 NICHOLSON
IS NO MATHEMATICIAN
You screwed the PRO calculation by forgetting to divide
by three. No big deal.
The part about it being better to run at a track with
a smaller field is not even open to debate in my opinion. If your percentage
of rounds won is the same at any track (and why shouldn't it be) then
running at a track with a smaller entry is a significant advantage.
This can easily be demonstrated with relatively simple probability computations.
I am not complaining about this, it is just a mathematical
fact. The title of the best bracket racer is silly in my opinion with
no head to head competition, but who cares? Summit is putting up the
money, their bread their rules. People who bitch about the rules are
dumb. Why try and shoot the goose that lays golden eggs? Fair? I don't
know what this means when applied to this series. Race, have a good
time and if you are lucky enough (and I do mean lucky enough) to have
a high performance rating so be it. My best guess is a racer you have
never heard of in a slow class from a small track you have also never
heard of will win. There is also the real possibility that someone will
attempt to cook the books by arranging the outcome of 50 rounds in advance
(also a lot easier at a small entry track). Gee I wish there was a small
entry IHRA track around here.
Ron Burke
AIN'T IT A 'DRAG'
Mr. Tocher's comments concerning the need to inform the
media concerning our sport are exactly correct. A major cable network
called the movie "The Fast and the Furious" a drag racing movie. I wrote
them to correct the story and used a description remarkably like the
one Mr. Tocher used.
We can add to the general understanding of drag racing
by using better terminology ourselves. Friends who are not active fans
don't understand Eliminator names such as "Heavy" or "Box" and No-Box."
"Doorslammer" is another term that rankles. If we are not to be perceived
as slack-jawed, knuckle dragging, mouth breathers then we ought not
speak that way. Don't touch "Funny Cars" though! Explaining the origins
of that name is an excuse to tell the story of our sport from its early
days.
Cheers,
Ed Arcuri
Arcuri Motorsports, Inc.
KRISHER GONE FROM G.M. RACING
To whom it may concern:
As to your interview with Harry Turner, Ron Krisher is
not part of G.M. Racing team. G.M. elected to discontinue the sponsorship
with Ron Krisher in 2002. Even though we met the criteria they put forth
to be a member!!
Thank you.
JIM Coakley (crew chief Eagle One Pro Stock Cavalier)
Clarification: We received this email in March. The
interview ran in our January issue and had been conducted in December.
Evidently GM decided to drop Krisher after Mr. Turner was interviewed.
Remember to check the issue date. -- Editor
WELL, HE CERTAINLY LEANS TO THE LEFT,
RICK
Maybe Chris Martin should be writing for NASCAR Racing
online.
Rick Dimaggio
AA/PM CORVETTE
DRO, thanks for the nice words about the Pro Mod Corvette
at the Winternationals. The car is actually a '58 Corvette and we did
qualify with a 6.36 @ 220.73.
Keep up the great work with your website. Just to return
the nice words, you guys are our favorite pick of the web.
Thanks again.
Mark Carruba
Crew Chief AA/PM Corvette
FUNNY, THE RODIN STATUE DOESN'T LOOK
ANYTHING LIKE HIM
First of all let me commend you for having the cajones
to print that story. Now, the point you seem to be missing, is this:
Don Garlits has ALWAYS been the LEADER, the INNOVATOR, not the guy who
follows along with the rest of the pack. I remember years back, if Don
left body panels off, as silly as it may seem, everyone else would.
So let's give him a chance here, because when it comes to fuel dragsters,
history has proven him to be the world's greatest thinker.
Mark Breznay
Miami, Florida
POLITICS AS USUAL
So Garlits gets a pass on the rulebook because fixing
his car would be expensive.Interesting notion that Ray Alley can singlehandedly
change rules; didn't it used to take a committee?
So Ray says fuel in the pipes is dangerous, could lead
to a fire. Mr. Burk directs our attention to the Ostrander crash.
Run fuel lines through the footbox. They will be fine
there. Sure, nothing could open a line there, no driver will be soaked
in fuel. Hard to light of Nitro, too. You would need something like
what's happening in the front of that Jack Ostrander car.
What about, if NHRA is so concerned, about isolating drivers
from fuel lines? About covering lines to prevent fuel baths? In the
bad old days, a B/G car certainly would not have passed NHRA tech with
a fuel line in the driver's compartment.
Now I am not saying that I know how it should be. I just
find it interesting that one fuel-leaking scenario has Alley in a rulebook
dance of authority while the accepted horror just cruises along.
Safety HELL, the issue, gentleman, is politics and bureaucrats.
Gimme Dom Perignon with that driver flamb.
Norman Hechtoff
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
Like many people, I've been following the Garlits saga
since Indy. I enjoyed Jeff Burk's article, finding it, as always, well-written
and concise (even though I already knew most of the information.) The
facts seem to be accurate, but I do take issue with most of the opinions
expressed in Jeff's closing.
