Interesting Commentary - why does it takes longer ....

[Mike Delahanty]

Some interesting commentary from John D at Drag Racing Edge.

...........IT’S ABOUT TIME…LITERALLY

Even though elapsed times have plummeted over the years, it’s taking longer to run events than ever before. And it seems like drag racing is the only one not concerned.
The National Football League announced plans to speed up their show. Major League Baseball finally succumbed to the stupidity of pitching four balls to a batter before said person is allowed to “walk” to first base. Even the Professional Golfers Association has realized they aren’t holding the attention of today’s viewers.

I clearly remember attending one of the first big-dollar bracket races back in 1975. Byron Dragway’s Ron Leek was the promoter and to this day I remember him screaming continually on the PA system in that deep baritone voice of his, “I have to have a pair of cars going down the track every 30-seconds if we’re going to expect to finish this race.” It’s a number which has stuck with me ever since.

Today though, when it comes to sportsman/bracket cars, we’re looking at roughly anywhere from 40-seconds to over a minute for a pair of cars to go down the track. And this has nothing to do whether it’s a quarter or eighth-mile, the numbers are still the same. The amount of time it takes to actually go down the track is miniscule, it’s all the ancillary things which happen which add up time; burnouts, staging, etc. While this might not seem like a long amount, it adds up.

When a promoter gets upwards of 300 or more cars for a high-dollar bracket race, he needs to have them going up and down the track in a timely fashion. A minute a pair isn’t timely. Think of just this: 300 cars equates to 150 pair. At a minute each, that takes 150 minutes barring no down time. Cut that to even 40 seconds and you knock 50 minutes off the round. How much quicker can a race be completed when you can knock 33-percent off the time?

And the biggest offenders, believe it or not, are dragsters. They do a burnout across the line and then have to back up followed by carefully staging the car. One suggestion no one has tried would be to back the water box up 50-feet or so and not allow burnouts across the line, similar to door cars.

And let’s not forget about the professional cars where three-minute pairs can seem like an eternity, forgetting about the endless parade of trucks which roll when an oil down takes place.

Here’s something which isn’t going to make me popular in the pits, but we need to think about the show. Pro Stock cars burnout across the line, back up carefully and then wait until a crewmember resets the wheelie bars. All that takes time. I understand the reasoning behind re-adjusting the wheelie bars: tire sizes are changed between rounds to accommodate gearing; after the burnout, heating affects tire size; oftentimes wheelie bars are used as part of the suspension so adjustment is critical; I get it. But it’s time no one wants to watch.

At this past year’s Winternationals, the Top Sportsman class was showcased for the first time. Somewhat mimicking Pro Stock, they did their burnouts, backed up and then sat while a crewmember adjusted the wheelie bars. Now is the time to put a stop to it and enforce a rule that once a car leaves the burnout box, no one touches it. In Jr. Dragster racing, there is a “blue line” at some tracks where once the car passes it, no one except the starter is allowed to touch the car. I told you this wasn’t going to make me popular in the pits. But it has to be said.

In most cases, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional events have turned into three and four day affairs. Why? Thirty and 40 years ago, divisional events were simple two-day, Saturday-Sunday races. In the northeast part of the country, we got 400-500 cars at each and they were done in two days. Back then too, there were some which ran pro cars in addition to often running a bracket race on Saturday night. What has changed? Is it because more time is spent with track prep? Or are racers a little more careful in how they’re racing?

In any event, we need to get back to what we came for: Running cars up and down the track. Today’s society wants everything immediately and we have a very short attention span. As for sportsman cars, we just need to get the “show” done faster. In the case of pro cars, people don’t necessarily want to sit in the stands while nothing is going down the track. Fans came there to watch racing. If they don’t see it, chances are they won’t come back. And I “think” we need them coming back!