3/24/05

OPEN COMP

I feel that Open Comp might be the next big thing in drag racing. The Pacific Street Car Association has been running Open Comp for a long time at their races and that class has the largest car counts, even bigger than their (all run) Bracket 1. It is a wide open field every time, no telling who will win the race ahead of time. I have been watching PSCA's Open Comp for two years and have seen everything from super-class, and Comp Eliminator-type cars to 18- and 19-second imports.

It truly looks like a driver's class. Now if I can only get my wife to OK me getting back into competition....

Dale Tuley
Las Vegas, NV

OPEN COMP 2

Great article. I run the NSCA American Muscle class; it is a pre-set index class on quarter increments (i.e. 9.75, 10.00, 10.25). Index racing is great, no shoe polish, etc. Open Comp format I believe will be the next big thing, if you can get the big dollar bracket racers to leave the electronics at home and race with your God-given talent, not a computer.

Jim Gorski
AM #1984

NHRA VS NASCAR REDUX

Jeff, I really enjoy your site and columns. I check them almost every day and enjoy the non NHRA slant on things. I just read an email you received titled NHRA versus NASCAR. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the point is preference. We're Drag Racers and it seems to me that the chances of changing anyone's mind would be about the same as going to the Stock or Super Stock pits and trying to get a GM guy to go racing with a Ford.

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It's also the same as ESPN2 (is it just me or does anyone else miss Steve Evans and Diamond P? He could even cover swamp buggies.) trying to change us pro stock fans into fuel fans. I think it was the Winterationals that they were interviewing someone in the fuel pits and showing Pro Stock in a letter box down in the corner. Don't get me wrong, I like the fuel cars. When we were racing Super Gas (what a boring class, the only reason we need the neck collar was from the whiplash from the throttle stop going on and off) back in the day and the fuel guy started making noise, we ran to watch.

The best news in a while is the Speed Channel covering IHRA. I hope ESPN2 watches. I think that NHRA needs to get it through its head that we're not NASCAR and never will be. That's ok with most of us old guys and while I'm at it, I think I would rather go to a NASCAR race than drive a Ford. I've been mad at NHRA a lot over the years but I worry about the future of the sportsman classes with private ownership. I'm not a Nostalgia guy and I'm not interested in going to watch some guy racing a replica of his idol's old car, but I'm glad it's out there.

Heck, (now I sound like the new Whit Bazemore saying heck) I'm lucky, I was there. I've been going to the Digs since the late sixties and have seen it all. At least most of it. I saw Ed McCulloch run the first seven in a funny car at SIR in Kent, Washington in '69 or '70. If he would have been the ninth car to blow the tires off in his lane, he would have beat up the whole starting line crew starting with the starter and they knew it before they staged him and there sure wouldn't have been a $15,000 fine. But then again, it was a Match Race and the winner probably only got $1500. I'm starting to be a Whit fan. At least he speaks up. But if he doesn't watch it, they well tell him to go stand by Connie when the mike is on and the cameras are rolling.

Don't tell NHRA or NASCAR, but spell checker hasn't heard of either one of them. Keep it coming, Jeff.

Bruce Prater