A/Fuel Funny Car

given the chance i would drive the balls off a national event car i can leave on the best of drivers drive throw tire shake hit my shift points and i can win i just wish i had the money these days to do it in my car are to show someone how good an unknown drive is that most havent even heard of anyone interested i am the real deal waiting for a chance maybe i will get there maybe i wont but one thing is for sure i going to drive the balls off my 2007 ford mustang ta/fc on shitty 1/8 mile tracks putting on a show for the people that cant afford to come watch you guys run at the national events man i love this sport


to all you guys good luck next year i wish we all could run 5.50


tks jim phillips

 

OK RG, here you go.

In a perfect world A fuel would be "Way Cool". Flames over the roof, lower opperating cost, easier to drive etc.

The big reason NHRA is not very receptive is parity. The dragster guys are still crying about parity. Funny car is very stable right now, except Manzo who I'm convinced is from another planet!

Safety is the other concern. I don't think a/fc at a divisional event is such a good idea. We have seen some major fires with blown cars at divisional events with almost catastrophic results. Could this be worse with nitro? I think the racers should decide if they want it, but you will never get everybody to agree on one type of car.

How about the big fuel teams having a/fuel teams as driver and crew development teams? Similar to Cup teams running Busch cars. NHRA will NEVER seperate the blown and a/fuel into their own divisions.

Just for myself, I still like the challenge of driving the blown car. There's nothing quite like reving up the engine and dumping the clutch. I still believe if you can drive one of these cars, you can drive anything. Just my 2 cents.
DT.

 

Randy

Well, I guess I think I've got a pretty good driver in Shawn. Does he make mistakes? Yes he does but so do I. I may be neive, but I think when we roll thru the gate we have as good of a chance at winning as the next team. I would not feel the same way if the car we were running had nitro in the tank. To be competitive, I would have to switch to nitro. If I had to convert my car to run nitro I would be done.

As far as good race tracks go, I didn't lose my sponsor because they were good or bad tracks. I lost them because there were only two National events close to my sponsor. I can also tell you that loosing a sponsor who wrote me $30,000 worth of good checks sure bought a lot of fuel, motel rooms, rods and pistons. The cost to travel has incresed significantly over the last few years and running races closer to home sure helps the wallet.

That being said, I have no dought that once you have made the switch, running an a/fuel deal would be cheaper. But making the change would cause a lot of teams to throw in the towel. I just don't see the need for the change.

PS... Dennis we still haven't forgot what you did to us in Pomona. I think it was the closest race in TAFC history. Say hi to Ora for us.

 

No no na no no no! The reason a funny car is sitting in our garage is to get away from the nitro burners that on a given day will embarass a blown combination.
The lessened parts attrition would be nice. BUT
I'm with DT. The reason I like the blown combination is that it takes SKILL to drive. I don't know if I'll be able to drive a funny car but I feel decent about my abilities thus far in the dragster. Leave the one heads up class where the driver actually matters alone!

 

I just watched the Pomona show on ESPN2 and the lone TAD left in eliminations knocked the blower off the manifold just past the finishline in a loosing effort without any comment from Reiff or Frey.

I don't know why you guys are afraid of A/FC. You can keep running the blown combination if that's your preference, but I think the class should be opened up. It would make it more than a two car show and would make it more exciting.

Right now some of you people aren't racing cars because of the money, yet this is an alternative to spending yourself into oblivion. You'd rather run the same stuff you've always run, the same way you've always run it, so you'll run the same way you've always run.

Look at Larry Miersh. He runs once in a while yet he ripped off some very competitive runs with his AFD. AFD was very tight with several cars within a few hundreths of each other. Anyone running once in a while in TA/FC doesn't stand a chance. Even Brian Hough acknowledged he hadn't been out in two months and apparently struggled because of it.

To me it's not about the money, it's about adding what could be an exciting option to the class. I personally think it would be fun to see your car pre staged, kicked over to the high side, banging and popping and then ripping of a 5.40 or so meaning more than one guy in the world can do it.

DT, since you mentioned it maybe you might know. When was the last time an A/Fuel car caught on fire? My memory isn't what it used to be, but I sure don't remember seeing one. My car was on fire just like Marty Thacker's TAD was at Atlanta when we kicked a head gasket after breaking a pushrod at the Sonoma divisional race. I'm more concerned about that than having a fire in A/Fuel. Plus, don't you think the A/FC combination is better suited for divisional tracks since you aren't reving the crap out of it, launching at 6,500 RPM and trying to shift it twice at 10,000 RPM? I do.

