Santa Pod Main Event

Santa Pod Main Event

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NitroWars

661 posts

210 months

Thursday 7th May 2015
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If I remember correctly it was the teams (or at least some of them) that requested the move to 1,000 ft. Those teams that are using US based tuning advisers possibly then got an advantage. NHRA are unlikely to be changing back so those European teams that may visit the US will at least be used to the shorter distance. It also gives the Europeans a benchmark to aspire to. I don't like it either but I have accepted it.

firewalker

366 posts

180 months

Thursday 7th May 2015
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Tet said:
I'm not sure you could claim they forgot to leave enough distance to stop. AIUI, the land beyond the track is owned by another party, so they couldn't have made it any longer.
Have the start line further back?

tom405

38 posts

109 months

Friday 8th May 2015
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The problem is if they (NHRA) ever put it back to 1320ft, inevitably there would be a bad accident in that last 320ft sooner or later, especially when you’d likely see speeds of 340mph… and then whoever made the call to increase the distance would have that on their head, a huge burden on their conscious… and then the lawsuits would come. I can’t see it ever changing, but I do think the nostalgia scene will grow here over the next few years so there will be more full quarter mile nitro passes. And just look at the speeds they are getting at Bakersfield…

firewalker

366 posts

180 months

Saturday 9th May 2015
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tom405 said:
The problem is if they (NHRA) ever put it back to 1320ft, inevitably there would be a bad accident in that last 320ft sooner or later, especially when you’d likely see speeds of 340mph… and then whoever made the call to increase the distance would have that on their head, a huge burden on their conscious… and then the lawsuits would come. I can’t see it ever changing, but I do think the nostalgia scene will grow here over the next few years so there will be more full quarter mile nitro passes. And just look at the speeds they are getting at Bakersfield…
With that logic whoever set the national speed limit at 70mph and built motorways is ahead of Genghis Kahn in the evil contest.
Restrictions affecting performance built into the class rulebooks would have been the sensible option. Would be nothing new.

I am also hoping for the resurgence in nostalgia classes to save the pinnacle of drag racing from extinction. Side by side 1/4 mile nitro burning 5s - I'd be happy with that. As it stands though it will take a lot of years before a full field is on the cards. I think for the foreseeable future the good old days are over and the sport has shot itself in both feet. (TFD and FC).

firewalker

366 posts

180 months

Sunday 10th May 2015
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"Don't Fix What Ain't Broke".

Tet

1,196 posts

203 months

Sunday 10th May 2015
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firewalker said:
I am also hoping for the resurgence in nostalgia classes to save the pinnacle of drag racing from extinction. Side by side 1/4 mile nitro burning 5s - I'd be happy with that.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see 5 second quarters as the pinnacle of drag racing. I want to return to 1320' as much as anyone. But I just don't get the nostalgia scene. I'd certainly rather see the best we can do today, even if it's over a shorter distance, than looking back to years gone by. In order of preference, I want to see 4 second quarters, 3 seconds to 1000' and then a long way behind those two is 5 second quarters. Just MHO.

Camaro

1,415 posts

174 months

Sunday 10th May 2015
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Tet said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see 5 second quarters as the pinnacle of drag racing. I want to return to 1320' as much as anyone. But I just don't get the nostalgia scene. I'd certainly rather see the best we can do today, even if it's over a shorter distance, than looking back to years gone by. In order of preference, I want to see 4 second quarters, 3 seconds to 1000' and then a long way behind those two is 5 second quarters. Just MHO.
Go to Bakersfield, see the March Meet. I'm really struggling to see how I'm going to better what I saw there this year, as much as I appreciate what the NHRA has to offer, that whole event blows the socks off of it!

Benni

3,510 posts

210 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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Some thoughts while reading the entry list from a german/austrian/swiss perspective :

René Meierhofer not in the Beretta but in a former Top Dragster, Guido Uhlir trying to better his PB in CE,

the Habermann Bros. sorting out new go-faster stuff,

the Roofer returning to the place of his biggest triumph (and longest PM-burndown evAr),

the ex-Kuno PM in the hands of a new driver entering SP/ET (after licensing on test day?).

Marco Maurischat returning after a costly 2013 season which sidelined him last year,

Norbert Kuno seemed to have found a setup very late in 2014 so might continue from that,

Marcus Hilt and Thomas Stiefel wanting to earn two(or single?)-digit start numbers during 2015.

