Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: Defbob]
#557106
12/19/09 06:01 AM
12/19/09 06:01 AM
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,384 Worst Weather USA
493_DART
master
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master
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,384
Worst Weather USA
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Quote:
Time for everyone to switch to heads up racing. its the only way to race
i would if i had $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
by the way Index = Bracket
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: Triple Threat]
#557107
12/19/09 07:42 AM
12/19/09 07:42 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,334 Park Forest, IL
slantzilla
Too Many Posts
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Park Forest, IL
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Quote:
I'm not surprised a lot of you guys don't understand that there a bunch of younger racers or those without a bunch of money who don't run that far under the index, but enjoy racing at divisionals at the like. All NHRA has done is raise the cost of entry into an already expensive sport.
And its plain ignorant in my opinion to say that you're a door stop, or that you didn't belong if you can't run a second under the index. Apparently no one knows who Jody Lang is, even though he led both stock and super stock points this season and finished top 5 in both nationally. Having a slow car might not win you class, who cares, its just a wally. Eliminations are where its at and what all the real racers are there for. The purse itself might not be large, but factor in contingency payouts and everything, and you can easily win 10K plus if you know what your doing.
I never said anything bad about having a slow car, just stating the fact that IF you can not run at least .5 under you are nothing more than wasting your time.
My buddy has less than 10 grand in his car total and holds a national record. It is a 14 second car. He also stayed out of the AA-G classes. Those are where the really fast and expensive guys live.
You can still be very competitive in Stock IF you do your homework and don't try to be the fastest in your class, or pick a combination that parts are really hard to get.
Class racing is not a sport that a guy just decides to convert his street car and goes out and is fast. It takes a lot of brains and some cash. The little guy can still have a lot of fun, you just have to set reasonable goals for yourself.
You also have to remember that you are competing against "professional" sportsman racers at any national and most divisional events.
"Everybody funny, now you funny too."
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: Defbob]
#557108
12/19/09 08:05 AM
12/19/09 08:05 AM
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,973 SoCal
jake4cars
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,973
SoCal
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Quote:
Time for everyone to switch to heads up racing. its the only way to race
pro tree, no electronics and you have a good formula
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: Triple Threat]
#557110
12/19/09 03:12 PM
12/19/09 03:12 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,334 Park Forest, IL
slantzilla
Too Many Posts
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,334
Park Forest, IL
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Quote:
Quote:
I never said anything bad about having a slow car, just stating the fact that IF you can not run at least .5 under you are nothing more than wasting your time.
I guess I still don't understand what you mean by this. In eliminations if you can go .1 under you've got as much of a shot as someone who goes 1.10 under, its just bracket racing. This 3 tenth bump changes nothing really other than a couple of the big boys have room to go faster now if they want to during qualifying. Everyone is still going to back down the timing, add weight and go into "bracket mode" for the race.
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You also have to remember that you are competing against "professional" sportsman racers at any national and most divisional events.
That's the idea, I enjoy the competition win or lose (winning is usually a lot more fun though). They're all beatable. I know a few of them personally and I'm not scared to race them.
At a national event you have to run at least .5 under to win class and qualify, even if you're the only one in your class. After all the class winners, they fill the field with the rest of the ladder. The bump is usually at least .75 under. So, if you're not running at least .5 under you will be on the trailer and on the way home after class.
You can normally get in the field at most divisionals even if you can only run Index because the fields are usually short. If you can't run Index you will still have to dial Index in the eliminator.
Don't be fooled, the NHRA really does have a decent handle on most of the HP factors and indexes. Some are still way soft, but the AHFS will eventually take care of them. That's why you see all the 1000' runs, they are trying to avoid getting HP.
Mike got HP taken away by keeping exceptional records of what he had in the car and what it ran at every track he went to. He also had one other racer with his combination who was actually slower than him document everything too. They submitted everything to the NHRA for review, and as a result got 12 HP taken away.
Unfortunately, when Mike was #1 qualifier at Topeka, that triggered a review and he got a couple back.
If you don't have a big wallet or a big ego you can still race Stock pretty cheaply. You have to research for combinations that are either indexed soft, or a good combination to find parts for. You have to be willing to do a lot of work yourself, and not be afraid to try new parts without getting sucked in to the "trick of the week" mentality.
My buddy picked up .15 on his car just by changing to a converter he had laying around. Everybody told him it wouldn't work, but it must have been just what the car wanted.
The days of putting a pair of slicks on your street car and being a player in Stock are long gone. In heads-up racing there will always be someone willing to outwork or outspend you.
"Everybody funny, now you funny too."
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Post deleted by Defbob
[Re: slantzilla]
#557111
12/19/09 03:18 PM
12/19/09 03:18 PM
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Anonymous
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
#557112
12/19/09 03:29 PM
12/19/09 03:29 PM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,082 St. Paul , Mn.
tubtar
master
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St. Paul , Mn.
