attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers gone - Page 2

KRatcliff · 10-01-2012, 09:38 AM

This is my fourth year and I would consider myself a new racer. I didn't get into it because I was all that interested in racing, but I did it to spend more time with my dad who races. The bug has bit me hard.

I can say with a bit of confidence that the new cars were coming out at the time I started and had created zero interest for me in choosing a car due to the expense. The route I chose was expensive enough.

There were some other barriers for me that were put at ease because of my teammates. The ability to put together a competitive car was made easier due to my dad's knowledge and experience. The learning curve for driving was certainly steep, but I cannot thank the Emmons enough for their patience.

Only speaking for myself, but I would say that I would have never taken to drag racing due to the expense alone if there weren't some other factors mentioned that played in my favor. I know of a couple of new drag racers that are getting very discouraged because of the struggles to be competitive and the overall costs. I don't see this changing anytime soon.

Randall Klein · 10-01-2012, 11:06 AM

Chew on this:

A wealthy contractor got the bug and bought a new Mustang; its been run a few times and its a dog...1 second off. Its been massaged twice at over $10K, and is at another shop right now. The owner has other issues as well, health, work.....but: I cannot imagine him going to the track at 7 or so, getting the car ready, making two time runs over a 8-10 hour period, leaving the track between, oh say, 5PM and 8PM, and then having a 6AM wake up call the next morning....a man of this stature will want to have some leisurely fun, a nice dinner out at a restuarant, at a normal eating hour and then a few refreshments

The fun meter is pretty low when you spend 10-12 hours for 2 runs, if that, and who of us haven't experienced the excitement of a 10PM time trial with dew on the windows and on the track....someone once said they are trying to put 10lbs of classes in a 5lb sack

Now, you may say, racing ain't for this guy, and your right...the question is where are new racers coming from, the entry level cost (discounting dime rockets), is too high to be competitive for the younger crowd, the older guys with deep pockets may be like the above contractor, not passionate enough to put up with the crap like we do....pit space with shin high grass or dirt about a mile from the action, fees for this and that, uneven tech, bad track prep, unfriendly track personnel, misfactored cars ruining your combo and on and on

Why do it? To paraphrase Robert Duvall in Apocolypse Now: " I love the sound of open headers in the morning "

Drag Racing: a disease for which there is no cure

Lyn Smith · 10-01-2012, 11:33 AM

You guys missed a great one this last weekend at St Louis.Great track,weather.Didn't have to be there till friday,racing on saturday only a 6 round race.Less than 60 Stockers,and SSers????Also great cookies supplied by Div. 5 tech Dept.

BlueOval Ralph · 10-01-2012, 11:56 AM

A lot of this right on, it's about seat time lets see 10 to 12 hour days for 24 seconds of seat time? What is the cost per second? I know several racers that have left Drag Racing for Sports Car racing just for a lot more seat time. Ask Terry Earwood about the seat time difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randall Klein

Chew on this:

A wealthy contractor got the bug and bought a new Mustang; its been run a few times and its a dog...1 second off. Its been massaged twice at over $10K, and is at another shop right now. The owner has other issues as well, health, work.....but: I cannot imagine him going to the track at 7 or so, getting the car ready, making two time runs over a 8-10 hour period, leaving the track between, oh say, 5PM and 8PM, and then having a 6AM wake up call the next morning....a man of this stature will want to have some leisurely fun, a nice dinner out at a restuarant, at a normal eating hour and then a few refreshments

The fun meter is pretty low when you spend 10-12 hours for 2 runs, if that, and who of us haven't experienced the excitement of a 10PM time trial with dew on the windows and on the track....someone once said they are trying to put 10lbs of classes in a 5lb sack

Now, you may say, racing ain't for this guy, and your right...the question is where are new racers coming from, the entry level cost (discounting dime rockets), is too high to be competitive for the younger crowd, the older guys with deep pockets may be like the above contractor, not passionate enough to put up with the crap like we do....pit space with shin high grass or dirt about a mile from the action, fees for this and that, uneven tech, bad track prep, unfriendly track personnel, misfactored cars ruining your combo and on and on

Why do it? To paraphrase Robert Duvall in Apocolypse Now: " I love the sound of open headers in the morning "

Drag Racing: a disease for which there is no cure

rognelson777 · 10-02-2012, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randall Klein

Chew on this:

A wealthy contractor got the bug and bought a new Mustang; its been run a few times and its a dog...1 second off. Its been massaged twice at over $10K, and is at another shop right now. The owner has other issues as well, health, work.....but: I cannot imagine him going to the track at 7 or so, getting the car ready, making two time runs over a 8-10 hour period, leaving the track between, oh say, 5PM and 8PM, and then having a 6AM wake up call the next morning....a man of this stature will want to have some leisurely fun, a nice dinner out at a restuarant, at a normal eating hour and then a few refreshments

