I must be really old...

Misc stuff that I've seen & heard in person or on da 'net since I started going back to the track this year which strikes me as... odd

1. All these people at T&T events who talk about the cars they "raced". Unless there was something else set up in advance (bragging rights or $), I never thought of a blind test pass as a "race". A guy came up after one and said "Great race!" and I'm thinking to myself "Who are you and why do you consider that a race?"

2. People doing all sorts of stuff to lighten cars, etc. but supposedly leaving the engines "stock" so they can claim to have "The fastest stock motor < insert car type & model here >" ... and it seems like they chase killer DAs around like people hoping to set an NHRA record.

3. "The fastest < insert whatever combination of features or factors you can think of to make it unique >!" But some of these combinations aren't much different from the old jokes about "The fastest B5 blue '73 Challenger with a 9.8 CR iron-headed 440, .520-lift solid cam, registered in the state of Virginia and weighing 3700 lbs w/ driver!"

4. I've gone through phases where I raced regularly and times when all I was doing was hitting T&Ts for fun. When I wasn't racing regularly, I understood why it was easy to tag me as a "career test & tuner". But I was talking with somebody about a combination similar to one of mine and they'd mentioned they were going to start bracket racing "as soon as they get [their] car dialed in." Turns out they have close to 100 passes on the car already and are only going to the T&T day of an upcoming event where it's T&T one day and the race the next.

5. I know I'm old(er), but I must look stupid, too. I've never recalled so many people coming up to me and offering unsolicited advice on how to do my burnout / stage / you name it. I asked someone how they stage for a Pro tree yesterday simply wondering after having seen them make a few passes. I wasn't expecting to get -- I'll be blunt -- lectured on how I absolutely shouldn't < be doing what I was trying out > when the pass we made together earlier I'd cut a .060 better light than they did.

There were a couple of other things, but y'all probably get the idea. Feel free to laugh at my expense!

A guy looked at my crusty old '66 Charger and said, "nice patina." I didn't tell him I'm just too poor to get it painted.

Nice paint won't make it faster, so why bother??

or 1000+hp engines in cars producing 850hp timeslips and thinking they're fast

times and people has really changed

Yeah - its a different crowd when you race the newer stuff - I got the same thing - " that was a good race" but we I thought we were just doing a TNT. We have one guy around here who drives to the track dismantles his entire interior leaving one seat and then puts it all back in at the track before he drives home - I admire his enthusiasm - but a nitrous kit would be a lot less work!

LOL, yeah, most of the guys with newer cars are different. They all like to talk about stage 2 or stage 3 packages/cams/clutches, etc. like you're supposed to know what that means. They don't either...it's just what they paid some shop to install.
The "record" chasing thing tickles me too. Fastest stock bottom end cam only automatic stock diff 18" wheel hard tire no interior custom paint on the planet. Internet trolls.

You sure he was talking about the car? Never can tell now a days.

Probably make it slower. New paint is heavier than what's on there now.

Kevin

Wow !!!..... Test and tuners don't bother me they are there supporting the track with these days of tracks closing at an alarming rate anybody going to the track and making runs is all right by me. When someone offers me advice , I listen thats how I got where I am today. There are a lot of racers a million times better than me I want to know what they have to say. My accomplishments are minuscule compared to theirs. I am old too I will be 68 next week but I still want to be a better racer.

I think you're misunderstanding my observations. I'm NOT busting test & tuners' chops and they absolutely are helping tracks like one I've tested at 3 times this spring to pay their bills. On Saturday the T&T and N/T race participants probably outnumbered the bracket racers there for the gamblers race by a factor of 3 or 4.

My comments were directed at the perception of what's a race, this weird deal about claiming all these oddball "fastest..." categories, and the people who are offering this advice are -- for the most part -- not the racers passing on helpful info from years of experience. It's primarily the "internet experts" who must presume I'm in desperate need of their help for some unknown reason.

I don't hesitate to ask folks w/ better programs than me for advice, and sometimes I simply ask other people questions just to see what they think. In the case of the Pro tree staging deal, it was a guy w/ a 9-sec car who I've seen a couple of times this year and had spoken with briefly. I asked him how far he bumps in, and he proceeds to tell me to NEVER bump in and always shallow stage on a Pro tree. I was like... OK... but we happened to have made a test run together earlier and my bumping in got me a(nother) .30 and he cut a .36-something. I certainly didn't cut down the tree, but his approach didn't either.

Do you want me to get into the bracket racers who were there complaining about the high entry fee, how the track's run, and how the track's making a killing because they don't have to pay back any $ to the T&T people? Guess they have a short memory that this same track was closed about this time last year; now it's a new family-run operation making improvements and trying to keep the gates open.

DD - Agreed...the new muscle car owners are mostly watered down car guys of yore. Talking options, computer settings etc. Not all, but most I have talked to. They are just trying to be friendly in my experience. Rather that than the passive aggresive holier than racer we can all do without.

The rest of your list is just you being neurotic lol.

Neurotic???

Bleep it... where are my meds???

Don't get me wrong I totally understand what you are saying. It's just not like that anymore times have changed and people talk about their cars like they talked about their cell phones LOL. Did you retire? Maybe it's time to get one of those special pens LOL

Honestly, we have more fun at T&T than most race days.

What I like the most is Friday T&T and Sat race and stay over night at the track.

Maybe we should refer to Test Hits as "Dragsterbation"?

That way Testing/racing against the clock and/or your own ability isn't confused with a race against somebody else.

