5/8/08
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WHY MORE FUNNY CARS THAN TF DRAGSTERS?
There is something I can't figure out about the car counts in the fuel classes - Top Fuel is lucky to get 15 or 16 cars but Funny Car had 19 at Topeka, 21 at Bristol, and 19 at Gateway - which is probably pretty close to last year's entry counts (I haven't looked). As far as I've always been aware, the cost of running a TF team vs. an FC team is pretty close to a coin toss... so why the difference?
Topeka, BTW, was a heck of a good race... I had some concerns after the first two pairs in TF round 1 about it being a one-lane track, but those were quickly put to rest. There were some random cases of tire shake but I didn't see a real pattern one way or the other. The teams stepped up and mostly managed to stay stuck to the track despite muggy high-80's temps and lots of sunshine in pro rounds starting with round 2.
I echo your sentiments on the Greek... I seem to recall that he cut a .003 light at the last IHRA event, only to throw a blower belt at 900 feet. Not bad for a guy who either will be 80 years old this year or else already is - there's still some debate about his actual birth date, and I think Chris wants it that way <grin>. I've been a Karamesines fan since I was a little guy, having seen him match race Jet Car Bob at the Grove in '63. I was 7 and have been hooked on drag racing ever since, just never had the bucks to go racing myself.
Mark Johnson
Wichita, Kansas
E85… THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE
Just wondering... would someone tell me why, with the great automotive engineers we have tuning the top NHRA/IHRA professional and alcohol cars, we could not get an all-E85 professional drag racing series off the ground in 12 months? We would then be "politically correct" as the Federally-supported energy and farm industry sponsorships roll in, and assure that we have a fuel made in America for the future of drag racing. I'm not a chemical engineer, and maybe there are obstacles, but I would love to see a feature on this concept.
John Rollins
Florida
OUR NEXT POLL QUESTION
I'd like to see you guys take a poll of the nitro ranks (including A/FD & nostalgia AA/FD and A/FD) to see what they would do if nitro goes away. No nitro would affect both Pro and Sportsmen classes. I honestly think that if the Pros had to switch to alky, they could still get an alky car to run 4's and 300. My own formula is a mega-inch motor (blocks are available up to 940 CI now), an unlimited screw blower (or maybe unlimited turbochargers) and nitrous.
If it does come to pass that nitro goes away, what would happen to T/AD and TA/FC? Would they become Pros and we'd have 32-car fields again? Or would those two classes be restructured so they'd be "slower" version of the Pro cars (as is the case now). What would happen to the nostalgia classes?
I can think of a number of things that would change the face of drag racing. One thing would be that drag racing would be "green", because of the use of alky, and the cars would be a bit quieter, which may not be a bad thing in some areas. I'd sure be interested in what people have to say about this.
By the way, I am a dyed in the wool nitro fan, so seeing it go away would be about the worst thing I've seen in drag racing over the last 47 years.
Cliff Morgan
Phoenix, Arizona