I'll keep racing TA/FC either way, but I sure do think it would make for some great racing.

RG

 

"To me it's not about the money, it's about adding what could be an exciting option to the class. I personally think it would be fun to see your car pre staged, kicked over to the high side, banging and popping and then ripping of a 5.40 or so meaning more than one guy in the world can do it."

The 5.40 helps with the argument for no nitro.


Glad your not going anywhere. I just couldn't imagine RG with a dragster.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing A-Fuel floppers "IF" NHRA gave the blown cars the performance advantage. For the last 3-4 years alls we've heard from the A-Fuel Dragster guys is the blown guys aren't working hard enough to make more power. That's a laugh in itself, but I'm curious what an A-Fuel FC at 92% at 2,400 ibs. with a 3.20 gear would run? Any guesses?

 

Only one way to tell.

 

Sell your POS FC and buy an AFD.

Seems simple to me.

 

Randy
I have to ask since you seem to have given this some thought
how much do you think it work cost to transition to AF?FC?
wouldn't most of our stuff be obsolete overnite
clutch
trans
blower/manifolds
list goes on and on
How many bodies do you think would get blown to pieces during the learning curves of many?
john

 

Are you having your ganja imported from Canada now? Because whatever you are smoking, you need to share...

 

From being told to sell my POS funny car (make me an offer, please) to asking me what I'm smoking...those are the kind of quality responses I was hoping to hear.

Love you, too.

Randy

 

Hi John:

#1. No, you don't have to run it, and the secondary markets would eat up that stuff anyway (sand drag racers, etc.)

#2. No. Same as above

#3. No. Same as above

#4. What list? If you are looking for current good condition used parts you can't find them right now because our friends down under are here visiting us and cleaning us out with the dollar being so weak. Dennis Taylor had 3 people on the hook for full price for his BAE forged block short block he advertised here. We were lucky enough to grab it for Shane Sanford's TAD Sand Racer when someone else higher on the list failed to show up when promised. Try to find a used titanium bellhousing right now.

How many A/Fuel racers have blown up hard enough to pitch a body in the last 5 years? One? Three? Without mentioning any names, one guy in blown alky this year just about split his body in two from valve dropping ka-booms a few months ago at one event. Like I said, the first session of TA/FC at Pomona was very profitable for the parts suppliers and block/head repair people. NHRA probably made a few bucks passing out fines, too.

Either way, I am not a dragster guy. I had one in 1988 that lasted about 8 3/4 runs before it was destroyed (I wasn't driving). That's when Steve Plueger built me my first TA/FC and I did drive that.

RG

 

In all seriousness, if you think that NHRA would even think about allowing AFuel/FC, you must be living in a dream world...
They have already F'd all the blown alky dragsters by not keeping the combinations equal, they certainly are not going to do the same with the Alky funnies...
Dan

 

With all due respect, how would you know what NHRA thinks or what NHRA will or will not do?

I remember other shocking decisions made like the 92% rule when the vote among the racers was something like 10,000 to 2 not do it. How the 2 got that through continues to amaze the 10,000 that were against it. Then there are all those PST's lying around. And my personal favorite...tossing TAD and TA/FC out of a bunch of national events a few years ago.

RG

 

This might be the overall winner; O'Doul's (stole from Will) events are just about worthless. O'Doul's events without Comp are worthless.

 

RG I bet if about 40-50 FC Racers lobbied NHRA on paper about recinding that rule, I bet they would consider it!

 

If you think that a AFC would be so much better, as you describe, then your current ride is a POS, by you own admission.

If someone wants to run injected nitro, there is a class for that. There is NO reason to screw up another class. If you do not think it will get screwed up, then the only kind thing to do is to suggest that you are smoking something.

Love you, too!

 

Thankfully our POS passes the (former) TF/FC chassis spec so with a handfull of changes it would be a legal POS A/FC. I would be taking off more parts than I would be adding.

I'm asking for opinions only. Unlike others, I'm not telling anyone that disagrees with me they are kindly on crack.

Remember my first post?

A/Fuel Funny Car

I'd build one tomorrow if NHRA would allow it. Hanging around the pits with some of the A/FD's racers made me a believer.

Any comments?