Re: How Realistic
I have very fond memories of racing in the IHRA even when most racers seemed to dismiss it as minor league. Pro Stock was way different but just as competitive. Comp was the same or more.
But like I said in a post a while ago, when the NHRA locked up the showplace tracks into restrictive long term contracts they sealed the deal against any competition.
It's been a while, and things have changed. IHRA had a lot of small but very good tracks, but I also raced at places like Norwalk and Bristol. And believe it or not, the best surface I ever had to deal with was at Darlington one year. It was the only time I simply couldn't get enough clutch into an A/A.
But it wasn't all sunshine, as the stk and ss entry numbers were much lower. And if you doubt racer skill, look how many became legends when they came over to 'the big leagues". I'm not sure why there were less class cars, other than a hunch that the regions that IHRA was strongest in had racers more interested in building really fast stuff. Think where things like Pro Mod and Top Sportsman originally came from.
In today's world, the cost of entry to a lot of businesses is staggering. Lots of the good smaller tracks have either closed or have not been kept up.
As much as I'd like to see some serious grassroots competion thrive, I just can't see it happening. No insult to the track owners, but take a look at the tracks on their 2025 schedule. Most of them wouldn't be able to handle an NHRA divisional.
And notice I didn't even mention where the funding was going to come from. I just don't see a path to success.
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