tj34ford

NHRA just announced they are changing the fuel racing to 1000 feet instead of the 1320 from Denver on

slowmotion

I work at a track. We were talking about it the other day. My boss's point of view was that there are no grandstands down that far and people will still see 300 mph on the score boards.
I don't know if they will have add new mph beams at the 1000' or how it will work.

ashtrak

I would have to think they would move the beams because a race could be won or lost that extra 320 ft :wink:

superstreeter

I for one, am glad they are doing this,,I`d like to see them do this for all the classes,,would be safer for the faster cars, and might let them ease up on some of the safety issues, parachutes and stuff.. its seems to be getting harder to keep the car at the track lately, and this may be a start..

slowmotion

I'm not sure what class you run. That being said.

Dropping back to 1000' should be no reason to "ease up on safety".
If you have the money to build a fast car, you have the money to spend on safety.
Probably most of the guys on here are bracket racers. You don't have to be the fastest car in the class or torture your equipment to get that extra tenth out of it.

If a guy is blowing up his stuff at the 1250' mark, then backing the finish line to 1000' means as he makes change to get the most out of the pass, he be blowing up at the 900' mark.

I myself just put together an altered. I could've went killer on the engine. Instead it was built to go lots of rounds with reliability and little maintenance.
We're still testing and I hope it runs around 10.00.

zipper06

I know this will be an unpopular sinero, but i for one would like everything cut back to 1/8 mile. most accidents occur after the 1/8 mi. mark, most blownup equipment happens after the 1/8 mi. Some tracks that have 1/4 mi. capabilities most times run 1/8 mi. except for big races IE: memphis, in fact there's not one track in Miss. that runs 1/4mi., not many in S.C. or Ala. In the end this saves on accidents, cleanups, and is much safer.
Top fuelers are already running close to 280mph in the 1/8 and only 40 to 50mph the last 1/8mi. while they melt down.
I did see the tape/run in which Scott, died and it appeared to me there were serious problems, soon after the fire. The chutes came out very late, and the car didn't slow down much before hitting the sand, like maybe the throttle was stuck or maybe he was uncounsious long before he got to the end of the track.

These are just my opinions and mine alone.

Zip.

topcat572

I agree with Zip. I am not as macho as I once was. Ive ran 1/4 mile for over 30 yrs. The last 2 yrs the only races We ran has been the KOC, which is 1/8 mile and have grown to like it, 135-140 in the 1/8 will get Your attention. Im considering setting up for the 1/8 only now. :wink:

us7race

I have maybe a differant opinion on this?.. I think everyone knows all the cars are set-up to be on the edge at the 1/4 mile to get the most out of their pass. Shortening the distance is only going to make them push their cars just as hard as before and be ready to let go 320 feet sooner.
So will it help? I am not so sure how much if any. Of course it will slow down the MPH by a fraction.. Any other opinions on this?

superstreeter

Well I think if your going to shorten the distance, the mph and et with both be down, so you`ll have some rpm to spare,and you`ll put more gear in to get back to the same rpm you used to go through top end at,engines will rev up quicker, leave harder, and make less breakage I would say,,I`ve raced 1/4 mile and 1/8, I see way less breakage of parts at the 1/8 mile tracks, than the 1/4 mile ones..I still think its a good idea, as for safety rules,they usually base the rules on how fast you run, which means if your down 10 mph or 1/2 a sec. for example, at top end,,that lets alot of cars off the hook for parachutes alone! just my opinion !

mark6052

If nhra cuts back to 1000ft it will not effect the topfuel tune. they will keep the same gears, 3.20s, same revlimiter, etc. they just wont be on final melt down.