Things That Ruined Drag Racing!

Money is what shut our local little dragstrip down, it was a little 1/8th mile strip with a roundy round track also, it was out by the airport, nobody out there cared about the noise, most of them were racing anyways, well some developer and the city decided they wanted to put this new mall in, so they did, then all the big builders decided they wanted new neighborhoods, so they did, my buddies dad owned all the landaround the track, a couple hundred acres, old family property, well someone, (the city) decided this was now prime real estate, and wanted to buy him out, he would not sell, so they(the city)decided that he had not paid enough property taxes, the last ten years or so, (they miscalculated) so he got stuck with this bill for unpaid taxes, hundreds of thousands of dollars, that he could not pay, so they repo`d his land, how conveinient for them. Well after that the track got sold, nobody knows exactly the deal (big secret) but the funny thing is they put condos on the land, well the deal got held up cause the enviros wanted the land tested, all the years of oil spills and different fuels made the ground pretty nasty, but somehow money overpowered the hippies and everything went as planned, and now there building condos, all the racers and the ricer guys have been lobbying for a city sponsored track, but to no avail, we had an old airstrip where everybody raced, but a car lost control and killed a bystander so that got the axe too,

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Unfortunately, containers, airports, shopping centers, and business parks generate a lot more revenue then a drag strip.... And the yuppies who generate this increased revenue need a place to live. Just a fact, not the liberals or anyone else's fault.....

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Sir you're preaching to the choir! Residential development is why 99 speedway is Stockton closed. OF course money is the primary factor for most track closings. But if you think that enviro claims dont play a part especially in NEW tracks not being built then you are wrong. I dont come here to argue political viewpoints. If being labeled as a 'libbie' (which I did not do) brings you to defense well then thats a choice YOU made. If you consider yourself and enviro (libbie or not) then great. I simply made a point that sanctioning bodies could do more to police themselves BEFORE enviro wackos try to do it for them. Is this not true? Do you realize effect of raw gasoline to the atmosphere. Now Im not saying its the end of mother earth as some believe. But when you consider the pollutants feared to harm the air, raw gasoline is on THEIR list. To make a point I should post some of the letters to the editor in the local paper. One comes to mind. A school teacher (self proclaimed enviro) states that the track in atwater would attract thousands of fans which in turn along with race cars would produce pollution and that would increase the amount of asthma in school students and since a track is not necessary it shouldnt be built. She also mentioned enviro reports that cite 'unavoidable enviro impacts' which ALL such reports find. I mean jeez, taking your dog for a walk has 'unavoidable enviro impact' for christ sakes. This is just one example of such letters and our LIBBIE newspaper prints them all. Dont tell me that enviro libbies dont have a negetive impact on racing in california.

I like Drag racing now, with the possible exception of the delay boxes in the Super Classes, that is Boring!

Ratty41, how are going that it takes you 1.5 hours to get to Infineon from Santa Rosa? It's only 35 miles and they have one of the best programs going with racing a couple nights a week, plus great events on some week-ends. Sacramento Raceway is open a lot, sometimes 4 days a week. Plenty of chances to run a car. I expect we will see more curfews and noise restrictions.

Drag racing is the only motor sport I know where the fans can get right in the pits and watch the work on the cars, and have the race cars thread their way through the crowd on the way to staging.

I think draag racing is alive and well, it's just different than it was 40 years ago, just like everything else.

Pat

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Originally Posted by Mike in Motown

Sir you're preaching to the choir! Residential development is why 99 speedway is Stockton closed. OF course money is the primary factor for most track closings.

Then why blame the liberals???? We didn't do it!!!! Man, we're still working on health care solutions, education, equality, and other political concerns. Closing race tracks hasn't even made the list yet!!!!!

She also mentioned enviro reports that cite 'unavoidable enviro impacts' which ALL such reports find. I mean jeez, taking your dog for a walk has 'unavoidable enviro impact' for christ sakes. This is just one example of such letters and our LIBBIE newspaper prints them all. Dont tell me that enviro libbies dont have a negetive impact on racing in california.

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A couple wacko's writing a letter to the editor is hardly going to block anything!!!!! Not all media is liberal, have you watch Fox lately??? The right wingers are quite well represented, too. Even ultra conservative right wingers who are convicted of drug felonies still have their radio programs!!!!!

I guess if I lived in an area that was that negative towards racing, I'd either move or quit racing...

Tracks are closing because Money is better with the land used for other purposes. This seems to be a big city problem, not anything around here or elsewhere in the midwest. New tracks are opening, and old tracks are expanding. Racing in all forms is alive and well here. And yes, an environmental impact study is done before they are built, just as a study is done before anything is built and it should be a consideration for all of us!!! If left unchecked, business (race tracks included) would have allready totally destroyed are environment....

I'm not here to discuss politics either, I just hate to see liberals (funny word, isn't it?) and evironmentalists being blamed for all the ills of the world. We didn't create them..... When you are casting blame, then cast it on the people responsible, not just the ones who are the most convenient!!!!

