NHRA changes

[qwikz28]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nhra/2008-07-02-rules-change_N.htm

[SteveR]

wow, didnt see that coming.

[firehawk1120]

yeah because the extra 320 feet will make a huge difference to cars traveling at almost 300 mph. DUMB

[WildBillyT]

Ticket sales will suffer big I think.

[79CamaroDiva]

wow, didnt see that coming.

are you being sarcastic or not? personally, i'm not surprised.

i don't think ticket sales will suffer. but bob brockmyer (the guy who owns compulink, which is the timing system at 90% of NHRA tracks) will be extremely busy to put MPH blocks at the 1000' mark of each of the national event tracks.

[SteveR]

are you being sarcastic or not? personally, i'm not surprised.

i don't think ticket sales will suffer. but bob brockmyer (the guy who owns compulink, which is the timing system at 90% of NHRA tracks) will be extremely busy to put MPH blocks at the 1000' mark of each of the national event tracks.

I was being serious. First for the reason that you said. NHRA will be spending big bucks having Brockmyer conceive a 1000' MPH block/hardware/software update, plus installation. Second, because having the fuel cars shutoff at 1000' is really no different than 1320'. They dont accelerate all that much more in the last 320'. They're going around 300mph+ by 1000' anyway. Heck, they're going between 270 and 280 by half track. By doing this, and if the same situation were to happen that took place at E-town, you'd still have the same results. I think if it becomes the standard, it may affect ticket sales, they're shortening the track by 25%. The only good thing that'll come out of it is the amount of parts broken in a run. Most engine damage comes in the last 200 or so feet of the run, so the fuel guys should save a lot of money on parts.

[79CamaroDiva]

i think they're doing it to prove a point, not to be safety conscious. It's not going to stop the number of accidents. But you saw what pedregon was saying, "the tracks need to be lengthened" thats a bunch of :bs: it wont change anything with accidents. they're doing it so it looks like they're doing something, in the mean time probably coming up with ways to limit the cars.

[SteveR]

i think they're doing it to prove a point, not to be safety conscious. It's not going to stop the number of accidents. But you saw what pedregon was saying, "the tracks need to be lengthened" thats a bunch of :bs: it wont change anything with accidents. they're doing it so it looks like they're doing something, in the mean time probably coming up with ways to limit the cars.

yea, the whole longer tracks thing is silly. hmm, how about, um, chutes that dont freakin melt! yea, or a fire system that, um, puts out fires! That would be a good start!

NHRA thinking of ways of limiting the cars?!?!?! I guess IHRA isnt as dumb as people think. :rofl:

[WildBillyT]

I always thought that improving the tech on the cars should be the #1 priority. Or maybe design a better sand trap/end of track.

[Mike]

what will this mean for local tracks and local drivers? think this will stay a fuel only thing or will we all be running the "not quite quarter mile"

[1QWIKBIRD]

i think they're doing it to prove a point, not to be safety conscious. It's not going to stop the number of accidents. But you saw what pedregon was saying, "the tracks need to be lengthened" thats a bunch of :bs: it wont change anything with accidents. they're doing it so it looks like they're doing something, in the mean time probably coming up with ways to limit the cars.

The Pedregon boys are on my permanent sheit list. On camera interview the day AFTER (everyone is a genius in hindsight) it happens, one of them is bitchin about the track and blaming E-town, the other is whining because he didn't get his FOURTH shot at qualifying and didn't make the show. But I guaran-damm-tee ya neither one of them had any problem collecting the paycheck at the end of the weekend. Completely class-less individuals, both of them.

Chris

[NJ Torque]

what will this mean for local tracks and local drivers? think this will stay a fuel only thing or will we all be running the "not quite quarter mile"

yeah... for the little guy who runs a 1320..

[r0nin89]

Wait so wtf is fast now? I'm lost...

[79CamaroDiva]

what will this mean for local tracks and local drivers? think this will stay a fuel only thing or will we all be running the "not quite quarter mile"

Nah, won't change a thing. There's no reason to shorten the finish line for regular racing. Im betting even TAD and TAFC will still run the 1/4.

Wait so wtf is fast now? I'm lost...

My guess is the 1000' mark you will probably see only a few tenths difference in the fuel cars. I'd be surprised if it was anything more than .2 faster than they're 1/4 times, so expect to see like a 4.3 or 4.4 where you would normally see a 4.5 or 4.6

They'll still be over 300 mph.

