what the hell is going with NHRA ???

[Jack McCarthy]

i know im old but ive had about enough of all this bull****

now Wally has joined Farmer and Buster so they can all roll over in thier graves in unison as the guys they left in charge ruin what they spent thier lifetimes building. We all pay dues to the NHRA to be the association that protects our sport, and makes the rules to govern fair and equitable racing...
>>>boy have we been screwed guys !

they continue to ruin or beloved classes by allowing the RACERS to make the rules...RACERS who CHEAT then WHINE to get the cheating allowed... and glendora goes right along with it even sending thier #1 guy to indy to help castrate the few techmen who still believe in enforcing the rules.

Since when does the RACER get to vote on the rules ???
What the hell are these idiots thinking ?? dont we pay THEM to MAKE & ENFORCE the rules ??

I want a 3 speed
I want my car to fit multiple classes
I want my cheating heads in SS to become legal
I want electronic starting line aids
I want, I want, I want...>> so now we just bring it up for a vote ??? WHAT the *%@* ???

I find it just beyond my comprehension that we have been led down this path...
maybe im just too damn old for this bull****, i can remember what these classes were about when they originated... i remember what it meant to win class as the only way to qualify for the show at indy... not just spend some $$$ and bitch about bump ins...hey clowns you are the bump ins they WON class...

now Wally's gone and ASAP so will be the classes that help build NHRA ...and as a matter fo fact so will NHRA be gone... its already been raided for all its cash assets... its profitable races and racetracks, SHAZAAM they are already gone... we're next guys just open your eyes.

i do not beleive that anyone can save us... there is not enough intelligence or anyone who cares in glendora... i love Bruce but unless he's gone nuts why would he get involved in this fiasco... just so he can have his balls handed to him regularly everytime some whiney racer wants special treatment or a rule change (or just not enforced)... hes got way too much integrity for that i am sure.

so here we are with $20,000 (to $100,000) stockers and the only organization to race them has gone off the deep end... did i mention we've been screwed ???

captain jack... and you young guys probably think im whining

guess i need a posi and some mufflers.... looks like there is some rod runs and beer in my future.

[Angelo Verlingo]

Amen Jack..........i Here You.......

[Bushwacker]

Well 1st off ....Nhra has been moving away from its roots for a long time...They didnt just start this **** since Wally passed away. I doubt Wally had any say-so about policy in the last 20 years.
NHRA was not started to be a country club for rich boys.....it just evolved into that. Complaining about it does not do any good ...this post will be forgotten in less than a week. Enhancements are bitched about then accepted... If you want to race NHRA .... get used to the #1 rule...Bend over ...here it comes...like it or not.
I witnessed a racer tore down that ran .1 under index. I was tore down in another racers car that was .6 under that had been record holder twice at better than 1 sec under & checked 3 times prior.

[bsa633]

Our last hope is that it's true that Bruce B. gets in charge and will be able to runs this his way,no interfering from others and NO MORE POLLS!

[Michael Beard]

>> so here we are with $20,000 (to $100,000) stockers and the only organization to race them has gone off the deep end...

Um, ok.

Too bad you didn't support the races at Tri-State (now gone) and Clay City. I don't know, do you go to the S/SS Combos in KY? Go to Columbus for the NSCA race? If you're going to operate under the premise that there is only one sanctioning body, then the problem is in the mirror.

I understand there's not much close to you. When you get ready to retire, come on over to NC. Plenty of racing to do.

>> guess i need a posi and some mufflers.... looks like there is some rod runs and beer in my future.

Change the cam and some other tinker stuff and you've got a Pure Stocker.

I agree with many of the issues that you brought up in your bullet points. It's important to understand that (particularly in online forums) whenever anyone disagrees with another person, regardless of which side of the argument they're on, it's referred to as "whining". It's a lot easier than coming up with a real argument.

>> I want, I want, I want...>> so now we just bring it up for a vote ???

I've expressed the opinion before that the powers that be often know what they want to do already, but they can give the racing community a sense of control by allowing a 'vote'. If a majority vote could shape any of the rules, you're right, things could get messed up in a hurry. Sometimes a benevolent dictator is just what you need.

Years ago, I was in charge of distributing a poll to the IHRA Modified Eliminator racers. In retrospect, they voted for their own demise. To save the class, IHRA would've had to go against the popular opinion of the racers, and simply do what was needed to make it survive.

