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April 21, 2000 RESPONSE:

Just wanted to throw my two cents in on the Divisional car count issue. Exhibition cars put "non-racer" butts in the bleachers. I know a lot of people who couldn't tell you the first thing about anything related to bracket, or class racing, but they remember the Jet Cars, or Wheel Standers they saw at the drags they are good for the sport, but might not be needed when the Alcohol and class cars are at the track. Jr. Dragsters must be supported, they are the future. I think that a separate event where the Junior cars are featured along with Exhibition cars is a better solution than trying to include them with ALL the other classes. The travel that this will cost some teams is brutal, but the majority has to rule here. I think the SC, SG, S/ST, along with ET Brackets, Juniors, and Exhibition cars should make up one event, and Stock, Superstock, Comp Eliminator, and Alcohol cars should be at a second event. The only other thing that I could think of (and this won't help the hours that the teams/track officials work) would be to keep it all at one event, but put up some good lighting at the tracks and simply make the racing days longer, and get more racing into each day. Possibly separate the classes by the 1/2 day (8:00-3:00 for one group of classes and 3:00-10:00 for the second group) I'm glad I don't have to take the heat for whatever is decided, good luck to you Chris Blair.
Dave Loney

How many teams run a funny car and say a super gas car? Separate the field. FMD, FMFC, Comp, SS, Stock one race all Super categories, Brackets and Juniors the following weekend. That way if there is say a rain delay you could overlap some. And by adding say the 7.50 guys on the Super weekend they would provide a great show also. Or maybe split the field with Funny Cars with one bunch and FM dragsters to enhance the show quality the other race. Thanks Wayne

I think it is time to scale back on the bracket/junior stuff at Divisional races...Mission last year was a lengthy ordeal for those kids having to race till 11pm. There is no guarantee of good weather and lack of crashes/oildowns to keep action on schedule. The points meet are designed for NHRA class cars and use the brackets as filler. It's great to get that exposure in the "big show" but not at the expense of interrupting it. Maybe a 16 car field of them, qualified at a prior race? This would at least make scheduling runs predictable. Tom Posthuma

When I started racing divisionals I had to race a class. ET class's are not part of a divisional race. I think exhibition cars and bikes should stay home, they slow the race down [oil down, crashing and a general waste of time]. Jr Dragsters should preregister and 32 only. Jr's have more class then exhibition cars! About the Wally, I think it should stay only in FM divisional class's. That means no Juniors, Top Comp or ET. They can get a Wally at the ET finals. This is a way to speed up the program.
Jeff Jackson, 1999 Div. 6 Super Street Champion

April 20, 2000 RESPONSE:

At Woodburn Dragstrip, we've decided to significantly scale back Jr. Dragster participation at our Federal-Mogul event by only inviting a few Jr. Dragsters based on our points standings prior to the event. This was a tough decision to make, but the fact is that with over 500 cars in attendance last year, plus a full house of spectators we were running out of room, not to mention time. Our decision to go to an invitation-only format is obviously not flawless, as it excludes kids like Michael Peck, the Yoders and anyone else whose parents race, not to mention kids from tracks like Seattle and Renegade who attended the event last year. However, it has become clear that we could only adequately accommodate the large number of Jr competitors if the event went off without a hitch, which of course is darn-near impossible. The past two years have seen us forced to run round one of the Jr. Dragsters at 8 am Sunday morning, which is unacceptable. Our solution allows us to showcase the class and rewards our local racers. It is not a perfect solution, but in the face of time and property constraints, it was a move we felt we had to make. Also, Division 6 has taken steps to create showcase races for the bracket racer, as well as the Jr. Dragster competitor, so now these racers can compete at races where they don't find themselves at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak, and still earn NHRA 'glory.' There is no solution that will please everyone (is there ever?) but I think the Division has tried to give the bracket racers a chance to shine. Unfortunately, the chance will probably not be at FM events.
Jonathan Adams

