What can be done?
 

With the Pro Stock is going, is there a way to fix it. Is there a way to pump some life into the class, with some innovation for fans and interest for drivers?

Re: What can be done?
 

The teams have a lot invested in the current platform. Money talks.
They have lost a little prestige, to the fact, that they are not the fastest door slammers any more (Pro Mod). I`m not sure new fans appreciate them, and old fans don't like the lack of innovation ( All Chevrolets, except the Dart). Five car teams are not for everybody, either.
Gray`s departure (and others) isn`t going to help.
FS has "Juice" with Pro drivers joining the ranks, and
I don't know if NA Mountain Motors would be enough....it doesn`t look good.
Mike

Re: What can be done?
 

https://youtu.be/pxXiAlbc1Kc This type of pro stocker should draw in the younger kids and manufacturers.

Re: What can be done?
 

PS is run in 24 events FS is only in 7 they should run each in 12 events and see what happens after 1 year At the start of this year they were going to cut the PS field maybe better to cut back on the amount of events contested and add to FS to the balance. Things and times are changing.

Re: What can be done?
 

Maybe NHRA should look at running a program like Australian Pro Stock. Put carburetors and the hood scoops back on restricted bodies that resemble reality. 400" Naturally Aspirated 3 Brand Racing may spark the interest of the Comp guys to move up, Aussie's to get involved, maybe some of the old Pro Stock teams may regroup and return as well as the existing teams. RPM gets attention. Pro Stock Truck was working till it was shutdown… MB.

Re: What can be done?
 

That would be great.
Mike

Re: What can be done?
 

ProMod is not the answer. Is it coincidental that ProMod is mentioned more now, since the 2017 closing of the Ringaling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The (un) class is an un-regimented Circus Sideshow that lacks a relative structure, required to enhance innovative competition. MB (opinion)

Re: What can be done?
 

The rhetoric aside... It has a variety of cars, power and drivers, including 5.60/ 240 time slips... from door slammers.
MJ ( opinion)

Re: What can be done?
 

I think that modern Pro cars and Promods are really pushing the definition of "door slammer". Don't slam them too hard.
I like real doors.

Re: What can be done?
 

Exactly! And, we have to sit in the staging lanes too often while the track is cleaned up after a round of them all trying to get down the track. Yawn.

Re: What can be done?
 

... as usual... your right Billy
MJ

Re: What can be done?
 

A lot could be done but NHRA will not do it. Have you priced a Pro Stock transmission lately? Why allow a clutch less 5 speed and multi disc clutches. The engines alone are priced as much as a modest house. why use special blocks and heads ? use normal production parts. No body templates anymore. The cars look like jelly beans just painted differently. It seems to me that its as bad as stock elim. these days with all they are allowed to use. . Is it because NHRA does not want to invest the man power to inspect these so call cars ?
Same deal for Top Fuel and Funny cars going to fast and running on a 1000 Ft. track. The NHRA could demand them to use smaller blowers with less boost, less percentage of nitro, use just one fuel pump like they use to do. Less cubic inches for Pro Stock and the fuel cars then go back to a real 1/4 mile ! The funny cars (great name for them) do not even look like a car. The wings are ridicules looking but are needed to keep them from flying off the track.
Its all become a circus !

Re: What can be done?
 

I was told by a top tech official that they had a plan to save comp.and pro stock and were told they where not interested in saving them.

Re: What can be done?
 

A post from my buddy Chris McGaha posted on compplus forum:
(pretty much sums up NHRA racing)


Mac4264

"Your right there is a long line of people that would love to professional race. Seems to be a problem keeping all these people from showing up like always has been. This sport has no money in it and never will. So it’s left for the wealthy to play in. But even the wealthy eventually look at there whole card and say really. Has there been people who made it drag racing absolutely. WJ is perfect example. But if he started today or even 5 years ago he wouldn’t make it.
Even Schumacher has stated he will not fund cars out of his own pocket so where is that going to leave fuel racing. Ok take money from pro stock yes they did how did that work out for them they still came up short on fields and when they did hmm wonder where that money went.
Remember pro stock guys have been called the millionaires club. We didn’t become this racing so maybe the mass exit your seeing is guys finally seeing how ridiculous this has become from the give and take aspect. But you think the nhra excutives are smart but yet they are running off millionaire customers left and right. But you need to put the kool aid down and or bong cause I’m having a hard time seeing all these people that are lined up to spend millions of there on money to race day and night 24 weekends a year with absolutely no ROI."

Link:
http://forum.competitionplus.com/sho...t=16393&page=5

Re: What can be done?
 

The whole platform appears to lean towards a certain manufacturer these days, when the dodges gained ground in the factory supercar show, they added 50 lbs.go back to weight breaks and lbs per cubic in to at least give the other brands a chance to be competitive without a billion dollar sponsor. Make the class interesting to the point guys like the professor and the likes would be interested again. Nobody wants a race program powered by endless dollars and pointless returns. The whole problem lies with nhra and their blind uneducated changes based solely on their bottom line...,it is at this point in time that wally has achieved mach 7 spinning in his grave....

Re: What can be done?
 

HA!!!

Re: What can be done?
 

X's 2 !

Re: What can be done?
 

Bob Book already set up a 400ci pro stock class a couple of years ago. It folded after 2 years because of no participation.

Re: What can be done?
 

May not be the answer, but at least they have more than a full field of pro mods, and I would wager the average spectator would rather watch pro mod than pro stock.

