Ahfs

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Eddie Rezac

Ed Wright, you are "RIGHT" we used to have more cars and spectators at local races than they now have at points meets. You youngsters that are in your 50's remembering how it was with the record system have your timing wrong. I believe the car counts stared to go down the very fist year that the index system started., as it had no breakout. There were 3 drivers in the country that would win every event, if they showed up, because of their combo. But in the following years it just kept getting worse, and the count, kept going down, down, down.Yes in those day, with the record system, your car could be made junk overnight, but with today's up and down, addition, or subtraction of weight and being able to run the GT combos, it should not be much of a problem, sorry GT does not work in stock. The index system has too many things deciding what gets HP, or index change, or whatever. The record system would only have the racers themselves, make those decisions. I don't remember a lot of individual people overly dominating the system in the old days. As for all of you sea level racers complaining about running bogus altitude factors, this all started at the first Mile High Nationals when most of you could not run with us high country folks. We were qualifying at 2 to 4 tenths above the index and you guys couldn't go that fast, so it was flat out, no break out racing, so don't blame the high country people, we loved no break out racing. Even though I am in my 70's I have a darn good memory, so I think I am pretty close on all of this.
ED, I also raced a 9 pass 59 FI 283 4 speed wagon, 4005#, without my 220# body.
Eddie Rezac

Ed;
(Oh boy another Ed),you raced at a time when for all intents and purposes you guys were racers'
chassis tuners,engine builders,transmission men,etc.It was a different world.Today alot of guys
(me included) couldn't tune up a lawn mower.Almost everything is "store bought".We're at a time when
NHRA is cutting classes not increasing them.Sponsors are dropping like flies,payouts suck,fees
increasing.Enhancements up the kazoo.
The whole world is changing and so is drag racing.I was just a young spectator in the early 60s and
although limited in the tech end it was ingrained in me, it was part of a culture (even for us living in the middle of Manhattan in NYC).Times have changed though.I guess progress can't be stopped,good or bad.

Ed F.