You have identified a crucial and highly sensitive problem. I agree that many days the events last much too long, and the matters over which we have no control, i.e. weather and oildowns, only serve to magnify the problem. There are several factors that come to my mind. 1) Limiting the number of entrants would be one way of reducing the length of the event. However, I believe that most racers love the opportunity to compete and would not like to be told that they are not welcome to compete where they previously were permitted. Requiring bracket cars and jr. dragsters to earn qualifying points to enter would be one way of limiting the number of entrants, but I don't think any one would favor that idea either. Final day events could be reduced if jr. dragsters and bracket cars would have their preliminary rounds on Saturday. If they were down to semi-finals on Saturday, Sunday would give them one time run, the semi-finals and the finals. However, I believe the most important input should come from those racers who are actively participating in these events. 2) Regarding the Wally, I believe that its value should be preserved. I believe that it should be awarded only to those who have won the National or Divisional NHRA recognized event. However, I would support having more that one opportunity per summer for bracket racers and Jr. dragster drivers to participate in a Divisional NHRA recognized event. I know that, with the Canadian events, and with the Circuit of Champions events, our Division 6 Certification Crew are being kept busy nearly every week. Unless their schedule would permit, that option is not worth proposing. Perhaps the Wally could be, or already is, given at those events. 3) I believe the value of family togetherness that is promoted through the jr. drag race program is key to the strength of our sport. Many FMDRS sportsman racers now are fielding two car teams, and for some, that two car team includes a jr. dragster. Eliminating that second car at FMDRS events, even if it is a jr. dragster, I believe, would be a move against family togetherness. i would not support that. 4) I don't know if someone has suggested that you collect input from us, but I do believe this is a matter that needs to be explored. Ultimately, however, the decision rests with those who are in authority because of their position in the governing organization or are in authority because of their position as dragstrip owner/operator. I have confidence in their abilities to make a wise discernment in these issues.
Sincerely, Elvon Kauffman

April 19, 2000

What do ya do when there's too much to do?

It became very obvious to me at this past weekend's opening event of the Federal Mogul Drag Racing Series that Junior Dragster has become one of those out-of-control classes that has become so big, so fast it's put everyone from officials to the parents in a 'situation' of how to fairly deal with them at a FM event. It's a problem that in the past included only bracket cars. Now the problem is huge.

Most of you are already aware that the FM series is for classes that range from FMD to Super Street...I think. Though Brackets and Jrs have, for the most part, been included in this mix, they are constantly the source of the many problems. Problems that cause much animosity and hurt. Problems that exemplify the classic 'NHRA dumps on the little guys all the time'.

At Firebird a few days ago a bunch of kids, parents, grandparents, friends, school chums, pet dogs, and just about anything else walking faced this classic problem. It basically came down to three things:

1. No Wally
2. Running very late in the program
3. Lapping once they did run

Let us face these three problems one at a time.

For whatever reasons, few were aware of the new 'No Wally' policy. By now most effected participants have heard the official word as to why. I think it came down to the fact that the 'old' guys who had never claimed one of these coveted awards screamed long and loud about all those 'kids' getting them. I really think that's what happened. They screamed at track operators, Division Directors, and anyone else in ear shot. Racers who for 20+ years had tried to win one and never had could not handle the fact that here were kids with a bunch of them. Now it is the parents of those 'kids' screaming at the same officials who are in a damned if you do, damned if you don't position.

The solution to this is much more complicated than what it appears when you ad the fact that Div. 6 was the only NHRA region awarding them to everyone up to this year. Racers in other divisions knew it and would regularly confront their officials amplifying the problems. You may then say that the easiest way out would be to have every Division do it, then you face the wrath of even more screaming 'old Wallyless' racers. This is a tough one. Personally I can sympathize with both sides, and simply cannot come up with an idea that pleases the most racers, so I am asking for your input. How can this be resolved? Don't scream at the old guys or say to heck with the kids. Think about it. Please.

Running late in the program is another classic Jr. problem. Like some street legal programs, these cars often bring out more crew and fans than many others on site. And yes they are the future...even though I often joke of the fact we are raising a generation of dragster drivers...As we reside in the rain capital of North America it becomes a serious problem when a few dozen Jr cars show up, and a plan is in place for them dissolves once the rain falls. Unfortunately most Jr people feel dumped on when they get the official response that FM races are for FM competitors and the Jrs are only there because the track management sets it up. Another version of the fore-mention NHRA classic problem, and one that also is very difficult to deal with.

Lapping Jr cars was once no problem. Today it is. As the cars get much more radical (and much more fun to watch) they become just like the big boys. They now require time between runs to cool, tune, etc. It's something I had never before realized. With this in mind along with problem number two I present the basic overall problem.