The fun meter is pretty low when you spend 10-12 hours for 2 runs, if that, and who of us haven't experienced the excitement of a 10PM time trial with dew on the windows and on the track....someone once said they are trying to put 10lbs of classes in a 5lb sack

Now, you may say, racing ain't for this guy, and your right...the question is where are new racers coming from, the entry level cost (discounting dime rockets), is too high to be competitive for the younger crowd, the older guys with deep pockets may be like the above contractor, not passionate enough to put up with the crap like we do....pit space with shin high grass or dirt about a mile from the action, fees for this and that, uneven tech, bad track prep, unfriendly track personnel, misfactored cars ruining your combo and on and on

Why do it? To paraphrase Robert Duvall in Apocolypse Now: " I love the sound of open headers in the morning "

Drag Racing: a disease for which there is no cure

this is part of the problem. The other part is, and I know this will get me in trouble, is stock and super stock is bracket racing. Some of the racers on here should go to cecil county street car races or The showdown at etown. It is heads up racing, limited by tire size, weight or power adder. 1st to the finish line wins. Cecil just had the yellow bullet street car race and I bet there were more fans there than all of the divison 1 lodrs races put together, even maple grove and epping races that were promoted. The other important thing that is happening is most of the racers there bring 4 and 5 people to the races with them, and you can show up and race on sunday if you want too. Test and tune friday, qualifying saturday and sunday and eliminations Sunday at 3pm.

Most classes are heads up, 1st to the finish wins. Now NHRA tried this many years ago in stock and super stock, and did not work because most money wins. Tracks had no racers and bracket racing began.

You want people involved, make 20 stcock classes, adjust the weight to equalize when 1 package starts to dominate and make it heads up racing.

Look up these special import events or street car shot outs at your local track and go watch what the young guys and girls are racing.

oh and yes their forums are always complaining about weight breaks, but so what as long as racers are showing up

chris3racing · 10-01-2012, 09:34 AM

Jack, you just hit a button. Very few will take the time to teach a young person about our sport. Some just go try on their own but very few. The future of our sport is passing the history on to the next generations. Open up your shop to younger generations and teach them how to work on engines, set up a car and take it to the track. I enjoy working with my son and grandsons, 13 and 6. I have about 6 young men who come in the shop on week nights, after they get off work, and work on either the race car or on one of the classics. Three have engines on engine stands and are learning to build their own engines. You are correct take young people with you to the track, give them some small part to do at the track. Intoduce them to your old friends at the track

THE LEGEND · 10-01-2012, 04:04 PM

I think it has to do with several factors.
1) The old Diehard Gearheads are leaving.
2) New Blood come on. Most new blood racers have a delay box in mind instead of a weight break.

3) I think the economy has finally caught up with the Diehard Gearheads too.

Lots of these racers would only attend 10-20 races a year, so racing was still in their budget somewhat, more than the local weekly bracket racer, or Big Buck racer.

ALMACK · 10-01-2012, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris3racing

Jack, you just hit a button. Very few will take the time to teach a young person about our sport. Some just go try on their own but very few. The future of our sport is passing the history on to the next generations. Open up your shop to younger generations and teach them how to work on engines, set up a car and take it to the track. I enjoy working with my son and grandsons, 13 and 6. I have about 6 young men who come in the shop on week nights, after they get off work, and work on either the race car or on one of the classics. Three have engines on engine stands and are learning to build their own engines. You are correct take young people with you to the track, give them some small part to do at the track. Intoduce them to your old friends at the track

Don't forget to give that young gear head a ride around the pits in a open header class car !

I was interested in race cars before my free ride, but afterwards I was hooked !

This is my first season running in IHRA Stock, but it took me 30 years to get to do it, so cost is a big issue for alot of the younger gearheads.
Plus, for the same cost, alot of the younger guys can run heads up classes in the NMRA and NMCA without fear of going "too fast"...

THE LEGEND · 10-01-2012, 05:07 PM

Rick,
I agree.
I've got a 24,22,20 year olds that all still live at home.
One can't keep a job.
One leaves for the Army in 3 weeks.
One works 30 hrs a week for minimum wage.
They can't buy gas and Lunch forget about racing.

X-TECH MAN · 10-01-2012, 05:48 PM

You got it Rick. Bottom line is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and lots of it. Even the well off are feeling the pinch umless they have "STUPID" money to begin with.
Wade I hate to say this but there was no one in the stands watching the .90 cars either back in the day unless it was friends or family. Not trying to be funny but just telling it like it was.
I remember when Allan Johnson was about 4 or 5 years old at the track with his dad Roy with his 2 IHRA S/S cars. Today because of an oil business he is racing Pro Stock or whatever you want to call it today. That takes the "STUPID" kind of money plus major sponsorship.

