THE NEW DEAL: Reshaping the Sportsman racing scene
9/8/06
 Will Hanna has two racing websites, InsideTopAlcohol.com and InsideCompRacing.com. He drives TAFC 425. |
hen NHRA came out with Super Comp, do you think they ever envisioned there would be cars doing 8.90 at 200 mph? Or that 180-mph charges would be the norm? Along those same lines, I’m sure my dad and others would have never imagined a small block C/Dragster going 6.96, quicker than his A/Fuel dragster back in the day.
Technology has come a long way. As I’ve mentioned in my previous columns, the structure today’s sportsman racer competes in was shaped years ago in a different time for racers. Along those lines, the indexes for the current Super categories reflected more of a norm for those types of cars.
I would be willing to bet at any given national event, most of the dragsters in Super Comp- probably 85 percent or more – can run 7.70 or better. In Super Gas, that same segment of door cars/roadsters could probably run 8.40’s or better.
Technology has made it to where it’s easy to build relatively low-maintenance horsepower. When you couple that with the fact most bracket racers prefer to have the race in front of them rather than behind, you get 180 mph Super Comp cars that are on the throttle stop for a long while.
Other than helping a racer run their index, the throttle stop does little good for the sport. It confuses new fans why the car looks like it’s broken. It disgusts many racers who believe cars should be run hard. While there are some of us who can watch this class down at the finish line and appreciate the gamesmanship down there, we are a very small minority.
Enter Top Dragster and Top Sportsman, or what they call out west, Top Comp. Basically bracket classes where going fast is not only encouraged, but you have to do it to make the field. No throttle stops here. Run it hard, put a dial and go racing. No, it’s not “heads up” like a .90 index race, but two seven-second or better cars running all out on dial ins has much more fan appeal than two cars that look like they broke off the line.
We’ll change gears and look at a safety aspect, too. In index racing, the dump is used much more than it is in dial in racing. For those of you who may not be familiar with the classic “dump,” it’s an effective, yet dangerous strategy. I would be willing to bet 90 percent of Super Category wrecks come as a result of dumping too hard.
Let’s look at a Super Comp race for instance. The index is 8.90. Unless you get a big mph difference out of two cars, the race will be pretty tight from 800 feet on. At that point it really becomes a classic match up of “Paper – Rock – Scissors.” Change the words to “Run the number – Take the stripe – Dump.” A good dump usually beats the guy who’s trying to take the stripe. The guy who’s planning to dump has his car set up quicker than the 8.90 dial. So does the guy who’s set up to take the stripe. The stripe guy wants to go down and hang a wheel on his opponent. The dumper wants to keep that guy at only a wheel ahead of him or less down to about 1315 ft. At that point, the dumper jams his brakes for all their worth, trying to kill 15 mph or so in about 15 feet. Many of the modern Super class cars have two calipers per rotor for this purpose. When this move works right, the dumper ‘pushes out’ his competitor, resulting in his opponent breaking out worse than he did. The only way you beat a dumper is to beat him at his own game. You have to recognize what he’s doing and out-dump him, pushing him out harder than you. Of course, if you’re just trying to run .90 with blinders on, it will have little effect on you. Those types are definitely in the minority.
It’s effective and, as dangerous as it is, sometimes you have to use it if you want to win in Super racing. I’m guilty of using it myself. However, the dump is not as prevalent in dial in racing. In a much higher percentage of the time, both racers in dial in racing are trying to get to the stripe by the smallest margin. A lot of cars may set up a little faster than their dial and try to “back in” to the other car by womping the throttle; it’s rare you see someone set up a good bit faster than their dial with the plan of dumping it hard on the big end. Granted, in the age of nitrous overrides, it still happens, but as I said, it happens much less.
Ok, we’re getting to the point now. Top Dragster and Top Sportsman are the natural progression of the Super categories. Many Super Comp cars could easily run in Top Dragster trim with no changes. The same could be said for many Super Gas cars and Top Sportsman.
In my “New Deal” for Sportsman racers, I feel the .90 index classes should be phased out, and replaced by Top Dragster/Top Sportsman, along with a Super Pro class.
In doing so, you’re definitely looking at increasing the field size in TD/TS from their current format of 48 cars. I would double the size of the field to the quickest 96 cars, adding one round. Super Pro would create a dial in class from 7.80 to 9.40. A Pro E.T. class could be added for cars dialing from 9.40 to 11.00.
I think this would really stimulate participation in all of the above categories. Moving TD/TS to full-fledged national event categories would really be the final catalyst to making those categories main stream. For those who don’t want to step their car up to TD/TS, it gives them an out to run on a dial in Super Pro. A lot of the local bracket racers that don’t like throttle stop racing can now go dial in racing on a national level.
I think participation would be so great you would have to base national event entries off of division points, rather than the current grade point system.
Why the shakeup? Top Dragster/Top Sportsman have much more fan appeal than the current Super categories. For that matter, any dial in race has more appeal. It also eliminates a good chunk of the dumping out there. Definitely not all dumping, but a good chunk of it. I also think it would greatly increase sportsman participation on the divisional level.
The move is a natural progression. The above classes more accurately portray the current crop of cars out there.
So now that you’re on the tire, go forth and spread the good word. Feel free to drop us a line at response@dragracingonline.com or drop by one of my websites, www.InsideTopAlcohol.com, www.InsideCompRacing.com or stay tuned for my newest website, www.InsideFastBrackets.com – a new site that will be devoted to Top Dragster, Top Sportsman and Top Comp. 
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