Too many race cars. Each day of this event, rain or not, I averaged about 10 hours at the track each day, much more on the rain-delayed Sunday. So did the racers, the workers, the management and the fans...well the hard core ones anyway (and at Boise they a have a bunch of those). Obviously that is far too long. If that's what it takes to run one of these things every time (and it too often seems to) then something must happen, and the first thing that always comes up is getting rid of some cars. I have received a lot of informed feedback on this problem over the years, most of it back in some dark corner of my mail box, where I couldn't find it again if I tried. Again I ask you, the racers, the fans, and yes, the officials what is the fair solution?

Running everyone quicker will have the racers screaming about 'lapping'. Getting rid of cars will have the little guys screaming. Taking more than half a day will have the workers, the fans and everyone else screaming. Something HAS to be done, but what? Is it a decision of doing whatever it takes to piss off the least amount of people possible or what? I simply cannot see a way to do it without upsetting somebody. The Wally problem is minor compared to the other one at this point. Is the fact that other series and races other than the FM one will make up for it? Is that is NHRA's solution?

Do you ad days to the event? Do you 'qualify' somehow to run the big races such as what the super classes do for national events? Do you run it on a track basis where the only top local racers run? Do you run it with only the regular touring FM people's kids? Some kind of combination of that? the same holds true for the bracket racers. Unless this can be sorted out, the Wally thing will be meaningless as there will simply be no Brackets or Juniors at FM races because so many people are screaming at officials and track operators they will simply can them because of all that screaming.

How do you run that many cars, hope it doesn't rain and there are no lengthy delays for accidents, oildowns, etc, and not burn out the staff day-after-day? I don't know. Do you?

It is time for constructive ideas, not screaming.

I'm Larry Pfister and I'm fired up cause this is such a difficult thing to deal with fairly...LP

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January 2000

Forward thinking...uh make that futuristic dreaming...maybe even totally hallucinating

by Larry Pfister

While many venues are remembering back on the year or decade that was, I prefer to look ahead, in a rather mystical sort of way. I begin with the current state of the sport of professional quarter mile acceleration contests, ie drag racing. As we move into another season much talk revolves around the new nitro rules. As much as I dislike the idea of slowing cars down, it has come to the point where, I believe, safety demands it, so how can anyone argue. And once again the comparison with NASCAR comes up. A few years back when Hueytown native Bobby Allison flew his car through the front straight fence at Talladega that sanctioning body decided enough was enough on the superspeedways and brought in carburetor plates. You can put that incident Scelzi's, Hill's and Herbert's on same page.

What happened that day in Alabama to the pride of the Good Ole Boys turned a potentially dangerous circus into a 'mainstream' sport. I not only suspect the same thing may happen to drag racing, but feel the powers-that-be are in a way, actually thankful such incidents happened more-or-less all at once. This could well be the one thing that makes the kings of the sport as competitive as they once were. Competitive on a scale that could bring this kind of racing to more teams than at any other time since a few dozen would show up on a weekly basis in Southern California. Since IHRA is looking even further into the idea than NHRA, let's drag out the HH crystal ball, shine it up reeeeeal good, turn that sumbitch sideways and stick it straight up Glendora's candy ass...and imagine what might happen when your favorite HH crazyman takes it a step or two into fantasyland.

Professional drag racing could actually become more an automobile manufacturer showcase than NASCAR is now. Check out USA Today the Monday after any major stock car race and you'll see full page ads from whichever car maker won yesterday. That's mainstream.

Nobody can argue that North Americans love taxi cabs far more than open wheelers. Other than the Indy 500 and maybe the World of Outlaws, open wheel racing is for the too few purists to ever be considered 'mainstream'. I give you the John Force vs. Kenny B. comparison to prove the drag racing aspect of this. I go out on a limb and proclaim floppers are more popular with mainstream America than are the long diggers. Now don't get me wrong I LOVE dragsters, but this is a business, plain and simple. Drag racing's biggest problem is too many classes. If the dragsters were gone, every pissed off digger fan on Earth could barely fill the stands of one major event. Therefore these future kings of the sport would have bodies...but not the kind today's 'Funny' Cars have. And realize that slowing them down is the only way this could be possible.

To nearly every human 250 mph in 5.5 seconds does not look a whole lot different than 320 at 4.5. And if you want to disagree with that, I simply give you the nostalgia line: "the racing was WAY better back in the good old days"...back when they barely went 230. A mildly configured stock body would have no problem scooting through the air at that speed. Tire limits, etc and other rules would put the driver back into the equation, another reason why many 'purists' don't enjoy today's professional fuel racing...or bracket racing for that matter.

