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Was this a weird year or WHAT? I probably drove my editor crazy this month. My new "regular job" and trying to get my ideas in order made me late getting this month's "Dead-On" sent in. I figure if I get it sent in late maybe Jeff will start paying me millions to write for him. O.K. maybe it will just get me a raise? O.K. maybe it WON'T! Whatever, I like the forum to be able to speak my mind and showcase ideas I get (steal) from other racers. A lot of you have great ideas and if you think they are worth getting out in front of millions and millions of readers (O.K. thousands and thousands) send me an email and give me you thoughts on subjects you feel are important. I also encourage you to send me an email if there is a subject you want discussed or someone you want interviewed to get the "Real Story." This month I will make a short synopsis of how my first season in "Project 4-Link" went and what I noticed from my view of the sport. We started out with almost no idea of what to expect from the dragster and what would be involved in getting everything done. For a real close look at the construction of the car you can go back and read each article by clicking on the "archives" at the top of the main page. Basically, the Dragstar Chassis performed perfectly, the Indy Cylinder Head 540" was unbelievably consistent in cool and hot weather and the racing in general went very well. We secured our first ever IHRA Points Event win in Quick Rod, went a lot of rounds at the B&M Racer Appreciation in Tri-State, won a local Super Comp race (huge field of four cars!) and had no mechanical failures at all. I have had a lot of emails wanting to know what performance level we reached. My best eighth-mile run was 5.08 at 133.89. The best quarter-mile run was 8.08 at 165.05. I never really pushed it hard. I never had the start line chip over 4800 rpm and I shifted all year at 7000. With the 3.90:1 gear and 33.5 Hoosiers, the engine was turning a very conservative 6800-rpm at the finish line. I wanted this first season to be a lesson for me on what to expect without making constant changes. Next year I think "Project 4-Link" will be a 7.80 / 172 mph ride week in and week out. Some of the changes we are making this winter are: 1. Barry Grant belt drive fuel pump and bypass. Enough about "Project 4-Link". The other things I noticed that were happening this year go like this: 1. The B&M Racer Appreciation tried a major expansion this year and I think it backfired. In the Midwest the turnouts were very small and in my opinion that will be the last we see of the B&M Series up north. I thought they would work, but when it actually came to dish out the $300 I noticed it was fifth round before you got any money back. That is just not going to be accepted by racers up here. Third round losers getting moneyŠI think they double the number of entries. Just the thoughts of an old track owner and even older racer. I wish George Howard and the B&M Series the best in the future. I think George's commitment to the bracket racer is "second to none." He IS the only guy who has stuck with us for so many years. 2. Speaking of George and the B&M Series. Why do we still call the last race of the B&M Racer Appreciation Series "The Million Dollar Race"? It requires about 500 entries to pay the million dollars and the car count just isn't going to make it. Why not put a real name on it such as "Mac Tools World Championships" (who do you think uses more Mac Tools, the fuel racers or the thousands of bracket racers who make their living as mechanics?) 3. I have noticed an idea that seems to be really working at certain tracks in this area. Cedar Falls Raceway, Byron Dragway and Cordova Raceway Park in particular have used this idea to increase payouts without the normal raising of entry fees. What they have done is quite simple and very well accepted by racers. The tracks set up one class, Super Pro, and any racer who wants in the bracket enters, delay box or no delay box. What they do is race the delay box cars against the delay box cars and no-box cars against other no-box cars. When a winner has been declared on each side of Super Pro bracket the two winners race for the winner and runner-up money. I just love the idea as it gets more cars into Super Pro and it eliminates the ongoing arguments about why Super Pro is paid more than the Pro class. 4. Just to bring up another idea that is taking place around here I want to mention the prize money we race for. On the weekends that are called "Points Races" we pay $135 entry fee that covers both days. Saturday pays $1,000 to win, $500 runner-up. Round money starts with third round loser and stays steady at $30 per round on Saturday. Sunday the winner earns $5,000, $2,000 for runner-up. Round money starts third round and racers earn $50 per round from there on. I think the track owners are onto something. We get car counts similar to the "good old days" and this was just the first year of trying it. If your track is struggling and the payouts just aren't there, you might mention this at your banquet or racer meetings. 5. I wrote an article several months ago about multi-car teams. I am seeing a rapid growth of this expensive phenomenon at almost every level of racing. Is it good or bad? I have decided it is neither. If you can afford it, great. If you can't afford it then get to work on your one car and get out there and beat one of the team cars! It doesn't take long to see the benefits of taking two cars to almost any type of race. Towing expense per car is reduced, more "seat time" just makes you better, and the "intimidation factor" is there. The one trend you see more than ever is several semi-professional Super class (S/Gas, S/Comp, Q/Rod, etc) racers getting their hands on a Stock Eliminator car. Low maintenance, affordable costs and you can earn up to $18,000 with contingencies at an NHRA national event. The competition is good, but it is not as exacting on the start line and finish line as Super class races are getting. I have raced Stock at every level and I loved it; the problem is there aren't many places to race them locally that pay very well. 6. Since I just mentioned winning contingency money I have a thought on that subject that hit close to home this summer. I won the IHRA HCS Points race in Quick Rod in June and still have not COLLECTED all the money some companies owe me. I have made dozens of calls, faxed letters and even contacted IHRA about it. For a stinking hundred dollars you'd think the companies would just pay. I did not try to collect for a product I did not run and I had the decals. Where I messed up was the tech official that looked over the car for decals and products did not see a few of the decals under my down swept headers. I was having too much fun with my friends going nuts over the win and did not notice he said I was missing a few decals. I sent pictures of the car in the winner's circle to these companies to prove I had the decals on but still no response. That brings me to this simple question: Why does it matter if you even have the decals if you run their product? You can't read them from the bleachers; you can't see them in photographs. As long as their product is on the car and you have dished out the cash to buy it they should have to pay you for having the product. Sure, if you have the decals put them on, but sometimes you can't find them. The manufacturer doesn't want to send out thousands of decals and the sanctioning body sometimes doesn't have enough to go around when you get to the event. Is it asking too much for the companies to make payment within four weeks of the event? I envy the organization guys like Peter Biondo, Dan Fletcher, the Richardson brothers must have. They earn contingency awards at maybe 6 to 10 events per year and they have to keep all that organized to make sure they get paid the correct amount for each event. I'll guarantee you it is a complicated task. Why can't NHRA or IHRA inspect the car for the parts and decals and just write out the check right on the spot? I'll bet they could get paid in a matter of weeks, or that sponsor would lose his sign and advertising exposure. O.K. I'll chill out. It just bugs me that we bring our money to these events, we pay them enough in entry fees to pay four times the purse they do and yet winners get "dumped on" to hunt down the contingency money on their own. To bad really, it could be a lot better. I am through for this month and I hope you come back to our magazine often. I am going to be updating "Project 4-Link" every few weeks as we put on a belt drive fuel pump, convert to alcohol for fuel, look into the latest weather gizmos and data acquisition systems. I also will be doing a few more interviews in "Dead- On" and I think you will get a kick out if some of the racers and those associated with racing have to say. Until then, be safe, be thankful for your family, your health and our
country and the brave young men out there chasing down the cowards that
attacked our country.
Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source |
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