What does it take to be be competitive in .90 racing?

[3258]

For those of us who do not know, how is S/G treated in D1? Different than S/C or S/ST?

[B CHILLIK]

ok, have to ask....is the tree really .370 for nationals and .400 for divisonals.....ive heard all kind of rumors,and im gonna run all divisionals and some national events in div 3 ....but if they run .370 at nationals i cant,my car wont leave fast enough

[63corvette]

Straight from the guy who sets up the Nationals it is a .370 or less sometimes if the Pro's complain about red lights. He said it had been as low as .350 at times and it can change during the event day to day.
The Division races are all different depending on the Track and Division. I have seen it all over the place at different tracks and divisions.
I run a Don Davis roadster and cutting a light with it is no problem. You just have to see how much delay it takes for each track.
My 2 Cents

[Dave Steltz]

Originally Posted by 3258

For those of us who do not know, how is S/G treated in D1? Different than S/C or S/ST?

In D1, SG is the last in the rotation of the classes...SST, Stk, SC, SS, SG...and then mixed in is Comp, TS, TD, Alcohol cars...So anytime there is a little slip in the schedule, SG is bumped...we are def the red-headed step child of D1, at both National and Divisional events...there have been plenty of times where SG was called way late at night, early in the am, missed all together, etc...and before anyone says so what...
Lets take SST or Stk for example...Time trial first every morning and the first round of competition in the morning...Time trial #2 at 1 or 2 ish, then all of a sudden first round 1 or 2 ish the next day...so its an advantage to have a time run at the same time of day as their competition round...
SG gets a time run at 4:00 pm then all of a sudden we get called for first round first thing in the am, when we havent had any runs in the am...no data...
Few years back at US 13 we got called for our 2nd time run of the day at 10 PM, after they had run a bracket race...wtf...

I understand that the schedule has unforseen issues (oil downs, weather etc) and that can mess things up..

That being said our Div directors are not willing to change the rotation up, so that we are not the only ones being crapped on...and they are also not willing to just stick to the schedule regardless of time/weather issues, because of the fact there might be some spectators in the stands that read an advertisement that listed a time for those classes to run...

So there are guys who should /could run SG instead of SST, they are not willing to put up with the crap of not being treated like the other classes and getting the runs in the same type of schedule everyone else is...

Like Bryan said, dont get me started...but just my .02 after running SG for 6 years in D1...

[B CHILLIK]

well on a supposed .400 tree i have .010 in the box and ill go .010-.015 on the tree so if its gonna be a .380 or faster tree im screwed cause i cant take ennough delay out

[Bob Verwold]

Dave,
I always see S/G drivers watching us to see if we are running fast or slow........ And I just love being first out after raining half the night. Plus you guys get to sleep in and run your first round Saturday instead of Sunday am. But that's just my .02

[3258]

Ok, I am confused, but I am very new to this. The rule book says S/ST is a .5 tree and S/C and S/G is .4 tree. Are you saying that at divisional races it is the decision of the track as to what that number really is? That does not make sense to me, seems that a divisional event is a NHRA event and should be consistent across all events, not whatever it feels like that day, the car/driver should adjust to the conditions, not adjust the tree to whatever the most influential racers want it to be........ I must be missing something, somebody please explain.

Originally Posted by Dave Steltz

So there are guys who should /could run SG instead of SST, they are not willing to put up with the crap of not being treated like the other classes and getting the runs in the same type of schedule everyone else is...

I see the frustration in division 1 S/G..........that does not sound like much fun to me so i see why some run S/ST

[63corvette]

Quote: 3258
Ok, I am confused, but I am very new to this. The rule book says S/ST is a .5 tree and S/C and S/G is .4 tree. Are you saying that at divisional races it is the decision of the track as to what that number really is? That does not make sense to me, seems that a divisional event is a NHRA event and should be consistent across all events, not whatever it feels like that day, the car/driver should adjust to the conditions, not adjust the tree to whatever the most influential racers want it to be........ I must be missing something, somebody please explain.

What it amounts to is the Pro's dictate the tree at the National events. If the Pro Stock cars and/or Pro Stock Bikes are having red light issues they will speed the tree up. Like I was told directly (No Hear Say) by the guy who sets it up it has been as fast as a .350 tree at some events but is always at least a .370 for the Nationals.
Division races are anyones guess.
My 2 Cents

[sst7250]

There are many reasons i run S/ST not S/G, but the tree is not one of them. This year we plan on running S/C as well. My main reason for S/ST is I like the people, most like me are not trying to make a living racing, rather just looking for a competitive place to race and have fun doing it. Also I prefer to not have to change my perspective every race, meaning in S/G I will be chasing some and being chased by others. For the most part in S/ST I dont have to watch anyones fenders coming up on me with a couple of exceptions. Besides I cannot run S/G as I dont have the mandated toter and stacker that must be required by rulebook as everyoine has them

[63corvette]

I must have missed the memo on "must have toter and stacker" to run S/G.
I have been running it for almost 20 years now out of a pickup or motor home with an enclosed 24' to 28' std trailer.
I have not yet won my first National event but have been to the final twice. I hope the 3rd time is the charm.
I just keep trying.
My 2 Cents