I envision a top class of restricted nitro cars, running about 250 mph with real production-type bodies. Almost like what a Pro Mod is today. A second class would consist of similar alky powered nostalgia -type vehicles, with the catch in the top class being each one would have to run an engine from the manufacturer of whatever car make you decide to run. There would be templates for the bodies just like the NASCAR boys run now. The nostalgia class could be wide open in engine/body combo to keep the purists happy. I see imports involved and lots of turbos too. In fact I'll really piss some of you off and predict superchargers could go the way of the Dodo. Local tracks could run even lesser (re: cheaper) versions of these cars with smaller engines. Hell take it even one step further and create two tours for the top class, and run it like British soccer. The top ten from the 'B' series graduate to the 'A' series each year with the bottom ten big guys forced down a notch for the following year, with more prize money going to the 'A' series. Would make running hard in both series mandatory, and would provide the little guy a very fair way to step up. It would also provide sponsors a true method of determining if they were getting a legitimate bang for their buck.

Today the manufacturers are not nearly as well represented in drag racing as they are in circle...or even road racing for that matter. With the imminent demise of everything Winston in the not too distant future, the car manufacturers, ALL of them, could take to sponsoring much, if not all this and drag racing could get it's sorry ass out of a situation where some of the most despised companies on Earth (big tobacco) are the headline name on everything they do. And when I mean all manufacturers, I mean ALL. I won't even get into the motorcycle possibilities.

Drag racing is better placed than stock car racing can ever dream of world wide. I could imagine a true world championship every few years like the Soccer World Cup is today. Imagine a turbo fuelie Volvo coupe in the final against a paxton-huffed Nitro 4 litre Mustang!...in Brazil! Hey I could force myself to go there to cover a race. And remember, for all you purists who issue a pffffffft sound out your yap at such an idea, you would still have the stateside nostalgia circuit to have fun with.

Ok, Larry back to Earth...prepare for re-entry...well maybe.

Without the manufacturers involved drag racing is doomed to going nowhere fast now that the cars are being slowed. Amazingly, it's not all out speed that seems to attract the 'mainstream' fan....or even some of the hard-core ones. I know it sounds kinda boring, but isn't that what the wildly successful NASCAR is today? Go figure, they slow 'em down bigtime and within a couple of decades are more popular than those 'real' stock bodied, 200+mph bullets ever were. Sure I liked the old rockets WAY better than the current crop of 190mph slugs, but how can you argue with the outcome? More races, more racers, more fans, and WAY more money. More EVERYTHING but speed. Makes you wonder huh?

Drag racing must follow a course such as this to proliferate. There is no other choice now that the 'kings' are forced to go slower. There will be no turning back. A sport where the numbers are as important as who wins soon will have just a winner to promote. Nobody has come close to any all-time stock car superspeedway speed records for years, but do you hear anybody complaining? Drag racing must follow such a successful model, I see no other way at this time.

As for the purists, I honestly see the nostalgia circuit as the perfect place for them. It is already head-and-shoulders better than any similar effort by NASCAR. Only road racing comes close, and nostalgia road racing will forever be more for participants than it is for fans. It's an aspect of drag racing that should be a big part of the overall future.

Today we live in a world where every kid has a hero but that hero rides a bicycle up and down ramps...or skateboards...or snowboards. It's a scene where today's kid can easily think he or she can actually do it themselves. Today's Jr. Dragster drivers had better have parents with a fat wallet if they ever want to be like Kenny or John. That's the ONLY way they will ever be able to do it. The costs must come down, the ability to 'make it big' MUST be made more available to those kids on skateboards, or in twenty years the sport will be toast, cause all the old guys will be pushing up daisies, and their kinfolk'll be watching the Extreme Nats on their wall-size liquid plasma screens...Drag Racing? Wasn't that what grampa used to do back in the 1900s?

Then there is the street import market...that the domestic manufacturers are disparately trying to crack. The 'if it ain't a Honda, it ain't shit' attitude will probably go down in front wheel drive drag history as just a 90s thing, but you never know. The new Ford Focus is a good bet to dethrone the 'big-tires-up-front brigade', but trick Neons may also step up. GM has a loooong way to go however. Here again it is cost and familiarity that will take the Honda racers of today into those pro cars of the future. When all they know is how to make a front drive four banger scream, it's too much to force them to suddenly change over to a rear drive overhead valve dinosaur. ALL of drag racing is taking FAR too long to make a regular place for these racers.

