Interesting Comments from David Rampy

[Michael Compton]

I totally agree. I would never have gotten into drag racing had it not been for my dad. Now that my son is in junior dragsters, we are on our 3rd generation.

What Rampy said is the truth. NHRA is driving sportsman racers away with the lack of respect and ridiculous cost of entry. Take for instance what happened at Noble at the division race in October. Comp was called to the lanes for a qualifier. Everyone was in the lanes and ready when Trey decided to run alcohol instead. At the point he made that decision, every Comp car was in the lanes and not a single, I repeat, not a single Alcohol car was in the lanes. Noble had a total of 15 Comp cars so running those cars would have taken maybe 10 minutes. His reasoning was sticking to the schedule. After a pair or 2 of the alcohol cars, all of the comp guys headed back to their trailers. Trey never once came out to the lanes personally to explain why he made the decision. Instead, he made the staging lane guys tell all of us what was going on. Not a single one of those guys was happy about it either.

I am to the point that a national event is not worth the time and effort either. I will go to a couple close ones maybe but other than that, I do not really care to go and be treated like a red headed stepchild. Not any fun!

Michael Compton
SS/BS 5016

[PozQB14]

People may talk poorly about them, but IHRA Pro Ams are ran great and the racers are treated with great respect. Some tracks are better than others, but for the most part if you want to race your vehicle with other class cars in a highly competitive environment, there is nothing wrong with Pro Ams. You get the same cars that race NHRA and the entry is half the cost and the environment among the racers is the same. And sadly for the NHRA, the payouts are pretty comparable.


And like the few previous posts said...I'm building a super stock 86 Camaro, ONLY because my father has the necessary parts laying around and I was able to find some good quality used parts for sale. AND he has the all the knowledge and expertise. Now, if I can only find better driving skills for sale I'd be good to go, HAHA!! Me and my brother wouldn't have 2 cars each if it wasn't for our father, but its a bummer that no one in our circle of friends really have an interest in this stuff. Which is why a weekend at the racetrack with like minded people is so great.

[jmcarter]

Originally Posted by PozQB14

People may talk poorly about them, but IHRA Pro Ams are ran great and the racers are treated with great respect. Some tracks are better than others, but for the most part if you want to race your vehicle with other class cars in a highly competitive environment, there is nothing wrong with Pro Ams. You get the same cars that race NHRA and the entry is half the cost and the environment among the racers is the same. And sadly for the NHRA, the payouts are pretty comparable.


And like the few previous posts said...I'm building a super stock 86 Camaro, ONLY because my father has the necessary parts laying around and I was able to find some good quality used parts for sale. AND he has the all the knowledge and expertise. Now, if I can only find better driving skills for sale I'd be good to go, HAHA!! Me and my brother wouldn't have 2 cars each if it wasn't for our father, but its a bummer that no one in our circle of friends really have an interest in this stuff. Which is why a weekend at the racetrack with like minded people is so great.

You may want to wait till PRI and IHRA releases it's schedule before investing in a Crate Motor combination, with NHRA picking up tracks all the time a legal NHRA may make more sense....just saying.

[PozQB14]

Jim I cant disagree with you, but the super stocker will be an NHRA car and were building a 427/425 69 Camaro as well. The crate motor is an easy and affordable way to go drag racing. Being in NC, there are plenty of IHRA tracks as well as surrounding states.

[Fireofficer5]

A lot of the younger generation races the import races.

[boostedf22c]

Originally Posted by Fireofficer5

A lot of the younger generation races the import races.

Exactly. And there are a ton really nice, fast cars.

If NHRA made a few classes for them, and gave it a chance, they'd pull in an entirely different genre of cars and fans.

[jmcarter]

Originally Posted by boostedf22c

Exactly. And there are a ton really nice, fast cars.

If NHRA made a few classes for them, and gave it a chance, they'd pull in an entirely different genre of cars and fans.

Appreciate your comment Cary, and while your car created a lot of interest when it first appeared at Indy the ensuing hassles with NHRA are probably indicative of just how receptive they would be to trying to again build a following with that segment. Do you think 'traditional' class racers would welcome more classes while Stock and SS quotas keep shrinking? Also wonder where the 'tech-less' direction (=cut qualified staff) would fit in with new classes. Think the import racers would put up with the hassle of running NHRA when they can attend so many Import Races that fill the stands? Afraid NHRA has completely drank the DSR/JFR/COPO/CJ kool-aide and they will probably ride that horse into the ground meanwhile giving lip-service to Class Racing, Comp and Pro Stock.

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by boostedf22c

Exactly. And there are a ton really nice, fast cars.

If NHRA made a few classes for them, and gave it a chance, they'd pull in an entirely different genre of cars and fans.

I seem to recall NHRA did just that a few years ago, with the NOPI series. Between very few race cars in each class, with drastic spans between qualifying positions, constant breakage, no shows, and singles, very few "races" had many runs with 2 cars running together, even fewer where the 2 cars ran within 20 feet of each other.

[BRINK]

Originally Posted by boostedf22c

Exactly. And there are a ton really nice, fast cars.

If NHRA made a few classes for them, and gave it a chance, they'd pull in an entirely different genre of cars and fans.

NHRA already tried the lice lockets and it didn't work. As I recall, the fans hated the cars, also.

[SS/1230]

Originally Posted by Michael Compton

I totally agree. I would never have gotten into drag racing had it not been for my dad. Now that my son is in junior dragsters, we are on our 3rd generation.

What Rampy said is the truth. NHRA is driving sportsman racers away with the lack of respect and ridiculous cost of entry. Take for instance what happened at Noble at the division race in October. Comp was called to the lanes for a qualifier. Everyone was in the lanes and ready when Trey decided to run alcohol instead. At the point he made that decision, every Comp car was in the lanes and not a single, I repeat, not a single Alcohol car was in the lanes. Noble had a total of 15 Comp cars so running those cars would have taken maybe 10 minutes. His reasoning was sticking to the schedule. After a pair or 2 of the alcohol cars, all of the comp guys headed back to their trailers. Trey never once came out to the lanes personally to explain why he made the decision. Instead, he made the staging lane guys tell all of us what was going on. Not a single one of those guys was happy about it either.

I am to the point that a national event is not worth the time and effort either. I will go to a couple close ones maybe but other than that, I do not really care to go and be treated like a red headed stepchild. Not any fun!

Michael Compton
SS/BS 5016

That's exactly the kind of treatment that's been getting worse every year. It takes the fun out of it sometimes. I remember the days that we barely had enough room in the motorhome to put all the stuff that NHRA national events gave us. Anyone remember the blue Powerade coolers that were full of stuff? Or how the divsionals used to sponsor cookouts for the racers? I believe one year at Numedia when they used to have D-1 divisionals there, they had semi-pro wrestlers show up, after a crew of guys built a wrestling ring between the stands and the guardrail at the 330' just to entertain the racers. NONE of that stuff exists anymore.


- James Fontana
SS/STK 1230