Combine?????

[Billy Nees]

Might as well combine them. The AHFS factors sticks and autos differently anyway.

[Bill Belden]

Leave them alone, not only are the HP different but also the index's.

[Chris1529]

Make each class a heads up run against the current index.

A/S 11.25 vs A/SA 11.30. Just give the Automatic .05 head start at the tree and then run to the stripe.

or run all class eliminations on a .500 pro tree and let the driver have more involvement in the runs.
You can make up a tenth on a pro tree, but not on a sportsman tree.

[Shaun LeBlanc]

I'm all for combining them, but not a weight disadvantage to the stick cars. With todays automatic transmissions there is not much of a difference anyway. With a Pro trans and radials the automatics are sometimes faster than the sticks, not to mention can usually get a better hold on the track and they get to leave off a button...

[Bruce Noland]

This seems like a good idea when you first think about it. But then reality settles in and all of the problems with this idea begin to pop up. nhra and ihra have kept the two separate because they know what a nightmare looks like and they are smart enough to stay away from it.

[TGould]

This subject seems to come up every year about this time. Combining the sticks and autos would create a paper reduction of 50%. But, in reality (race day) it would be far less. There are currently entries in 10 stick classes at Indy or 22% of combined stick and auto classes (A-W). But, 9 of the 10 entries are in the 1/2 pound classes. That same percentage could be achieved by eliminating the 1/2 pound breaks(except for AA/S) in favor of 1 pound breaks (8-24 pounds). And, not have all the problems associated with trying to combine the Sticks and Autos.

[Jeff Lee]

Think back at your old street racing days. There may have been some discussion on who got the half-car length lead because one had a big block and the other guy had a small block. Maybe other factors came into play. But I don't remember ever hearing about a head start being given because he had a slush box!
Detroit placed certain engines in certain cars and usually allowed both a stick or a/t trans. Let 'em race that way!
No agenda here, I'm a slug in SS/H compared to the ultra-competitive SS/HA crowd. I'm all for more heads up races even if I'm the looser. Better for the sport in my opinion.

[Jeff Teuton]

This subject has come up before. I think NHRA is looking closely at SS/AH where this exists. Heads up at different weights. Seems to be pretty close there.

[Dick Butler]

"BETTER FOR THE SPORT" How many people commenting on these threads can honestly claim they are discussing with this in mind?
If you use the words "dont put MY car in that class" Or dont make "me " do anything you are missing the point of the discussions. Improving the SPORT IS THE TOPIC. Dont let Class racing be taken away from you. Dont let the people who ONLY want to Bracket race at an NHRA event minimize your hard work and expenses because tomorrow could be worse.Maybe no heads up in Eliminator. Maybe just ONLY bracket cars and Bracket racing to save money on Tech or time at events or space or prize money. Maybe More and more loosening of rules for less tech pressure.
Work to keep the value of Class cars and Class racing while you can have input....if you can agree it can be" BETTER FOR THE SPORT."

[Michael Beard]

I wouldn't have a problem with full-pound weight breaks.

In regards to Sticks vs Autos, the devil is in the details, although I think it's worth noting that if the class index is the same or within .05, that you should be able to combine the classes with a slight weight break one way or the other, depending on which class index is higher or lower.

As Billy pointed out, the cars are factored separately. If the cars have the same index (see caveat above), there's no reason why they the cars shouldn't run together. If the parity isn't there, then theoretically, the combinations are not factored properly.

$.02,