Can they win?

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by The Hawk

Sure slow cars can win. It takes a different perspective of the whole racing scheme. The drivers who figure out how to make slow cars more than competitive and win frequently are more dangerous in quicker cars. Most progress to the faster stuff,some stick around and always leave first. The slower cars are a huge challenge,but it`s extremely gratifying when you do well.

X2 Hawk, although I may not ever try to run a faster car...too expensive to build, and they need much more work done to them to stay competitive...more than my budget can handle by far....

[greg fulk]

My P/SA Cutlass made 4 passes @ the IHRA TOC race @ Piemont this past year & ran between 8.00 & 8.01 every pass.....I was between .010 & (of course last pass) .087 on the tree! I also made it to 3 car @ Mooresville in 2006 with a V/SA Nova. I made it to 16 cars @ Indy in 2005 (Div race) 7 cars @ Edgewater the same year...BTW Indy that year they had 140 cars in stock for a 128 car field when was the last time we saw a "full field" @ a Div race? I won the Perfectly Strange award @ Indy that year too....or maybe it was 2004...anyway it can be done.....but NOT easy.

[Charley Downing]

In the past 10 years how many NHRA & IHRA national events have been won by a 12.00 or slower car?

[ALMACK]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

Different drivers have different driving abilities, be it avg reaction time, staging consistency, shift point consistency (or adjustability), dialing strategy, prediction and execution, .... I won't provide an exhaustive list as I'm typing on my phone, but suffice it to say that the variables are endless.

I see your points Michael.

I bracket race a slow car and 85% of the time I am beeing chased. I have learned how to make driving a slower car work to my advantage.

One thing I have learned is that every single driver has THE CHANCE of running a better package than the driver in the other lane. (if he or she tries hard enough)

Better packages will always win.

A rookie driver can on any given day cut an outstanding r/t and run right on the dial. It has happened to me as well as other more experienced drivers.
Of course luck plays a big part sometimes.
However, more times than not experience wins rounds.

[greg fulk]

I'm looking @ Nitro Joe from last year....AA/SA 60 cars A/SA 110 cars B/SA 113 cars C/SA 120 cars D/SA 101 E/SA 99 F/SA 123 G/SA 104. Now then O/SA 22 P/SA 23 Q/SA 19 R/SA 11 T/SA 8 U/SA 10 V/SA 13. Their were more A/SA cars run then O-V combined....2 things ...People don't like to go slow ( go to local bracket race..their will be more Top E.T. cars their then any other class) & 2nd 830 vs 106....where do you think most of the winners will come from?

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by Charley Downing

In the past 10 years how many NHRA & IHRA national events have been won by a 12.00 or slower car?

Well, just check out what Jody Lang has done with his Stocker wagon...I'm certain he's responsible for at least 20% of all the national event wins by a 12 sec. or slower car. Joe Santangelo was the lucky beneficiary of his rnd 4 loss in Vegas last month, or we'd have been congratulating Jody as the NHRA 2011 Stock Eliminator National Champion (he was only 2pts behind Joe)!!! Heck, Jody won 3 national events and two divisionals this year, so it's likely that he's single-handily responsible for a major percentage of those race wins with his Malibu wagon....this same wagon also won both the '98 and '99 Mopar Mile High Nationals at Bandimere with him piloting it (I know this because I was his 3rd victim at the '98 race), and he's been frequently in the winners circle with that wagon over the years since...now that's cool!!!

[Mark Yacavone]

I suppose my contribution to this thread would have to be:

A long time, wise (guy? ) friend, and former World Champion once told me:

It's a percentage deal . Leave on time and run close to your dial in, and you'll win more than you lose.

Also, my opinion is that the really slow cars will be more consistent with a stick shift (turbos aside).

[Capri]

Slow cars can win. Slow drivers on the other hand.......

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

If Jody Lang didn't win 3 this year, the answer for 2011 would be ZERO wins by a 12.00 car or slower.

True, true. However, since the author of this thread was talking about wins over the past 10yrs, that's why I made the referrence to "at least 20%", because I know there were others who won national/divisional events during these years, and I believe some of them are in other posts on this thread. That said, Jody has been the flag bearer for all of us 12.00 and slower class racers. I'm just glad I have video footage of his winning the Winter Nationals over either an A/SA car, or an AA/SA car. Oh to be half as good at driving as Jody is, would get me in position to match Mark Y's "one and only so far" fwd NHRA stocker win (or the guy who was the only NHRA divisional stocker winner)? However, I don't know when but I'm certain that Michael Beard has won some national/divisional events with his Turismo over the past 10yrs., so that's another slower stocker to carve it's name in the stock eliminator winners circle world. My New Years resolution is to join Jody, and Michael, in the wins with a slower stocker next year, and Mark with winning a national event (albeit not NHRA?), as well...