Super Gas speeds

[GaryGoFast]

Originally Posted by Maverick

This started out about super gas speeds, and it looks like all the super gas division champs are mid 160's and up. So what about the super street divisional champs and the super comp divisional champs. Are all or most of the champs running the top speeds in their class? I have not seen the Division 3 super comp champ, but the way it sounds he is not one of the top speed cars. Are most of the champs in the super class categories running the top speeds in the class? Looks like to me the top speed is the way to go.

I won D1 in S/St at around 150+ in 2007, but the two prior years Marty Ganjoin won back to back with a low mph car, Marty is a driver and dialer, tough combo.

[Tom Goldman]

Rock ,you're right about Atco that time .
Never saw anything that bad. ....and I love racing there cause 99.9% of the time you can't find a better track, or owner !!
Everytime I go to D3 it rains ,or the tree is broken!!

[BKSG1198]

Just ask Joe Eckel or Tom how much he loves racing us....lol! 132 mph and about 20 cars in front of you at the 900 foot mark...lol

[Rollins_2241]

Top speed is definitely the way to go if your budget is unlimited. That doesn't apply to most of us.

You won't be a better racer at faster speeds, but others will make a lot more mistakes - if you both miss the ET setup, you get the last chance to bail out. If you both hold and drive the stripe, you have better visibility (though some people are surprisingly bad at driving from behind).

I can "drive" most races at 10-15 mph slower than the opponent without making lots of mistakes and guessing. Over that it gets real tough to leave enough time to make decisions that matter before the stripe. 130 is not a real bad place to be in Div. 2 S/ST. Most everyone is on your bumper at half track and you just drag them in depending on your strategy. 140 is probably perfect. The 150 cars can be tough but a lot of them take way too often.

So, does this mean the 143 mph Super Gas car I'm building is definitely in the wrong class? Yeah. But it will make S/ST weight.

[Chris Williams]

There's a bit of a problem in this discussion with cause/effect. If the division champs all run top speeds is it safe to assume that running top speeds is a prerequisite to winning? Or is it possible that people who win find themselves getting better and better, getting more and more involved in racing, and deciding to make a bigger economic commitment -- because they love it enough to devote their money to it (and because going fast is fun)?

I think most people agree that money is not the key prerequisite to winning, several other things are also important: desire, skill, practice are among them. Of course you can't win without any money, and money can buy you nice parts. But money doesn't win championships. How many people do you know who throw money at this sport for a year or two and just flail -- eventually throwing in the towel?

Yes, I think anyone with all the money in the world would build a faster car. There is some advantage to being a faster car in a Super class. But do you have to build a rocket ship to win? I don't think so.

[GaryGoFast]

"Or is it possible that people who win find themselves getting better and better, getting more and more involved in racing, and deciding to make a bigger economic commitment -- because they love it enough to devote their money to it (and because going fast is fun)?"

This works for me!!

[rj2938]

ehh...go back to high gear stops only. Take the mph out of it. Let everyone trip the 60' clocks w/ the rear wheels like it used to be back in the day. The class numbers will increase and everyone will have way more fun!

Oh, while your at it...eliminate 50% of sfi BS. 10 yr certs on ribbon window nets and 5 yr certs on seat belts are fine. Just ask any manufacturer "off the record" and they will tell you some of the certs are overkill.