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STOCK AND SUPER STOCK RACERS:
My article last month was an interview with
Len Imbrogno from NHRA about the changes in
Stock Eliminator. I did not get too many comments
directly but the bulletin boards that discuss
Stock and Super Stock were busy talking about
the changes. I believe that there are as many
opinions on the "right way" to handle Stock
and Super Stock as there are racers. It is a
highly technical part of drag racing and inspections
for legal and illegal parts are ongoing. I raced
in that class for a few years and really enjoyed
it. The teardowns of engines is a hassle but
really kind of fun as you have a reason to show
your ability to get it all back together by
the first round the next morning. I'll leave
the legal racers to their own forums and I hope
they work everything out so more racers will
join their classes.
New Wiring Rules for Super classes: won't stop
anything.
This month I started reading about the "new
wiring rules" for cars like I have. In the Super
classes N.H.R.A. and also I.H.R.A. (I think)
have decided they can prevent cheating with
one wiring change. All they accomplished was
outdating some great equipment and making the
racers spend hundreds of dollars on more new
stuff like RPM switches, data recorders, etc.
Here is how I see the new rule:
1. The delay box / throttle stop timer cannot
have a wire that runs from ignition or any other
source that displays or records RPM. So if you
have one of the Mega Series delay boxes with
the playback tach feature you cannot use it
during eliminations. If you used the Mega box
to shift your car on RPM that feature will be
eliminated. You can still use it to shift on
time but not RPM. Nice way to ruin a $500 investment.
2. Data recorders are legal in super classes
and can be hooked to RPM pickup on ignition.
If you want a record of your run in Super class
eliminations I guess you have to buy $1800 worth
of data recorder equipment. Playback tachometers
with run memory are O.K. (Must be because these
guys buy a lot of ad space in National Dragster.)
3. These rules do not apply to ET racing. So
I (and many other racers) can still use the
Mega 450 features at bracket races. Don't you
think that if the rule they made was to eliminate
cheating it should also apply to bracket racing?
I do. That proves to me that the rule is not
about cheating at all. I think it is about making
racers get new electronics. That means more
advertising sales for National Dragster as the
playback tachometers and data recorder companies
will probably be buying much larger ads in the
near future.
The manufacturer of the Mega 400 and 450 delay
boxes spent thousands of dollars making them
tamper-proof. NHRA /IHRA rendered that work
meaningless with a stroke of a pen. If these
boxes have been tampered with and they caught
someone cheating......LET US KNOW ABOUT IT!
Don't make these rules behind closed doors without
input from racers.
Spending $500 on a delay box IS a lot of money
but when you get the delay box feature, throttle
stop timers, functions to control the shifters,
playback tach feature and a built in practice
tree it is a bargain and actually eliminates
a lot of wiring and other boxes.This rule must
have been made to make it look like NHRA/IHRA
was interested in stopping the "alleged" cheating.
This rule will do NOTHING but cost good racers
more money, PERIOD. I am pissed off about the
rule because they are making me go out and buy
about $2,000 worth of equipment if I want to
replay my runs to see if the wheels spun, the
converter worked OK and if the car shifted properly.
If NHRA/IHRA want to make a rule like this
then FINISH IT. No data recorders, no playback
tachs, just a delay box and throttle stop timers
ONLY. This rule will accomplish nothing. If
there is any cheating going on, and I stress
IF, it is either done with DGPS or a function
of the tach being related to either tire RPM
or engine RPM to provide a potential down-track
location in relation to time elapsed.
Personally, I DO NOT BELEIVE there is any cheating
going on. Some racers are always in the late
rounds event after event. Why? Because they
are very good racers, they have the best of
equipment, excellent maintenance program, they
race at a lot of events and usually are not
bothered by having to go to a 40 hour a week
job. They JUST RACE and THEY RACE WELL! If you
mix in a little luck they sometimes seem unbeatable
but if you read the race results you will usually
find they had a couple red lights against them,
someone put down a better reaction time but
couldn't drive the finish line and gave the
win to them. I have not seen any results where
a guy went out and killed the tree every round,
ran closer to the index every round and dominated
the race. Just doesn't happen, look at the results
yourself.
I just wish NHRA/IHRA would rethink this worthless
rule. It isn't about cheating at all. It is
political to make the racers who are complaining
think something has been done. Until someone
explains how the tach wire hooked to the Mega
Series delay box can be used to cheat I will
not believe it. I'm not from Missouri but Iowa
is pretty darn close and I think the "gotta
see it to believe it" rule is better than the
one NHRA/IHRA dropped on us.
Agree or disagree? Drop me an email at jok@racingnetsource.com
and let me know your opinion. It isn't an official
survey yet, but it might be later.
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