Drag racing Enjoy it while you can

rognelson777 · 01-17-2018, 11:13 AM

After the announcement that Englishtown is stopping Drag racing, it makes me wonder about the future. So enjoy it while you can.
We always talk about kids not being involved but what is going to happen when we are all in self driving electric cars? They say it is 10 years down the road when it will be the norm. And if the politicians can figure out a way to make money off these technologies, watch out.
It is coming. Your thoughts.

SSGT Mustang · 01-17-2018, 11:32 AM

One door closes another door opens.

There's still Atco and Numidia. Both are good tracks. They will benefit from the closing of e-town.

There's Island also. Island has faced the same pressure to close for a long time. The track has been in disrepair for as long as I've gone there. I wouldn't be surprised if they close in the future.

One of the reasons I've stayed in Jersey is because of the tracks. With the outrageous taxes and stupid politics of the state, I know that I'll be moving within the next 5 to 10 years. There are a lot of tracks down south and around the country. I don't have to stay and take the abuse of state and local politicians and neither does anyone else.

goinbroke2 · 01-17-2018, 11:59 AM

I cannot believe how many people are not only accepting electric/autonomous cars, but embracing them! Normally I'd say they are the same wack jobs that would live in an apartment in a city and take public transit, but no, more and more people I know are saying stuff like "well that would be nice to just get in and the car take you somewhere" HOLY CRAP! It's bad enough, at a party I hosted a while back, I was in the minority when I brought it up, very few wanted to be bothered with driving.

Further, talk of electric cars that you pay for, drive 5 years under a "warranty" then trade in for another, no maint/repairs/etc was being talked about as if it would be mans saviour! Like buying a toaster, when it breaks, throw it away and get another. Seriously, have we slumped to this???

I ain't going down without a fight.

Dick Butler · 01-17-2018, 12:09 PM

Driverless cars are another indicator of the lost interest in the mechanics but instead in the electronics. We hung out at a garage or service station. These people hang out at a coffee shop and do all their work from a distance on a computer. Are they really getting any personal association while just sipping and typing? I doubt It.
We are a vanishing breed and skill level and interest. Good luck to you guys who are just approaching retirement age. It will be gone as you know it just like it is gone as I knew it already. Long live Class Racing and Jr. Stock.

Mike Jones · 01-17-2018, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goinbroke2

I cannot believe how many people are not only accepting electric/autonomous cars, but embracing them! Normally I'd say they are the same wack jobs that would live in an apartment in a city and take public transit, but no, more and more people I know are saying stuff like "well that would be nice to just get in and the car take you somewhere" HOLY CRAP! It's bad enough, at a party I hosted a while back, I was in the minority when I brought it up, very few wanted to be bothered with driving.

Further, talk of electric cars that you pay for, drive 5 years under a "warranty" then trade in for another, no maint/repairs/etc was being talked about as if it would be mans saviour! Like buying a toaster, when it breaks, throw it away and get another. Seriously, have we slumped to this???

I ain't going down without a fight.

I got my drivers license when I was 16. So did everyone I knew in High School in 1974. Driving was a blast, a new adventure.
Today it is inconvenient. Adventures happen on cell phones,
But I`m not sure it will change that fast.
Gasoline tax is hard to replace.
Mike a114

Timetraveler · 01-17-2018, 03:03 PM

Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily since 1983.
It’s especially pronounced for the teens—in 2014, just 24.5 percent of 16-year-olds had a license, a 47-percent decrease from 1983, when 46.2 percent did. And at the tail end of the teen years, 69 percent of 19-year-olds had licenses in 2014, compared to 87.3 percent in 1983, a 21-percent decrease.

I am 74 and started driving trucks on the farm at 14. Everybody had their license at sixteen and we all had something to race, I had a 40 olds with a 54 324 engine. Today kids have computers and don't care about driving. Is there any way to turn this around?

bsimms89 · 01-17-2018, 03:18 PM

I got my learners permit the day after my 16th birthday, then about 6 months later I took my road test and got my "Junior License" which is basically a learners permit but you can drive between your home and work, a work-study program, college, or night school (no high school) between 5 and 9 pm. If you take drivers education (which I did just so i could get my license as soon as possible) you can get your full license at 17, if you don't you cant get it until 18. So for many it isn't even possible to get a license at 16

Bunkster · 01-19-2018, 06:23 PM

Another trend that doesn't bode well for people that actually do something is licensed pilots, as well as AP licensing.

When they don't like cars.....they sure as Hell don't give a rat's sphincter about planes and flying.

Little Timmy Cook at Apple will get 10 million applications to design some silly-assed, mindless app for a freak'n phone, but no one can find a M/E to enhance the landing gear on a Cessna Citation.

The guy that raced that old 303 Olds in V/S....he moved on and is retiring from a well paid job rebuilding Lycoming and Continental gas burners.

Dave Gantz · 01-19-2018, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunkster

Another trend that doesn't bode well for people that actually do something is licensed pilots, as well as AP licensing.

When they don't like cars.....they sure as Hell don't give a rat's sphincter about planes and flying.

