FEEDBACK ARTICLE – BOBBY BENNETT: IT’S TIME FOR ALL 1000

How about we keep quarter mile racing and get rid of you instead? - Mark Breznay


NO WAY, that is a terrible idea. I have at least 25 friends that used to go from one to four races a year and have gone to 0 since the 1000 rule. I used to go to that many myself. Now I only go to the US NATIONALS because I took my son when he was 10 years old at the 1983 Nationals and he has not missed one since and I have missed only two. It has become a family tradition and if it wasn't I would not go. I will return to for 2 to 4 races when the NHRA comes up with a way to go back to 1320. That is when my friends will return also. By the look of the stands on TV, I think the NHRA could use all the fans they can get. - Ron Jelinek

 

FEEDBACK ARTICLE – BOBBY BENNETT: IT’S TIME FOR ALL 1000

How about we keep quarter mile racing and get rid of you instead? - Mark Breznay


NO WAY, that is a terrible idea. I have at least 25 friends that used to go from one to four races a year and have gone to 0 since the 1000 rule. I used to go to that many myself. Now I only go to the US NATIONALS because I took my son when he was 10 years old at the 1983 Nationals and he has not missed one since and I have missed only two. It has become a family tradition and if it wasn't I would not go. I will return to for 2 to 4 races when the NHRA comes up with a way to go back to 1320. That is when my friends will return also. By the look of the stands on TV, I think the NHRA could use all the fans they can get. - Ron Jelinek


I think more research needs to be done to find out what is failing in the stopping systems of the racecars resulting in them going off the end of the tracks. - Dom Lagana



I have been thinking for a long time that we need to cut back racing in all categories and at all tracks to 1000'. I race in Division 7 in the Super Pro class and I would like to go to 1000'. I also think that the fans can see more of the racing action. Especially in the bracket classes the best part of the race is the last 100'. The heck with tradition. - Lamar Crosby


All very good thoughts, but here's one more.  Right about the time that NHRA limited nitro racing to 1000 feet, they also limited testing sessions to 4.  So, if tracks that do not pass the quality standards are dropped from the schedule and total events drops to say 18, will the NHRA drivers be allowed to make appearances again at local tracks and hence make money and test?  And, if they do, what do you think the chances are that they will run the full quarter on those marginal tracks like they did for so many years?  I think there's a real good chance.  They may not put up the national event numbers (they never did before), but they would make full passes on those marginal tracks.  I'd bet on it.

Alas, the NHRA would not allow it and make more rules to continue forbidding the appearance runs.  Maybe PRO can band together, tell the NHRA they will only run a 16 event schedule on approved tracks, and that they will run where they want, when they want, and how much they want outside of posted national event dates to please the fans. - Bill Anderson


I 100-percent agree with you. This stuff is getting way too fast and dangerous. If NHRA thinks it will hurt their spectator count maybe they ought to try lowering the price of their tickets and see how many more people they will get through there gates and still make the same money. I agree there would be a bunch of people complaining if they shortened the track but as I learned about racers and spectators they will still show up. We all love to bitch about something but we will do it at the track. So let’s not hurt anymore people and act now not later - Tony Christian



I do agree with you regarding the Pro classes and 1000'. (As a bracket racer I also consider the TAD guys pro)

BUT - If they backed off bracket racing to 1000' I would hang it up. No I don't go to 1/8 miles races. - Earl Helm



I completely agree. I recently attended the Norwalk national event and watched two Pro Mods crash violently. Tony’s crash reminded me of the Steve Engle crash, which I witnessed live. I honestly thought I had watched the last pass of my fellow countryman. After seeing that it made me sick, I thought about leaving the track. 1320-ft is just a standard that was set back in the early days of racing, let’s set a new standard. - Allan Bain



I run in the 160's at 1320 ....145 or so at 1000...no big difference. It is all about me and my car and the other guy...regardless of speed.