René Kloss hiring his trusty four-link from PMR because his new ride misses internals, he knows that car

but Marc Henney knows how to qualify and go rounds on SPR track, this should be great.

On a sadder note, Jürgen Nagel will miss more competition but has no place on the podium (yet),

in the bike pits the Black7 team not showing up because work on the new chassis is not completed,

Thomas Granica missing out his first ME since ages, but watch out for PSBiker Karl-Heinz Weikum,

the man with little budget might put some serious numbers on the scoreboards.

Walli knows that he is lucky to qualify his Kaw in SSB but will be happy if he runs a new PB,

same goes for Sandro Haldiman but SSB senior Erich Gruber did some good T&T in Bechyne lately.

I am quite exited and have a travelling question : I know that our driver has to register/pay for his car in advance

for the Dartford crossing, anything else that is new ?




ribaric

262 posts

174 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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If everything comes together, Croatia will provide it's first entry (AFAIK) in the shape of Edo Galic/Jammie Beganovic and their 632cid '68 Camaro. Everything got tagged at Bechyne a month or so ago so it's just a case of selling the family silver to make an appearance. These guys are as dedicated as they come.

Benni

3,510 posts

210 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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Oh yes, the ex-Vegter / Schenk Camaro got tagged and ran some good T&T runs,

these guys really are running on a shoestring but the relevant safety (and speed) features are present.

You mean that the "will race for food" sticker in the rear window is meant serious ?

Good luck on the way to the pits and from start to finish, how far do they have to travel ?

What is their PB so far ?

firewalker

366 posts

180 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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Tet said:
firewalker said:
I am also hoping for the resurgence in nostalgia classes to save the pinnacle of drag racing from extinction. Side by side 1/4 mile nitro burning 5s - I'd be happy with that.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see 5 second quarters as the pinnacle of drag racing. I want to return to 1320' as much as anyone. But I just don't get the nostalgia scene. I'd certainly rather see the best we can do today, even if it's over a shorter distance, than looking back to years gone by. In order of preference, I want to see 4 second quarters, 3 seconds to 1000' and then a long way behind those two is 5 second quarters. Just MHO.
The pinnacle referred to was for side by side nitro racing over the quarter mile, the best we can hope for now on this side of the equator is 5 second runs under that criteria. Fine by me but agreed a kind of step back, though self inflicted smile

Whilst 3 seconds over 1k is undoubtedly way more impressive it is still neutered and out of context with the rest of the sport. WTF is three quarters of a quarter of a mile? The term quarter mile is synonymous with drag racing and yet now it is not - for the flagship class no less? The arguments for it that hold water...???

Being lucky enough to witness 1/4 mile Top Fuel again post 1k ft I'd give any drag race fan in the Northern Hemisphere the chance to see side by side 4 second races again if I could trust me! It is a very satisfying experience, especially now.

To compare notes then:
Side by side 4s over 1320.
Side by side 5s over 1320 on Nitro.
Side by side 5s over 1320.
and then a long way behind those three, side by side 3s over the 1k.



AutoManics

35 posts

191 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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firewalker said:
WTF is three quarters of a quarter of a mile?
3/16.

PanzerCommander

5,026 posts

217 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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AutoManics said:
firewalker said:
WTF is three quarters of a quarter of a mile?
3/16.
Or 990ft smile

hairyjester

60 posts

164 months

Monday 11th May 2015
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It used to be 990ft but then for some reason all the tracks had to move to exactly 1000ft.

transcontinental

22 posts

150 months

Tuesday 12th May 2015
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firewalker said:
Whilst 3 seconds over 1k is undoubtedly way more impressive it is still neutered and out of context with the rest of the sport. WTF is three quarters of a quarter of a mile? The term quarter mile is synonymous with drag racing and yet now it is not - for the flagship class no less? The arguments for it that hold water...???

Being lucky enough to witness 1/4 mile Top Fuel again post 1k ft I'd give any drag race fan in the Northern Hemisphere the chance to see side by side 4 second races again if I could trust me! It is a very satisfying experience, especially now.
I know that this thread has started to connect with the 1000ft issue again - which some people may have had enough of : If I may one last time throw in my tuppenceworth - only as a spectator (albeit a dedicated and 4-decades long one; done my time on the bank!!):

I absolutely agree that side-by-side 4’s at over 300 mph over the full quarter, around ten or more years ago, were really as good as it got. If I never see that again I’ll be grateful that I had a chance to be there to see the best of that era and will always remember the goose-bumping thrill of it (Carter, Reymond et al - many others) for as long as I live. I think it was a peak in the sport - I remember on a few FIA events up to 13 TF’s battling for a seriously competetive bump spot too. Tremendous stuff.

