Divisional and National Points

Wow; can I apply for the job? It seems that the positon is vacant!!! The published points at the end of last year were a joke and this year is starting off worse. Both Jay Payne and Dwayne Shields were at Phoenix and neither show their divisional selection nor points. What is up at the NHRA office regarding the person in charge of entering this basic simple data? It has been a week and a half.......that's a long coffee break.
Jeff Johnsen

 

In no way am I slagging Jay nor Dwayne; I just want the points folks to do their job for a change.
Jeff Johnsen

 

Well let's see, the Div race ran a day late, then the person that does the points had to be at the National race the next day and that race was also a day late and finished yesterday. I would give him a little time

 

OK, but the race was completed 3 days before the National event began, all during the work week and it is now the Tuesday after the National event.
Jeff

 

Also, why is everyone else's points entered from the Phoenix race, and why are the national points from Pomona for them entered but not Phoenix? I'll still take the job....
Jeff

 

Can I have the spellcheck job? "Duane"

 

All good questions with few answers!!!!!!!!!!

For all the money the N.H.R.A. make you would think their web site would function better then it does.

Even simple web site functions like getting the results from a race don't seem to work half of the time.

Reading a story is also very interesting because if you do not read it fast enough the page changes before your eyes to something else.

It's just not real user friendly.

I don't know how much they paid someone to create the site but it sure needs a few changes just so that things work.

Jimbo

 

holy sh..t Jeff who has a bee up yer bonnet. You should know the way it (the NHRA)works, worry about the big things buddy, life is too short.

How is the new driver adapting btw?
Is he going to be good?
What div are you claiming (no I have not looked at the points yet).

Dean

 

Well Deane, we are held to an incredibly high standard; not a drop of oil out of a 10K race engine or you will loose points and enjoy a financial penalty. Is it then too much to ask that those valuable points totals are accurately posted within a week or so of the event? Is it too much to ask what division those points are to accrue to? In my youth I worked around breeding bulls and I will tell you that the old saying is true...you mess with the bull and you might get the horn. It is simple, do the job at the standard that is demanded of us or you should pay the price. This has been a long standing problem.
Regarding your question about our new driver: Jim is doing a great job; he is a gearhead well beyond what I could describe here, and a great person. He has saved us a lot of aluminum through a string of stupid and crazy small parts failures. 2 sprag inner races, about 5 belts, 1 clutch pack and some rod brg failures. In lisc at Speed World, a sprag on the first pass, a 5.83/235.99 belt off on the 2nd,a 5.581/257.88 3rd with the belt off to lisc. At Firebird, a broken sprag on the launch, then a get in the show 5.904/249.58 with the belt off again. Then 1st round with Duane(not Dwayne, another, not his, spelling of the name...thanks for the correction Pat) where we decided to try to run smooth and let Duane win or loose on his own...which went our way with a safe 5.548/255.97 only to find that the problem short block which had eaten #3 and #6 eariler had now developed an appetite for #2 leaving not enough time for replacement before racing our friends from home, the Cowies so we cheered their great semifinal pass.
We worked until 10 pm that night changing engines and the following morning I returned to my winter base and Hugh enjoyed the entertainment of California's finest re length on I-10....So we get to enjoy rain, hail, and wind at Pomona. First pass a great leave, .908 60' from a deep stage(with Demke's low of the event I think) wheels in the air, 10K in low Jim shifted and another sprag inner race failure. This engine's bottom end perfect in contrast to the former one...Then Q2 a get safe in the show 5.653/253.85 with the belt again off for no observable reason(we later found a injector spacer bolt had come out and was gobbled...scratch one blower). So then we get to race a hero and true legend of the sport, Gene Snow, car driven by Chase Copeland. In the pm it finally got too cold and late after a FC oil down...45* air...so it was called. We race Sunday am....How about history...Jim raced comp elim in a c fuel dragster at Indy in 1967 when Gene was there in comp with an injected nitro fc in comp. They had a chat about it in the lanes before the run. We get to race Gene Snow!!!There is no way that this can be a bad day! Well Jim got a spectacular .007 light to Chase's great .023 and we are ahead until a nickle set screw in the trans backs out and prevents the 1/2 shift.
Jim is doing a great job; we do not normally have a ton of breakage but we have been hounded so far this year. This is very difficult at this level and everyone is doing everything that they can to make it go. We will roll on to Vegas and we are determined to get results..we were one of 2 cars to run in the.30's there with Joey last year I think.
All of the folks racing these cars are a lot of the appeal of doing it. Look at Duane travelling to Vegas to support his ill friend in the middle of the Pomona event; what a great person and friend. Everyone invests so much money, time, and effort to do this we should be demanding a similar level of attention from the folks at the head office. Too many crows sit on the fence or fly under the radar when someting should be said. Dean, you and I don't often see eye to eye but there it is; does it make sense?
Jeff johnsen

 

Here is the best advice I have been given in the last ten years to do with drag racing and life in general) and it is something I have adapted to and it makes my life much more simple and way less stressful.

If a situation is not in your control (and most of life and all NHRA decisions are not in your or anyone's control) and you do choose to run their events knowing this, don't let it grate you so bad. They likely are not going to change. It is their sandbox.

If you are going to worry about everything that NHRA does that pisses you off you will not going to be able to focus on what you are at a race for. To have fun, to run quick and maybe win a round or two.

In reality, the NHRA and the tracks are there to give you a safe place to race. You have always known that the TA classes are in the bottom half of their priority. It has been that way for a long time and you should be used to it.

You guys have claimed your division already.
Yes it is frustrating not seeing the everyone's points posted, but should the things that the NHRA does surprise you.

In your past line of work Jeff nothing should bug you

Dean

 

Thanks for the inside look, Jeff!