Is it time to fix Super Class Racing?

[cicero819]

Mr Haas you're right and nice to see David beat Goliath but it's hard to see cars die at the starting line. I respect what your saying since you race in both class and have first class equipment(great looking S/G and great running S/S but last year at Indy I decided to take two of my girls that are familiar with Racing and have engineering Degrees and both were confuse after seeing time trials. I just hope that NHRA aren't planning a revamp of all classes thoward unleashed program.

[Chris Williams]

Some points:

- But I can't make a TS or TD field. That's today. As Super classes dwindle, they'll open up the TS and TD fields to larger numbers. Just a couple of years ago you had to have a bunch of grade points to get into a 140 car SC field. Today you can stroll in the week of the race and get into a 64 car field (it happened this year at the Seattle national).

- Get rid of electronics and/or timers. Virtually every new car built today has electronic fuel injection, overhead cams, and a couple of dozen computers in it. But you all want to stick with carbs, pushrods, and no electronics. Can we work any harder to drive the kids away from the sport?

- The stands don't empty for Super classes. I'm sorry, but you're wrong. At the divisional in Seattle yesterday there was a good crowd. When the Super classes were running, there were maybe 100 people in the stands. When TS and TD were running, there were a couple thousand. And I say this as a Super class racer.

- It's too expensive. You have chosen the wrong hobby, or at least the wrong class. Going fast is expensive. Always will be.

Chris

[cicero819]

Chris you're right, how about have all the new technology you want but no more timers at the start, have it at the end whatever you want but not at the start. Bob Frey is the only announcer who explains the class before it starts which can help the new fans. Yes to fuel injection, turbo-charging and blowers. I'm all for Goliath being brought down. This was my two cents and now I'll go and get some change, I just would feel horrible to seeing these classes being dropped by NHRA for lack of appeal to their paying customer and maybe it could be a good thing to see 10.5 car head to head. Your Class after all. Claude Ruel

[Chris Williams]

Perhaps the answer to all of this is to just bag index racing, and go with full-tree brackets all the way. Here's a straw man proposal:

Set up four (five, six?) bracket classes: 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s. Those are qualifying times (7.99 or better, 8.99 or better...). If you run better than the class number (e.g. run a 7.99 or better in the 8s class), you're forced down a class, except in the 7s class where it's all out. It would be all electronics invited, all body styles, all engine combinations.

Want to run a stop cause you think it makes you more consistent? Go for it. Want to run a dragster with a snowmobile engine in the 10s class? Knock yourself out. Your daughter wants to put fatty slicks on the front of her Civic and run in the 9s class? She can.

By having different classes, you limit the possibility of the big $/HP/MPH person zooming up on you. They'd probably get pushed down a class. By having enough classes to satisfy everyone, no one has to go home. And by everyone (except the super class holdout) leaving hard and racing hard to the stripe, the fans get it.

I dunno, it's a start. I like pro-tree index racing. But this is a way to make it work for the stop-haters?

[Wade Mahaffey]

Please disreguard this post if you caught it on the Super/Stock thread. I know that some of you have seen it there. I think we need to ask ourselves a few questions;
1) How can we make it more affordable?
2) How can we increase the fan base?
3) How can we bring new blood into the class(s)?
4) How can we make it safer?
5) How can we decrease the fast car advantage?

If you fix these things, you could have more local participation. Then local one day races, or two races in one trip type thing. Maybe have a booked in thing at some point. Some folks work hard and can't do the Thursday- Sunday thing, as much as they could the Saturday-Sunday thing. The goal should be to not only help Super classes survive, but to help them thrive! There is still time to save this patient from death.

I think we could all agree that the fans don't like it. SSGN and JimR have good ideas. Another idea could be to have a break out MPH as well, that would eliminate some of the holding and keep the cars a little closer down track. I think that would also reduce the cost to compete, you would'nt need a T/S car that runs 170+ in S/G. Run your T/S car in T/S. Just a nice backhalf car with a mild big block could run S/G and a backhalf small block could run S/ST...affordable! More wheel stands like the S/S cars and Stockers. Did you ever notice how many fans watch at the starting line as opposed to the finish line. It's about 99%, that's where the neat stuff is happening, the burnout, the tree, the hole shot, THE WHEEL STANDS, and going thru the gears! That's where the fans are, and that's where the Super classes cut the motor off. That's like you and your girl friend gettin all hot and bothered, strippin down, .401 bulb, gettin ready for action, and she starts puttin her clothes back on....that's throttle stop sex! It sucks too! Race like you like your sex...WFO. You and everybody that watches you will enjoy it more. Now you will have more competitors, more fans, and more of your money! Whats not to like?

Wade Mahaffey

[chebby2]

This is fun.

[Chris Williams]

I'll repeat it if you didn't hear it the first time: a breakout MPH is a really, really dumb idea. Run WFO, but not that fast. Drag Race as fast as you can, but there's a speed limit.

As dumb as you apparently think stops are, a speed limit is 10x as dumb. You think it's hard to explain throttle stop racing to a casual fan, imagine how ridiculous and effeminate you'd feel telling people there's a speed limit at the drag strips. All because you're afraid of being beaten up by the big kid. Ugh...

[Chris Williams]

Originally Posted by Wade Mahaffey

If you fix these things, you could have more local participation. Then local one day races, or two races in one trip type thing. Maybe have a booked in thing at some point. Some folks work hard and can't do the Thursday- Sunday thing, as much as they could the Saturday-Sunday thing. The goal should be to not only help Super classes survive, but to help them thrive! There is still time to save this patient from death.

We have at least five of these doubleheader (Sat/Sun) races in the Pacific Northwest Super Comp Association every year. They are great. And yet racer participation is on life support. We had five people show up to a race earlier this year.

The structure isn't killing this patient, TD and the desire to go in the sixes at over 200 is. So is the fact that racing in TD is easier: more ducks to shoot, a full-tree gives you bump down time, and so on. And running full out in front of a lot of people is more fun.

[JMatt]

Perhaps look at it another way:

What does a door car do between Top Sportsman and Super Stock in the NHRA?

What does ANY tube chassis car run in the NHRA except Top Sportsman (other than Comp, which is a whole different $$$ committment.)

There's lots of cars out there slower than 7.00 that would love to run. If Super Gas and Super Street throttle stop racing isn't the answer, then what is?

NHRA Unleashed.

[Bob Verwold]

I think the really,really dumb idea of the MPH wouldn't any harder to explain than running an .899 and loosing ...........