As a loving spectator the change to 1000ft was difficult to stomach with the knowledge of how exciting those full 1/4 runs had been for many years and had been getting better all the time. But I had to accept that the change in the NHRA was going to come to FIA too sooner rather than later and the only sweeteners were that the saving in cost would possibly rekindle the numbers (so we were told), and that the racing would be closer. The safety arguments at decent long tracks like the Pod were less easy to relate to. Without wishing to overlook or diminish the significance of the loss of a life which led to the NHRA change, it was difficult to understand why the length of most of the European tracks which could safely accommodate the typical speeds run in Europe, should come into the factor at all.

So off we went into the 1000ft era and, for me anyway, it’s just not the same. If a spectator who’s never seen a full 1/4 pass sees TF for the first time it seems really exciting and spectacular, which it still is, of course. But I’m very jealous of people who can still witness the 1/4 mile, in the southern hemisphere!! (and occasionally in IHRA if I understand correctly?)

It may not seem that 320’ in the racing distance could make such a difference but boy, it does. Well to me anyway...

What bothers me a little is this. If the ‘par’ for the 1000ft in Europe was just a little bit closer to the typical USA performances then it might be easier to accept the loss of the full 1/4 mile racing distance. But the frequency of “full pulls” seems to have actually decreased in Europe in the 1000ft era. So unfortunately I’ve seen very few close races in the past few years over here (though one or two stand out and were great), and many races or qualifying runs are aborted so early that it almost makes the 1000 / 1320 ft irrelevant anyway! Not saying everyone went the full track before - far from it - but when it did happen you felt you’d seen the full show, and what a show it was !!

May I venture forward the idea that, accepting that everyone is making a heroic effort, whilst the European racers are engaging NHRA technology and tuning expertise and set-ups, the extra power of these current US set-up machines are simply too much for the unpredictable weather and lack of testing time in Europe? Personally I’d rather see more slightly slower runs (4‘s!) over a full 1/4 than up in smoke, tyre-shaken, burst-plated or detonated at 400 feet runs or at any rate somewhat short of race distance. When I first saw this sport in 1972 it certainly wasn’t a start-line only spectacle and I’d be sorry if it became that.

Sorry this has been a long one (I’m not so good at being concise about this thing I love so much) but one final question might be: how much money have the TF and FC teams saved in Europe since 2012 by going to the 1000ft distance?

Edited by transcontinental on Tuesday 12th May 02:15


Edited by transcontinental on Tuesday 12th May 02:22

ribaric

262 posts

174 months

Tuesday 12th May 2015
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Benni said:
Oh yes, the ex-Vegter / Schenk Camaro got tagged and ran some good T&T runs,

these guys really are running on a shoestring but the relevant safety (and speed) features are present.

You mean that the "will race for food" sticker in the rear window is meant serious ?

Good luck on the way to the pits and from start to finish, how far do they have to travel ?

What is their PB so far ?
Travel? Bleedin' miles. There isn't a track in Croatia safe enough for them with the possible exception of Osijek. Hungary has a few but the strange rules and categories there are a mystery to everyone. So it's Bechyne and Hockenheim (now they have everything tagged). They are down in the nines these days without the use of No2 and on unprepared tracks. Major problem is track time and money for groceries.

Tet

1,196 posts

203 months

Wednesday 13th May 2015
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transcontinental said:
one final question might be: how much money have the TF and FC teams saved in Europe since 2012 by going to the 1000ft distance?
It's hard to come up with a precise figure, but I can make a reasonably informed estimate: zero.

longtimeracer

26 posts

208 months

Wednesday 13th May 2015
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Hey Benni, you don't have to pay for the Dartford crossing in advance unless you choose to, it's OK to pay on line by the end of the next day. The website to look at is www.directgov/dart charge, gives you all the options. as a regular user I find it best to pay in advance because otherwise I forget! ??

Edited by longtimeracer on Wednesday 13th May 19:16

transcontinental

22 posts

150 months

Saturday 16th May 2015
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Tet said:
It's hard to come up with a precise figure, but I can make a reasonably informed estimate: zero.
..Hmm I rather thought that might be the case; but interesting to hear from someone on the inside. Thanks Tet and best of luck with your new team at the M.E.- looking forward to seeing you