How competitive are you?

[SSDiv6]

Originally Posted by MAURICE BLENDHEIM

Dave...Please describe "the little guy" and "Bug bucks" for me. Are you satisfied with just about anything becoming part of the so called car count?

Maurice, it is interesting that you are calling Dave as regards to "car count" when your agenda is to get rid of heads-up runs and turn the class into a bracket race in lieu of a performance based class.

[Dick Butler]

Unfortunately everyone of us has to admit an agenda. Some want a place to race a $500 car with more costly cars so we can be part of the NHRA show. Some cannot afford to create the most competitve "any class " car. Some of us can afford VERY expensive cars, Car haulers, Motor homes etc. Some just want to keep the same car we had for 40 years and cannot imagine changing for the long term good of the WHOLE Stock or SS racing. Some of us no longer run a car for x reason or the other but still watch the same upsets, same whining, same lack of action by the NHRA but the continued love for the sport. When I watch Snow Mobiles as part of the "Show" at an NHRA event it is soooo Obvious to me that if you will pay to bring it to the track, THAT is the agenda of NHRA. Entry Money.
Lack of spectators, Lack of Sponsors, Lack of advertising is all much less important if the entry pays the bills.
Without Someone, Something doing it 180degrees different payouts, Sponsors, Spectators, Fairness of rules will be absent and everyone will pass away wishing it could have been......
Thus my continued Honest interest in these discussions...and my support for changes which will leave the racing better than it is today for everyone involved.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Dick Butler

...and my support for changes which will leave the racing better than it is today for everyone involved.

In your humble opinion, Dick! The best way (IMHO)to make Drag Racing "better than it is today" would be to call for a moratorium on rule changes for the next 5 years! Right now, all of NHRA racing is so unstable that I can understand why no one would want to invest in building or buying a car! It's simple business (you ARE a business man aren't you?). Where are you going to get the best return on your investment? Is a new factory racer a good investment? Maybe in the long term (maybe). Is a classic Muscle Car racer a good investment? Probably but with too many variables. Ask a racer building a dragster how good its investment potential is, it's nil, but it's relatively inexpensive and it should be long lived (in re. to rule changes). Now ask yourself how long can I race one of these cars before it has the possibility of becoming obsolete.
If you think that you can make Drag Racing "better than it is today" by coming up with a handful of heads-up classes then good luck but it ain't gonna happen. Pro Stock isn't even doing too well at this point because the financial investment required won't allow it a return on its investment and the racers that ARE investing are getting tired of the outlays VS. the benefits.
All forms of Drag Racing have always had "money guys and working guys" (example, Garlits VS. Ivo) and I don't have any problems (well maybe a couple) with a racer spending what ever he's comfortable or capable of spending. BUT, for every "money guy" out there I'll guarantee you that there is probably at least a couple of dozen that won't or can't spend a great amount and these are the guys that you have to encourage to come and stay in the sport or it can't survive (how did Top Stock work out for you!).
If you truely want to help make Drag Racing become "better than it is today" then encourage NHRA to leave the rules alone and encourage a couple of neighborhood kids to go Bracket Race at the local track, maybe even take them there and help them out. In the long run they're the only hope that Drag Racing has for a future.
I guess what all of this crap comes down to is "how much are you willing to spend on entertainment and how many people can you get to do it"?

[Dave Ribeiro]

Muarice,
First of all it's Big bucks not Bug bucks , I know you knew that ??? All I was trying to say, is why does it have to be about New cars & Money?
Stock class, is suppose to be an entry level into Racing, let's leave it at that ... If you want to race with no-rules , you can go bracket racing and
pick how fast you want to run ? I think heads-up are fine when they happen , but making everything heads-up will hurt racing ... I don't think anyone's wants that to happen, if you do run 10.90,9.90 8.90 classes...

I think it's fine to have the heads-up as part of an event, but how many times can you try this before you see it's not for most racers? Ask the racers in Div 2 , they had an avg. of 8-10 cars .. That was with no-rules just 12.0, 11,0 10.0 dials, any engine, etc . Don't you think we have enough side- show things going at races today ???
The little guy is who keeps racing alive for all of us to use, look at Top Stock ? Great idea, but rules, $$$$, and lack of support ? The little guy is someone who really loves Racing , but doesn't have alot money to invest their operation .. (Racecar,tow-rig,parts, travel, etc ) I am only speaking about Class- Racers here, not everyone else in Racing ... They have paid their dues over the years, let's not forget them ....

Dick, I do agree that racing is at a crossroads and something needs to change ? As I have said many times before, you need to support Class-racing on a local level ? It's the Best game around, Allstar Racing, East Coast Racing, CCRA ,Jim Wahl group & all the others across the USA .
More support to your Local track's, so they can stay afloat (Car Counts ).
We need to support the people who support Us & Class Racing... Racing is also being Hurt by tough economy & gas prices ... Enough said ...

" Happy New Year " everyone ....

[joe cool]

I just consider myself a drag racer, not a class racer, bracket racer ,heads up racer,ect. I am not successfull at any of the above,but I'm all right with that. To me the problem is ***'s in the seats,if the stands are empty you can have classes , rules ,brackets ,and crap till the cows come home and nothing is going to change.
If you agree that this is a business then it has to be geared to the consumer, you are a participant, not a consumer. A consumer pays to get his family in to watch the excitment of racing. He can go to a ball game ,an amusement park,or just stay home.If he decides to spnd his money at the track he must be entertained. Now in an ideal world he would know classes ,index's, tear down specs and H.P. revisions of all organizations, but he doesn't.
IMHO make it simpler,easier to understand,keep it to around two hours for a complete show.
As racers we despise the clowns, burnout contests,fireworks shows and wheelie stunt bikes but the average spectator loves them. We must find a way to co-exist with this type of program to survive.If this is going to survive as a sport we need paying fans in the stands. All this other talk and bickering is not going to mean nothing.
Once again I am just a drag racer. When I attend a National event I find that a lot of racers are very arrogant ,unfriendly sorts of people. I have heard a young fan ask a uninformed question and seen him laughed at or given a smartass answer.
Anyway what do I know ,I'm just an old man that likes cars that go fast.

[MAURICE BLENDHEIM]

Originally Posted by SSDiv6

Maurice, it is interesting that you are calling Dave as regards to "car count" when your agenda is to get rid of heads-up runs and turn the class into a bracket race in lieu of a performance based class.

SS... No I don't believe I stated that at all. I just think we need to raise our standards on what we are allowing to be part of the show. The bottom line is the stands are empty and the payouts should be spectator subsidized. Stock and Super Stock in my opinion should remain as hardcore. That way the financial respect and knowledge for the classes will remain. We already have a sanctioning body that doesn't take things seriously, maybe it has something to do with our presentation.
Drag racing has lots of other classes that can meet a persons budget. I just think Stock and Super Stock should remain hi-performance based and exciting. The sport has changed as well as the interest as time progresses and the interest needs to be recaptured for the survival. Just my opinion.