[Jeff Lee]

I guess I'm not getting a sense here on this forum of what is right or wrong with NHRA sanctioned "Combo" races"; i.e., having individual competitors race one another for the Stick or auto class win in the absence of fellow competitors.

I understand why NHRA and MAYBE some contingency sponsors want a Combo race. It appears they are not happy with awarding trophies and or cash to those entrants not facing competition in their respective class.
Correct me if I'm wrong but as I understand it, NHRA has the program presently structured so there are only (4) events per year with Class runoffs.

Initially, this seems like a good solution; if NHRA & the contingency sponsors actually thought there was a problem out there. I'm of the impression the racers had an opposite opinion.

The problem that arises is one builds a car to be competitive in a particular class. And as racers have always said, "not my fault my fellow competitors didn't make it to the show". Or maybe there's not another competitor in the country. The bottom line is, a racer builds a car that is allowable per the rulebook. Whether anybody else follows suit is not his problem.
But let's say you build the baddest SS car in the country given what you have to work with. And it's a '60's muscle car. It runs 1.15 under, maybe 11.00's. It's been torn down so many times that the block needs help-coils in every hole. He's at the top of the class and nobody can touch him.
And in a combo race it would seem he should be racing cars that are at least similar. But in a combo race, he get's paired against something with a turbo or super charger, or a RWD conversion car, but basically, something that is not even remotely resembling what the racer built his car to compete in and against those in his respective class. It's not a bracket race so shoe polish isn't an issue. It's heads up. The issue is one guy built a car to be competitive in his class and is forced to race cars that are not even remotely in his class. Other than to say they were all built with the intention to go down a 1/4 mile as quickly as possible.

So given that disparity, my view is that if there is less chance of singletons, then there is a better chance of not having to deal with the disparity of a Combo race. For that I see combining sticks and autos as a proposal that makes sense. That would cut the classes roughly in half and far less single runs for Class. As I stated elsewhere, use the auto index, the stick index or split it down the middle. HP adjustments will still fall into the AHFS and as I see it, some may hit the AHFS sooner than later if faced with more competition.

Just an idea and if somebody has a viable alternative or doesn't like the idea of combining sticks and auto's, I'd like to hear them. And I know at least one manufacturer of new age drag cars is in agreement with me. They want the sticks and autos combined and don't agree with combo races. I'm sensing some of the other manufacturers have the same opinion. I recently calculated and posted here that approximately 12%-14% of NHRA S/SS racers compete with a stick.