If it saves one life I am for it. - Phil Dion



I whole heartedly agree. I love quarter-mile drag racing but most of the tracks are outdated as far as safely being able to stop these cars. I am getting tired of tuning in to watch a race which begins with the news of someone being killed. - Kim A Johnson



I agree about racing 1320 feet a lot of these tracks are too short to get these cars stopped. Also I think it’s about time NHRA made it mandatory that the sportsmen class have to have the same set up on their cars as the top fuel and top funny cars have on them and maybe someone should check and see why these parachutes keep ripping off these cars. When we raced, I checked that static line every week to make sure it was in good shape and mounted securely. My brother put that chute out going over 200 mph and under power so I had to make sure it was hooked properly. -- Byron Parmenter



Unfortunately if you look at the way some of these drivers have been killed, they needed a lot more than the extra 320 feet to stop. One was supposedly killed by shrapnel entering the cockpit. Maybe they need to slow them down and go to 1000 feet. I have been going to the races for 37 years and I am not opposed to doing what is right. What is right anyways? These guys will always find a way to go faster no matter what rules you impose. I am sure the insurance company will dictate what happens. - Michael Walker



To all the people that say they will quit going or watching if racing doesn't go back to quarter-mile, they are sure going to miss some great racing. While I was not a fan of going to 1,000 ft, it has provided some of the closest side beside racing we have seen in years. But I was raised around eighth-mile tracks and in my opinion it provides the closest and most exciting side by side racing ever, it puts more responsibility on the driver not just the crew chief. As for these people who say that wouldn't watch eighth-mile racing maybe you should try it before you condemn it. Can you say ADRL? - P.O. Brown


Nobody wants to send any more drivers to the big track in the sky, but the fact is, the sport has its risks, and 1000 length isn't the answer. The answer is containing run away cars in a safe manor, regardless of speed. Mark Niver wasn't going that fast when he went into the sand trap, so speed isn't the issue. The issue is simply to come up with the best solution to capture and contain the vehicle in such a way where the driver can walk away, or at least survive.

As for shortening the track, I have a better idea. Stop gluing the track, or go back to track prep as it was back around 1980. Do away with the concrete pad, what you will have is a track that will not allow as much power, will not allow to go as fast, and without being able to put down that much power, you need less clutch, less pump, less blower, less wear and tear on parts.

Just an idea.

Racers have been killed on eighth-mile tracks too, so again, it isn't the track length. - Dale Smith


Your message should be on ear and heart of every race fan and competitor. We need to look at the cost of doing business and that is the life of every racer and fan who come to any drag race. We need to try to protect each of them any way possible and for now we need to go to a shorter race track that will lead to less speed and more stopping room at all tracks not just the ones that have had tragedies. The fans want good racing a safe environment to bring their family, no one wants to explain to their child, wife, mother, or friend that they just lost the life of another racer or fan at any race track. Maybe the NHRA, IHRA and any other racing body needs to remember that they need the racers and fans because without them -- the bleachers and concession stands will be empty - Rocky Hummel



It's about time someone in the media stepped up and said what has to be said. I was at Englishtown when Neal Parker died and it's a site I don't ever want to see again. NHRA wants to slow the cars down. How slow. Parker went 249. It’s not the car it's the track. I've run Super Stock at Raceway Park and it's the only track where I have to brake hard to stop. At 125 mph, I can't picture 300 there.

1000 foot in ALL Classes. Even brackets. Watch a 200 mph bracket dragster try to stop on rear brakes only. At Englishtown that's insane. - Robert Afflerback




I agree, now is the time for all of NHRA classes go to 1000 feet. Don't change the NITRO engines and change Pro Stock to fuel injection. Then new records could be set and point given. I have been going to NHRA races since the 66 US Nationals and 1000 feet is the right thing to do. - Bill Black




No way! The tracks that can't extend the runoff area need to move the starting lines back. If that also means tearing down luxury box filled towers too, so be it. If they can't do either, then the NHRA needs to find a track that can. There’s plenty of tracks out there that can or already have plenty of shutdown area. - Paul Martens