Wanna hear my view? I think there are no "downsides" whatsoever.
Garlits didn't really "win" anything vs. Ray Alley. He was allowed 3
measly events in a car that is as safe as any out there. As far as the
High Sherrifs opening a can of worms, that too fails to hold water.
The next time anybody is required to make expensive changes and charges
favoritism, ask them when the car was built. SR 34 was "grandfathered"
in and allowed to basically exhibition race for 3 events because it
was legal as originally built, and completely updated to meet all current
safety regs, EXCEPT THE ONE THEY CHANGED IN THE OFF SEASON AFTER SCRUTINIZING
THAT CAR. I don't see this as a powder keg.
As far as people whining about a qualifying spot or round
loss, that's just ridiculous. If you get beat by Luigi Novelli or Arley
Langlo in one of their rare appearances, that's called "life." Your
problem, not theirs. You lose to Garlits, you just add your name to
the long list.
Finally, if he gets hurt, I wouldn't have the audacity
to point the finger at NHRA's tech department. At 70, Garlits will still
have to pass an FAA physical and demonstrate the same ability to handle
a car as any 19 year-old girl applying for her TF ticket. The ONLY concern
that they still have is the fuel in the rails; otherwise they (and their
independent researchers) agree the car is 100% structurally safe. I
guess if he would get badly burned, you might have a case. But if you
crash a car hard enough to break the frame, the fuel lines are likely
breached anyway.
I'm actually not a huge Garlits fan, although I certainly
respect him. I am, however, a free thinker --the type of person the
NHRA gods have never liked. Their long-held dictatorial stance irritates
me, and I think Mr. Burk's opinions lend unneeded (and incorrect) credence
to their hot air. I admire Jeff for his avoidance of one-sided reporting,
but I heartily disagree with his view of the flip side.
Kevin Klinger
THERE IS A GENERATION DIFFERENCE
While you have some interesting points in your current
montage about current racing attendance, you miss a very important point.
Much as the son could not relate to the late model Detroit products,
imagine the current crop of saleable names on the NHRA tour trying to
relate to these spectators! How about the battle hardened crew chiefs
and crew members relating to body piercing, spike do's, and some of
the other current endeavors these spectators have! Hell even Scotty
Cannon is a saleable name compared to the current crop of The Fast and
Furious, if you get the drift.
Oh well, just a thought from the thin line of asphalt
we call the quarter mile of Drag Racing.
Les Jantzen
ALL AGENT 1320, ALL THE TIME
I think Agent 1320 is outstanding. Most of the other literature
is a little out dated. Some of it is 2-3 months old. I suggest calling
your site "Agent 1320" and drop the rest. You probably will get the
same number of "Hits". That is just a suggestion.
Kerry
Response: Thanks for the input. We know that some of
the stuff is "old" if you surf the internet frequently, but many of
our readers are people who are just making the move from print magazines
to electronic. The info and photos of some of the races, none of which
are over 60 days old, still is information you can't get in print magazines.
Most of the columns, tech answers, tech features, and interviews are
less than 30 days old. We leave some stories up longer because we still
get a lot of e-mail asking for the archive section to look for stories
we've already taken down. --Jeff Burk, Editor
LIKE'S MOROSO COVERAGE
Long time reader, first time e-mailer... Great magazine...
Love every minute of it...
Just a quick E to voice my pleasure at seeing your coverage
of the Moroso Race, or at least the small amount of racing that did
take place.
I only wish that you could provide more coverage of this
event (and hopefully others), but I understand there's only so much
time in a day and there's only so much room in your online magazine.
I'll take what I can get.
Again, bravo on Moroso...
Ted Pelech
THINKS NHRA IMPORT SERIES WILL BE THE
LEADER
It has been my experience that the NIRA circuit (and as
of last year, the NHRA Import circuit) has been a little better than
the IDRC. They seem to attract more high caliber racers and the classes
seem a little more competitive. This is not to say the IDRC doesn't
have its fair share of talent, especially considering that many of the
racers are in both circuits. However, I believe that since NHRA and
NIRA have formed a partnership for this year, IDRC is going to be severely
outshined. The NHRA Imports series is definitely going to be the one
to watch.
Thanks.
Justin Nichols
Note: Justin pointed out some misspellings of names
in the first edition of 'Imports Rock the USA,' which we corrected.
We hope everyone bears with us while we learn the players in this branch
of drag racing. Heck, Tim Marshall has a problem spelling anything,
so we should have doubled checked. Anyway, names are going in the ol'
spell checker and we hope to get them right in the future. Unfortunately,
we occasionally have typos, it's just part of the pressure-packed world
of online drag racing journalism. - Copy Editor (That's my story and
I'm sticking to it.)
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