Personally, if htey really thought shortening the track would do anything, they would make the race teams really happy and run TF 1/8th mile. dunno how many of you saw the interviews, but they're all for it. THAT would make a safety difference. NOT running 1000'

[Pampered-Z]

This is only a short term fix until HNRA can come up with rules. The initial talk was 1/8 mile; fans aren't going to pay to see a quick hit of the throttle. so 1,000' is kinda 1/2 way without the tracks having to redo their whole timing systems.

I would expect something in place by Indy. NHRA needs to put everything in place to keep the playing field level while keeping cost to the teams in place. Few years back when the tried to control the problems they lowered the Nitro percentage, the teams reacted by upping the blowers, NHRA restricted the inlet size of the blower hats, adding weight to a 6,000HP car isn't going to do enough either.

They just need to get everything in place so that every team has a fair chance to win. Things like RPMs, blower size, Fuel all need to be addressed; adding weight to a 6000HP car is going to have little effect. They need to get the cars to be built safer and the engines less volatile in a fashion that won't badly impact the lower budget teams that can't afford to change everything at one time. You see some teams don't take the 4 qualifying passes to same cost, while other teams like Force can afford to just throw more parts in.

IMO, the 300 MPH runs are fun to watch, but paying to watch fuel cars go up in smoke at the line just PMO! I rather see good 250 MPH side by side racing.

[79CamaroDiva]

This is only a short term fix until HNRA can come up with rules. The initial talk was 1/8 mile; fans aren't going to pay to see a quick hit of the throttle. so 1,000' is kinda 1/2 way without the tracks having to redo their whole timing systems.


the problem is, everybody has 1/8 mile et and mph clocks. nobody has mph at the 1000', so its going to cost the tracks more money.

As far as not wanting to watch just a hit of the throttle, I'm sure most fans would rather stop seeing the people they watch die. For me, the coolest part is the launch. so if they shortened to 1/8 mile, you still get the launch and the noise. just not the 300 mph.

[SteveR]

I would expect something in place by Indy. NHRA needs to put everything in place to keep the playing field level while keeping cost to the teams in place. Few years back when the tried to control the problems they lowered the Nitro percentage, the teams reacted by upping the blowers, NHRA restricted the inlet size of the blower hats, adding weight to a 6,000HP car isn't going to do enough either.

At each point in time where they made adjustments, they lowered the rev limit, which is why you have so many explosions at the finish line. The teams are trying to push the motors just as hard, but they're bouncing off the chip by 1200' at least.

[BigAls87Z28]

Im sorry, this might sound insensitive or non-pc, but wtf?
You are sitting in a car made up of tubular steel and thin fiberglas with a 6000hp engine in front or behind you, while you are strapped into a hole not much bigger then your body, with the only thing to protect you is a helmet and the hope of a parachute, and this is supposed to be safe?
Get the hell out.
Its racing. There is a risk in it. Thats why you got into it. People didnt just fall into drag racing, its the thrill of being near death for 3 seconds. John Force doesnt like to drag race cause the vibrations feel good.
Too dangerious? Too costly? Too scary? Get out of the business. There is nothing else you can do to make this safe. Things are gunna happen. You try to plan for it not to happen, but Murphy's law will take a bite out of your ass.

[Pampered-Z]

the problem is, everybody has 1/8 mile et and mph clocks. nobody has mph at the 1000', so its going to cost the tracks more money.

As far as not wanting to watch just a hit of the throttle, I'm sure most fans would rather stop seeing the people they watch die. For me, the coolest part is the launch. so if they shortened to 1/8 mile, you still get the launch and the noise. just not the 300 mph.

What I want is for NHRA to rethink the fuel cars so that we don't see people die, more then just a hit, and quality 1/4 mile runs. Most of the time both cars don't even get off the line anymore!

Look at what happened that weekend at E-town with the fuel cars: Friday the left lane was junk around 300', and on Saturday the right lane was grease! No one was getting down the right lane all day! Scott was probably 1 of the few fuel cars all day to get to 1,000' under power, most either blew the tires off at the line or went into shake and out of it by 300'. So if it was elimination and they peddled they would have been exploding engines all day. So why would fans pay $60 to watch whoever had lane choice win?


At each point in time where they made adjustments, they lowered the rev limit, which is why you have so many explosions at the finish line. The teams are trying to push the motors just as hard, but they're bouncing off the chip by 1200' at least.

