tafc

guys i know this is a touchy subject.my family is considering joining the alky funnycar ranks next year (ihra-udra and maybe nhra div.).to be honest the lack of car counts has me a little concerned.as far as the funnys go anyway.any insight.Will?any comments.im an average joe working 9-5.need to spend wisely.thanks again guys.

 

Attend some races and ask the TAFC folks.

Watch what they do and the effort it takes? Take a look at the resources? Trucks, Trailers, spare parts, experienced crew people (constant every week)

On the hand hand look at the teams that struggle and determine why? money, desire, brains etc. What and how can you do better?

Cheat? Conway?

 

You have quite a few cars in Div 3 - full fields at the divisionals is the norm plus you have some decent match race opportunities with the UDRA/American FC's, etc.

 

I would not suggest joining a dying breed! I suggest you buy a Pro Mod car instead! Now before you guys start flipping your tops off, just realize I am only having fun with the truth! As Will stipulated, no personal attacks here, just my opinion and a dang good one at that! Oh, thanks for visiting the TOPMA board Will.

 

Grant - I hope you are dead wrong. In the south you may be correct but in the midwest I think you are completely wrong.

 

gpking- it is true that the TAFC class has decreased in car count because the NHRA is sampling the water with the REAL PROMODS.They felt that Promod was a way to bring in additional spectators. Now the truth is that NHRA is not as jazzed up as they were because of all the bikering going on in the class. The only way that a promod will run NHRA is as a Exhibition class. This has caused many promod teams to consider throwing in the towel. When this happens you will start to see more teams build TAFC. The BIGGEST problem is that new bodies are hard to get. NHRA has had several meeting discusing this problem and is trying to come up with a alternative plan for bodies. My NHRA source has informed me that a spec body may be in the near future.

As one poster stated NHRA is not putting up any money for the Promod class but has committed a large sum of money for TAFC and TAD including a Championship purse. If I were trying to build a new car I would invest my money in what the numbers show.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

hi i'm new here.#1 ta/fc numbers arent decreasing. Counts are going up.#2 don't thank me for visiting your web site I have no interest in door cars. even NASCAR doesnt have any doors.#3 if this is an alcohol site, where is everyone? thanks for listening.

 

Hello GPking,
I am a TA\FC rookie. I have about 50 passes in the car at this time. It took 30 years of racing Fast bracket cars, top sportsman. even a stunt in nascar to get here. I have always wanted to drive a clutch Funnycar and I started working to that about 5 years ago. We run our team mostly week to week on show money and some help from very helpful sponsors. The best advice I got was from a long time funnycar racer by the name of Bill Naves. He told me most of the stuff to be perpaired for in a letter. I was looking at his car at the time to buy it. But I was not ready at that time, both money and time. We gathered parts (Mostly used) and good safety equipment (New)for 4 years and hit the track last year. It took most of the season to get both NHRA and IHRA lic. The trip has been full of up's and down's but there is nothing like side steping the clutch at 5500 and shifting at 8800. Now mind you, we run our stuff Fat and Happy (Slow)6.30's 225 but we have a 5 yaer plan to move up a little at a time. I have seen Bill post here and if you can get a copy of the letter it is a great help to see if you realy want to do it It is a lot of work for you and everbody the wants to help. Little thing like taking off the body you need help with and I can tell you these things are hard to push around by your self. It's luckey, or maybe not my wife is a CPA. She can tell you that this class is not cheap. But it still come to letting out the clutch and the burnouts. It's so cool

 

Don’t believe everything you hear in the bleachers. FANS talk a lot and much of what is communicated is nothing more than hearsay information. The NHRA recognizes the Pro Mod class as a Pro class. The NHRA has been extremely impressed by the car counts and the shows that the Pro Mods have put on. There is a lot of propaganda currently being played by the NHRA. They know that the originator of the Pro Mod class was the IHRA. NHRA wants to be known as a leader not a follower. The Pro Stock Truck class was deemed a failure and they are trying to play their cards very carefully (and for very good reason). The NHRA knows that the wave of the future for door cars is Pro Mod. They recognize that fans want speed and variety, and that is just what the Pro Mods bring to the Pro class. Wild body-styles, paint jobs and engine combinations. They are also the fastest doorslammers on the planet! Even if you are just a fan, what more could you ask for?

 

I came here to see whats the latest on ta/fc and dragster. doesnt pro mod have their own damn web site somewhere? this persons fax machine must be connected to tom Comptons to know everything NHRA is thinking. I don't even know how he does it and I dont care because hes way off base. Plus the people I know are upset that there wasn't any alcohol cars served at Denver thats why I came here to find out if that will ever change. The race was boring to me without them.

 

I am here to debate issues and discuss the topics at hand. As Will said, there is no room on this board for personal attacks. If you would like to debate any subject whatsoever, feel free to do so. A debate isn’t stating that everything I say is crap and everything you say is non-crap. As for no alcohol cars at Denver, I know of several people that didn’t miss them one bit. I thought the event was a lot better overall without the alcohol cars. So everyone has an opinion. Just because my opinion varies from yours doesn’t make mine wrong and yours right! If my opinion isn’t popular on this board, that doesn’t mean that I should or must go to another board.