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Originally Posted by Stu Cool

I like Drag racing now, with the possible exception of the delay boxes in the Super Classes, that is Boring!

Ratty41, how are going that it takes you 1.5 hours to get to Infineon from Santa Rosa? It's only 35 miles and they have one of the best programs going with racing a couple nights a week, plus great events on some week-ends. Sacramento Raceway is open a lot, sometimes 4 days a week. Plenty of chances to run a car. I expect we will see more curfews and noise restrictions.

Drag racing is the only motor sport I know where the fans can get right in the pits and watch the work on the cars, and have the race cars thread their way through the crowd on the way to staging.

I think draag racing is alive and well, it's just different than it was 40 years ago, just like everything else.

Pat

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for the past year, and continuing into 2008(2009 with caltrans) there has been huge construction on the 101 widening it to 3 lanes. so with my pickup and trailer, it takes about an hour. i didnt mean to exaggerate it so much. normally it takes about 35 minutes, but with the 101 stopped, it takes a little bit longer. im not complaining really. im sorry if i came off that way. infineon is a beautiful racetrack. im lucky i have such a nice place to go to. hell, i helped my dad haul in bedrock for the track when they remodeled the facility. it was quite a sight to see my dads kenworth and his friends peterbilt running around the track.:3dSMILE:

MONEY, MONEY AND MORE MONEY!! This, IMHO, is what is killing drag racing (also circle track and road racing)

I wont even go to a drag race anymore. Big bucks to be a spectator, mega bucks to be competitive in your class - from the lowest street class to the highest fuel class. And the bracket racing is, in a single word for a spectator -boring - watching a bunch of Camaros/Chevelles/Mustangs (choose your make) run down the track. The old head-to-head racing of of years ago was fun - basically it was 'run what you brung' and I did many years of that. But never again.

Circle track has become much the same way - if you are sponsered by Budweiser or Home Depot your budget for sure is a lot higher than the guy that is sponsored by a hair restoration product or the local tire shop.

Road racing - look at the follow the leader F1 'racing' or even IRL cars on a road circuit. Yawwwwn ! The mega buck cars are leading the lower budget guys. Always, unless the big guys are all broken

I wont even get in to the land values and eco stuff - but, again,
It's MONEY, MONEY AND MORE MONEY!! and no longer grass roots fun but business!!!

money money money, huge sponsership are a must, and large cost to be competitive have ruined it for me. i wanted to follow in my dads footsteps and run a fuel funny car. at an average cost of 7000.00 per single 1/4 mile run it is just not affordable anymore for a simple man to do. and it is a nessacary evil because the world had to see what these cars could run and that is what it took to get there. i ran a super comp dragster for a couple years and that was expensive enough. about 200.00 for the day if nothing broke. and the pay off for a win was not something to shoot for either, it was just good exciting entertainment. man i loved that car, but hey on the off weekends it was a top draw at the car shows and with the hooters gals. and the whole family could just hang out there all day and have a good time doing it. man those hooters girl make ya want some wings dont they?

I guess Mr Severson and I will have to agree to disagree on the negetive impact liberals have on racetracks here in california.

To the original topic I understand what you mean about missing the wild and wooly days of drag racing. Gear bangin, sky high wheelie series are still out there but dont get as much press but are still around for those who seek them out. The 10.5 outlaw classes are a prime example. To the comment about super classes being boring I couldnt agree more. Just go to a divisional race and watch car after car try to run the same number then the next class does the same thing only a second slower. Now dont get me wrong, if thats your gig then more power to ya but its not fun to watch. As far as the modern drag cars i love to watch the landlocked missles do their thing and along with nostalgia races to go to I thing drag racing has never been better! As the bug-o-rama guy pointed out there is also niche racing for them and import/tuner stuff so everyone is covered. That doesnt mean someone has to like it all but there is something for everyone.

To the circle track stuff being ruined, I say not. Its actually CHEAPER in many short track series to compete than it was twenty years ago. Back at 99 speedway in the day a baldwin chassis would set you back around fifteen to twenty grand and a fisher racing small block chevy would be over twenty grand. Some could build their own stuff but most had to buy what they could afford and this was their performance limiting factor. Now a days its easier than ever to buy chassis kits and used cars and with spec/sealed motors its cheaper to be competitive. Example, I know of a few speedway engineering type kit cars with sealed small blocks and narrower tires than turn considerably faster lap times than cars of twice the price ran back in the day. All this on a narrower tire. Note these sealed small blocks put out 400hp and sell complete for five grand and usually get freshened ONCE a season maybe twice. How is that bad. Short track cars handle so much better because more people understand how to make then work and chassis design has come a long ways since back in the day.

Another thing thats undeniable, its CHEAPER to build reliable horsepower today than its ever been.

Sure times change, sure I miss the old days but I think todays racing scene is alive and well in general.
Mike

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Originally Posted by mooneye777

man those hooters girl make ya want some wings dont they?

