Quote:
Originally Posted by bill dedman
No, they race by rules. Not demographics.
Rules are there to ensure parity. It's a difficult and multi-faceted job, trying to maintain a level playing field.
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The rules were never designed to "ensure parity" of performance, only to be defined, acceptable modifications and a classification standard. This common misconception of fairness is a myth that empowers people to whine and gripe because they feel they are being treated unfairly if they cannot be as fast relative to their index as someone else. The major driving force for adjusting HP ratings or rules for any type of parity is to appease the racers so they will continue to come back and race. (Always follow the $$) Maybe there is still some level of actual pure competition involved in our minds, but it does not actually exist in current drag racing definition at the level of, say, Olympic games competition. It would be great if it were to move back toward that ideal, but then we wouldn't have breakout racing, would we?
The allowable modifications have always resulted in favor for some combination. And the fact that performance is defined by relative standards is another issue. If NHRA artibrarily decided that Jim's index was 11.00, he would not be in the spotlight for being able to qualify so well, would he?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bill dedman
The result?
A percentage of #1 qualifiers at national events that is in no way relative to the "population" in the ranks of that type of car. If ten percent of the cars running are fuel injected, the reasonable expectation is that one in ten #1 qualifiers will be injected, or at least, somewhere around that figure.
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Bill, the percentage comparison you state has NEVER been the case in all the years of racing I have observed. Have 73% of the #1 qualifiers been Chevrolets? I believe that the last figures I saw showed that 73% of the participants in Stock Eliminator drive Chevrolets. Bob Shaw by himself will see to it that it will never happen.
Some combinations are always in the spotlight for their ability to out-qualify the majority of the field. A few years ago, the SS/AA Hemis were consistently the top qualifiers in SS. Currently, you have Bob Dennis doing the same thing. The FI cars in Stock were the target of complaints not too long ago. The 396 Chevrolets still consistently turn in top-of-the-field performances. It all comes down to a complicated set of circumstances that includes the factors of technical advancements from the racers and rules or classification anomolies that work together to result in these performances. If you think that there is an undue advantage for the turbo cars, then write NHRA, don't gripe to Jim about it. He's just being a smart racer.
The lack of parity that NHRA will respond to will be racers in the same class with Jim who have a sufficent population of cars that cannot keep up with him. If they complain and show justifiable reason, NHRA will simply add some numbers to Jim's power factor. Of course, Jim can get that adjustment without any help from anybody else through the AFHS.
How are tech people going monitor turbo boost even with a gauge? F1 cars have computer controlled electronic waste gates that vary the boost and are adjustable from the driver's seat. Do you really think it cold be controlled?
My $.02 and ramblings.