OT: NHRA shortening fastest races...

OT: NHRA shortening fastest races...

http :// www .charlotte,com /sports/story/697244.html

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

thenitedude@yahoo,com wrote:
> http :// www .charlotte,com /sports/story/697244.html

<shrug>

There's the "kneejerk".

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

On Jul 3, 11:16 am, "YooperBoyka" <cjd...@likeno.spam> wrote:
> thenited...@yahoo,com wrote:
> > http :// www .charlotte,com /sports/story/697244.html
>
> <shrug>
>
> There's the "kneejerk".

"The interim step for top fuel and funny cars"

Interim, being the key word.

I don't have a problem with it, as long as its not permanent.

They need to fix the tracks.

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

On Fri, 4 Jul 2008 03:22:43 -0700 (PDT), TS02 05champ
<tonystewart02 05champ@yahoo,com > wrote:

>On Jul 3, 11:16 am, "YooperBoyka" <cjd...@likeno.spam> wrote:
>> thenited...@yahoo,com wrote:
>> > http :// www .charlotte,com /sports/story/697244.html
>>
>> <shrug>
>>
>> There's the "kneejerk".
>
>"The interim step for top fuel and funny cars"
>
>Interim, being the key word.
>
>I don't have a problem with it, as long as its not permanent.
>
>They need to fix the tracks.

OK, keep it to 1000 for rest of 2008. Mandate tracks fix by 2009
season, get it back to 1/4th. I personally am not interested in
seeing Force and company run 1000 feet in their class.

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

In article Roger Hamilton <noemail@deademail.tyx> wrote:

>OK, keep it to 1000 for rest of 2008. Mandate tracks fix by 2009
>season, get it back to 1/4th. I personally am not interested in
>seeing Force and company run 1000 feet in their class.

I guess you don't like 1/8 mile drag racing....
(I don't either in faster classes...)

I do share your thoughts, though, that there is something
about that 1/4 mile that has been "forever"..
Everything is always about "the quarter"...
changing that, would really take some getting used to....

It would be nice to see more cars "finish" a race,
and I think that is possible with the 1000' track.
It'll do nothing for tire shaking, but it may keep
a few more engines together at the big end.

Maybe they should have just done what all the food people
do at the market.
Lighten the load, but don't tell anyone...
Seen any half gallons of ice cream lately??
I love how they make the product smaller, keep the price
the same, and nobody "notices"...
Happens, seems like, every other week now!


Dan
****************************************
When people say, 'can I ask you a question?',
you really don't have much of a choice...

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...


"Chuck Steak" <chuck_steak@nospam,com > wrote in message
news:p9rbk.231$rb1.216@trndny08...
>
> I guess you don't like 1/8 mile drag racing....
> (I don't either in faster classes...)
>
> I do share your thoughts, though, that there is something
> about that 1/4 mile that has been "forever"..
> Everything is always about "the quarter"...
> changing that, would really take some getting used to....
>
> It would be nice to see more cars "finish" a race,
> and I think that is possible with the 1000' track.
> It'll do nothing for tire shaking, but it may keep
> a few more engines together at the big end.

I haven't commented much on this topic since I am not a huge drag racing
fan. As far as cutting the races to 1,000 feet for some events, I don't see
it as being much more than a bandage over a severed limb. Racing is a
dangerous business. The only way to make it completely safe is to take the
drivers out of the vehicles, and no one wants to do that.
>
> Maybe they should have just done what all the food people
> do at the market.
> Lighten the load, but don't tell anyone...
> Seen any half gallons of ice cream lately??
> I love how they make the product smaller, keep the price
> the same, and nobody "notices"...
> Happens, seems like, every other week now!
>
Sometimes living in Texas has its own perks. Blue Bell Ice Cream has made
it a point NOT to reduce the size of their containers. And has made an ad
campaign out of it.

Carey in Manvel

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

"Carey Akin" <cmakin@att,net > wrote in
news:rlrbk.94310$102.726@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att,net :

> Sometimes living in Texas has its own perks. Blue Bell Ice Cream has
> made it a point NOT to reduce the size of their containers. And has
> made an ad campaign out of it.

I don't eat ice cream any longer (owing to needing to loose some
poundage), but that is some mighty good stuff, and the factory
tour up in Brenham is well worth the time.

John

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

In article "Carey Akin" <cmakin@att,net > wrote:

>As far as cutting the races to 1,000 feet for some events, I don't see
>it as being much more than a bandage over a severed limb. Racing is a
>dangerous business. The only way to make it completely safe is to take the
>drivers out of the vehicles, and no one wants to do that.

I don't think the objective is to make it 'completely' safe,
only 'safer'.
All invoved in any type of racing assume a risk.
There is nothing wrong with minimizing the risks to the
best of one's abilities, without taking away the fundamentals
of the sport...




Dan
****************************************
When people say, 'can I ask you a question?',
you really don't have much of a choice...

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...


"Chuck Steak" <chuck_steak@nospam,com > wrote in message
news:zCPbk.126$0V1.83@trndny01...
> In article "Carey Akin" <cmakin@att,net > wrote:
>
>
> I don't think the objective is to make it 'completely' safe,
> only 'safer'.
> All invoved in any type of racing assume a risk.
> There is nothing wrong with minimizing the risks to the
> best of one's abilities, without taking away the fundamentals
> of the sport...
>
And I completely agree with you. However, shortening the length of a major
drag racing series event, in my view, is taking away from the fundamentals.
But I am not a drag racer.

