If not, as mentioned, there is
little opportunity for a driver to recover—but it
can be done, as John Smith proved in his first qualifying
pass at Huntsville, expertly pedaling a couple of hundred
feet out to salvage a 3.43-seconds run. Things obviously
happen fast on the eighth and it took some drivers a little
by surprise, including Smith, who admitted he was a little
late dropping the laundry after that first pass “because
I was by the finish line before I knew it.”
But like everyone else, Smith adjusted for
later rounds and I think anyone who criticizes eighth-mile
fuel racing as too short simply because there’s such
a slim margin for error should heed Big Daddy’s words:
“Instant death is what drag racing is all about, anyway.”
Only Gibson expressed any reservations about
the shortened race distance, but only because he likes to
go fast—very fast. “It’s like the car’s
just starting to run good and you have to shut off; it definitely
feels too soon for me; I love that top-end charge,”
he said. However, Gibson also explained that the clutch
doesn’t really start locking up until about the 330-foot
marker “and when you’ve got traction, that’s
when you’re going to break something.”
Beyond a show that’s relatively free
of engine failures and that includes long, smoky burnouts,
hard launches, header flames past the grandstands, and the
audible pop of the parachutes, I see one more advantage
of running fuel cars over the eighth mile. With the reduced
speeds, it offers a slightly safer environment, especially
for drivers and teams new to the nitro ranks or even those
who’ve been away from it for some time.
Vicky Fanning, who last drove a Top Fuel car
in 2003, said, “After being out of it for awhile,
an eighth mile is just what I needed.” Now I don’t
see this as any indication of her skill or courage, but
as a reasonable statement from an experienced driver. It
just makes sense. Why not have eighth-mile races where Top
Fuel and Nitro Coupe pilots can cut their teeth at 260 to
275 mph instead of 320-plus over the quarter mile?
I’m not at all suggesting getting rid
of the quarter-mile NHRA and IHRA national events, but couldn’t
you see the value in an entire series of eighth-mile events
at tracks around the country, grooming new nitro pilots
for graduation to “the big show?” You could
even have supporting eighth-mile fuel events held within
certain nationals to give the lesser-funded teams a place
to race where they’re less likely to hurt parts and
don’t have to go up against the Schumachers, Kalittas,
and Forces of the world.
Why not? NASCAR does it successfully, with
its support series often running the day before a Cup race,
but over a shorter distance on the same track. I realize
several NHRA 16-car fuel fields are barely getting filled
now, but certainly there are a few races that could support
a 16-car, quarter-mile main event along with an eight-car,
eighth-mile support event for the second-tier teams. I know
there are enough cars out there nationwide to do this, but
many don’t show up at the nationals because they realize
qualifying will be a longshot—and going rounds is
practically out of the question.
Judging from the driver’s comments at
Huntsville, I have to believe there’s interest in
this kind of initiative. According to King, he’d “love
to do this type of racing all the time,” and Zizzo
said, “It’s a blast. We’re grassroots
racers to the core and this kind of racing is right up our
alley.”
Of course, you would have to somehow prevent
the big-money, multi-car teams from infiltrating and dominating
the eighth-mile series, too, but hey, I don’t have
all the answers. I’m just being an idea guy here.
Huntsville track owner and promoter George
Howard proved it can be done and I hope other promoters
around the country follow his lead and start staging a few
eighth-mile nitro races of their own. Regardless, I have
to agree with Clay Millican, the big Rocket City Nationals
Top Fuel winner: “Any time you’re racing Top
Fuel cars it’s going to be a good race, as far as
I’m concerned.”
Race safe,