I don't have the answer, but I think NHRA can set rules to limit the cars in a way that will make them both safer and allow for better racing. NASCAR used restrictor plates, F1 uses tires and smaller displacement to reduce speeds and add saftey, and the racing is just as good as it was when they were going faster.


Well here's another thing, how many people want to sit after the finish line? If they race to the 1/8 mile, the tracks need to double their seating capacity. E-town was near full the entire length both sides, what would happen if they only had 1/2 the seating / half the gate fee? Changing the seating is going to cost a whole lot more then adding some fiber optics, two sensors, another foam block and a painted stripe.

[SteveR]

I don't have the answer, but I think NHRA can set rules to limit the cars in a way that will make them both safer and allow for better racing. NASCAR used restrictor plates, F1 uses tires and smaller displacement to reduce speeds and add saftey, and the racing is just as good as it was when they were going faster.

F-1 is a good example of restrictions. They've been adding more and more restrictions each year. This year they took out traction control in all the cars. They went from huge V-12 monsters, to now small V-8s, and the races are still a lot of fun to watch, especially in person. The only problem with restrictions, and again F-1 is a good example, is that the teams still want to go as fast as pre-restrictions, so they throw even more money at the car. Two years ago one Formula-1 team for one season with one car cost a minimum of $330 million dollars. Thats a third of a billion dollars for six months of racing in a single car, with no accidents (and Red Bull had FOUR cars that year, two V-8s, and two restrictor plate V-10s before they outlawed them). NHRA has the same issue with its pro classes. Instead of finding ways to lower cost, like IHRA does, the cost to run nitro in NHRA is insane, and the soaring cost of nitromethane isnt helping, that coupled with Torco royally screwing all of its teams.

A good example is what happened last March with the AMS/NHRA Pro Mod series. For the last few years the blower cars have been going faster and faster, due to the fact that a supercharger is a dynamic system, where advances in supercharger technology has lead to them being able to make more power, with less heat, and more efficiently. Whereas on the other side, the nitrous cars, having a static power adder in nitrous which adds a predetermined amount of power, so it is unscalable and will not increase, have been sitting in the same e.t. range and unable to keep up. So what did they do? Well, instead of limiting the blower cars to slow them down to evenly match the cars without increasing the dangers of running a 115" wheelbase car in the sub six second range at over 250mph, they decided to lift ALL restrictions on nitrous cars. You can now run any cubic inch you want, any trans you want, any rear you want, any size nitrous stage you want, and as many stages as you want. Thereby increasing speed, and cost as well. Not to mention the inclusion now of turbos in Pro Mod. I can bet once Troy Coughlin figures his new twin turbo GTO out, you'll see the first 260mph door car pass. Im a big a fan of Pro Mod and all of drag racing, but as these limits keep getting pushed, and the speeds increase, so do the dangers.

Motorsports have never been safe. From the fatality during the first ever road race held in the US, to 'Fireball' Roberts' early death in the early days of NASCAR when they were still racing on the sand, to the most recent fatality of Scott Kalitta, there has been and will always be a large risk. I feel the issues with even moderately serious accidents in NHRA is the fact that NHRA was started as a safe alternative to racing on the street. It is supposed to provide a safe and controlled environment for kids to go to race their cars, without endangering the lives of innocent people on the streets, hence the motto "Safety First". I am not even going to imply that NHRA has no safety. Their safety program for designating rules as per what needs to be done to modify a car to be deemed safe to race on one of its sanctioned tracks is tremendous. You know that when you strap yourself in to a race car that has been inspected by a tech inspector and everything looks good to them, that you feel safe. That says a lot. However, from a purely business and sociological aspect, what took place at E-town had a negative effect on drag racing. Taking the concept of safety and promoting how safe NHRA is and attempting to coerce kids into buying into the ideal and coming out and spending money to race at a track, and then have those kids go to their first ever national event and seeing that. How many kids will feel safer on the street, how many parents will not take their kids to another race, how many young kids will be turned off now. As small as it may seem, money will be lost and fans will turn away.

[alamantia]

yet another reason IHRA is better

[Frosty]

I hate reactionary rule changes. Most are saying that Scott Kalitta was old cold from the engine explosion so please tell me how making the track a different length would've done a damn thing? I'm all for making things as safe as possible but Al is right in what he said.

Also, if things are that unsafe then the driver's need to step up and make the choice to not race. It's very simple.