[tgriffith]

so here we are with $20,000 (to $100,000) stockers and the only organization to race them has gone off the deep end...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MIKE,,
Im still convinced that a U,,,V,,,or W car could make life very miserable for the 50k stockers,,, only thing to get worked out is how to be .020 or better on the tree every pass,,,,thats the tough one......Ive studied tons of runs over the past year and a 16.00 car would surley play hell on whats become the "accepted driving style" of flash racing and holding a .10 or better,,,,,,study the runs and mph`s,,,,,could you imagine pro tree racing and waiting for the bottom light for 6 seconds and then have a car pass rite in front of the tree as the lite did come on,,,epsecially if the car was painted neon yellow,,,,,,,,(just jokin about the yellow thing,,,maybe) LOL

[Michael Lyons]

I am all for democracy. And the recent vote about one button or delay boxes went the way I had hoped for. I like that they are asking whether or not to do anything with the indexes. Instead of implementing a rule change I am not for and have zero say about. I think those types of rule changes hurt car counts.

What was this vote about saving Modified, MIke? Refresh my memory... They wanted to get rid of the class as I recall, so not sure even if the vote was to save the class it would have done any good...

[Jeff Lee]

We have leaders, let them lead. If you don't like the leadership, leave. Let NHRA make the rules. If you don't like them, stop racing with NHRA.
Remember, slavery would have been around a lot longer if subject to a poll.

[Adger Smith]

I was involved in IHRA modified at the time it started going away. I was told that IHRA management & Tech Dept thought that Modified was an "Elitist" class(that seemed to be pushed by one individual) & IHRA had too many diferent classes. So, it seems a campaign to deminish car count was started & the class died slowly. Ultimately it was then dropped. I don't think any Poll, intervention by racers or even finding a better sponsor could have saved the class. A little side note about the IHRA mindset: I was told(by Bader himself) that the dragsters could & would change to Top Dragster & the others run .90 classes. The door cars would switch to Top Sportsman or a .90 class. Well it's been quite a few years & I have noticed that,for the most part, didn't take place. Some of the racers just quit. I have never seen them at IHRA or NHRA Nationals or Divisionals. (could be racing local brackets) A large number went with NHRA. A couple moved on to Comp & have done well there. Some are now cross back & forth. So, their plan didn't work, at least the part about where the racers would go. The other part was a great success, IHRA had one less class to mess with. I had bad feelings about the loss of value in my racing program. I'm sure there are some people like me. That was the second time I was involved in being dropped from IHRA. (old Stock Optional classes was the other) I have also had 2 hits by NHRA!! Modified/Altered/ Gassers broken up into comp & Super Stock & the 5.5 lb per cu in A/SR class going away. Those experiences taught me not to get hung up in blind support for any organization. Regardless of how we are polled, questioned, stroked or have garbage dumped on us (or we dump on them) we are still just at the mercy of the organizations. In some way shape or form it all just boils down to money. What is a Class worth.

[Michael Beard]

Tim writes: >> Im still convinced that a U,,,V,,,or W car could make life very miserable for the 50k stockers

The Turismo may be out again next year... only ran one full season of Stock with it, and finished #11 in NHRA Div. 1. And I was still learning how the thing wanted to be driven! Won a few bracket races with it after that (even whacked a couple of Box cars), before jingling a rod. That was before LED's... it might have a decent spot on the tree shallow, now.

Mike writes: >> What was this vote about saving Modified, MIke?

The main question was keeping it a 32-car Qualified Field or making it All-Run. There was another question on it, but I can't remember what it was. Might've been making it National events only, or combining Divisions or something. Modified was doing ok in Div. 1 (Carolinas) and Div. 3 (Ohio/Michigan), but Div. 2, 4, & 5 were pulling 9 cars at divisional races. Whatever led up to that point (2000) was before my time. With fewer cars, it became harder to justisfy the purse. When purses went pro-rated, car counts dwindled even more. At that point, as Adger said, I don't think anything could've saved it.

Adger writes: >> I was told(by Bader himself) that the dragsters could & would change to Top Dragster & the others run .90 classes. The door cars would switch to Top Sportsman or a .90 class.

I was new at IHRA at the time, and didn't have any say, but that statement was pretty obviously not going to work!

One time Bader called me into his office and asked about paring the .90 classes down into two instead of three, something like an 8.50 and a 9.90. "You want to p*ss everybody off all at once?" He smirked, "Yeah, you're right" and never brought it up again.

I fought to keep deep staging maintained in the rulebook for as long as I was there. The year after I left, it was gone.