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A stock eliminator story from a few years back....and second and third hand. But Jason Line raced a Buick and was very good at it. Brainerd was his home track and he won the national event here...........what a thrill. Till tech. Somewhere down the line , and it was at an earlier event if I recall , he floated the valves and they kissed the pistons.......leaving small dimples where they had hit. During the tear down , the dimples were ruled to be modifications of the pistons and he had the win taken away from him. Rules are rules , but this seemed to be on the harsh side to me. Modifications generally are done by men with tools , and not a result of running the wheels off of it. I felt really bad for him .........it was a magic moment and it ended badly. Another from the second hand file........I heard one stock racer tell of running two quarts of oil in the motor so it would be sucking air for most of the pass and the motor did not have the drag of an oil pump doing it's job , hence freeing up a few ponies. That " what ever it takes " mentality just seems too expensive to me.
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: slantzilla]
#557113
12/19/09 04:34 PM
12/19/09 04:34 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,266 Renton Washington
Triple Threat
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Renton Washington
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Quote:
At a national event you have to run at least .5 under to win class and qualify, even if you're the only one in your class. After all the class winners, they fill the field with the rest of the ladder. The bump is usually at least .75 under. So, if you're not running at least .5 under you will be on the trailer and on the way home after class.
Ok I see what you're getting at. But I'll argue you don't need to run anywhere near -.75 under to make the field.
The bump in Vegas this year was .3 under. I know the kid who qualified 128th (last) running his car as hard as it could. He also ended up going like 5 rounds before losing. For arguments sake I just checked DRC Here are the bumps for the National events "close" to me. Note there is only 1 race where you had to be .3 under to be in the show.
Pomona 2 was 72 cars. NO BUMP Vegas 2 was -0.309, full field 128 cars. Seattle was 50 cars. NO BUMP Pomona 1 87 cars NO BUMP Vegas 1 102 cars NO BUMP
I can assure you as well there wasn't enough cars at the divisionals either for there to be a bump. I know that to run at Indy or some other places you have to run the .75 under if not faster to make it in, but that was never the point. The 3 tenth hit won't effect races such as those where all the cars are faster to begin with. This is about the little guy who might not be able to race at divisionals or a local national event unless they spend the bucks to find some more HP.
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Another from the second hand file........I heard one stock racer tell of running two quarts of oil in the motor so it would be sucking air for most of the pass and the motor did not have the drag of an oil pump doing it's job , hence freeing up a few ponies. That " what ever it takes " mentality just seems too expensive to me.
This isn't really the case unless you're trying to set a national record or running heads up. As I stated earlier, 90% of the cars are constantly in bracket mode. But yes it does happen, running low oil, putting on radial tires, there are lots of tricks to try and get that last .01 when you need it.
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Post deleted by Defbob
[Re: Triple Threat]
#557114
12/19/09 04:38 PM
12/19/09 04:38 PM
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Anonymous
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: Triple Threat]
#557123
12/19/09 06:12 PM
12/19/09 06:12 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,334 Park Forest, IL
slantzilla
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Park Forest, IL
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Quote:
Yes there are guys who care, but the amount whom actually invest that much time/money and can run 1.40 under are few and far between. Maybe 10% at best.
If that were true the NHRA would have never adjusted the indexes. There's a lot more cars out there capable of going 1.15-1.40 under than you think. Hell, my buddy's Slant car has gone 1.27 under, and that has to be one of the worst possible combinations you can build. That's why there has been so much 1000' racing, and that is what they are trying to get rid of.
If going fast is not that important anymore, why even bother to class race at all?
"Everybody funny, now you funny too."
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: slantzilla]
#557124
12/19/09 06:24 PM
12/19/09 06:24 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,266 Renton Washington
Triple Threat
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Posts: 6,266
Renton Washington
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Quote:
If going fast is not that important anymore, why even bother to class race at all?
Its a the next natural step for a no box bracket racer to take. Bigger payouts, higher competition. Its that or big money bracket races. But there aren't many of those during the season.
Last edited by Triple Threat; 12/19/09 06:31 PM.
-Dustin 67 Dart, 9 second, 392" G3 Hemi 68 Barracuda 340 F/SA
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Re: NHRA screws the little guy once more
[Re: slantzilla]
#557125
12/19/09 06:55 PM
12/19/09 06:55 PM
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 397 California, USA
Phil Saran
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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Posts: 397
California, USA
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AS a former stock eliminator racer (from the 80's) who gave up due to the cost, one factor you are leaving out is the cost of attending a divisional or national race.
Division Race, just a weekend Fri-Sun about $250 National Race, be there by Tue or Wed at the latest, till Sun figure $450 + hotel, food etc.
So how many of you racers can take off work for 3-4 days a week plus travel time, oh say 2 wks out of a month for all summer?
The Duster I have been building for the last year will fit into PRO catagory or with some additinal parts SSGT/FA, but to run stock eliminator it would require a 360/904.
I'm kind of retired so yes I could take off the needed days to race, but can I afford to do all the traveling it really entails? NO.
Phil Saran
Parker, Colorado
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