NHRA Fastest 128 cars

[Arnold Greene]

The only thing that would make this any better, would be combine the sticks and automatics. Then you might see some real racing. Under the current rules, class winners making up a 64 car field would greatly limit the chances for heads up runs, and would give the bracket racers exactly what they want. When you had to win class to be in the eliminator, we ran off of National Records, and you had a .1 breakout in the final. I am glad to see that the elected advisory committee is trying to keep class racing alive and not create more of a bracket race. Any rational discussion concerning real racing is welcomed. Fire suit on!

[Jim Wahl]

Dick, Mark my words, within 2 years (I say next year) Indy will be a 64 car eliminator field. Sticks and Autos will be consolidated, thereby cutting classes in half. Then the quickest 64 cars will run the eliminator. Class will mean nothing! Sponsors will not pay for class anymore. It will be the top qualifiers getting their money. There will be 30-40 Camaros and Firebirds qualified at the top the rest will be Novas, Mustangs a couple of FWD cars and the "trick of the month cars" filling out the rest. Bang! High priced bracket cars!

You are a smart guy Dick. Think about it. The hand writing is on the wall. All after market engine superseded parts do one thing, they make it easier to tech! Then eventually no tech will be needed. Look at the car counts now. It will not get better, only worse, you know that. It's not fun anymore! Then Stock and Super Stock will be nothing but high priced, nice looking, wheel standing cookie cutter filler cars for the Pros. Come on, aren't we almost there now? Government regulation has nothing on NHRA.

Oh and no disrespect taken. Being a FWD pilot isn't really my deal either, I just play one on TV.

[Jack Matyas]

Jim -Let me clear it up for you--- in order to win an eliminator you must beat Biondo/Fletcher and Bertozzi even if you meet them in the first round . Did some more checking on the Indy field so far -- and after this your focus sould be on another type of car -- guess what -- there are 8 count 'em eight 1969 Camaros -(14% of the field)- and if you count Camaros built up to 1973 there are twelve ( a whopping 21 % of the field) . Yet if you combine all Firebirds and Camaros built after 1993 there are only 5 entered (8% of the field) . Seems to me your efforts ought to be toward the masses (just for the record I own a garage full of 69 Camaros so this is certainly not a bashing of them--I didn't want you Camaro guys to get your shorts twisted).BTW --entrys are up to 57 tonight .

[Dick Butler]

Jim, Your thoughts are correct. High Priced Bracket cars" at most events" NOW. Some feel good about being the fastest car in ------( fill in the class) and if there are 5 or 6 in the country that is great. If there is only Indy to run class then it is less satisfying. If 1/2 of the events were class then it would be fun again. But the statistics created by TOO many classes, TOO few cars allowed to enter events makes it a true Bracket race at nationals like the Division Meets.The push to give everyone a class to run their favorite kind of car/motor/trans/FWD or turbo or injection so entry money would be higher is killing the racing itself.
If the choices were limited on what to run it could correct some of the problems no one wants to handle for fear of losing the "one racer"" who has one and pays his entry. Maybe he would build what was allowed and participate anyway, Maybe for the good of the Classes that should have been thought of instead of proliferation of the classes to sacrifice the S and SS to get entry numbers increased at Divisional races. It was a nice idea but has hurt the eliminators.
No I do not have a car today, I miss the challenge but had hoped the committee valued class.

The superseded parts are a natural progression and a business need for the sponsors. At least now NHRA adds HP for some of the parts upgrade.
I hope they still have Heads up in eliminator. If heads up goes S and SS are at a terrible place in their History in Drag Racing.

[Colin Wigle]

Just a thought Now that the fastest 128 race the eliminator, Why not have two qualifiers at the beginning of the week set the field and run the eliminator first. Save the class runs for the weekend when there are spectators. heads up class runs easy and understandable. just a thought.

C Wigle

[Alan Roehrich]

Dick, with all due respect, in this case you are WRONG. Limiting the choice of car and engine combinations is NOT the way to do it. There is no valid reason to start paring down the stock car classification guide. The case can possibly be made that the 1/2 pound weight breaks be pared down to 1 pound weight breaks. Maybe even the case could be made to combine stick and automatic classes. But NO, we should NOT be looking to just dump a bunch of cars out of class racing at the stroke of a pen. Combining or consolidating classes maybe, at least to some degree. It's one thing to say that there's no need for special classes (Hell, maybe the Corvair should have a class or three all its own, it's a rear engine car, and air cooled to boot), it's quite another to just kick cars out of Stock completely.

[Jim Wahl]

Very good post Alan. I agree completely. But this is exactly what I have been saying about Dick's agenda! Dick's Drag Racing world is filled with virtually nothing but 9 second big and small block Chevies! Nothing else matters. I so disagree with this, and I believe most racers do also.

[Dennis P Chapman]

Every body doesn't have the big money to race the high class cars.
Many of use like the lower class cars because they are cheaper to
run and a lot of fun to race.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

Very good post Alan. I agree completely. But this is exactly what I have been saying about Dick's agenda! Dick's Drag Racing world is filled with virtually nothing but 9 second big and small block Chevies! Nothing else matters. I so disagree with this, and I believe most racers do also.

No, Jim, I don't think so. It ain't 9 seconds, and it ain't small and big block Chevy. It ain't all Camaro either. Not even "virtually". You're assuming entirely too much. Sorry to disappoint you. Jr. Stock isn't about 9 second anything, and encouraging brand rivalry means all one car, or even all one brand, is out of the question. And if you can run a 9 in Top Stock trim, you have the absolute baddest stocker in the country. Or the most bogus.

Actually, a LOT of people ARE for consolidating classes. I think it's going to happen, in one form or another, whether we like it or not. I'm not sure I see NHRA cutting Indy, or any other race, to 64 cars. I'm sure cutting it to 128 cars qualifying will reduce the field somewhat, just as I said in the other thread that if you only qualify 64 cars, soon enough only 70-75 cars will show. I'm betting a 128 car qualified field will eventually result in under 160, and maybe under 145 entries.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by Irvin Johns

Nhra posted fastest 128 cars make the field. Class winners can not bump in.

http://www.nhra.com/content/divnews....0497&zoneid=12

Effective July 14, 2008, class winners in Super Stock and Stock will no longer be automatically placed into the eliminator fields. All national and divisional Super Stock and Stock eliminator fields will be based on the quickest 128 qualifiers.

I can't find this anywhere on the site and I need clarification on something. If I am the only car in the class and I run 1.2 under I still get in correct.