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Wonder, wonder, wonder. . .

8/19/05

Just Wondering. . .Am I the only one who thinks it takes away from the mystique of Top Fuel cars when drivers with little or no experience in
four-second, 300+ mph race cars don't seem to have any problem getting a license or driving them? You don't see drivers with little or no experience getting rides in Nextel Cup or Indy cars.

Just Wondering. . .Is it time for the NHRA and IHRA to put an age limit on professional drivers? Can anyone honestly believe that drivers in their sixties and seventies really should be driving professional category cars that regularly go down a dragstrip at speeds of 200-300 mph just 10-12 feet from a concrete guard wall?

Just Wondering. . .Is it just me or does ESPN seem to zoom in on Joe Amato more than anyone else every time driver Morgan Lucas loses or wins?

Just Wondering. . .Speaking of ESPN, was I the only one slightly bothered by the cutesy-poo opening segment of NHRA 2day from Brainerd featuring Mike Dunn in the shower? Too much Mike Dunn exposure in that bit for the Burkster. . .and then they closed the show with Mike and Marty together in a pup tent. (Shudder)

Just Wondering. . .Has the pendulum starting swinging the other way in IHRA Pro Mod competition? At the recent Martin, Michigan meet the number of qualified nitrous cars outnumbered the blower cars by two to one.

Just Wondering. . .What have all of the rule changes designed to slow down NHRA's Top Fuel and Funny Cars accomplished? The answer is: Nothing except cost the racers a ton of dough. Alan Johnson proved that at the "Nerd" with a 4.44/337+ lap despite all of the "spec" parts he had to use.

Just Wondering. . .If NHRA really needs to slow down the Top Fuel cars why doesn't Ray Alley just make a rule reducing the wing area by 10 percent and rear tire width by one inch?

Just Wondering. . .Does a win at the NHRA U.S. Nationals mean as much for a driver's career, a team's finances or sponsorship as a win at the Daytona 500 does to a Nextel Cup team and driver?

Just Wondering. . .Is there a more entertaining car for spectators in all of drag racing than an outlaw ten-wide car leaving the line with no wheelie bars? One of these days one of those cars is going all the way over.

Just Wondering. . .Whatever happened to Rickie Smith?

Just Wondering. . .NHRA just announced that their season ending banquet will be in Palm Springs once again, which is two hours from LA and the LA media types. What happened, was the New York Waldorf Astoria already booked?

Just Wondering. . .Wouldn't you like to see a template from one of those so-called Pro Stock cars fitted to a car off of the dealers show room floor?

Just Wondering. . .How much longer is the NHRA going to continue to distribute those apparently bogus attendance figures and keep allowing cameras to pan very empty grandstands like I saw on the Brainerd and have seen at Chicago on the TV broadcast? I know campers make up a large part of the audience at Brainerd, but those stands were barely half full.

Just Wondering. . .When we see the income tax return from NHRA this year do you suppose the board will have voted themselves another raise?

Just Wondering. . .The more I watch NHRA drag racing on TV the more I wonder why they don't make the tracks four lanes instead of two. (I'm not the first to wonder this.) If there had been another lane at Brainerd, getting the right might not have been akin to getting the death penalty for the racers forced into it.

Just Wondering. . .Aside from the SS/AA Shootout and the history of the track, can someone please tell me what now makes the U.S. Nationals that much different from any other race on the POWERade tour?

Just Wondering. . .Do the folks at the rental car counter get nervous when they know they are renting to a drag racer?

Just Wondering. . .What a half gallon of nitro mixed with a full tank of rental car gas might do for its performance. I'll get back to you on that.

jeffburk@dragracingonline.com

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Burk's Blast "the publisher's corner"  [8-8-05] Notes scribbled on my cocktail napkin