I don’t think anyone is afraid of 1/4 mile. It’s more about just the way racing has gone is 1/8 mile. And for those who are competitive bracket racers and put more than a handful of runs on their stuff during the year, 1/8 mile saves a lot of money on everything.

I used to be dedicated to 1/4 mile racing, if it was 1/8 mile I wouldn’t go. Then everything went to 1/8 mile, including pro/modified class. So it was simple, race 1/8 mile, or don’t race.

Mopar nats top bulb is 1/8 mile.
Mopar madness at 42 is also 1/8 mile top bulb.
Just the way things have gone.

I see one reason for 1/8 mile racing. Lower cost for the track facilty. Less prep, less insurance cost. To me the progaram takes longer. Takes cars longer to get off the track. Easier on parts? Your set-up can't the aditional 3 or 4 seconds of WOT? I can understand the safety aspect with cars that run at higher speed. But most of that is heads up stuff, not bracket racing. But the line has been drawn. 1/4 mile isn't coming back. Fortunately my class runs 1/4 mile which I prefer. Hope it lasts.
Doug

I can’t believe guys like you that do race lots has never seen the time saving of 1/8th mile racing. Two years in a row at the Halloween Classic I lost at 16 cars on a Friday night high rollers race. (128 car field) I lost at 3:30am both years. Nothing else changed except they started running the whole Classic 1/8 mile instead of 1/4 mile. Racing is now over before 12am and I mean the whole program. The track crew scrapes the track nightly. The Ace races that are three day races and limited to 400 cars running 1/8 mile is over at around 3am even with no time trials and back on the track at 7am. Good luck doing that running 1/4 mile. Several of these races have to deal with rain at least on day and running 1/8 mile we still get the racing in. Most and I said most of the 1/4 mile lovers hit one maybe two Mopar races a year. If I had an 11 second car I would probably still hate 1/8 mile racing too but the quicker you go the more fun 1/8 mile racing is.

It’s impossible for a 130 mph 1/4 mile car to not clear the top of the track, before that same car, doing 105-106 in the 1/8 coasting out does( this all assumes the only place to get off the track is the top end.
What I see speeding up bracket days is tracks going to 1 time trial instead of two.
But,..time isn’t super important,…..because virtually nobody does away with buybacks, which take a lot of time.
Regards down time, I bet 90+ % of down time is from incidents occurring from the water box to the 330…if not more.

I’ll ask one question and I know the answer. Two cars are staged and two cars are sitting in the water box. When are the guys in the water box told to start heating their tires.

When both guys trees have come down.

DVW, definitely a safety factor as well, agreed. Of course my stuff can handle a couple more seconds WOT. I built the car for 1/4 mile. But crossing the 1/8 at 7,100 compared to 7,800 on the 1/4 mile, ya I’d say it makes a difference on my wallet.

John, I’m with you buddy. Faster you go, more fun the 1/8 is and I definitely agree it’s faster of a program. Most breakage occurs after the 1/8 mile, and then it’s a longer cleanup. I’ll also agree with 1 time trial.

Guys who don’t race all season long, then pull their stuff out of the garage and head to the Mopar race at Norwalk for 1/4 mile. Then we are all sitting for hours on end for track cleanup.

Why is the 1/8 program quicker? For sure it takes longer to get off the track running 1/8. Thats the part I like the least. I don't agree that most failures are on the top end. Plenty at the starting line or early on. Trans and axle rarely fail big time down track. Want to speed up the program? Have cars in the lanes ready to go instead of emptying the lanes between rounds. Start the burnouts in a timely manner. Slow staging holds up stuff as well. Do your burnout and stage. When you are called to lanes, show up on time. If not, too bad. Run a diaper and engine clean-ups are quicker no matter where they occur. As far as gear. Why not gear to run both? Less starting line ratio in the1/8. Less chance of spin. Just because a car isn't a weekly racer doesn't doom it to failure either. I see plenty at 1/8 bracket races that haven't seen any maintenance in years.
Doug

Are there any tracks in the Ohio tri state area still running 1/4 mile for super pro?