10-01-2012, 09:38 AM	#1
KRatcliff Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 769 Likes: 75 Liked 534 Times in 143 Posts	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers This is my fourth year and I would consider myself a new racer. I didn't get into it because I was all that interested in racing, but I did it to spend more time with my dad who races. The bug has bit me hard. I can say with a bit of confidence that the new cars were coming out at the time I started and had created zero interest for me in choosing a car due to the expense. The route I chose was expensive enough. There were some other barriers for me that were put at ease because of my teammates. The ability to put together a competitive car was made easier due to my dad's knowledge and experience. The learning curve for driving was certainly steep, but I cannot thank the Emmons enough for their patience. Only speaking for myself, but I would say that I would have never taken to drag racing due to the expense alone if there weren't some other factors mentioned that played in my favor. I know of a couple of new drag racers that are getting very discouraged because of the struggles to be competitive and the overall costs. I don't see this changing anytime soon.

10-01-2012, 11:06 AM	#2
Randall Klein Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Posts: 785 Likes: 45 Liked 316 Times in 67 Posts	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers Chew on this: A wealthy contractor got the bug and bought a new Mustang; its been run a few times and its a dog...1 second off. Its been massaged twice at over $10K, and is at another shop right now. The owner has other issues as well, health, work.....but: I cannot imagine him going to the track at 7 or so, getting the car ready, making two time runs over a 8-10 hour period, leaving the track between, oh say, 5PM and 8PM, and then having a 6AM wake up call the next morning....a man of this stature will want to have some leisurely fun, a nice dinner out at a restuarant, at a normal eating hour and then a few refreshments The fun meter is pretty low when you spend 10-12 hours for 2 runs, if that, and who of us haven't experienced the excitement of a 10PM time trial with dew on the windows and on the track....someone once said they are trying to put 10lbs of classes in a 5lb sack Now, you may say, racing ain't for this guy, and your right...the question is where are new racers coming from, the entry level cost (discounting dime rockets), is too high to be competitive for the younger crowd, the older guys with deep pockets may be like the above contractor, not passionate enough to put up with the crap like we do....pit space with shin high grass or dirt about a mile from the action, fees for this and that, uneven tech, bad track prep, unfriendly track personnel, misfactored cars ruining your combo and on and on Why do it? To paraphrase Robert Duvall in Apocolypse Now: " I love the sound of open headers in the morning " Drag Racing: a disease for which there is no cure

10-01-2012, 11:33 AM	#3
Lyn Smith VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pontiac,il. Posts: 1,212 Likes: 291 Liked 997 Times in 201 Posts	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers You guys missed a great one this last weekend at St Louis.Great track,weather.Didn't have to be there till friday,racing on saturday only a 6 round race.Less than 60 Stockers,and SSers????Also great cookies supplied by Div. 5 tech Dept. Last edited by Lyn Smith; 10-01-2012 at 11:35 AM.

10-01-2012, 09:34 AM	#6
chris3racing Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 528 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers Jack, you just hit a button. Very few will take the time to teach a young person about our sport. Some just go try on their own but very few. The future of our sport is passing the history on to the next generations. Open up your shop to younger generations and teach them how to work on engines, set up a car and take it to the track. I enjoy working with my son and grandsons, 13 and 6. I have about 6 young men who come in the shop on week nights, after they get off work, and work on either the race car or on one of the classics. Three have engines on engine stands and are learning to build their own engines. You are correct take young people with you to the track, give them some small part to do at the track. Intoduce them to your old friends at the track

10-01-2012, 04:04 PM	#7
THE LEGEND VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Fayetteville, n.c. Posts: 1,411 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers I think it has to do with several factors. 1) The old Diehard Gearheads are leaving. 2) New Blood come on. Most new blood racers have a delay box in mind instead of a weight break. 3) I think the economy has finally caught up with the Diehard Gearheads too. Lots of these racers would only attend 10-20 races a year, so racing was still in their budget somewhat, more than the local weekly bracket racer, or Big Buck racer.

10-01-2012, 05:07 PM	#9
THE LEGEND VIP Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Fayetteville, n.c. Posts: 1,411 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers Rick, I agree. I've got a 24,22,20 year olds that all still live at home. One can't keep a job. One leaves for the Army in 3 weeks. One works 30 hrs a week for minimum wage. They can't buy gas and Lunch forget about racing.

10-01-2012, 05:48 PM	#10
X-TECH MAN Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lake Placid, Florida Posts: 3,203 Likes: 1,047 Liked 235 Times in 110 Posts	Re: attention NHRA and IHRA Where have all the class racers You got it Rick. Bottom line is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and lots of it. Even the well off are feeling the pinch umless they have "STUPID" money to begin with. Wade I hate to say this but there was no one in the stands watching the .90 cars either back in the day unless it was friends or family. Not trying to be funny but just telling it like it was. I remember when Allan Johnson was about 4 or 5 years old at the track with his dad Roy with his 2 IHRA S/S cars. Today because of an oil business he is racing Pro Stock or whatever you want to call it today. That takes the "STUPID" kind of money plus major sponsorship. Last edited by X-TECH MAN; 10-01-2012 at 05:54 PM.