FEEDBACK ARTICLE - DRAG RACING, AN EIGHTH MILE AT A TIME

In NHRA Drag Racing we as fans, sponsors and racers face the inevitable gnashing of teeth each time a racer, professional or sportsman, dies in the process of doing what they love.

In the aftermath of each death we are left with far too many questions, not enough answers and the resolve to not let it happen again.  And yet as we search for definitive answers, we all have a tendency to over look what a mechanically brutal sport we are involved with. 

The acceleration data has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade, and yet no one questioned it or requested a moratorium on the data. The fans continued to attend races in record numbers and equipment manufacturers continued to let the equipment evolve in order to make those 60' times even quicker. For all of the professional classes and even the top sportsman classes the numbers are staggering.

Take the SS/AH class for instance.  These vehicles are now entering the 8.5 second zone at more than 150 mph.  Look at the National record for this class at the beginning of the 2004 Season. That was just 3 years ago.

This sport that we enjoy so much is built on the foundation of elapsed time and speed.  It is what we in the sport preach in our advertisement, it is what separates us from all other forms of motorsports, it is the benchmark for the equipment manufacturers, but more than that it is our identity.  This includes the length of the course in which we contest each race.

As fans, manufacturers, and racers we stood in awe each time a speed barrier was conquered. Each barrier that was eclipsed was an achievement for all of us because we were and are a part of the family of drag racing.

There are no easy answers, and each change we make in order to insure that racers can live as they accelerate into danger are not well served.
The costs for safety equipment in all categories are staggering and continue to grow as each improvement is put into place. 

As a long time enthusiast what I can safely say is that the good times are definitely behind us.

The years ahead will be filled with ramifications that will affect each and everyone involved with the sport of Drag Racing. There is no room for questioning how we as a community could have let things go this far, simply because we never questioned ourselves before. - David Gutierrez, Dearborn Heights, MI

FEEDBACK ARTICLE - DRAG RACING, AN EIGHTH MILE AT A TIME

In NHRA Drag Racing we as fans, sponsors and racers face the inevitable gnashing of teeth each time a racer, professional or sportsman, dies in the process of doing what they love.

In the aftermath of each death we are left with far too many questions, not enough answers and the resolve to not let it happen again.  And yet as we search for definitive answers, we all have a tendency to over look what a mechanically brutal sport we are involved with. 

The acceleration data has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade, and yet no one questioned it or requested a moratorium on the data. The fans continued to attend races in record numbers and equipment manufacturers continued to let the equipment evolve in order to make those 60' times even quicker. For all of the professional classes and even the top sportsman classes the numbers are staggering.

Take the SS/AH class for instance.  These vehicles are now entering the 8.5 second zone at more than 150 mph.  Look at the National record for this class at the beginning of the 2004 Season. That was just 3 years ago.

This sport that we enjoy so much is built on the foundation of elapsed time and speed.  It is what we in the sport preach in our advertisement, it is what separates us from all other forms of motorsports, it is the benchmark for the equipment manufacturers, but more than that it is our identity.  This includes the length of the course in which we contest each race.

As fans, manufacturers, and racers we stood in awe each time a speed barrier was conquered. Each barrier that was eclipsed was an achievement for all of us because we were and are a part of the family of drag racing.

There are no easy answers, and each change we make in order to insure that racers can live as they accelerate into danger are not well served.
The costs for safety equipment in all categories are staggering and continue to grow as each improvement is put into place. 

As a long time enthusiast what I can safely say is that the good times are definitely behind us.

The years ahead will be filled with ramifications that will affect each and everyone involved with the sport of Drag Racing. There is no room for questioning how we as a community could have let things go this far, simply because we never questioned ourselves before. - David Gutierrez, Dearborn Heights, MI