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Old 01-09-2024, 12:07 PM   #1
Nick Heath
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

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Originally Posted by Ron Ortiz View Post
Class at nationals are a joke, how can you have class when the field is getting smaller and smaller quotas.
Absolutely. There are far too many classes for such small fields. It's a significant issue in SS. At a 50-car quota, you get 25 in the "combo" classes. The combo class runoffs are still fun to watch, but not the same experience.

However...
I would bet substantially that NHRA's deceptive quota-setting habits are exactly how NHRA both reached and justified this decision.

Look at the fall Vegas nationals. For years that was a bucket list race for me. There were 100 Stockers and 100 Super Stockers and they ran 3-4 rounds of class eliminations at both!!

Now the quotas will be what, 60 each with no class in either? Maybe because they've dropped the quotas by 10 each year and created the perception that "class racers are losing interest in class eliminations, those races get fewer and fewer cars."
I feel the same thing happened with Brainerd. Years ago it was 80+ with class in both categories. Then it became 75, then 70, then 60. Maple Grove and Gainesville also (e.g., all of the big ticket class eliminations races).

I know the D2 nationals have obscenely low quotas - the Charlotte races are like 50 each right? So if you have a bunch of races with quotas in the 40-50 range with class eliminations, and others at 60-70 without class, guess what you can tell your executive buddies at the country club? "We get more entries and more entry money at the nationals without class eliminations." In the C-suite, nobody cares about why those statistics are true - just what the statistics are.

And #3, let's think about what NHRA sees every time a national event entry window opens. 100 guys rushing for 60 spots regardless of whether there are class eliminations or not. Think from a business perspective (setting aside the shady 501(c)(3) stuff for a moment). Why would a business keep providing a service when the consumer base is demonstrating that they will pay the same for the product without that service?
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Old 01-09-2024, 12:29 PM   #2
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

If we could get one more race like Indy, it should be the spring national event at Las Vegas. Most of us cannot go to Indy with any regularity due to the cost and amount of time away from work. Stock and SS racers on the west half of the United States deserve a Class racing opportunity like Indy. 128 car field with 150 quota, no AHFS and yes tear downs. LVMS has massive pit space and the town obviously has a nationwide appeal. Heck maybe running Class on a four wide track would save time and make it special. Would love to see a Ford, Chevy, Mopar and Pontiac all leaving the line with the wheels in the air running for A/SA class honors.
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Old 01-10-2024, 11:55 PM   #3
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

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If we could get one more race like Indy, it should be the spring national event at Las Vegas. Most of us cannot go to Indy with any regularity due to the cost and amount of time away from work. Stock and SS racers on the west half of the United States deserve a Class racing opportunity like Indy. 128 car field with 150 quota, no AHFS and yes tear downs. LVMS has massive pit space and the town obviously has a nationwide appeal. Heck maybe running Class on a four wide track would save time and make it special. Would love to see a Ford, Chevy, Mopar and Pontiac all leaving the line with the wheels in the air running for A/SA class honors.
I could not agree more. There needs to be a Vegas race identical to Indy.

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Old 01-16-2024, 03:22 PM   #4
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

The suits are NOT car people, they could be swapped one for one with others in comparable positions for a private equity business and we’d scarcely tell the difference.

And there is your answer to every problem we are discussing on class racer.
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Old 01-16-2024, 10:50 PM   #5
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

NHRA wants the time so they can add other things to national events.


The next step is when class is no longer contested anywhere but Indy. Then nowhere at all.
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Old 01-17-2024, 10:01 AM   #6
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

I agree with all of you that it is very sad to see class going away at nationals, I will throw out some food for thought. I have seen first hand the spectators at national events walk into our pits as we generally have good pit spots near prostock or promod and we see alot of foot traffic. People will walk right by my stocker to look at the show down car. Unless you look under the hood they are both same inside and out. And the stocker is probably the fastest or one of the fastest stockers at the race but most of them walk right by it to see the showdown car. My personal opinion is there needs to be more heads up in stk and ss to get fans interested in it. As sad as it is to say most fans at national events have no idea or appreciation of what all the stk and ss cars are at the track. Another sad truth of changing with the times. When I have guests at the track who may have never been to a drag race before, they have a hard time wondering why some one wants to bracket race and they seldom understand .90 racing. Im still glad to be able to race a internal combustion engine that is loud.. LOL as those days are getting closer to being numbered
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Old 01-17-2024, 11:40 AM   #7
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

I see a big difference between what the spectators will watch on the track, and what they will check out in the pits. I don’t even know if the NHRA brass are aware of this. Yes, the spectators might not watch much of Stock and S/S on the track, but once they have walked through the Pro pits, these are the cars that they check out. They will walk past a every carbureted dragster and tube frame Sportsman car, but many, many of them will look at, or stop and talk and talk with the owner of, the ‘60’s and ‘70’s Stock and S/S cars, ESPECIALLY the Stock Eliminator cars. Why? Because those are the cars that they can relate to. And the Stockers are more attractive to them because of no wheel tubs. Stock and S/S are a free car show in the pits and many spectators are aware of this. I have spectators come and talk to me about my cars every day of every national event that I attend. NHRA take note: we ADD VALUE to your events.
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Old 01-18-2024, 07:09 AM   #8
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

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Originally Posted by NHRA1926 View Post
The suits are NOT car people, they could be swapped one for one with others in comparable positions for a private equity business and we’d scarcely tell the difference.

And there is your answer to every problem we are discussing on class racer.
BINGO, we have a winner.
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Old 01-18-2024, 12:46 PM   #9
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

Bring class back to nationals in a format that makes sense. Try to pick 2 nationals in each division. Have Stock class at one and Super Stock class at the other. For example, D1 Maple Grove Nationals set Stock quota at 90 and leave Super Stock at 60ish. For Epping/Virginia, take 90 Super Stockers and 60ish Stockers. Rotate them each year.

Let's say it's "Stock Class" weekend: Thursday Stock will run their 2 Q sessions and then C1 for classes with 3-4 cars, C2 for classes with 5-8 cars, C3 for classes with 9-16 cars.

Friday Stock will run all Class Finals after the other LODRS categories have run E1 and E2. Stock has rest of day off for pics, checks/teardowns etc. Saturday morning Stock first out for E1 (90 cars), other LODRS categories run E3. Then Stock runs E2.

Each LODRS category should be at 8 cars while Stock would be at 23. Mix in Stock E3 Saturday afternoon between pros to get them down to 12 cars. Sunday morning E4 Stock first out, track walk and all that jazz, and now all LODRS have 6-8 cars left and the Sunday show can go on as planned.

If a division does not have 2 nationals then rotate between a divisional and a national, or factor in JEGS or Indy where both classes run, or could also find nationals that somewhat border between 2 divisions. As long as each division gets at least one feasible shot in stock and one in super stock and at least one of those is at a traditional national event.
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Old 01-18-2024, 03:49 PM   #10
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Default Re: The Demise Of Class Eliminations

I'm not surprised class is gone from nationals. I told people years ago that NHRA would get rid of class racing at nationals . Nhra is not in the racing business, hasn't been for years. just in the entertainment business only. This is reflected in the new div. hires. Sportsman racer are only there to pay the fueler insurance and fill gaps. I would not be surprised to see class gone in all events.
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