my opinion

[Jeff Lee]

Going to 16 races is the racers prerogative. If he/ she can afford it, both in time and money, so be it. But having the time and money to devote on such a level should be considered a professional class of racing. However one wants to define it, it should be obvious that racing 16 and claiming the 5 best is an advantage that can't be shared by the true sportsman racer. If you can accept that, then the rules are tilted to the professional racer. What is wrong with claiming the race as you entered, as it was done in the past?

Deep staging issues could have been solved by not allowing anything but a forward motion once the pre-stage beam was lit. Instead, the officials mandated no deep staging which affected the slow race cars more than anything else. The rulebook stated for years (again, probably 40+ years) that the starting line was where the racer made his best attempt at beating his opponent off the line (I can't remember the exact wording, don't want to research it for exactness but I'm sure you understand). I still say deep staging will nullify some of the advantages of delay type components engineered into an auto-trans equipped vehicle.

I agree on closing the staging lanes. I was at one national event and the staging lane director told everybody to "pull up or go back to your trailer!" And he meant it. My opponent was no where to be found. In fact I was ordered to pull forward to race. Then NHRA finally realized I had no opponent and now they wanted to find him. I sat along the water box through two rain delays (light mist). That gave all the time for the opponent to be found. Between the rain and his actions, yea, I was a little miffed to say the least. My emotions didn't matter as the track wasn't as good and I spun. In this situation, there was no reason I shouldn't have received a competition bye.

Seems in the D7 & D5 races I have attended the scales are mandatory on every competition run. But I agree, if not, it should be mandatory.

I've never seen a car set a record and not get a tear down. But I also agree on that, no tear down, no record. Same with runs that effect AHFS. You give a life changing moment to other racers, you should be checked.

I wasn't bothered by the welfare statement. I believe nothing can make all racers and their vehicles 100% on the same level. But as I've stated, right now the points system does favor those with the most amount of travel time.