4/27/04

A MIND READER

I read Dennis Harrold's letter, re: mountain motored T/F and F/C. I thought, Dennis, you're reading my mind! I have long thought about a couple of different versions of this. One would be 815 CID, injected on nitro, with nitrous oxide. I thought that a T/F with this combo could go 4.70's or quicker at around 320 MPH. Even without nitrous, 4 second ET's at over 300 would be no big deal. Or, same size motor with unrestricted screw blower and alky. I thought that a combo like that could run 4.90 at around 290 MPH. Add nitrous and you're talking 4.80's, maybe 4.70's and around 300 MPH. As far as cost goes, I'd think that either combo would be less expensive than today's T/F and F/C. (Maybe not.) Anyhoo, that's my 2 cents. Hang in there Dennis, you got at least one other crazy that thinks like you do! :-)

Cliff Morgan
Phoenix, AZ

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SHINE A LITTLE LIGHT

Yes it's just drag racing. But please if you see something that is wrong, that's NOT Drag Racing... Put it up in lights.

Larry Clayton

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY, PLEASE

I've stopped reading the NHRA PR crap because they don't admit to anything (sound like the 9/11 commission). That's why I read your complaint column otherwise know as Burk's Blast. Please go back to complaining about the sanctioning bodies next week.

Happy motoring,

Mike Golish

BURK PREFERS MERLOT

RE: And Now For Something A Little Different.

Wouldn't it be nice if your editorial were contagious. The general populace (is that a real word?) have become absurdly addicted with finding fault with everything that passes in front of them. There isn't enough cheese to go with all of the whine that is out there. It is time to stop and appreciate what we DO have.

Your breath of journalistic fresh air was appreciated.

Regards,

Henry Walther

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT?

Well, I read your piece, and to some degree can agree with what you're saying. I sat out a few seasons because of a broken car, limited finances, and kids on the way. I enjoyed just going to a race and watching, with out the "between round stress". But, (big but) I am not a spectator. PERIOD! I am a drag racer, and more importantly, a SPORTSMAN drag racer. I don't have any interest in top oilers or any other "pro" category for that matter. The problem as I see it, (in my humble opinion) is that the SPORT of drag racing is becoming the ENTERTAINMENT of drag racing mostly because of the sanctioning bodies. They want full stands/TV time/sponsors/etc. The problem is that this is supposed to be about the

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cars/racing, not just the fans.

What if baseball (sport) changed to home run contests only?(entertainment) or if hockey (sport) turned to a WWF type fight free for all? (entertainment) or even swimming contests (sport) changed to involve sharks(entertainment).

There is no question that entertainment sells, the question is whether we (as racers) want to be involved in a circus act instead of doing what we love which is to race.

Are things getting better? For the casual fan, sure. For the ones that want noise and fire/accidents who only care about the "smash em up excitement" yeah, the "show" is getting better. But for the sportsman (yes I'm including women) racer, NHRA has long given up, and that's why a lot of us have changed to IHRA. I am very disappointed with NHRA on the avenue they have decided to take, and I am no longer supporting them and am no longer a member. Life is rosy for the fan that this week wants to see a car on fire at 300mph, but what will NHRA do next week when the same fan decides he wants to see a monster truck jump 50 ft in the air? Top Monster? 300mph... in a monster truck..on fire...jumping 50 ft in the air...then running into the empty stands at the end of the track. Whatever, as long as they're making money right?

I guess my point is, I would rather have 100 diehard drag racing fans on the edge of their seats, than 1000 who are there for the accidents, free t-shirts, etc. Problem is, the 1000 bring in more $$$ and that's all that counts anymore.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Cpl Jim Miller

DRINKING THE KOOL-AID?

Burk, I hope your 4-01-04 column was for the fans & was really bullshit. You, Wallace, Dens & Martin are the few good guys left. The rest either died or caved in.

Tell me it ain't so.

Keith Ferrell

BODY DOUBLES

Jeff, thanks for telling it like it is about the Pro Stock and Funny Car bodies. I thought I was the only one in the world who wished for the days of actually knowing what brand of Funny Car someone was driving by sight alone. It is as pitiful as the NASCAR one-body template rule. I say make the car makers come up with the best aerodynamic bodies for each class. Quit playing NASCAR and neutering everything in the name of equalizing the competition.