Well Doug like you said, the line has been drawn and 1/4 mile isn’t coming back. Lucky for some such as yourself, you still get to run 1/4 mile. I just simply prefer 1/8 mile. I just got used to it after it changed. I don’t knock anyone who still loves 1/4 mile because hey, it is more fun to go 152 mph over 121 mph, all day long. It’s just not the way things are done anymore. But if the Mopar race at Norwalk does 1/4 mile for super pro, then it is what it is.

Every drag car I have owned and race in the 1/4 mile was in high gear before the 600 ft clocks so I had to hold my right foot down for another 3 to 6 seconds to get to the 1/4 mile finish line, most of all the driving was done before the 1/8 mile
Most hard parts failures are either on the starting line or at the finish line in the 1/4. I've hurt a lot more parts in 1/4 mile racing than I have in 1/8 mile racing
My last S/P car ran 5.50 in the 1/8 mile at 124+MPH and 8.80s at 150. MPH in the 1/4 mile, so the last 3.3 seconds netted me 25.+ MPH for the last 1/8 mile. As already suggested, all the work is done before the 1/8 mile finish line
I'm hoping my new No Prep car will ET in the low 4 to upper 3 in the 1/8 mile at 160.+ MPH

A vehicles standard of measurement and comparison will always be 1/4 mile. You will never open a motor trend and see the new Corvettes, Mercedes, ect. 1/8 mile listed a part of the performance specs

1/8 mile bracket racing is a product of the times. It really has nothing to do with the et, or performance. Those people will take part in a practice tree race.

There will never be definitive proof one program is faster than another. Same racers, same cars, same place, same time. This is all opinion. But I have been entered in 1/4 classes were all the breaks for the entire day were in 1/8 mile classes.

Forget the burnout they won't start the tree until both cars are off the track, which at an 1/8 mile event is forever. Some of these people are going 10 mph, and have been, by the time they hit the exit.

The starting reason for my local track changing was the cars with chutes said they would rather run 1/8, than get out to pick up their chute. Think about that for a minute. That tells you where society is today.

IMO a LOT of the reason to go 1/8 mile S/Pro racing is the speeds cars are going nowadays. Which I am sure insurance rates have a part in. For instance our dragster will run over 190mph and there are plenty faster or as fast. IMO gone are the days when 170 was a big deal 1/4 mile racing. Heck our car goes 153 in the 1/8. I think this is a driving force for going to 1/8 mile at least in top bulb/s/pro racing.

Alot less cars seem to get wadded up racing 1/8th mile.

I dont think anyone races 1/4 in Ohio anymore for anything but Sportsman and NSS.

I prefer 1/8th and only raced 1/4 a couple times last year - Mopar Nats and RocknRace.

If you want to justify 1/8 mile because it's more affordable for the track, less VHT, less insurance, that's fine. But don't build a 1000+ HP car, with 900lb open pressure, to shift at 7500+ and then cry cause maintenance and trap speed is too much to deal with.

No one forces anyone to drop big money into an exotic motor or to go fast. Flame away but that's the truth. If going fast doesn't feel safe, slow your car down. I've had more fun racing 11.50 index than likely anything else I've done.

There’s the Steiner!! I knew you would chime in. Lol.

Personally I’d quit before I raced an 11.50 car.

Agree.
I sponsored that class at monster Mopar for a few years.
I remember you taking me out one year. You do a good job and enjoyed meeting you and picking your brains a little..lol
That was a blast, footbraking on a pro tree is fun and not easy.
I have been fast before(9’s) and now that I am older and not as healthy as I wish I was, racing stuff that rarely breaks is lots of fun.
Could care less about racing a cut up lightweight single purpose car, having to get license, full suit or
of armor, extra cage, and if your bracket racing, spending money to go fast doesn’t guarantee you an extra dime at the pay window. Always a faster gun.
My wife agrees, slower car works out to longer vacations

Either way - I'll be there no matter - racing 330, 1/8, or 1/4.

I agree with A39 .. I chased low e.t.s for years , when they moved the class I ran to 9.00 lowest in the class, I slowed my car down to run 11.50s and have never looked back . I still have a high ten second capable car but its throttle stopped down , I have triple the round wins that I had when I was running in the tens and two track championships to show for it. I am even getting away from running Sportsman / Street Eliminator ( 11.50 and slower , 500 full tree ) and am now exclusively running .500 pro tree and 11.50 index I have been very successfull so far and am loving it !