Hood Scoops to Comp

[Don Kennedy]

Josh (A good driver) Edwards said This " Isn't it just a bracket race anyway? '

Don Says That is kind of of true except a bracket car has no engine rules ,just safety rules , a bracket car cannot set a national record , a bracket car does not ever qualify , a bracket car never has to tear down, and a bracket car doesn't not have a national index to run off , other that I guess Josh you could say that the only common thing Comp , Super Stock and Stock have with a bracket car is shoe polish . and dialing the car

[sprnova]

I dont care what rules you use to get there it is still a bracket race. I have qualified at a bracket race to figure out who i run first round, Its just decided by reaction time not by how far under a determined E.T. given to me. As for comp I never said it was the same that is a whole other class by itself. To refresh you memory on bracket racing here is the definition. I think over the years you have lost the meaning. Try not to think of all the people the fame ,lights, cameras or your pit spot but think of all the fun you used to have.


Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, usually 1/4 mile (402.336 m) or 1/8 mile (201.168 m).
Each car chooses a dial-in time before the race, predicting the elapsed time the driver estimates it will take his or her car to cross the finish line. This is generally displayed on one or more windows so the starter can adjust the "Christmas tree" starting lights accordingly. The slower car in the race is given the green light before the faster car by a margin of the difference between their two dial-in times. When a car leaves the starting line, a timer is started for that car. The difference between when the green light comes on and when the car moves is called the reaction time. If the drivers have equal reaction times and the cars run perfectly on their dial-ins, the cars would cross the finish line at precisely the same moment. This has never happened.
If either car goes faster than its dial-in (called breaking out), it is disqualified; if both cars break out, the one who breaks out by the smallest amount wins. This eliminates any advantage from bending the rules by putting a slow dial-in time on the windshield to get a head start.[citation needed] However, some racers will purposely dial a slower time and then let off of the throttle or use their brakes near the end of the track in an attempt to trick the other driver into breaking out. This racing technique is called "Sandbagging" and, although useful and technically legal, is looked down upon at most amateur events as a form of cheating and un-sportsman like conduct.
If a car leaves the starting line before the green light comes on, a foul is recorded (a red-light start), and that car is disqualified. If both cars red-light, the one that fouled first is disqualified. Another form of foul is to cross the dividing line between the two lanes, or the line at the edge of the racing surface. A foul is worse than a break out; one car can break out but if the other car fouls, the car that breaks out advances to the next round.

[RPM5595]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

Once again, you have to think long term and consider all of the ramifications. The faulty premise here is presuming that all hood scoop cars would 1) continue to race and 2) would race in Comp eliminator. In all likelihood, all this would accomplish would be some "hood scoop" racers quit, and other build a different combination. This would be like telling certain Stock & Super Stock cars, "Oh, you run 9's... you can just run Super Gas." And how many have done that? Exactly 1, I believe. So, you end up not only NOT increasing car counts in Comp, but decreasing the car count in Super Stock, while simultaneously devaluing the equipment owned by a large number of racers.

As a conservative, you should know that you cannot successfully legislate an outcome. Don't "abandon free market principles to save the free market." The sanctioning body does not *create* participation. It creates an environment where participation may exist, if the customers like that environment and its incentives.

$.02,

I agree 100%! What the hell difference does it make if the car has a scoop or not? I have been converting my car into a "hood scoop car" with the hopes of going faster and still running in a "class" I can be competitive in. A few years ago I made the BIG mistake of thinking the IHRA was serious about growing the Midwest and I built a Crate Motor combo only to have them pull out of Div. 5 the same year I got it done. Now I'm on the down hill side of building a Modified and you want the NHRA to put me into Comp? Give me a break! If I could afford Comp I would run Comp. I honestly would like to someday. But right now it's not going to happen. I built my car, 89 Mustang, as a 302HO Stocker in 1992 and was one of the first FI mustangs in the country. I worked HARD to get the combo figured out and eventually I succeeded. I got my *** handed to me more than a few times along the way by a big ol' station wagon and Al Provoast when I ran in N/SA. I grew to have a large amount of respect for him and instead of whining about him having a bogus combo or cheating,(neither of which were true in my opinion), I WORKED harder, spent a little more money, and eventually I beat him and many others. Then, someone decided that because the (at the time) new LT1 Camaros' were beating up on the old muscle cars that ALL of the fuel injected cars needed their own class so it would be "fair" to everyone. What a bunch of liberal thinking crap! Is'nt that why we have a HP factoring system? That was the last straw for me at the time with NHRA and was when I built the Crate Motor combo. Hey, I'm a Ford guy through and through but I think the new CJ Mustangs should get hammered with HP right now! In this instance it is NOT a fair playing field for the other cars in the class. Getting back to the current discussion why do some people seem to worry SO much about the "touring Pro Sportsman" drivers and what they drive. Truth is, most of them could get into the slowest car in the class and still whip everyone's *** more often than not. Yes, I believe having the faster car is an advantage and that is part of the reason I am building one. But, the biggest reason they win more often than the average joe is they are NOT the average joe! They race more often, do more maintenance to keep the cars in top shape in some cases, set the cars up to BRACKET race, and generally have better skills. Getting all the evil "hood scoop cars" out of SS will solve nothing. These are just my opinions and even though I am 100% correct feel free to debate me. Geesh!

[John Stock]

Josh,

A fast black 3rd Gen with a hood scoop I saw out west this fall, had a pretty good driver as well. I think it was black anyway.

What I said about byes was. "Cars 1-4 will always get the available byes if they are still in competition." 1-4 will always get the byes, if they are still in. If they lose before the bye they don't get them.

[Don Eckel 111]

If you are talking about just forcing those car to run an existing Comp class, no problem. If you are talking about adding more classes to Comp to accomodate them, then I have a big problem with it.

[Don Kennedy]

Don : You are a comp person do you think comp in the future is in a lack car count problem??

[Don Eckel 111]

Originally Posted by Don Kennedy

Don : You are a comp person do you think comp in the future is in a lack car count problem??

IMO, Comp is unique for a few reasons, and those are directly affecting the car counts. First is the money it costs to run it. I do it out of my own pocket, but many of the guys are business owners and we all know how the economy is affecting everyone right now. The second part may be class structuring. So many new ones in recent years and soft indexes to start, many of the lower qualified cars just parked from being beat up or not even qualifying. And maybe the last thing that chases alot of people off is maintenance and the effort to run one. It takes alot of time and patience to run a car in Comp, especially ones like mine or some of the oddball combos. It's not a make a pass and have a hot dog category, and you need crew help.
I think it would be a real reality check going from SS to Comp. Lets face it, once you qualify in SS, it becomes a bracket race, unless you have a heads up. So essentially, you don't need to have the best parts and keep up on constantly changing technology to win. Not so in Comp. It may seem attractive to be able to put a SS/Mod car in Comp, but when the factors above come into play, that's where the party ends. It's the only class I've ever raced in, never even bracket raced, made my 1st runs in the class I run now. I've seen many people come and go, and unfortunately more are going right now. Hopefully the trend reverses.

[Don Kennedy]

Don : good posts so what is the answer for comp if there really is a problem ? or am i just wrong about comp being in trouble ? i really like comp and other than Super Stock and Stock i watch comp by the way