 

Well GPKING..the first and main thing you need to do is decide what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to race a TAFC and stay within your budget you can certainly accomplish that. Ask around and buy a good current used car, complete if possible..all the little things add up to a fortune. Find somone to teach you the basics of running a blown alcohol motor if you dont already know how.If you get caught up in trying to run faster than your budget allows you will go broke in a hurry.

 

hey guys,dont make me get the hose(just kidding ).this is why i posted here i wanted decent opinions of guys who are hard core fans and genuine racers and please take that as a compliment .i really did not mean to start anything .its just that when i do decide the best way to spend my hard earned dollars i can only do it once.like i said im a 9-5 working joe.but i know these cars can be run on a budget ,ive seen it done.ALKYFC,i have already been working on that and have made some friends in the mwfca and crewed for a guy that ran udra funnys .i have a budget and am not going into this blind ,just dont want my investment to disappear in a cloud of tire smoke.thanks guys anymore advice is always welcome.GP

 

So who said you are talking crap? you did. I have not said anything that is attacking you, only saying Im here to find out the latest with alcohol racers because it's my favorite classes bar none. you are the guy comming on here and telling us promod is better. I like alcohol cars so I log on to insidetopalcohol.com and then you dumping everyone about promod this and that. go start your own damn web site and leave me alone to discuss with other alcohol enthusiasts. Why do you want to start it with me? you're here telling everyone about promod on an alcohol board while I'm here to discuss alcohol cars on an alcohol board. good by.
topalky that sounds like good advice because Ive seen others get so involved that the family complains about the lost priority of family over racing. You sound like you have a race car. do you have a team racin right now?
thanks.

 

Tommy:

Hang in there, buddy. There's one or two on every message board it seems like. Maybe the smell from Fort Worth will blow away some day.

gpking:

There are independent associations that run their own series that are doing very well, like CIFCA here on the west coast. They have a lot of races booked, very nice cars, run on an affordable index and have fun things like burn-out contests with prize money. Most of these racers (male and female) do it with 9-5 jobs and family involvement. Heck, Rhonda Hartman Smith used to run CIFCA. I think the index is something like 7.50 or 7.30, but I might be wrong. I think they were looking into bumping it to a 6.80.

Unless you can get started with a lot of money to hire the right folks or can start with an established team it can be tough, but the numbers aren't dwindling in spite of what you hear.

 

the midwest funnycar assoc.is in my neck of the woods .been to the races with Matt Sullivan(sheer craziness too fc)a couple of times and just found out Mark white lives close by .also a nice useless fact of the day.John Lawson and Fran Peppler ran the mwfca .keep the posts coming guys .thanks again.GPking

 

yea, if you have any questions just ask.
Marc White

 

"REAL PROMODS"

One has to wonder as to who that was directed? lol

 

TJTurner has made a very valid point. You should do some research and check out the venues and number of races in the geographic area you intend to race in. If you find that there are enough IHRA races,NHRA Divisional and National races,circuit races and independent races to satisfy your desire to race then you should consider an Alcohol Funny Car.

However Grant has also made valid points too. You should consider the future of Alcohol racing. Where is it headed? Unlike others here I do see diminished car counts as compared with the past. If I were considering a funny car that would disturb me. Maybe races like the ones Will is contemplating would help the situation. Will, how was the crowd count at Sealybration? Did you act on my suggestion of polling the fans to gauge their reaction to the show?

If I were considering spending the kind of money that your family is, gpking, I would seriously investigate Pro Mod. Check out the scene in your area. Find out how many races there are near you. And remember that the class is growing every day. Despite the naysayers there is a future for Pro Mods in NHRA. The options for Pro Mod racers are wide open. You can race in all NHRA National and Divisional races in either AMS Pro Mod or in Competition Eliminator. IHRA has a decent payout for Pro Mod, far better than NHRA in fact, and features the class at all their National events. At IHRA divisionals you could race in Top Sportsman as well. Don't forget the regional circuits and local Quick 8's too. They are a great place to start without breaking your budget. Take a look at the calendar at promodifieds.com.

Now, I expect to get some heat for this post but I am just trying to point out some things to consider before laying out a considerable expense. And of course I expect some will say I am biased. The truth is that I have been an Alky fan since the Pro Comp days. I really do enjoy the classes but I am concerned about the direction I see them headed. And yes, if I had to choose one over the other it would be Pro Modified hands down. The future is very bright for the class.

As for imjustafan's comments, I'm sure spec bodies will make AFC much more exciting. Just think, you could have a drawing at the beginning of each season to see who will get the red one who will get the blue one and so on. And as far as bickering (note the spelling) going on in Pro Mod, well we know that never happens in the Alky classes!

Nick