Little Timmy Cook at Apple will get 10 million applications to design some silly-assed, mindless app for a freak'n phone, but no one can find a M/E to enhance the landing gear on a Cessna Citation.

The guy that raced that old 303 Olds in V/S....he moved on and is retiring from a well paid job rebuilding Lycoming and Continental gas burners.

As to "Little Timmy Cook", he's following the money trail.
Just a bit more money in IPhones, than there is general aviation. (Sarcasm.)

01-17-2018, 11:13 AM	#1
rognelson777 Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 376 Likes: 20 Liked 135 Times in 74 Posts	Drag racing Enjoy it while you can After the announcement that Englishtown is stopping Drag racing, it makes me wonder about the future. So enjoy it while you can. We always talk about kids not being involved but what is going to happen when we are all in self driving electric cars? They say it is 10 years down the road when it will be the norm. And if the politicians can figure out a way to make money off these technologies, watch out. It is coming. Your thoughts.

01-17-2018, 11:32 AM	#2
SSGT Mustang Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Jersey Posts: 359 Likes: 35 Liked 204 Times in 54 Posts	Re: Drag racing Enjoy it while you can One door closes another door opens. There's still Atco and Numidia. Both are good tracks. They will benefit from the closing of e-town. There's Island also. Island has faced the same pressure to close for a long time. The track has been in disrepair for as long as I've gone there. I wouldn't be surprised if they close in the future. One of the reasons I've stayed in Jersey is because of the tracks. With the outrageous taxes and stupid politics of the state, I know that I'll be moving within the next 5 to 10 years. There are a lot of tracks down south and around the country. I don't have to stay and take the abuse of state and local politicians and neither does anyone else.

01-17-2018, 11:59 AM	#3
goinbroke2 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NS CANADA Posts: 888 Likes: 1,604 Liked 387 Times in 151 Posts	Re: Drag racing Enjoy it while you can I cannot believe how many people are not only accepting electric/autonomous cars, but embracing them! Normally I'd say they are the same wack jobs that would live in an apartment in a city and take public transit, but no, more and more people I know are saying stuff like "well that would be nice to just get in and the car take you somewhere" HOLY CRAP! It's bad enough, at a party I hosted a while back, I was in the minority when I brought it up, very few wanted to be bothered with driving. Further, talk of electric cars that you pay for, drive 5 years under a "warranty" then trade in for another, no maint/repairs/etc was being talked about as if it would be mans saviour! Like buying a toaster, when it breaks, throw it away and get another. Seriously, have we slumped to this??? I ain't going down without a fight.

01-17-2018, 12:09 PM	#4
Dick Butler VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Richmond Indiana Posts: 1,196 Likes: 5 Liked 32 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Drag racing Enjoy it while you can Driverless cars are another indicator of the lost interest in the mechanics but instead in the electronics. We hung out at a garage or service station. These people hang out at a coffee shop and do all their work from a distance on a computer. Are they really getting any personal association while just sipping and typing? I doubt It. We are a vanishing breed and skill level and interest. Good luck to you guys who are just approaching retirement age. It will be gone as you know it just like it is gone as I knew it already. Long live Class Racing and Jr. Stock.

01-17-2018, 03:03 PM	#6
Timetraveler Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 103 Likes: 79 Liked 12 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Drag racing Enjoy it while you can Young people are not getting driver’s licenses so much anymore. In fact, no one is. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. For people aged 16 to 44, that percentage has been decreasing steadily since 1983. It’s especially pronounced for the teens—in 2014, just 24.5 percent of 16-year-olds had a license, a 47-percent decrease from 1983, when 46.2 percent did. And at the tail end of the teen years, 69 percent of 19-year-olds had licenses in 2014, compared to 87.3 percent in 1983, a 21-percent decrease. I am 74 and started driving trucks on the farm at 14. Everybody had their license at sixteen and we all had something to race, I had a 40 olds with a 54 324 engine. Today kids have computers and don't care about driving. Is there any way to turn this around?

01-17-2018, 03:18 PM	#7
bsimms89 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 70 Likes: 29 Liked 70 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Drag racing Enjoy it while you can I got my learners permit the day after my 16th birthday, then about 6 months later I took my road test and got my "Junior License" which is basically a learners permit but you can drive between your home and work, a work-study program, college, or night school (no high school) between 5 and 9 pm. If you take drivers education (which I did just so i could get my license as soon as possible) you can get your full license at 17, if you don't you cant get it until 18. So for many it isn't even possible to get a license at 16

01-19-2018, 06:23 PM	#8
Bunkster Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 307 Likes: 0 Liked 43 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Drag racing Enjoy it while you can Another trend that doesn't bode well for people that actually do something is licensed pilots, as well as AP licensing. When they don't like cars.....they sure as Hell don't give a rat's sphincter about planes and flying. Little Timmy Cook at Apple will get 10 million applications to design some silly-assed, mindless app for a freak'n phone, but no one can find a M/E to enhance the landing gear on a Cessna Citation. The guy that raced that old 303 Olds in V/S....he moved on and is retiring from a well paid job rebuilding Lycoming and Continental gas burners.