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Not exactly the part of the chicken that comes to mind first........no.:D

We've been hit with the same thing on circle tracking, prices have actually gone down, thanks mostly to spec engines and sealed engines.... Everyone is so equal on power now, it comes down to chassis setup and driver skill.....the way racing should be.. $7,000 for a race engine that will run the entire season then get freshened isn't bad. I quit racing sprinter isn 78, we had 10 k in an engine, and started every season with one in the car and a spare in the trailer. Freshened both at least once every season....

Typically, I am a fan of safety upgrades in motor sports; but, they have come with an unfortunate price (not worth someone's life mind you, but still a cost all the same) in the category of excitement.

Fire burnouts, for example, are no longer allowed and I don't see as big of a push to go faster each week so much anymore as I see a push to win events/championships to keep the sponsors happy.

I still remember watching Eddie Hill in his Super Shops T/F Dragster break the 4 second quarter mile in '88. To me that was a land mark moment in drag racing, and at the time I remember thinking that the 4 second barrier had finally been broken and somebody, someday, might actually run in the 3's. It made me really wonder at the time how fast somebody could actually cover the 1320' between the light and the line? Who would be the first to clock a 3.XX and when?

We're now creeping up on 20 years since Eddie's 4 second run, and over the past few years we don't seem to be getting much closer to the 3's. After all, Schumacher set the current record of 4.428 this past November. Most of the T/F dragsters run in the mid 4's and the T/F Funny Cars are even in the 4's but, nowadays teams are looking to shave time in increments of 0.001 or even 0.0001 of a second rather than 0.01 or 0.1.

Fuel content was limited to 90% nitro-meth in 2000 and then to 85% following the death of Darrell Russell in 2004. Final drive ratios are limited to no less than 3.2:1 to limit top speed for the sake of safety. Granted they (thankfully) save lives; but, rules like that really limit the capability to shave too much time off the E.T.'s, and unfortunately, as a side effect, simply produce the same races and E.T.'s week after week. Maybe mid 4's are as fast as it can be done safely and that is the answer to my question, but I still hold out hope that someday I'll see a 3.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see anybody get hurt, quite the contrary, I just wish that we were trying to push the envelope more like they used to.

All that being said, I don't really think that the changes I mentioned killed it for me; I still go every chance I get, but, they sure did remove quite a bit of the excitement.

With NHRA trying to slow the cars down, I don't think we will see "threes" in our lifetime. I don't know how we could do it with rubber tires limiting traction, plus all of the other new rules limitations being added.

To go threes, they would need more downforce, lighter weight, and no power restrictions. I can imagine a minimal car weight, 700 cubic inches, 100 percent, screw type blower, and multiple wings. Trap speeds would probably go to 350+!!!

The truth is, I enjoyed the races as much when they were running 7s. What is important is that the competition is close. That is where a lot of the excitement comes from.

We will NEVER see sub four second runs, ever. Besides the limiting factors already mentioned you start getting into physical limitations which bring upon inherent dangers that cant be overcome. I think mid fours is just fine. Remember, the faster you go the harder it is to go faster. One big benefit of the performance limitations imposed by the NHRA is the fact that the tracks not getting oiled every run. I recall the days of clean up after clean up which nobody likes to see. They still pitch out some parts and oil once in a while but its a LOT better than it use to be. As stated before close competition keeps it interesting. Plus it still shakes my bones to see those cars go by. Just look at how popular fuel car test sessions are. Plenty of people go to watch TF testing because they're awesome to see. Pro stock holds its popularity because of the close finishes. Lets face it, they run straight as a string most of the time and would be somewhat like super classes if they werent chasing et records. For me, hitting Pomona, Infineon, LVMS for a few nats and nostalgia drags at Infineon, Famoso, sacramento and some sportsman stuff at sac and famoso gives me what I need for my drag racing fix. When my 40 dodge is done i'll try my luck in the brackets and life will BE ALL GOOD.

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Originally Posted by Mike in Motown

We will NEVER see sub four second runs, ever.

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I'm sure that you're probably right. I don't mind mid 4's either it is still an impressive sight to see.

My point though is that as a whole, we're not pushing the envelope as much as we have in the past. It is awful hard to advance though if you don't push that envelope and then take what you learn, apply it and push it again.

For example, by 1969 we had men walking on the moon and jets that flew over Mach 6. Since '72 we haven't been back to the moon and we aren't building jets to fly anywhere near as fast as we used to.

Drag racing is just another unfortunate victim.

Like I said I still really enjoy it and go every chance I get. It's just not as fun knowing that we will most likely never see a run in the 3's.

I hear ya chicken. Your looking for the 'next big thing' to 'break the next barrier' we all have a need for that. I look at it this way, in drag racing et milestones dont need to come in 'even' seconds. National records at this point are a big deal even if they're only by .001. I still cant get over the performance of Johnson/Shumacher in the last run of the finals to win the championship. Look at how many stars had to line up to make that happen and with all the pressure THEY PULLED IT OFF! That to me was an historic performance.

I was watch the military channel a while back and they had an old school test pilot that was in it after Yeager and he talked about how bummed he was that it got dropped. Said that we should always reach for and find out where the 'limit' is. Mach 6 is amazing, now if we could just figure how to make tight turns at that speed.lol