Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Biebel
or put a mph limit in place
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Better watch it there Rich...I got death threats for writing about such a thing 8 or 9 years ago, and it's only gotten worse since then.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE competing in S/St and S/G, but the current throttle stop situation is a joke. I'm a relatively recent convert to the starting line stop configuration (about 5 years ago), and I have to say that from a ride standpoint, my car is now boring as hell to drive. It used to leave wheels in the air, sitting you back in the seat. Now, it drives off the starting line like my wife's minivan. Is it more consistent? Sure. Has it made me more competitive? Absolutely. But, the ride is still boring. Good thing I like the competition.
With throttle stops, the cars keep getting faster and faster while running the same index because we all know there's an advantage to being the faster car on the top end. So, what's happened over time is people have gone from building $5,000 600hp motors to spending ungodly amounts of money to build 1000hp+ engines. Now, if you're going to run T/S or T/D too, then I think that makes sense. But, to take one of those motors and put it on a throttle stop it's entire life is just ridiculous. But, with the current state of the classes its a necessity (or if you have a door car, you can throw some ballast in it and go race S/St).
Think about how much money we could save if the electronics (including delay boxes) / throttle stops were gone. Most racers complain that NHRA should be doing things to help us save money, and the easiest one of all in the long run would be to take something OFF of our cars. I don't see it EVER happening, but I would most certainly be in favor of it. It would make these classes EVEN MORE of a driver's race, plus it would make the classes more exciting to watch for the normal everyday spectator.
For those that want to go fast and have the power to do so, I'd say create a 7.90 heads up class. Most S/G cars today would probably fit nicely into such a category or S/C, only needing to slow their cars down a few tenths, which could easily be done with some type of completely mechanical throttle linkage stop (i.e. a bolt under the gas pedal).
Let the flames and death threats begin....