"Great race, Brad!"
"That was strictly Dragsterbation, thanks anyway"

I focus on my own program on test and tune nights and really never pay attention to who (or what) is on the other lane. One guy said he had "raced" me twice that night and lost. Said his Camaro would be done soon and he would "race" me with it.. Got upset when I told him I hadn't noticed and really didn't care.

The N/T guys are a special bunch too! Don't want you running close to them because people will know what they run! I mean, 11.40's with a v-8 s-10 isn't all that special, grudge racer!

The last T&T I went to there was a young guy and his (hot) girlfriend pitted next to me. They came over and talked several times and were very nice, his 850 hp n/a Mustang was running high 7's in the 1/8th. His girlfriend was busting his chops pretty hard because his reaction times were way worse than mine and my (old) car was a second and a half faster than his. LOL

He was a good kid, just didn't know any better.

I use to love racing young guys on their new crotch rocket Japanese 9.0 second, according to them motorcycles, in my 11 second bracket car (1963 Belvedere 440 M.W. bracket motor. They would ride up from L.A. to LACR,AKA Palmdale drag strip with the nice looking young girl friends on and wonder why my 11.3 ET 125. MPH old Plymouth would out run their new bikes in the 1/4 mile

At a TNT to iron out some bugs. We were looking at the ticket, had removed the hood and looking at the AFR's thinking we were going to jet up some. A guy who'd run in the lane next to me, came over with a couple of his buddies with a mild swagger and something like the following conversation ensued. (His car was a Japanese turbo car, I can't remember the model) .

Him: "Good race, your car's fast, it must be putting out around 1100 to 1200 hp right ?"
Me. "Well thanks but no, it's nearer 850 hp. I wish it was 1100hp !"
Him: "No way ! mine is way over a 1000hp !"
Me: "Do you know what it weighs ?"
Him: "Around 1200 kg"
Me: "Really ? Our's is around 1750"

I never saw him again.

You know how it works Tig, he may well have been putting down 1000hp but most 60 like they were stood still compared to a sorted chassis car, you'll pull 2 cars on them easy and they won't run you down with their 30mph better than their ET.

I remember TNT's as more fun than the meetings, less down time, more tuning for ET not just sitting around hoping to run within a few 100ths every time 2>3 times a day if that in brkts not touching anything on the car, its really all about using your ability to improve every time at TNT's with your knowledge of how you can run faster next time flat out, that has a real purpose in my opinion.

The new crowd are just that, they look at mph, the ET and the launch means squat to most where to us the 60 is what its all about for that low ET.

IIRC he was only 2-3 mph more through the stripe but way behind. I'm guessing his engine builder inflated the HP figures somewhat.

There has always been "wanna be's" at the track. I'm glad they are. A track needs cars to stay open. These guys are having fun no matter how misguided. Eventually some of them will be every weekend racers. And some, may even build a fast car. How many stories have we heard of "factory" muscle cars running 10's and pulling wheelies on the street back in the 70's. This is nothing new.
Doug

^^^ Yep

Re someone asking if I was retired... maybe in some parallel universe. In this universe I had no kids in marriage #1, but have 3 kids ages 21, 18, and 14 from my second one. The oldest is still in college, the middle kid starts college next fall, and the youngest will be a freshman in high school next fall. I'll be working till I'm 70...

The kid I mentioned reasoned his car was 850 HP because the guy wo sold him the tune had a Mustang just like his but was 1100 HP. The kid could run within two car lengths of his tuners car, so he had 850 HP. New math I suppose.

The guy and his girlfriend were both very polite and I was in return. He borrowed my tire pressure gauge a few times and I loaned him a socket and breaker bar to check his lug nuts. Before they left he came over and shook my hand and said thanks. A kind word and a little generosity is remembered for a long time, the same can be said for being a jacka$$. I hope to see them at the track again.

I am glad to see new people out there. The only thing that really makes me mad is when someone parks in my damn pit spot. I drive my car there but I have a tool box and a chair and a few things I unload. Usually every few trips to TNT I pull in to find someone parked right in front of that. I can't bring myself to show up with no tools yet, even though I seldom need them.

If you're not typing in all caps , you're either not that angry , or not that old.

I'm all for ANYONE who is at the racetrack. We have lost two more facilities permanently out here in the west, one was a national event track, the other was a divisional track. SoCal the "home" of drag racing has nothing left but one marginal dragstrip and one that is substandard, but they do the nest they can with very limited resources. Houston is loosing its national even facility as well. Anyone who still bother to go and support this hobby needs to be applauded for sure.

Having said that yes much of what Brad talks about it the norm. But that's ok with me I am sure I sounded just as dumb when I started. We are willing to help anyone with any issues or questions they have. We have helped a coupe local kids with advice, free work and free parts more than a few times. One just won a $5K race and another won $2500 the next day and they are still learning. I think we have to tolerate some of the dumb questions for sure to help promote our hobby or it is doomed, and that is getting closer and closer out here to becoming a reality. We all should work a bit harder to get new people t just come to the track and engage whomever we can.

But dumb questions and statements will rule the day. When we ran the no prep top 10 deal here a couple years ago it was in conjunction with street car night, Midnight Mayhem. I was astounded at the number of street cars that made more power than my car, and the numbers they thought my car made. We were always the #1 or #2 car, had alot of fun and talked to a lot of "newbies"for sure.

As for the N/T crap. I dont get it. We have been running in an organization that runs no time. Stupid IMO and the excuses I have heard as to why they do it dont hold water. the fans love to see the ET's on the cars. The cheers we have heard prove that. As for other racers in the class not wanting to be "embarrassed" maybe they need to use it as motivation to get better. Or find somewhere else to race.

Good times when PassTime was on TV.