Re: What can be done?
 

Factory showdown was to be the regular guys prostock heads up pro tree all 3 manufacturers starting life as real cars. But it is following in the footsteps of PS but moving way faster to oblivion in only a few years you already have pro teams taking over, NHRA changing what is allowed from the original build and the cost to enter for just a car to be competitive is at least 200 grand plus trailer motorhome equipment spare parts crew and travel. For NHRA to even stay alive in the future it needs to come up with ways for various classes to run heads up that is what the people in the seats understand and want to see. When I started racing in the mid 60s every stock class car ran heads up against the others in there class and the winner of each class then ran in a handicap format for overall stock eliminator. And the stands were full at all the tracks and the people in the stands understood what was going on.

Re: What can be done?
 

There is NO saving NHRA... How do you expect any of the Directors to know anything about Drag Racing, they never raced,never towed a race car, probably never opened the hood of an automobile much less a race car... They have absolutely NO clue about this sport, you can see that with every decision they make. The majority of youngsters today could care less about automobiles, they don’t peg the cool meter anymore.The NHRA will attract a few young racers that come from the Jr. Dragster ranks but that is about it. When Schumacher and Force abandon NHRA, it’s done.....

Re: What can be done?
 

Sad to say M.J., but when you're right, you're right. What's going on right now is just a money grab.

Re: What can be done?
 

No front end limiters, no wheelie bars, some kind of clutch limitations. Make the cars exciting to watch.

Re: What can be done?
 

That is true, however, back then, most of the spectators were "car guys", who were normally somewhat into their own cars, even if it just meant putting a set of glass pack mufflers and baby moon hubcaps on their 2 barrel V8 4 door sedan. They dreamed that they could be out there racing in their own Hemi Cuda, SS396 Chevelle or 428 Cobra Jet Mustang. Unfortunately, for the most part, for the past 20 years (or more), the average person in their 20s or 30s, has no interest in high performance cars or drag racing. From what I have observed in recent years, at NHRA National Events, is the typical "fan" couldn`t be bothered to watch any vehicle go down the track that does not burn Nitro. When the Alcohol, Pro Mods, Pro Stock and Comp cars pull into the burnout box, thats these "fans" signal to exit the grandstands en mass, to get John Forces autograph, or watch the between round thrashes that go on with the Nitro cars. Sad, but true.

Re: What can be done?
 

When the muscle car era died, drag racing started its decline. If factory stock wars was more public it may well help create more interest. Walk into just about any car dealership nowadays and all you see is family sedans and suvs . Not many muscle cars.

Re: What can be done?
 

Some great opinions here and to a point it is sad what is happening but change is the only thing constant today. I think class racing and the professional classes are changing and not for the best. However I don't see drag racing as a hole dying.

When I search factory stock on my apple box in youtube it will display other forms also . Look at ,Drag week, Outlaw street cars, x 275, L/S Fest and many more. The stands are packed and venues are full. I am not a fan of some but the fact is these are younger people and they are racing.

I think a lot of people don't have or want a motorhome and the thought of being stacked in a field for a day has no interest for them. Go to L/S fest and you will see more open trailers then all NHRA races combined. Just an observation.

Re: What can be done?
 

What you say is 100% correct but the new Factory Showdown class with all 3 manufacturers running heads up is starting to bring people back to the stands to root for there favorite manufacturer If NHRA would wake up to that and find ways to run more heads up classes and let the fans root for there favorite it could get better it will never be like it was but it can improve or stop sliding into oblivion.

Re: What can be done?
 

Not unless someone in NHRA with brains comes up with ideas and NHRA makes it happen !

Re: What can be done?
 

Not a solution, but I wanted to interject here.
I blame NHRA for letting the above folks get away.
Look what they allowed to happen to Stock, Super Stock and Super Street.
Very few young family guys can afford to jump into what was the original form of drag racing, ...long before all the other spin-offs, including but not limited to bracket racing, Super this and that shows, even before test and tune nights.
I'm not sure if it was the result of a short sighted plan, or no plan at all.

Back to P/Stock, I mean Pro / Stock..

Re: What can be done?
 

Makes you wonder. There was an offer by a sponsor to fund a series of unblown new cars, prize money, yearly deal, and NHRA turned him down because he didn't want the blown cars also. I think that was a mistake as those cars are about one third the cost of running the blown cars. I think it would have made another heads up series worth the trouble. Did anyone else hear of this. It was Nick at American Racing Headers in New York who made the offer.

Re: What can be done?
 

[QUOTE=X-TECH MAN;574919]
Same deal for Top Fuel and Funny cars going too fast and running on a 1000 Ft. track. The NHRA could demand them to use smaller blowers with less boost, less percentage of nitro, use just one fuel pump like they use to do. Less cubic inches for Pro Stock and the fuel cars then go back to a real 1/4 mile ![QUOTE]

I like your ideas, but if I'm not mistaken, wasn't the primary reason that NHRA went to 1000ft for the nitro cars because of the tragic accident at E-Town? If so, then since that track is no longer part of the drag racing world, I would hope your last comment of "the fuel cars then go back to a real 1/4 mile" might help the cause, and it would also mean that the whole track would be prepped the same as the 1st 1000ft!? GH

Re: What can be done?
 

This is so good that there is almost nothing to add. The "sport" has become a business, "run" by uninterested incompetents. And today's kids are Vegans who drive Audis and watch soccer. It's a brave new world.