Carey in Manvel

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

In article "Carey Akin" <cmakin@att,net > wrote:

>"Chuck Steak" <chuck_steak@nospam,com > wrote in message

>> I don't think the objective is to make it 'completely' safe,
>> only 'safer'.
>> All invoved in any type of racing assume a risk.
>> There is nothing wrong with minimizing the risks to the
>> best of one's abilities, without taking away the fundamentals
>> of the sport...


>And I completely agree with you. However, shortening the length of a major
>drag racing series event, in my view, is taking away from the fundamentals.
>But I am not a drag racer.
>
>Carey in Manvel

As I mentioned earlier, the actual "race" is "usually" decided
in the first couple hundred feet..
The whole deal with drag racing is the launch...
That is what they work on.
Where the launch, is the very beginning of the track,
that part will not change..
They can still only get so much power to the ground,
and that is the "race". whether the track is 1320, or 1000.

Sort of like your dirt super latemodels on a 1/5 mile oval..
Bump the HP to 900, and they won't go any faster...
(poor example.. but you get the idea..)

True, some races are won at the very end of the track.
But very VERY few, compared to the ones
won in the first 100 feet...


Dan
****************************************
When people say, 'can I ask you a question?',
you really don't have much of a choice...

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

On Jul 4, 11:16 am, chuck st...@nospam,com (Chuck Steak) wrote:
>
> Maybe they should have just done what all the food people
> do at the market.
> Lighten the load, but don't tell anyone...
> Seen any half gallons of ice cream lately??

They still make 1/2 gallons of ice cream. Funny thing is, it is
usually the off brands, except for Blue Belle, who uses the slogan
"Still a Half Gallon".

http :// www .bluebell,com /The Little Creamery/StillaHalfGallon.aspx

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

Chuck Steak wrote:
>
> It would be nice to see more cars "finish" a race,
> and I think that is possible with the 1000' track.
> It'll do nothing for tire shaking, but it may keep
> a few more engines together at the big end.

I doubt it.
The tuners will just "screw 'em down tighter".
This is really no fix at all, just a PR move.
Ponder the fact that 320 feet at 300 mph is a liitle more than
half a second.
I can't see where it will have any beneficial impact at all.

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

"YooperBoyka" <cjdont@likeno.spam> wrote in message
news:lKWdnbfiF7GhKu7VnZ2dnUVZ_hGdnZ2d@comcast,com ...
> Chuck Steak wrote:
>>
>> It would be nice to see more cars "finish" a race,
>> and I think that is possible with the 1000' track.
>> It'll do nothing for tire shaking, but it may keep
>> a few more engines together at the big end.
>
> I doubt it.
> The tuners will just "screw 'em down tighter".
> This is really no fix at all, just a PR move.
> Ponder the fact that 320 feet at 300 mph is a liitle more than
> half a second.
> I can't see where it will have any beneficial impact at all.
>
Here's some sample incremental times for a typical Funny Car pass...
John Force's incremental times:
60ft- 0.928 sec.
330ft- 2.412 sec.
660ft- 3.468@240.59mph
1000ft- 4.341 sec.
1320ft- 5.101@290.51mph
---------------------------------------------------
Cruz Pedregon's incremental times:
60ft- 0.934 sec.
330ft- 2.412 sec.
660ft- 3.437sec.@250.41mph
1000ft- 4.279 sec.
1320ft- 5.026sec.@291.95mph
-------------------------------------------
Notice there's approx. 45mph or so difference between half track (660ft) and finish line speeds?
1000 ft mark is about halfway between those two marks, so top speeds will not suffer all that much
if they shut down at 1000ft. They'll still run within 20mph of what they run at 1320ft.
Spectators won't be able to tell the speed difference with the naked eye.
This proves that the majority of a race is done before the 1000ft mark. There's little to be gained
after that.... Except more blown up motors.
BUT.... they will have 320 more feet of stopping distance!!
that's a good thing.
Gary Scelzi said in an interview on "Wind Tunnel" that fellow car owner and racer, Jim Head told him
that running to 1000ft. will save him about $150,000 in broken engine parts this season.
That's another good thing.
A lot of those guys don't have high buck sponsors to pay those bills.

-----
"....This is not a stick and ball sport....You just don't go 'play' racing......"
(Brad Daugherty - ESPN)

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...


<thenitedude@yahoo,com > wrote in message
news:13ac05fe-56ea-4c74-8850-4ebdc774cadb@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups,com ...
> http :// www .charlotte,com /sports/story/697244.html

YAY! Had this been in place a few weeks ago, Scott Kalitta would have hit
that concrete wall at 290mph instead of 300mph. Good thinking!

Re: NHRA shortening fastest races...

On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 22:56:29 -0400, "Obscured by Clouds"
<none@spam,com > wrote:

>
><thenitedude@yahoo,com > wrote in message
>news:13ac05fe-56ea-4c74-8850-4ebdc774cadb@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups,com ...
>> http :// www .charlotte,com /sports/story/697244.html
>
>YAY! Had this been in place a few weeks ago, Scott Kalitta would have hit
>that concrete wall at 290mph instead of 300mph. Good thinking!
>

Not the answer, not at all. It appears death was unavoidable due to
the nature of the incident. These cars are under such stress at all
points travel it could have happened off the line or at the end.
Tracks built years earlier to handle much slower speeds are definitely
capable of handling today's 300+ speeds. Measures taken at the other
end of the tracks will be the most measureable improvements for
safety. Shortening the distance to 1000 does nothing of value except
short the fans and sport.