The Future of Dragsters in Comp???

We need a 4.7 lbs/ci for altered style cars. We have absolutely no other class to go run our b/a car in. Doesn't make much sense to go from 3.4 lbs/ci in a/a to 5.4 lbs/ci in b/a. Something in between would be nice.........
 
more classes

i can certainly see the reasoning behind not wanting more classes. last year, and what we will see develop this year may call for further review of opening things up for the dragsters and altereds.

is this giving the dragster guys an out? giving those guys more classes?

is making it easier for a racer to change classes really the direction we want comp to go?

big money always trumps less money. if the big money super mod teams can run 12-18 classes, and next year with auto dragster classes, dragster guys can run 4-6 classes pretty easy, what happens to the class when those same big money super mod teams add a dragster to the stable? it would be concievable for a team to just bury an index a race. kill a class, move on to the next.

look at baseball. no salary cap. teams can buy championships. why do you think the yank's win so many games/championships.

look at football. salary cap, and you see parity in the league.

as i've said before, limiting a racer to two classes a season could be comp's salary cap. granted, the big money teams will still find ways to have advantages, but it will make it much more difficult. finding horsepower on the dyno is a tougher task than bolting a different carb plate on for the next race....
 
Will...Money can't always buy you love! If that was the case, everyone that has money, in comp racing, would win all of the time. We all know that it takes alot more than money to make it work in racing.

The main source of frustration stems from the inflexibility of the dragster classes. For instance, if I want to run C/D, I will need to go to the wedge head combination. To do that, you're look at spending 55k on a strong motor combination. Whereas, most door cars have the flexiblity to: one, add weight; two, take off a carb and/or change classes. Maybe the change constitutes a few thousand, at best. Provided you have to change the converter/clutch/etc. This is very little in terms of cubic dollars spent. We have seen this recently with Rodger as well as Taylor last year.

Jeff Gillette, someone I've known since I was 5, recently sold his dragster and purchased a door car from Ben Watson for the same reasons. Most of the rules are "pro-door cars" allowing for flexibilty within the classifications of comp.

As far as the feedback with the indexes; yes, things have to be fair. It begs the question on to how the indexes are arrived at. Secondly, what imput was given. Thirdly, what system/process was done to create them. Are we dealing with an unknown in terms of few cars running a class? Or just trowing out a number?

There has to be a collective effort, to have good input from all racers and NHRA, on a yearly basis to review them. Otherwise, we will see car counts continue to go down and/or racers jumping to other classes. We have to create an invironment that will allow for growth within the classes of comp.
 
good points gil

dragsters are inherently harder to change combos. the changes you have to make to door car chassis to make major class changes is small relative to what you have to do to a dragster.

my car owner harry clack has told me there was alot of differences in the b/ed and c/ed chassis he used to build. overall length, motor location, angle all were different based on the hp. i'm sure a stick chassis is going to be different as well.

so if auto dragster classes come out, a guy with a current b/ed can run b/ed, run b/d with no changes, or put two carbs on, or clutch/trans., b/da he can also run b/da with the two carbs and the auto. usually a backhalf for an auto car won't accomodate a clutch/stick trans. you can still jump over to b/d with the auto, if the index is favorable. or you can build a car with the motor out far enough.

let's not forget about the planetary classes...so there's a possibility of b/dp.

now here's where i'm going to have to get some input from current dragster guys....can you play with weight enough to jump from a to b or b to c or c to d, etc, and run competitive numbers?

it looks to me the most a guy could jump classes with the same chassis would be 4 in a dragster.

money doesn't neccesarily guarantee wins. money in the right hands is dangerous. i don't mean to downplay the skill of racers like brogdon, taylor, butner, etc., but money in the right hands is really dangerous. brogdon is a good driver, and he's smart enough to hire the right people. butner's the same way.

when you got a big budget, it's your job to make that budget work to it's fullest extent under the rules. right now the rules allow you to run alot of classes with a supermod, so if you want to win the championship, and you have the budget, that's what it takes. just like a big poker game, if you got a big stack, it's your job to use that stack to keep the short stack from 'limping in'.

it's up to nhra to create an environment where it's easier for the mid budget teams to compete.

the line has been drawn in the sand. an already expensive class is getting more expensive.

so the first thing i'm for is two classes a year. you beat up one, you get one more.

if the door car guys get auto classes and planetary classes, i'm all for the dragsters getting them as well.

i think class limitations will promote diversity in comp. diversity is what keeps it interesting.
 
The dragster automatic issue has again taken off on Mike's Comp Forum....... as a result of the nonsense being brought up about "NO NEW CLASSES", I felt compelled to write Len Imbrogno, AGAIN, explaining the positive position of many racers as well as the positive affect these classes will have on Comp overall......... I just find it a shame that some racers can't support other racers........ especially after getting some special breaks themselves..........