Quote: Bob, I can't agree. I would have much rather seen them do what they should have done....slow 'em down. All they've done by going to 1000 foot is to postpone what they are going to have to do at some time anyway.
You can do it without costing anyone a lot of money....smaller blowers, limit the fuel pump size, take some amps out of the mags, go to single mags instead of doubles....all kinds of ways. You never know....making it easier might just bring some new blood into the fuel ranks. Check out the new HOT ROD with an indepth piece with Don Prudhomme....he says the same thing. And, HE does know fuel racing.
They can't even fill the fields anymore, and the same two or three guys own everything that shows up. What was once a great sport is now a PR marketed circus act....complete with vaudeville acts and basketball drill teams.
It is not the sport that I fell in love with when I first went to Indy in 1967. I realize it would not stay the same, but the yuppie "we wanna be like NASCAR" guys who run the show from Glendora have totally ruined it.
Regardless of how they market Indy, it has been relegated to just another stop on the tour, one of the other twenty some odd traveling circus shows. Gone are the days when a Gary Burgin or Marvin Graham could come out of nowhere and make themselves a household name over Labor Day weekend. The only attraction it has for me is the Hemi Challenge, that IS Indy to me. The rest of it is just another circus show.
Every one of those "fixes" has a down side. There are 4 nitro drivers testing various methods(John Force is one of them)and there hasn't yet been determined a best one. Personally, as a fan, I would rather see a full power 1000' nitro run than a cut back 1/4 miler. What you said about cost may be true-or not. Highly funded teams always figure out an edge that the others have to ante-up for or be an also ran. Don Garlits had some interesting ideas on leveling the playing field. However, then you get NASCAR and cookie cutter vehicles. Is that what fans want?
