Quote:
Originally Posted by Pampered-Z
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.
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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.