A question for the IHRA guys

[Michael Beard]

That's silly, in my opinion. Why would they NOT want any particular kind of car to show up? More cars the better, regardless of type.

There are some combinations that could use some HP, but fast "NHRA" cars typically outqualify crate motor cars. If they whacked the crate motor indexes .50, how many more NHRA would show up that wouldn't normally? They're nothing compared to the CJ's and DP's! LOL I really like the one that's rated 50 HP less than my motor, and runs on a softer index, even after NHRA hit indexes .30! That's AWESOME. I'm not writing letters to the Tech Dept, I'm writing letters to SANTA!

$.02,

[Ed Wright]

No problem for SS cars. Div 4 SS is pretty much all NHRA cars anyway. Just not near all of them. I really enjoyed running IHRA last year. Great bunch of guys. Not one problem. Well, I still had to run Slate.
Hope everything goes OK so I can run with them some next year.

[Hagen Gary]

If IHRA increased their purse to $5,000K/Win and $2,500/RU and $750 semis, would they draw enough cars to cover the extra purse? Not just NHRA regulars in the region, but obviously local bracket racers could find a class to race. Don't they bring a crew in with them? If there are more people, then likely there will be more sponsors. Am I thinking to much?

[Myron Piatek]

Hagen,

It's like the "what came first, chicken or the egg". You can't have one without the other.
IHRA can't raise purses more because they would be in the red if not enough cars show up and it's difficult to attract contingency sponsors with lower car counts. But not enough cars attend partially because the purse and contingency isn't high enough to attract more.

IHRA did raise Stock winner's purse and round money last year along along with the rest of the classes.

But it's still good, competitive racing that takes less travel time and money to participate in. If more cars would show up, payouts and contingency could grow too.

As for local bracket racers, they normally wouldn't have a Stock/SS class to race in unless the event included a bracket program, they built a class-specific car, or were legal for Top Sportsman, Top Dragster or a .90 class as-is.

[Hagen Gary]

Obviously you will never change everyone's mind to just start showing up at IHRA races. What you can do is make racing the IHRA event potentialy more profitable. If it makes more sense for me to run the IHRA race, then that is where I'm going. As it stands right now. No way am I towing to Dallas, even with a open trailer for the current payout. I don't care if 3 cars show up again. With the money most people have in this, we should be racing for more profit.

[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by Hagen Gary

If IHRA increased their purse to $5,000K/Win and $2,500/RU and $750 semis, would they draw enough cars to cover the extra purse?

An extra 40 cars per class? An extra $50K is a big nut to crack on a hope. Heck, there were people that had a FREE entry to the $10,000 to win (plus contingency) Tournament of Champions that didn't come.

It's a sad state of affairs, but every time IHRA has addressed something that somebody said, "If you'd only...", they still don't show up. Eliminate one excuse, and they come up with another. I wish I knew the answer.

[Harry 6674]

Having never been to an IHRA track I'm not sure how the class cars compare with the NHRA cars? Doesn't the IHRA allow wider tires and deep pans in stock? Maybe the NHRA racers feel they are at a disadvantage and not willing to change their cars to make use of the rules.

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by Harry 6674

Having never been to an IHRA track I'm not sure how the class cars compare with the NHRA cars? Doesn't the IHRA allow wider tires and deep pans in stock? Maybe the NHRA racers feel they are at a disadvantage and not willing to change their cars to make use of the rules.

That excuse is B.S. The 10.5 tire is slower by approx .05. That rule was put in many years ago when IHRA had the AA/S class before NHRA ever thought about it and the points race tracks were not what some would call first rate for safety reasons. The tracks are MUCh better today so its a wash. The 9 inch radial will always be quicker unless they are worn out. The extra capacity pan allows someone to run fast WITHOUT trying to run with 3 QTs of oil in a stock pan. Better engine life. How many NHRA guys see zero oil pressure after the finish line when doing this trick ! It kind of helps keep the rods inside the engine where they belong.

[Myron Piatek]

Originally Posted by Harry 6674

Having never been to an IHRA track I'm not sure how the class cars compare with the NHRA cars? Doesn't the IHRA allow wider tires and deep pans in stock? Maybe the NHRA racers feel they are at a disadvantage and not willing to change their cars to make use of the rules.

Crate Motor cars are allowed up to 10.5" measured slicks, but most stay with 9". "Regular" deeper pans (no pan rail kick-outs or steering through sump) are also allowed in CM but not "regular" Stock. Roller rockers have been made legal for all stockers except Pure Stock for reliability. Blueprint specs are in affect for all combos. NHRA stockers don't need to change anything. Since there is no heads-up between regular Stock and CM and the Nitro Jam qualifying sheets show a wide variety of class diversity, I can't see any disadvantage.

It may be easier and less expensive to put a CM combo together, but that was the whole idea behind the concept, which attracted a lot of racers. Nontheless, it is not "easy" as the same basic rules apply, there are indexes and one still has to drive competively. The new factory cars negate the soft index or HP arguments.

[Arnold Greene]

"That's silly, in my opinion. Why would they NOT want any particular kind of car to show up? More cars the better, regardless of type.

There are some combinations that could use some HP, but fast "NHRA" cars typically outqualify crate motor cars. If they whacked the crate motor indexes .50, how many more NHRA would show up that wouldn't normally? They're nothing compared to the CJ's and DP's! LOL I really like the one that's rated 50 HP less than my motor, and runs on a softer index, even after NHRA hit indexes .30! That's AWESOME. I'm not writing letters to the Tech Dept, I'm writing letters to SANTA! "

$.02,
__________________
Michael Beard - IHRA 3 STK - NHRA 216
Staging Light Graphics
Graphic Design & Full-Color Printing


Michael, with all due respect,
I didn't say they didn't want them, I said they didn't expect them to come. That's why they don't care when Nhra has a race in their neighborhood. If they expected the Nhra cars to come, they would try to work with Nhra, as hard as that might be.

As far as the crate motors indexes, start at the 8# class, A/S versus E/CM and check the indexes all the way down. The crate motors can run any intake plus a 750 Holley on small blocks and an 850 on big blocks. Otherwise, the rules are the same for traditional and cm stockers. Why should the cm stockers have that advantage? You guys would be crying if someone that likes to go fast built a car to run in your class. Then you might know what traditional stockers now face with Nhra. BTW, Ihra did a great job by putting the bogus hp new cars where they can run each other and not get a free ride against the 'old cars'.