G/SA Current Record

Evan Smith · 12-06-2013, 09:34 AM

Jesse,

Setting an NHRA record is still cool, especially if it's your first time. It doesn't carry the same weight as it once did for a few reasons (in my opinion of course):

1. Back in the day guys with the fastest cars (who could drive them well) won races and stockers were just that, hopped up "stockers." They better represented what people drove on the street, so they had more mass fan appeal. The specialty cars (CJ, DP and COPO) and teams who run them enjoy this attention, but this same doesn't exist for other cars. Stock is now the name of our class, but we race race cars and the appeal is within our circles, not to the masses.
Also, a guy can build a street-legal car that is faster than most of our Stocker, so what is the appeal for kids to build a dedicated race car that they can only use at NHRA races and they may have to take apart?

2. Fear of AHFS

3. With today's connectivity (Internet) everyone knows how fast your cars is, you don't have to tear down, set a record, or wait for a magazine article to see who is fast.

4. Poor promotion of the performance end of Stock/Super Stock. NHRA can do more to brag about these awesome machines we have and they don't reach out to magazines like the one I edit to come cover the action. That is not a bash of NHRA, it is fact. They should be inviting us out to watch the cars and cover the events.
Furthermore, you are only a "somebody" if you win races and let's face it, that's based mainly on bracket-driving ability. (having a fast car is important, but there is no reward for having a fast car). Guys like Jenkins and Sox were great drivers, but they always had fast cars. Heck, WJ made a name for himself driving around people.

That's my rant, here's my solution, which I have offered to NHRA, and that is to simply award points for qualifying and setting records. This rewards those who spend money with the aftermarket, make their cars fast and drive them well.

Top 8 (or 16) qualifiers at each event get points. Most points go to No.1 then a declining scale. Ex. No 1 qualifier gets 16 pts, No 16 gets 1 pt. Also, award 20 points for a national record, and to prevent going overboard with it, limit how many records you can set in a year. I would also love to see less classes with more cars, that would make a big difference, but only if there is a reward for it.

If NHRA wants performance to count, reward us for improving our performance.

Evan

12-06-2013, 09:34 AM	#25
Evan Smith Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Tampa Posts: 400 Likes: 7 Liked 115 Times in 5 Posts	Re: G/SA Current Record Jesse, Setting an NHRA record is still cool, especially if it's your first time. It doesn't carry the same weight as it once did for a few reasons (in my opinion of course): 1. Back in the day guys with the fastest cars (who could drive them well) won races and stockers were just that, hopped up "stockers." They better represented what people drove on the street, so they had more mass fan appeal. The specialty cars (CJ, DP and COPO) and teams who run them enjoy this attention, but this same doesn't exist for other cars. Stock is now the name of our class, but we race race cars and the appeal is within our circles, not to the masses. Also, a guy can build a street-legal car that is faster than most of our Stocker, so what is the appeal for kids to build a dedicated race car that they can only use at NHRA races and they may have to take apart? 2. Fear of AHFS 3. With today's connectivity (Internet) everyone knows how fast your cars is, you don't have to tear down, set a record, or wait for a magazine article to see who is fast. 4. Poor promotion of the performance end of Stock/Super Stock. NHRA can do more to brag about these awesome machines we have and they don't reach out to magazines like the one I edit to come cover the action. That is not a bash of NHRA, it is fact. They should be inviting us out to watch the cars and cover the events. Furthermore, you are only a "somebody" if you win races and let's face it, that's based mainly on bracket-driving ability. (having a fast car is important, but there is no reward for having a fast car). Guys like Jenkins and Sox were great drivers, but they always had fast cars. Heck, WJ made a name for himself driving around people. That's my rant, here's my solution, which I have offered to NHRA, and that is to simply award points for qualifying and setting records. This rewards those who spend money with the aftermarket, make their cars fast and drive them well. Top 8 (or 16) qualifiers at each event get points. Most points go to No.1 then a declining scale. Ex. No 1 qualifier gets 16 pts, No 16 gets 1 pt. Also, award 20 points for a national record, and to prevent going overboard with it, limit how many records you can set in a year. I would also love to see less classes with more cars, that would make a big difference, but only if there is a reward for it. If NHRA wants performance to count, reward us for improving our performance. Evan __________________ Evan Smith 1798 STK