It has been far too long since I wrote in this blog and for
all four of you who have hung in there and read it. I thank you sincerely.
In writing about the sport I have a deep affection for,
there are sometimes when one has to go out on a limb and stick their necks out,
to say what is honest and true. It is
not done to intentionally cause harm, but it is done to tell the truth.
There are times when none of us, really do not want to hear
the truth, but alias.
There have been plenty of instances when I have gotten
emails, or phone calls about what I have written. Either in this blog, in my
column, Getting Nostalgic, or in race reports for Drag Racing Online.com.
Therefore, as I embark on this literary journey I realize there
might be some push back, but that’s ok. God love the first amendment.
This past weekend at ZMAX Dragway in Charlotte, the Big Show
had its kick off to “The Countdown to the Championship”, the NHRA’s version of
NASCAR’s Chase.
The one thing that got everybody’s attention was V. Gaines
simply horrifying crash in the first round of Pro Stock.
Primarily V was able to walk away from this crash. In the interview
with ESPN’s Gary Gerald V was calm, cool and collected holding his ever present
trade mark stogie.
Two things bother me about V’s crash.
One, about half way through his crash a very vital piece of
safety equipement failed. The window net, which is designed to keep drivers’
arms inside the car in the event of a roll over, became dislodged, and V’s arm
can be seen going outside the car on the last roll.
USA Today Sports Images Photographer Mark Rebilas has images
of V’s arms outside the car prior to the net dislodging.
Gaines is very fortunate not to have suffered a very severe
arm injury, like the one Rich Hough did in Gainesville years ago when his hand
was crushed in a roll over accident. Hough lost his hand.
Pro Stock teams and the NHRA might want to revisit how
window nets are attached to the cars. Arm restraints might not work in a Pro
Stock due to possibility of the strap becoming lodged in the shifter mechanism.
The second item that bothers
me about this crash is going to foggier.
The Pro Stock contingent has had issues at this track
before. Shane Gray’s crash two years ago comes to mind, and the numerous other incidents
where Pro Stock cars to use a NASCAR adage “wrecked without hitting anything”.
Why is this happening, especially at a place
like ZMAX? Is it weather, or track
surface construction or track prep? Alternatively, is it little of all three
elements? On the other hand, a general lack of down force on Pro Stock cars.
Many Pro Stock drivers and team will tell you that there is
enough down force in the cars, that adding more wing will only prove to slow
the cars down and not give any more down force.
Both Johnny Gray and Warren Johnson along with other Pro
Stock drivers have both been on television giving their opinions on track
prep. Warren has stated, in an ESPN interview that the “NHRA
preps the track for the fuel cars which make up less than one tenth of one percent of the (drag race) cars in the
country.”
On a different occasion in an ESPN interview Greg Anderson stated “We cant
raise the (rear) wing and make that much difference.” Anderson also states that
the complete 1320 needs to have traction compound spray on it for the Pro Stock
cars.
At Charlotte, photos have documented that the track surface
from 1000 feet on to the 1320 mark, the track appeared to be chunking up. Where
rubber and concrete were being ripped from the track surface.
This is where a double edge sword comes into play.
If the NHRA preps the track the full way to accommodate the
Pro Stock cars it has adverse effects on the fuel cars.
Fuel cars at speed make eight thousand pounds of down force
and have approximately ten thousand brake horsepower, which when a driver steps
off the throttle at a 1000 feet the combination of down force and the chassis
unloading literally flattens the rear tires, which increases the foot print. This pressure on a sticky surface has two
affects. One it will pull the rubber out of the center of the tire, or it will
pull the rubber and a portion of the surface off the racetrack as what happened
at Charlotte.
The fuel cars had pulled up the rubber and some of the
concrete, effectively reducing the rubber on racing surface in some estimation
by nearly forty percent.
This then forces the NHRA to spray less traction compound
for the final 320 feet, which can have adverse effects like those that we saw
on Sunday with V. Gaines.
One other question can be asked, is the sanctioning body communicating
with the Pro Stock teams about their decisions to spray less on the top end
prior to Pro Stock coming out for their next qualifying runs or elimination
runs?
This is not just something that occurs at just Charlotte. It
has happened at many different tracks on the tour. So what should the NHRA
do? Give the Pro Stock cars more and or
a different wing, or slow the fuel cars down.
From this vantage point, the answer is clear. Slow the fuel cars down and run all classes
to 1320 feet.
I have spoken to fuel
car crew chiefs, and some have stated that a 60 , gallon a minute pump, and a
four disc limit would slow the cars down. Other tuners have stated a much simpler
plan. Follow NASCAR’s lead and run a restrictor plate on the engines. Cut down
the amount of air let into the engine. Less air in, less power!
Either way from my perspective, the root problem is the professional
cars racing on two different surfaces on the same track. If the balance isn’t
just right there are going to be issues, as was seen at Charlotte.
Speaking of Charlotte, it is awesome that the NHRA has two
races at ZMAX. However not so awesome to see the place about half full for the
first race in “The Countdown”.
Now it is common knowledge that Bruton Smith and his son
Marcus run an excellent facility at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Should Charlotte be the first stop of the Countdown? That is
a tough question.
However, it is going to be tough to draw a great crowd for
the first race in NHRA’s “Countdown”, at ZMAX in Charlotte, when NASCAR’s first
race for the Chase is the same weekend in Chicago. Why?
Charlotte is the home base to about 90 percent of the NASCAR
teams. So honestly many of those folks who might go the drags, are either
watching Cup on ESPN, or in Chicago at the race?
Two. The NFL’s
Carolina Panthers were in town against Detroit. Cam Newton or John Force? Think
big picture here folks.
Three. Rain in
Charlotte in September. Shocker.
Now if all parties concerned are happy with the turnout at
ZMAX, then all the above points are moot. Be that as it may, personally, I don’t see
Bruton Smith happy unless the grandstands at his venues are full. I could be
wrong, but…
