Deep Staging, why not?

Mark Yacavone · 05-28-2016, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Stout

Can anyone tell us why deep staging was eliminated?

The stage light is the actual starting line so what does the pre stage light have to with where you position yourself on the starting line? Pre stage light is just informing you that your close to the starting line. Has nothing to do with the race from starting line to finish line. I have no dog in this. Tried it didnt like it and adjusted. Just looking for a education on how and why.

Sure.I can tell you, Jeff.

First ,it was banned in the .90 classes early on. Some of the Super Street cars felt it would help their RT's. The confusion was that , even though most had deep on the window, sometimes the starter wouldn't notice it. Other times the racer in the other lane didn't notice it, and would be up hard on the converter while the starter was holding the tree for the deep guy.
I believe IHRA was first, but then NHRA joined in shortly thereafter, to just ban the practice. It was the easy route to take at that time.

Fast forward about 10 years, when several S/SS drivers were DS-ing and winning races.

So,
#1, Some of the faster or harder leaving car drivers started raising a stink about it, even though some didn't really understand what it was all about. I believe this is true, even to this day.

2, Again there was confusion between the starter and the other driver, as to who was intending to go deep .

3, I will admit there were a few deep guys who thought they had extra time to stage because they had deep on the window, and then took every second of it that they could.

4, There were a few shallow staging jack offs that thought it was all a game, meant to screw up the other driver. They would do a short ,rolling burnout, and rush up there first, just to mess with the other driver.

NHRA took the easy route again , and took the pre -stage beam, that was put there for the racers' benefit, and turned it against them, to disqualify people who in their minds were stopping in the starting line beam... in the wrong place.