With Pro Stock dominated by boring, boring, boring long-nosed Firebirds and PS Truck all Chevrolet it's already 'go for a Coke' time to the mainstream fan when anything PS comes out to run. At this time professional drag racing is Mopar Hemi clones in the nitro classes and GM cookie cutters in the rest. Take a look out in the parking lot and the ratio is not nearly so one-sided. Weight breaks just won't cut it, things like foreign bodies, and fuel injection must come on board...soon.

This sport needs to be safer, cheaper and more familiar to the youngsters, it does not necessarily need to be any faster. You wanna go 330, no problem, there are still a few pretty damn neat dry lake affairs out there. And now that I've solved that problem...

It's time for my 2000 wish list:

1) A new system for obtaining results at the local level. From Federal-Mogul events on down, getting (especially accurate) results at local drag strips is like pulling teeth. In this computer age having to handwrite so much is a joke. If the people who write the software for the timing systems don't do it, somebody else should. A decent database program is all it would take to start. VERY basic stuff. I was once told by an official that if something like a 'live' website was tied into the timing system for instant results (as was once visioned) and the public got it the same time as the officials in the tower did, all hell could break loose if something was incorrect. Scary but true. Results are what everyone wants, from best reaction time of the day in Pro Bracket to who were the first round losers in motorcycle. This is a HUGE overlooked problem that I have not seen one track, official or sanctioning body ever worry about. They all should.

2) A female member of BCCCA. All I can say is if they are good enough to work at the track and race at the track, they should be good enough to be in the club and, so at the very least, get the opportunity to become a part of management. I do believe a few members have left over the past few years. New blood never hurts.

3) A few more race tracks who feel motorsport photographers and writers are good for them. Too many track officials continue to see people like me as just a pain in the ass. We stand in the way, always have too much equipment, never park in the right place, spend too much time in the tower asking for stupid shit like results, and basically do them little good at all. Thankfully a few...a VERY few care that we do what we do, such as give them more FREE promotion than any other media venue they care to compare us to.

4) A few more race tracks should screen who they let in as 'press'. At least supply them with a simple list of rules. From the idiot 'pro' photographer who flashed a racer causing him to red-light in the final this year, to the many tracks who allow first timers basically the run of the starting line. Especially the arrogant Betacam jockeys, who feel they should be treated like Gods. I know I've said this before, but somebody is gonna get killed if it's not cleaned up.

5) Specialized groups and racer associations who rarely send out schedules, press releases/kits, or results. There are so many magazines and websites out there who constantly go through hell to get this stuff It just amazes me this free form of promotion is CONSTANTLY ignored. Most of these groups have sponsors, sadly few of those sponsors get good treatment in the media...and it's not the media's fault! I have worked for local community papers and nearly all of them would be very happy to receive regular updates on what's happening. These small venues do not have the staff available to cover local racers, but if somebody sends it in, they almost always will do something. Take the Lower Mainland of Vancouver or the greater Seattle area. Every little community has a local paper, some of which have HUGE readerships. A simple story and photo sent in often has a very good chance of appearing. I would guarantee that every regional paper would print at least one thing during the year. Make sure the sponsor names are included and at the end of the season you have a half dozen or more press clippings that could go a long way when you go back to that sponsor the next time. And the cost? NADA! ZIP! DICK!

6) Fewer racers who build cars that don't really fit into any class then whine about having no place to race. And when they do get a class whine about not getting paid enough. Repeat after me...many times: You are NOT the show.

7) No more track workers who laugh out loud when first timers come to the line and screw up. Often when it's a minority in a Honda.

8) Bring back the open driver's meeting, every race, every track. Make sure those first timers get a chance to ask questions, or better still-get a brief once over on how to stage, etc. MANDATORY at street-legal races where you KNOW there will be a bunch of rookies.

9) Announcers who actually sound excited...especially at major events.

10) A regularly updated website for every track. Why can't somebody on staff...or even somebody's kid (would make a hell of a school project and cost...again NADA!) put up a simple, simple schedule and results...go back to number 1........

I'm Larry Pfister and I'm so fired up I think I farted and hurt myself...like hey, that guy did tell me to blow it out my...