I drag race occasionally, post infrequently.
I would offer that NHRA/IHRA issues are not new. Further, since they are for profit corporations, they have to chase the money which usually means putting on a show for fans. Mostly, I’m an autocrosser with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) or local clubs but it is all “class racing.” It isn’t about making money, it’s about covering the costs of running. Autocross is pretty boring to watch, so no spectators are going to pay to watch (kinda like most current sportsman and bracket races) No purse, but a local autocross is usually $35 for three or four runs-best run counts. While there are plenty of issues within SCCA, it is a club that exists for the members, not shareholders. There is a rule making process, not a rule declaration process. I won’t go into the details, but it MAY be a model for consideration in the future. I’m not advocating abandoning drag racing for autocross.
Some time back, there was a string about cost to build a stocker. If memory serves, it went something like $20K after the body price. I cannot imagine anyone spending that kind of money to autocross. Sure, some people show up with new Porsches and Corvettes, but most of them are late model pony cars or economy cars. Under the index for under a grand type builds are normal. See Grassroots Motorsports Magazine 2016 Challenge for details. (build your car for $2016 and drag, autocross and show it for points).
Give some thought to comparing Stock NHRA/IHRA to “Street” class (no longer called stock) in SCCA. Street is more like IHRA pure stock and keeps costs under control. This is racing your commuter car. The rulebook is online at
http://www.scca.com/pages/solo-cars-and-rules (unlike NHRA where you have to buy a rulebook).
Tire rules have changed driving the cost of tires for most from $1000 a set, lasting usually a year of autocross only to about $600 a set and you can commute with them and they last about a year. An SCCA “Street Prepared” class car (comparable to an NHRA Stocker but without the internal engine work including cams) will run about $5000 in modifications and are usually trailered because the suspensions are so stiff. Street Prepared use DOT slicks at about $1000 a set. Cars are classified based on level of modification and performance potential. From running a stock economy car to running a formula car, there is a place for just about everything (not necessarily a competitive place, but that is class racing). If you like to build cars, there are builder classes.
Basically street class means 200 treadwear tires, double adjustable shocks and sway bar substitutions. No headers, must have pollution controls and stock SIZE wheels. Most cars that means Koni shocks/struts at about $1K, and a $200 sway bar. I don’t run konis, I run the stock shock. (what you drive isn’t going to get the win, nor will mods. It’s HOW you drive that will get the win.) As with stock drag racing, there is plenty to “adjust” in the suspension that will make an enormous difference.
Now, those of you that are heavily invested both financially and emotionally in the current drag race model will refute considering a change in the way drag racing is run and I respect that. Those of you that see that the current race model has problems may want to consider a different way of doing business. Look around, there are plenty of organizations to observe. On the other hand, bracket racing has been a successful model too.
All the best,
Jeff Laferty