing unless you have at least SOME understanding of breakouts and the REASON one car leaves first. Let alone, why two otherwise identical cars leave the line at separate times, just because one is an automatic. The sheer number of classes and humongous variety of cars (Stocker Pinto wagon vs. A/SA Hemi Barracuda), and types of cars (4-cylinder turbo Altered vs sbc/FED (nostalgia car) in Comp, running for the same pot is not easy to rationally explain to a novice fan. The fact is, (and I'm not insulting anybody here; just a fact) a low-grade moron can figure out the winner in a NASCAR race; you have to KNOW something to appreciate the multitude of significant aspects in a drag race, and determine why the second car to get there WON.. REAL drag fans are, I believe, way more knowledgeable about their chosen sport thn any of the circle track types, just because it's necessary to have a certain amount of information in your head to fully appreciate the nuances of a wheelstanding Super Stocker than some dumbed-down roundy-round car that is EXACTLY like the 15 others traveling the circle, with him. I'm not talking about the quality of the race mechanics; I know that the NASCAR techs get an amazing amount of power out of very little, make it last for 500 miles at 8+ grand, and make it get acceptable gas mileage, all the while.... This is about the fans; not the mechanics. The circle track main race has ONE WINNER, traditionally... NHRA racing has a lot of winners... Very confusing for the fans. I'm not at all sure that trying to make drag racing "big business" was ever a very good idea, anyway. Maybe SCCA had the right idea all along... I know that drag racing back in the '50s was a lot more fun than it is, now... __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 11-11-2007 at 03:06 PM. Reason: misspellings...