::: DRO ::: Columns - Dead On - No more New Years Resolutions, please

Four link dragsters, soft hitting converters, higher rear end gear ratios to take tire speed off the launch, two-steps to control start line RPM, timing retards that can be programmed off a laptop, data acquisition products that tell them everything they need to know about the car after every run, removable ballast, huge tires with the latest compounds, engines built so they offer maximum durability and repeatability, fuel systems that are setup by a laptop and programmable when the weather changes. Most of what I just mentioned for all intents and purposes is doing one thing, offering control of the traction as that is the simplest way to have consistent ETs and that is what wins races.

So if there is a company making a little black box that is called “traction control” what could it offer to the drag racer that has to dial their car in? VERY LITTLE, IF ANYTHING, in my opinion. If you can buy a $50,000 rear engine dragster to make sure you hook consistently why is it a bad thing to pay $2,000 for a little black box that may or may not help? It can’t be the money, can it? The guy with an older bracket car who can’t afford the $50K for the four-link dragster or chassis car could possibly swing the $2K for the Traction Controller. Would this be unfair or just piss people off? Cars are so consistent now that I see the weather changes having an effect on my car a LOT MORE than tire spin ever will. THINK ABOUT IT, let me know how you feel about it and WHY!

PRE-PAID ENTRY FEE / BIG MONEY RACES / CASINO WITH WHEELS OR WHAT?

I have one word for these events – WHY? If the race is worthy of being a major race the racers will come. If you are a high roller and looking for a casino why not go to one? I am tired of reading about races being promoted where you read about HUGE payouts, outrageous entry fees then

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there is a little line that says “Purse Guaranteed with XXXX amount of entries and sometimes “PRE-PAID” entry fees. Then the promoter acts like they are doing everyone a favor by having the event in which they are guaranteed to make a ton of money on. I think they are dragging the smaller tracks into the Street Car test-and-tune mode, as their more affluent local racers are “saving up” for the Mega-Dollar races. Hey, I have been wrong before and I know you don’t have to go but WHAT IF THE IRS swings by one of these events someday????? Hope I am not at that one; it could be ugly when they withhold 50 or 60 percent of your winnings and start asking questions about all the cash.

I have always felt the really big prize money could be the end of the S/Pro class and especially electronics on a local basis. When there are races that pay $400,000 to win and there is NO TECHNICAL INSPECTION why wouldn’t creative racers be willing to spend some extra money on a way to help them win? Doesn’t seem to bother a lot of them to enter three or cars, buy $60,000 dragsters to improve their chances does it? Why would $2500 for reliable traction control be off limits? Since nobody inspects the cars and if they do are they even aware of what could be in the cars? Do they even know the part numbers of the MSD parts that are not legal in bracket racing? I am not slamming the tech inspector who gets $50 a day but rather the promoters who don’t care how you win; they are focused on entry fees and profits. Is the expense of these big races the “code of honor” between racers, or is it about the money?

I know that is a lot of questions so early in the year but it is something everyone in the sport needs to ask himself or herself. I have always felt it is up to the racers to be checking the other guys in their class for illegal stuff. Then if you are sure they have it, bring it up to the track owner or tech director. I seem to get on this rant every year before the season but between lack of electronic inspections and the total lack of safety inspections at most big bucks bracket races it has always bothered me it could have a lasting effect on the sport in the years to come.

Safety…. Sure, I had to bring that up. I was racing at a certain big race last season in Memphis. What I watched in the staging lanes just amazed me. Drivers who were jumping into their 4-second dragsters with sweat-pants and single layer jacket, no neck collar and sometimes no driving gloves, and definitely very few wearing arm restraints. If they don’t care about their own safety I could care less… BUT… a serious accident and an investigation by the insurance company could cause serious problems for all of us. Underwriters base premiums on both risk and dollar losses. If poor safety inspections or poor safety crews result in bigger financial losses and a potential huge lawsuit all track premiums could go up and that means more expense for the track, higher gate fees, etc.