I for one feel quarter-mile racing can be exciting and safe. Why do we need 8000 HP fuel cars when I would be just as entertained watching 2500 hp fuel cars. I am 46 years old and have raced since I was 15 and remember when a 8.5 second pro stocker was a bad car, now were at 6.5 seconds and they don't even resemble a real car. Let's make the sport more affordable and entertaining and take some of the "technology" out of the "pro" classes. Slow 'em down and make them fun to watch. I race a 10.5" car that is not competitive at the big shows but is still a blast to drive and fun to watch. - Chris Fracker



I've been talking your talk for the past 8 or 9 years... these current cars have outpaced these old tracks by leaps and bounds. It's more than time to go to the 1,000'.

I'd like to say that I still "Love Drag Racing" like I did in my youth, but actually I've become so disgusted with the lack of a show and any new cars and drivers, that I won't watch it on TV any longer.

NHRA is an arrogant association that just doesn't want to admit that somebody else might have the better idea, so I say F'Em! - Larry Fulton




I'm sorry Bobby, I just don't agree. The Mark Niver incident was kind of a freak deal. He wasn't going very fast into the sand.

Why don't they investigate WHY the chutes just broke off of the car? Two of the cars that hit the sand the past few years (Alexis Dejoria and Mark Niver) had DUAL chute failures. What is the point of having 2 chutes if both come off together?

Fix the safety devices.

Fix the racetracks (longer shutdowns, longer sand traps). Tell the tracks that don't comply that they will lose their national event.

Please, Please, Please, DON'T destroy anymore of the racing. - Scott Wanbaugh



Hey, let's just have reaction-time contests with those little practice trees everyone has. Then no one will have to get off their couch. We could all do it over the internet. Saves a lot of money for Glendora.

Seriously, these deaths are tragic and might have been prevented for so many reasons (better track conditions, longer runoffs, better end traps, more control on engine size, one mag, all that stuff, etc.). But we must also maintain a larger perspective on the whole issue. The only organization with this trouble is the NHRA. Has any other group changed to 1000 foot?  Why can IHRA run 1/4 miles without these same incidents? Or the FIA? Or Australia?

NHRA facilitates all the problems because it refuses to grow a pair. Yeah, manufacturers will scream about the cost to adapt; but I say it's time to reach back to the 80's and 90's technology and hold the pros to slower times. Otherwise, this sport will eventually outgrow itself and become extinct. - Lee Hunsaker



I think Indy would be a perfect place to implement this format. Since racers will say they don't have time to make the changes, open the track for a week to anyone who is entered included in their entry for the Nationals. Make the records whatever they are at the end of the race and use a formula similar to the eighth-mile for those that need it. If there is a .6 under rule now for quarter-mile on sportsman records in qualifying do the math for 1000 feet & adjust it. Make this thing an across the board change and go with it. - Roger Gates


Bobby I respect your opinion on this one and it seems logical to say go to 1000'. I am the last one who likes to armchair quarterback but Niver’s root cause of the crash is that the chutes came off. After that, well anything can happen and DID happen. What an unfortunate and saddening thing to happen. If he had another 320 would it have helped? Who can rightfully say? NHRA, since they want to be like NASCAR, should hire the personnel and manpower to develop their own spec chassis AND bodies (maybe engines) in order to reduce the chances of such tragic events. Then again, if you are traveling at 270 mph, 335 mph, or 125 mph, bad s%&t can and will happen-ALWAYS! I agree only to minimize the risk to the participants. And if everyone is so afraid and thinks it is currently unsafe, do not get in the car. I will gladly go to Hawley's school and then drive any car for anyone who does not want to risk it themselves. - Daniel Albert

 

DISCLAIMER - The views presented in these feedback letters are the opinions of the individual author, and do not necessarily represent those of CompetitionPlus.com, its staff and advertisers.   

 

{loadposition feedback}