I HATE 8th mile. The radial 8th mile deal is pretty much a fad and will drop off as soon as the Street Outlaws TV ratings drop and the show is canceled. It will run it's course. Most of their spectators and followers are 19 year olds who will be on to the next fad in a couple of years.

For dinosaurs like me, who have cut their teeth on B body Hemi cars, or even Maxies, it's not appealing. Those cars have always made their ET in second and high gear, and are a fish out of water in the 8th.

I've been racing my Hemi 65 Dodge since 1969. It's still old school, SS springs, "J" converter, cross ram Hemi. I've had quicker motors, but this one is set up to run C/NSS with a 426 incher. A 11.00 index. Works good.

The difference is this, other makes will run 11.00 at 121mph. This one runs 11.00 at 124-125. That big high gear has won a lot of races over the years. Someone is out front, lifts, and we'll boogie right on by. It's a hallmark of these cars. Without it, I might as well build a Camaro like everyone else has, which is totally out of the question. I'd jump off a bridge first.

I realize brackets do not draw spectators, so this aspect may be immaterial, but watching 8th mile racing is like watching grass grow. It's very interesting and I can see how the drivers and participants really get it, because it is intense, but to watch it's a snoozefest. Too much inside baseball stuff for the average guy/gal. I went to the local track to watch a big money bracket race, 8th mile, good cars, and although some very good cars and drivers, there wasn't a dozen folks there to watch. Drag racing, even local tracks, need to increase their marketing to attempt to draw some spectators (I'm convinced it can be done), not further alienate them. The tracks make no money at all from bracket racing without them....none. What money they make comes from a big car count, and with car counts dropping off there needs to be a shift back to what has always worked. Back to basics. You can't re-invent the wheel, which is what everyone seems to want to do.

Going 8th mile universally is not good for the sport, overall. I realize it's big in the south due to room, and 8th mile has always been big down there.

Drag racing was made popular because it was full of cool cars. Recent things I've seen still verifies that the cars are the stars, and they are what draw. Purpose built 8th mile dragsters and bracket cars, while being impressive technically wise, lack a good bit of the cool fact. They are mostly identical, and set up the same way.

But, I'm a dinosaur. What do I know?