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2/18/04
So many things to wonder about,
so little space
Just Wondering
... When is drag racing going to get its props from
NASCAR? I mean, how about a little credit for roof hatches,
burnouts and the use of head and neck restraint devices?
All of these things that are so popular with the turn left
crowd are old hat with drag racers and their fans.
Just Wondering ... If
NHRA really wants the best of both worlds, really wants
to get new fans and the factories involved, why don't they
give the Fuel Flops a couple of years warning and then require
Funny Car bodies that actually look like real cars? Am I
the only one who wouldn't care if they didn't run 335 mph
in 4.7 seconds as long as they actually looked like a car?
Read my lips! It's either a dragster or a car. If I wanted
to watch prototype sports cars, I'd go to LeMans.
Just Wondering ... Why
are any of the NHRA nitro racers surprised, astounded, and
enraged by the fact that NHRA would license a spec nitro
for the fuel teams and raise the price with a stepped increase
over the next three years? Where were all these guys when
NHRA made Goodyear the official Top Fuel tire? I'm not saying
it's right, I'm just asking why they are tipping the can
and getting up on the tires now?
Just Wondering ... Would
most fans buy a ticket to see jet dragsters and jet funny
cars actually race? For years NHRA and IHRA wouldn't allow
them to actually race because they were faster than the
fuel cars, but with Top Fuel and Funny Cars going deep into
the fours and over 330 mph, what's the point? Racing these
cars could afford smaller tracks an alternative, affordable
race program to replace the rapidly decreasing pool of match
race nitro cars.
Just Wondering ... Am
I the only one that can't quite buy into the spin that certain
ESPN2 folks are putting out saying that NHRA's decision
to not have a TV crew at the races on Friday won't affect
the quality of the program? Perhaps they have forgotten
that (so I've been told) there is no video record of Kenny
Bernstein's historic 300-mph pass at Gainesville because
back then there were no TV crews on Friday.
Just Wondering ... I
love injected nitro Top Fuel cars but will the fans at IHRA
events who plunk down $35 to see blown fuel dragsters really
be satisfied with injected nitro dragsters? The cruel reality
is that there is a world of difference between the two.
Just Wondering ... If
the injected nitro dragsters are accepted by IHRA fans,
could the return of injected nitro flops be far behind?
Just Wondering ... Will
there ever be another All-Star type race on the NHRA schedule?
If that were to happen, wouldn't it be cool if the invitees
were selected on the Car Craft All-Star ballot so that it
would be a true All-Star event?
Just Wondering ... Why
hasn't IHRA come up with a spec Fuel Funny Car class? Nitro
sells tickets. Fuel Funny Cars are the most popular class
for the casual fan and there are plenty of NHRA budget racers
being forced out of that sanctioning body due to the high
cost of just making one lap. If IHRA is going allow injected
nitro in Top Fuel, why not make a class for budget Fuel
Funny Cars? Hasn't IHRA's fan base always been about fast
cars and less about dragsters?
Just Wondering ... With
NASCAR allowing Toyota to compete in their truck series
this year and probably allowing them into the Nextel Cup
series in a couple of years, doesn't it make some sense
that if a Japanese manufacturer were to offer the NHRA big
bucks to, say, sponsor the Pro Stock class, perhaps we could
see turbocharged, fuel injected V6-powered Toyota's competing
in Pro Stock? Don't laugh. Who would have believed a few
years ago that Toyota would be invited into NASCAR?
Just Wondering ... Am
I the only one who has noticed that pre-season test sessions
for NHRA and IHRA Pro teams begin almost immediately after
the last race of one season and continues until a week before
the start of the next? Maybe it's time the NHRA and IHRA
followed the lead of other racing series by limiting the
number of test sessions per season. It would certainly cut
down the cost of racing and give the crews and drivers a
little time off.
Just Wondering ... When
will NHRA and IHRA start thinking about adopting the "soft
walls" that some NASCAR tracks have? As the speeds of all
the cars in drag racing continue to rise each year and the
cars keep getting heavier, each crash becomes increasingly
dangerous -- especially at speeds between 200-340. Safety
concerns demand this step at least be considered.
Just Wondering ... How
long before there is an alphabet sanctioning body for every
dragstrip and every kind of vehicle known to man?
Just Wondering ... Isn't
it time for a change of some sort in the NHRA sportsman
bracket classes? Merely getting past the first round increasingly
requires a "double 0" light and near dead-on elapsed time.
Maybe it is time to really think about making all of those
classes "no box, foot brake" and put more driver skills
back in them?
Just Wondering ... Wonder
when Brandon Bernstein is going to be good enough to get
his name lettered on the side of Dad's car? He's certainly
paid the dues to join that club, hasn't he?
Just Wondering ... Why
would NHRA make Pro Stockers that run 6.70's at 205 run
16-inch wide tires and bead-lock wheels, and allow Alky
funny cars that run 5.50's at 260 mph run 15-inch wide tires
and non bead- lock wheels? Does that decision actually make
sense to anyone except Ray Alley and Warren Johnson?
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