Thanks for your views. I wish everybody would read them.

Bob Dreher

LOOK AT THE REAL 'STOCK' CARS

Jeff, another killer article - right on the money again - ALMOST!

You have tons of great points in today's column. Auto Racing in general has made everything so similar for parity that it's now boring. As David Wells could call it, Plain Vanilla. BUT YOU MISSED THE OBVIOUS!

There are still classes out there that compete "Ford vs. Chevy vs. Mopar vs. whoever" and bring back the excitement of competition to the fans. Back to the roots of drag racing. The cars look different, like they did when they drove off the showroom floor, from 45 years ago to current! It's Stock and Super Stock - remember them? I know NHRA has forgotten them. The only sportsmen racers who get attention from the NHRA have the same last name as of the pros or the sponsors.

In fact, at the last Joliet race, I heard from the staging lanes as Stock rolled up for a round the announcer suggest that now would be a good time to grab that soda or beer or t-shirt

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from your favorite pro driver. WHAT?!?!?! Why not market a fun and interesting class to the fans? NHRA makes more off the concessions, that's why. (At $6.00 a beer, I'm sure they do!)

But it doesn't have to be that way. They make sure fans don't see the "lower" sportsman classes because, God forbid, if they caught on, NHRA would have to make them part of the show. Yes, handicap racing is confusing to the fans. NHRA could go back to their roots and make them run off national records - put some performance back in the category! Nothing beats a wheelstanding Mustang (America's Car) or Corvette or Camaro. They are fun and exciting to watch, and if NHRA would pull their head out of their posteriors and recognize that fact, they could market with them too. As for the Super categories, throttle stops aren't fun to watch, but those drivers work hard on their cars too and deserve a chance to run in front of the fans just like anyone else.

As a true racing fan, you should recognize the fact that what you are asking for exists. Shame on you for not mentioning the Stock and Super Stock cars in your article today. They are EXACTLY what the doctor ordered to bring excitement and brand loyalty/competition back to drag racing! We already have the cure!

Nothing but love for ya.

Elizabeth Kieffer

RIGHT ON

Jeff, it seems that great minds think alike! This article has my thinking for the past few years. You hit the nail on the head. I have been drag racing since 1965 and maybe it's just my age showing but I had the same Ford vs. Chevy vs. Mopar experiences growing up as you.

Keep up the good work and let's hope NHRA gets on this wagon and makes some changes.

Claymore

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF DRAG RACING

I think you hit the nail right on the head. There is no longer any diversity in drag racing. All of the Pro classes are of the cookie cutter variety. The dragsters are all the same, you can't tell one Funny Car body from another, same with Pro Stock and the bikes are even getting to be the same.

Thank God for the sportsman classes, especially Comp. Love the variety.

That's all I wanted to say.

Rick Denman

A FEW CHANGES OVER THE YEARS

After a long time gone from drag racing, I rekindled some friendships with some long lost friends from the 60's and 70's, and attended the Winternationals this year. We had a unique history with drag racing, having been raised at Lions in the early days. We saw it all happen and grow for around 15+ years, then went our separate ways. A few of us actually ran a few of the hot dog stands at Lions, basically so we could get in for free and make a few bucks for inhaling Nitro, and running our T/F gambling pools every weekend. Nearly two decades of Pomona, Bakersfield, Riverside, Carlsbad, OCR, Ontario, Irwindale for most of us, and even Fontana and San Gabriel for a few. We won't talk about the Tijuana strip - we never got past the strip joints after telling our parents we were going to the races, even there. Sixty-four car single day Top Fuel shows, 32 car was the norm at

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major events, balls out racing. Granted, the investment was more affordable, and a few average Joes could team up, assign the most brave (or stupid perhaps) to straddle the axle, and go racing. You get the picture -- go as fast as you can with what you got!

After many years away, imagine my misunderstanding what Super Gas competitors call racing, when I first saw a car launch wheels high at Pomona this year, then go into the orchestrated pull-down of RPM, then resume "racing" at a pre-determined pace controlled by a frigging computer box. What definition of Drag Racing did these dorks look up? Has not the epitome of the "drag racer" been that of one trying to make it from one end of the strip to the other as quickly as possible? What was once a sport that bordered on chaos and an attitude of "rebellion", is now not only corporate, but -- the NERDS are racing!! I have 575 C.I., 850 HP, and I have programmed in 6 new algorithms to have it launch for 16 feet, then idle at 3500 for 142 feet, then it's balls to the wall.

