To all you INTELLECTUALS (B Parker)

[Billy Nees]

If not the AHFS then what?
What I'm hoping for is that a few Old Timers will get on here and explain to the geniuses who don't like (or agree) with the way HP hits are handled now how it was done in the "Good-old-days" before Nitro Joe's and the internet. When you went through Tech and were told that your combo got 5-10-15 HP this week (back then, Tech liked nice, round numbers, no 2-3) and your combo runs this class and weighs this much now.

Would I like to see changes to the AHFS? Sure I would but I don't believe that the Tech Dept. has the time or manpower right now to "fix" it.
I think that it would be great to have some kind of an independent auditor handle it but I can't imagine who or what that would be and I don't believe that the NHRA would allow an outside contractor to handle it anyway.

Come on you Old Poops, remind us what it used to be like in the Good-old-days.

For the rest of you intellectuals, let's hear your excuses.

[Race Clean]

Who ever first stated Automatic Help For Slugs had it right!
It’s primary use has been to protect HP factors or getting some off.
“Unhook secondary’s” for a couple of races to take the average down or going slow for a year (the 6 month period was to easy) and ask for a reduction has now become a boring part of what I once thought was the coolest thing on earth :Stock and SS,
And the “mine shaft rule” comes in to play at Indy,even that isn’t used as intended
Everyone involved know about the huge hp differences on same engine family’s this system has created but most racers seem to like the idea to have an option to change,model,trans or just trim to get ahead

Yes it have been somewhat effective on all paper cars I need to add

I remember the old system as OK anyhow,in the top dog classes in Stock it always seemed to be pretty close between the Big 3;the records keept alternating among all 3 makes. Now almost no one even want to try and get it anymore...and because of AHFS.

p.s. I always thought Ford racers had a good friend on the board but those racers probably had another opinion than me...

[TOSTO RACING]

Triggering the AHFS at the 1/8th would be a good start. Granted it won't fix everything ,but it would sure help.

[Paul Precht]

Originally Posted by TOSTO RACING

Triggering the AHFS at the 1/8th would be a good start. Granted it won't fix everything ,but it would sure help.

1/8th mile MPH would be the most accurate way of rating a body style and combo but a lot of racers would be against that as they got used to and enjoy being able to work the system, and NHRA knows that.

[MoJo Risen]

Originally Posted by TOSTO RACING

Triggering the AHFS at the 1/8th would be a good start. Granted it won't fix everything ,but it would sure help.

To bypass , this I'd just put 2nd gear Rev limiter at a lowered rpm and run against it till after 1/8 mile then shift into 3rd gear....

Oops, I missed the 2-3 shift again...

[TOSTO RACING]

You going to do that every pass lol . If so I'd love to be in the other lane. There are plenty of ways around it that people are already doing now. Its not a fix ,but I think it would help.

[Gary Parker]

With all the performance gains we have made and been given I believe the indexes or the AHFS needs to be adjusted. How many people are making the same horsepower they did 10 or 5 years ago..

[Dwight Southerland]

1. AHFS starts at 1/8 mile.
2. At every national event where class is run, all class winners are in the qualified field, even single car class wins. Then fill out the field with top qualifiers.
3. One hp factor per engine. No more car-hp factors. A 350 in an big car carries the same factor as a small sporty car. If the engine is used in various makes and bodies, the factor applies to all. "Engine Families"
4. An independent board? Maybe. Only if it were made up of elected officials,

Run it like this for three years, then come back with complaints. In the meantime, it would be a new set of acts for entertainment.

[nolongerracing]

As I remember.. HP adjustments seem to be made by the "powers to be" as a popularity contest. "Squeaky wheel gets the grease", "I like him so he's not getting any", "Well you know you really deserved some" comes to mind. Too much emotion and opinions. We don't need to go back there. Just look at Stock Eliminator cylinder head rules!!

Todays system is not perfect, but we need to keep it as a numbers game. Checks, balances, and tweaks need to be made. I personally think the "mineshaft" rule needs to be based on actual weather data and not by the number of cars running .85 under. Super Stock did not go "mineshaft" this year at Indy. Looking at the Q list, I think there were plenty of cars that could have gone .85 under but did not need to. Egos always go to the top so some adjustments will be made.

1.20 under at -500 feet no problem, but at 3000 feet you need HP.

How about putting more monetary value on class wins. A trophy is ok, but a couple of grand may make a guy keep his foot down for the whole 1/4 mile!

[GTS340]

I can only go back to the early 80's from memory. You could have let's say 10 cars running the same combo. 9 of them could barely run the index. Then there was that one car that was fast. Boom the combo got 5 or 10hp.
Once I went to the Dutch classic. The barometer meter was pegged at 31 and it was about 50 degrees. I set the record and it never made the dragster. I got hp the next day. Basically tore down and changed class over the weekend. I have no problem with todays system. The one off combos are hard to deal with at times. They can be number 1 qualifier, get the bye run and bring the average back down. Works the system to perfection.
I guess I have one of those being the only A-Body mopar running a 440 4bbl with the original cast iron heads. Just scared the tech department won't see it that way.

Paul Haszlauer