WORRIED
I agree with a lot of your points. I was
"concerned" when the Goodyear deal went down,
but it fell on deaf ears. We were paying $435
for a set of tires-now we are paying $1100
per set. This nitro deal is not healthy to
the sport. Homeland security is bull. We will
be paying $2000 a drum in the future with
out a doubt. I really worry about this sports
future. There is no "5 year plan" that EVERY
company that is in operation today MUST have.
Am I the only one who worries?
Don Skuza
.90 WHAT?
I run in Div.1 and race a few events a year
but mostly Bracket Race. In S/G it's hard
to make a spectator understand the 9.90 deal,
they cannot get the T-Stop thing understood,
they think the drivers foot slips off or the
got a big scare when the car leaves. I think
if the NHRA can let S/S run on a dial-in,
why not the Super cars. On top of that, make
it dial-in and Dragsters/Open body only in
S/C and Doorcars in S/G, then that would do
away with Super Street.
This would make everyone happy including
the spectators, not to mention the drivers
that won't have to worry how much the temp.
or alt. dropped since the last round or while
hes in the staging lanes with the car setup
for conditions from 30 minutes ago before
he got strapped in. I dont know what everyone
would think of this but the guys with a lot
of money in a motor that can run 7's and has
to run 9.90 in front of the largest crowds
he's ever raced in front of, sure would like
to run flat-out with the wheels up, not falling
over the 60-ft. mark and hitting second.
Thanks,
Vaughn Carey
MONTE CAMARO?
I just saw a picture of Ron Capps new Monte
Carlo body. Yep, it looks to me that a tremendous
amount of work went into the new body design.
I would have to say, the hardest part of the
job belonged to the guy that had to scrape
the "CAMARO" decal off the front of last year's
body, and apply the "MONTE CARLO" decal.
A reader wrote in recently complaining about
Chris Martin's political interjections in
his writing. I don't know where this guy is
from, but if drag racing doesn't have politics
surrounding it, then Chris Martin is a God-fearing,
Bible thumping, conservative Bush supporter!
Just as it before, the road to the future
has been set.
Don Richerson
Somerset, Kentucky
WEATHER QUALIFICATIONS
Dear DRO,
As I sit here on the first Saturday afternoon
of the 2004 NHRA season it is apparent that
us drag racing fans will once again have to
deal with the disappointment of a rain postponement,
a feeling we grew way too accustomed to dealing
with during the 2003 season. However, I would
like to propose a hypothetical situation that
might have had an adverse affect on the results
of the entire season even though we have
ADVERTISEMENT
 |
yet
to complete the first event of the season.
Assuming they were able to fit a second professional
session on Saturday and assuming the weather
would have been good enough to race on Sunday,
both which weren't the case this weekend,
according to the current system the fields
would have been locked in place for eliminations.
I agree with the current system that involves
setting the entire field based on points in
the extreme situation that no qualifying runs
can be completed (Dallas 2000) and when only
one qualifying session is completed when they
allow any member of the Top 10 into the show.
However, I disagree in setting the entire
field after only two sessions based strictly
on the qualifying runs. I am ok with this
method when three full sessions are completed,
but not just two. There are too many variables
in this sport that can lead to a mishap on
a qualifying run. As a result I propose that
any member in the Top 5 in points that are
not currently qualified after two sessions
be automatically inserted into the field of
16.
For those of you who think I've just got
sour grapes after the Whit Bazemore Disappointment
at Reading last year, let me remind you that
Mr. Force sits #17 after one session in Pomona.
If he were to break his throttle cable on
his next attempt then it's see you later to
Force and he'd be trying to play catch up
for the rest of the season. (I am a big Whit
fan and his chances for the title were effectively
ruined by some of the worst weather in the
history of a single drag race). I would propose
using owner points from the previous season
for the first 3-4 races of the next season
in this situation.
I do not agree with provisionals like those
used in NASCAR and I do not agree with Mr.
Burk's recommendation from a few months ago
recommending the altering of the qualifying
ladder. However, I do think this would be
good way to ensure that weather on a particular
race weekend during the season would not adversely
affect a season long championship race.
Now, if only the NHRA could figure out another
method of dealing with the rain then maybe
we would not have to worry so much about this...
Kevin Valik
Hoboken, NJ
Whaddaya
Think?
E-mail Us and Maybe We’ll Print It.
No Libel or Slander or Anonymous Letters.
If You Don’t Have Enough Guts to
Sign Your Name, You Have No Right to Mention
Anyone Else’s |