Anyone that ever dropped the clutch at 7,500 and speed shifted with the front wheels still in the air, is rolling over in their graves, let alone the brave axle riders of nitro burning status. This stuff should be, well, it should just not exist. While it may be racing in some form, it is not DRAG RACING. Have them read some old Drag News, or Drag Sport Illustrated etc., and maybe they will realize the error of their ways. As an aside, how can NHRA think that's entertainment?

I am more than willing to sign my name.

Sincerely,

Bob Runne

P.S. Super Gas sucks

IT'S ACES WITH HIM

Loved the innerview with ACE: I get the impression the NHRA thinks the SUN SHINES out of Prudhomme, K.Bernstein and FORCE but not on the same day. Last saw ACE in TOP FUEL at POMONA '94. Good to hear he is having fun again.

Rob MASON

(ANOTHER AUSSIE DRAG RACE FAN)

IS HE AFTER BURK'S JOB?

I'm both stunned appalled at the complete lack of flathead and Australian rules early Mazda Rotary racing coverage on DRO. Oh, and there should be much more carping and whining going on. Yeah.

Mike Bumbeck

TEN-WIDE FAN

I am writing to tell you the reason I have become such A big fan of outlaw 10.5 racing. All of the major sanctioning bodies have become so political it's almost painful to watch it on tv. Outlaw is still a grass roots form of racing. These guys are serious racers hitting tracks all over the south racing for 5-20 thousand dollars. It is some of the most action packed racing I have seen. Take a 3000 pound car of your choice ad a combination of your choice, blown alky, n2o, turbo, etc. put on small tires so it becomes a tuning contest, and let the games begin! As for outlaw Pro Mod, only rules, must have doors and no nitro. I know there are people who will never accept these forms of drag racing, but I would like to see a professional production of one of these races. I mean it's all about being entertained, and if millions of people will tune in to watch a few guys curse each other while building a bike, I think it could work. I know it does for me.

Bryan Newton

WHAT DO THE MANUFACTURERS SELL ON MONDAY?

Everything you say makes sense. The only thing is, in drag racing back in the day most all the manufacturers were involved and putting in their money to promote their product. Why would Ford or GM or Dodge want to promote something that they had nothing to do with and the casual fan cannot go buy off a showroom floor. Which all leads back to the sanctioning bodies and rule makers. Another problem is there are no V8's to speak of anymore from the factory, so are we going to watch 4 cyl. Cavaliers and Neons in Pro Stock or Funny Car?

I agree with you, but what we have is better than the alternative!

Thank you,

John Brady

DISTAFF SHOP VIEW

I just found (Darr Hawthorne's) April 8th article ... about sending your old auto magazines to auto shop classes at the local schools ... I was searching for stories about North Hollywood High School ...

Well, I wish that there had been someone like you when I was a student of Russ Mukai's back in 1981-1984 ... I cannot believe that he is still teaching at NHHS twenty years later ... Nobody ever gave us subscriptions to auto magazines ... We had scored a major coup when General Motors granted us with a car to tear apart & learn on ... I think it came in right before I started at NHHS ...

Due to budget cuts, we only had two field trips for the entire three years that I was in the dept ... majoring in (what they called it back then) "Industrial Education: Automobile Mechanics" ... We went to Norton Air Force Base and Gale Banks Engineering ... I think we might have been offered discount tickets to one of the NHRA races at Pomona ... We were lucky if we had semi up-to-date repair manuals (aka Chilton basic service manuals) ...

You know what would have been really great back then (and now) ?? Parents encouraging their children ... no, their daughters to take auto shop in high school ... Sure, there were some girls who took the beginning class ... But, in the three years that I was there, there was only one OTHER girl in the advanced classes ... and, she was only in it for one year (we were in the same grade level) ... How about auto shop teachers who aren't sexist?? Maybe that way, there'd be more female race car drivers ... Sorry, but some of the more recent ones have been a joke (i.e., Shawna Robinson, Deborah Renshaw) ... I don't follow the NHRA as much as I used to, as I've crossed back over to the evil empire of NASCAR ...

Thanks for sending me down memory lane ... even if some of the memories are all fond ...

Diana Moss

Lynnwood, WA

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