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