Tad 5.10

Are you serious with this post? Bill was merely competitive when he ran a BAD; he didn't have .18 on the rest of the BADs. Using Conway, Baird, Payne, or Grimes....oh, wait, Grimes couldn't run teens just last year.

 

Did Bill win any Natl's. running a blown car? One thing is certain the car counts are down bigtime from 4-5 years ago.

 

You might take exception with some of my observations but to date no one has questioned the fact that there has been no emprovment in the blown et's in the last 4 or 5 years. I don't know why but I am sure there is the same old crowd that will say the cars are at their limits! I have a lot of respect for those who run blowers. I used to run one myself only on about 95 percent.

 

Interestingly enough, according to Drag Race Central, exactly as many TAD entries went down the track at the first three National Events (Pomona, Gainesville, Houston) of 2007 as they did in 2002. That is 63 in both cases. There are considerably fewer blown cars now, but it appears, at least for this comparison, the injected nitro car count made up the difference.

 

How quick were you at 95% potential "Hawk". Were you a 5.20 car 5.30 car or 5.40 car? For the sake of argument I will say you were a 5.38 best. (I say 5.40 because of the 95 % of the field four or five years ago had never run quicker than 5.38.)
If you were at 95% of your potential tune-up that means you should be running 5.13 (based on a high 5.30 at that time) in a blown car this year. Firstly I call bs and secondly, I call BS. If fact you could run or tune a car to that sort of a number, you would be the highest paid CC in the TAD class period. I know this because there are a number of well-financed teams who would give you an open chequebook. I remember Boggs stated when he was tuning M. Meyers that he would have BAD's running quicker by a bit than what they were running at that time, but they would still be well back of the A/F's. That was WHEN A/F'S were at 100%.
Did I mention I call BS!!!!
Unfortunately the end is near and not because of the A/Fuel teams. I applaud them, the cars are cool and they team know how much potential is left in them. Don’t slow them down. It is because of the NHRA's short sightedness.
You look at the rules and what is potentially available to the BAD's. Whether it is enough to make them run in the teens or not in perfect conditions, I don't know, cause unlike "Hawk" I don't have his legendary ability.
But I do know this every time a BAD team zings their bullet a little bit higher or tries something outside the box to at least try and run quicker, and a rod or intake valve or spring fails, the cost is enormous, to both the team and to the show itself. What is the average cost to repair a block and to change all the rods a f...cked up crank and a load of springs. I would say in excess of 6k-10k. What is the cost of a "Gizmo", About 13K? What will they get for their obsolete d blower around 5-6k? For sure (many other racing assoc teams (mud sand boat outlaw would buy the old blower). SO the cost there is 6-8K about the cost of a rod exiting a block.
What is the coast of a clutch management system (from what I hear they could use basically the system they have now, with about a 2-4k addition to it. what would it cost to go to a 500 inch motor, again the net cost it what it costs to do a re and re. Name me one well back team that chases div and nat points right now that would not do this in a heart beat. NHRA can get their heads out of their collective as..es if they use the excuse they don't want to see the extra costs to these teams.
THEY WANT TO SPEND THE MONEY TO HAVE A CHANCE TO GO FASTER. JUST ASK THEM.
The NHRA has decided (this is from very reliable sources) that they will allow the class to run its course the way it is and if the BADs all go away then so be it. Their attitude it that they owe the BADs nothing.
Again I take nothing away from the A/Fuelers and don't blame them. A bunch of my favorite teams are of that variety. They don't deserve to be handicapped or slowed down either.
Give the BADs available technology and more cubes and then let them try and go out to compete. They will do it and then if they fail, you have not lost anything. They will respect your decision to give them a chance. And you (the NHRA) can say we gave them all we could and it did not work.
I think it would work to a certain extent. I would bet that the 10 top teams (and more coming up) out there would run teens in perfect condition. Does that compute to parity, no it doesn't, because the A/F's will run "0's" before to long, but it does give them some hope and a bit more potential for the next half decade or so.
My guess is that you will see a TAFC class with blowers and a TAD field with injection. That is the future of the two classes.
That is my take and I think it is worth going to the bank with.
NHRA get a grip on the class and don't let the BAD fade away until they have exhausted all opportunities.
I bet that PSI would built 40 gizmos' if they got a commitment from the NHRA.
I believe they are building them now for the drag boat guys.
Dean

 

No the injected cars have NOT made up the difference, look it up.

