When Leaders Lead

[Dan Bennett]

Just as a follow up, I wanted to make some things a bit clearer about my original post. I was impressed that he gave equal importance to increasing funding for the series AND the teams. That thinking does not seem to happen with the NHRA.

The other part I liked was about working to keep the cars relatable for the fans. Pro Stock was where I concentrated and so that point really hits home for me.
Top Fuel gets a pass on this, since they are the "unlimited" class even though that hasn't been true for many years.

I watched the first funny car races and they were a sensation for being outrageous overkill of cars anyone could buy and would be seen daily on any street in the country. Now, they're some sort of doorstop looking blob - and it got bad enough that a Mustang changed into a Camaro just by decals and nobody seemed to care.

As for Pro Stock, I could go on for pages and pages but everyone here knows that they bear no relationship to anything that has rolled off a production line or sat in a dealer showroom.

This whole thing doesn't need to be a "living in the past" vs "change with the times" argument. I am still excited to see a great run from a 60s or 70s car. But that comes from having raced them before I ever saw very many on a drag strip.I would also be excited to see the best tech minds give their all to increase the already impressive performance of modern production cars. But even though we've had that chance for the last few years, it went out of control very early. Leadership was not there.

Let me see real invention, and not just a series of ghost packages that appear out of thin air, were not a part of production, and depend on having enough sway with NHRA to get them approved. So, Leadership. Not in maximizing profit, bonuses, or golden parachutes. Leadership in actually advancing the sport. Keeping the past and allowing for the future.

No, it's not easy. But what Penske has planned isn't either. The difference is that he cares enough to try and make it happen. That's why I posted.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by Dan Bennett

I watched the first funny car races and they were a sensation for being outrageous overkill of cars anyone could buy and would be seen daily on any street in the country. Now, they're some sort of doorstop looking blob - and it got bad enough that a Mustang changed into a Camaro just by decals and nobody seemed to care.

Totally agree about Funny Car. I have been saying for a few years now that Funny Car bodies should have no more than 10 percent variation from a stock, production body in all aspects.

[pmrphil]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

Totally agree about Funny Car. I have been saying for a few years now that Funny Car bodies should have no more than 10 percent variation from a stock, production body in all aspects.

They should start that with Pro Stock.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by pmrphil

They should start that with Pro Stock.

They should have known that 20 years ago. Where were the leaders then??

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

They should have known that 20 years ago. Where were the leaders then??

I was watching very closely back then, and it was apparent that this wasn't even on their list of things to keep an eye on. This was when the "tech is a PITA and too expensive" thing started. The NHRA had been embarrassed by the Glidden boys and instead of correcting the problem they more or less threw their hands up and walked away.

Back then, Don Ness in particular was doing some amazingly creative things to improve aero and handling on his cars, and he was clever enough to do it so the cars would still pass the template test. Jerry Bickel may have been doing the same, but I never worked closely with any of his cars at the time so I can't say for sure.

I'm not sure that a lot of people know that chassis builders were involved in getting the spec bodies designed, built, and sold. It was easier for them to build a car with an already tweaked body and they were making a profit on every body they installed.

Some of them had invested in the development and so were even getting money from the bodies another builder installed. It was not the customary profit from getting a dealer discount and then charging retail. Since they were involved in the manufacturing they could charge whatever they thought they could get.

They had enough pull to convince NHRA that this was a perfect way to not have to worry about a close inspection of bodies since everybody would have the same ones for any given model. So no precision templates needed to be built for every new model, and no tech inspectors were needed. Real cost savings so more money for bonuses! And no more embarrassment when you've been outsmarted. I doubt it took very long for Glendora to jump onboard with the plan.

I was told by a supremely reliable source that before the move to spec bodies, NHRA had been approached to do laser measurement much like NASCAR developed. They refused to consider the proposal. They'd been planning on saving money, not spending it so the cost of keeping tech workers on this job along with the cost of the system was out of the question.

The manufacturers got involved and allowed wind tunnel time. It was an easy way to fix a great looking but very bad aero model into the best of the best.
Fast forward and we have certification sticker on blobs.

[Mike Pearson]

Does anyone know how old Roger Penske is. I would guess he is about 80.

[Travis Miller]

Originally Posted by Mike Pearson

Does anyone know how old Roger Penske is. I would guess he is about 80.

Wikipedia says he was born on Feb 20, 1937. That makes him 82 years old.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by pmrphil

They should start that with Pro Stock.

I would have Pro Stock run stock body profiles. No change at all.