 

Well Darren I DID look it up. You can too if you’d like. I didn’t make any sweeping claims concerning the health of the class. I just compared the car count at the first three races this year and five years ago, and the numbers are the same. I can't help it if you don't like the answer.

 

Yes Bill did win a couple of national events in a blown car. We won a few also and seen that the a-fuel cars had a performance edge and us and Bill switched in 2000 to join the crowd and didn't sit there and whine.

 

Thanks Shawn, That's the deal. All of these A-fuel cars were once blown. They saw where the future of the class was going and reacted to it. No whining!

 

Hey Dean,

You might want to read Nitrohawk's post a little bit more closely. He said he had ran a blower with about 95%. Meaning he campaigned Top Fuel cars in the 60's and 70's, he's not talking about A-Fuel cars of today. I know you are very passionate about the class and want to see a level playing field, ut be sure you have all your ducks in a row before you go hammer down on somebody.

 

calling BS?

Maybe some people, or shall I say a certain person, should read the post(s) a little more slowly instead of flying off the handle. No sense in slamming a guy who is actually trying to make a hot rod run.

Hey Bowen-How ya doin?

 

Thanks Frankie for watching my back. Seems as though this is such a touchy subject that it doesn't take much to garner someone's wrath. Didn't realize my post would be conscrewed to be something other than what it was. I for one have always been for giving the blown guys whatever they want. I also made a post in the past and said " you should be careful what you wish for". I have seen the results of the new od rule and in most cases it has resulted in major engine damage. I have seen what happens with bost pressures in excess of 60 lbs. I think the smart tuners will make the right adjustments to the fuel systems, etc. and see some performance gains but it will take more than just changing the pulley size. It seems as though the people who get the most excited about this subject don't have a dog in the fight. Let most of them try running an a-fuel car without spending 10k for a tuneup. And yes you are right I said I ran a blown dragster but on 95%. I was also very competetive while building my own cars, engines and doing my own blower work. I only owned one car of about eight that ran in the old top gas class. That car ran right on the record the first time out with Connie Swingle driving.
Enough rambling got to get ready to go racing!

 

Not too bad wishing we still could come out and have fun again.

 

Hey Shawn,

What do you think the performance edge is as of right now? Has it changed since 2000?

Thanks,
Pat

 

Sorry HAwk on that miscue on my post, that flying off the handle thing. (THanks for the heads up Frankie).
As far as the future goes though, everything els I posted is the facts.

GIVE THE BLOWN CARS THE STUFF THAT IS OUT THERE.

Dean

 

Another quality article by Will that will unfortunately fall on deaf ears...

http://www.dragracingonline.com/columns/hanna/ix_4-1.html

Did anyone else catch Jim Collins (NONE) reaction to Reichert's nail in the Blown car coffin 5.10 blast?

 

NHRA has never said they would change the rules. So, for several years the obvious advantage has been a-fuel. What's the problem? If you want to bitch that it's not fair then go ahead. Nobody ever said life was fair. But if you want to bitch that you can't win that's a moot point. The rules are what they are and everyone has the option of running whatever combination they feel has the best chance to win. It's like trying to argue about the set back blower. If there is a better performance advantage out there either go with it or don't. You can't say that I don't want to run that blower so they should put restrictions on those who do so I can keep up. That's ridiculous. NHRA has never said they are comitted to keeping parity so either run the fastest combo or don't. They never promised you anything.

 

Wrong

Wrong! Where do you get your information?
They have told us they would keep things fair. Several times.
And how do you compare changing a manifold plate and blower snout for changing the whole chassis, engine, driveline, and pretty much everything else you own.
When you buy my lifelong investment, and pay my wages, I'll race what you want me to.
I just don't understand why some people are so against fair competition.

 

evolution

Maybe it has something to do with the evolution of the class. Front engine dragsters went away, blown alcohol altereds went away, roots blowers went away in NHRA. Don't blame it on rules equality when the rules you are asking for do no more than to help sustain the life of an outdated and/or under performing combination for any class.

 

Evolution

So if they allow the BA/D's a rocket booster that makes them run in the 4.90's, you'll just smile and say thats the evolution of the class and I'm happy to eat my investment and dreams?

Thanks for caring about about others.