IHRA F/C 8 car field ? ! ? !

How long will some of you IHRA F/C guys keep going and not get any qualifying money? Eight car field is not very many when you have 9 left over. Think of the gate money those 9 guys paid to get in and help the show! ! ! ! Driver and 3 plus extra crew....looks like Skooter Pecko put some money in IHRA's pocket under the pretence of "allways having a full field" and "makeing the class stronger."

If i did a traning class for 50 people and only got 45 to show, maybe I should cut the class to 25 and then I could say I ALLWAYS have a full class and you should book in early. That's what IHRA is doing and the FANS and CAR OWNERS are getting the raw deal!!!

What do you think???

 

Snappy,
So whats new!!!! I wouldn't be surprised if nhra cut the TAFC field to 8 also. Isn't it strange that with NHRA pro fuel fields and TAFC that there are usually so few entrants for such a big
promoters. I am not for cutting fields but think NHRA/IHRA should analize why and take steps that would result in an increase the partisipation.

 

You'll probably see an overall decrease in car counts for this year because a lot of guys knowing they can't make the field (me included) and the brass will eventually say "there's just no saving this class" and drop it for some other circus act. There is just no way this move has helped the class (see me beating a dead horse)

I'm participating in Norwalk for the World Nationals knowing I have no shot at qualifying but want the seat time and get some experience at a national event and it's going to cost a bundle just to get in. I have to go now, I don't feel very well...

 

Maybe IHRA should have spread the purse increase to the lower qualified cars to help bring in more entries . Now when the lower funded teams show up they have to run their cars to the point of risking breaking them , and oiling the track . IHRA is in the entertainment business and not the racing business .They are interested in puting people in the seats on friday and saturday to see the big kerosene spreader that shoots flames and makes big booms . They said the cars were breaking to often and causing to many oil downs , not to mention the f/c counts were not filling all 16 spots .I think they failed to mention that 2 of the races with short car counts were the texas race and the canada race that is quite a drive . Maybe when they did the studies they should have asked the racers on their thoughts on what to do about the shrinking fields ?.

 

I too am one of the "almost there" IHRA teams. With a 16 car field we qualified pretty much all the time and the sponsors I "had" were happy and looking to help me improve with small but welcomed increases in funding. Had, being the key word. Once they got the word and were informed of how much that extra 2-3/10ths was going to cost to try and run close to Atchison, well, I think a couple of them went stock car racing. When I heard about the field reduction I got so frustrated it took me a week to compose a letter to Mr Peco. I did mention to him that two of the four races shouldn't have been counted because of the fact that Texas and Edmonton are in basically screw supercharger country and regarding the oildown situation "yes there is a problem" but cutting the field isn't the answer, Deaf ears prevailed. I was told by Mr Peco that a five year study was conducted and funny car was supposedly the only class on the decline. Hmmm, the last race at Rockingham last year BEFORE the hammer fell, there were 26 or 27 cars showed up for 16 spots in funnycar, 7 new ones being built for IHRA competition and a bunch of decent cars just sitting there or making a bit of money match racing because of the exorbitant amoumt of money it costs just to get through the gate to be allowed to put a show on for IHRA. I guess if you wanted to look at it in a different light, we could be the clowns, they could be considered the Ring Ling Bros..

 

That Canadian Race Duques was short one or two in either of the first two years. MArtin Michegan or Milan was also short by the same numbewr. THat Edmonton race was not responsible for any more of the problem than any other track that did not get full fields.
San Antonio was the car count culprit.
Dean

 

waite till ihra goes to tulsa , any one wanna bet by the year 2007 ihra drops the so called pro funny car class all together. if ihra would allow a screw blower in the fc class they could simply add weight to them. lets say 2350 for a screw car and 2250 for a roots.

 

Guy's & Gal's
If you want to see car counts go up get ride of the stupid sh*t. This includes NHRA & IHRA.
Bring this class back to what it is really is, a (sportsman class) & I don't care what NHRA & IHRA want to call it. It is still a sportsman class.
No PSI blowers, HiHelix blowers only, no MSD 44, no 6 shooter or 6 pack this, no controls on gear change for fuel or timming, no electronics period. One mag, 2 high speeds max and maybe and I stress maybe a data recorder.
I like technology and I think it's great but only to a point if it does not effect participation.

Just my opinion

Bob Kraemer

 

Bruce , I hear we are going to Tulsa if they finish their commitments to IHRA. Am I excited ...Yes . I am eager to see that part of the USA and meet some new racing fans. Adding weight,giving this,getting that, to race PSI versus roots cars is not an answer...If it was that answer we would have seen it work in NHRA Already as that is the current rules. WE BOTH KNOW how eager the current NHRA participants would be to reduce the PSI to say 38% and run at the same weight... anything to merge would be a new beginning to inner class conflicts and lack of parity. IHRA will possibly decide that based on the fan input that AFC is not a class they want to promote anymore and if that is the case as you forecast we will see Pro Mod grow again.
If your crystal ball is correct , I believe the NHRA will follow suit with the AFC and move in a more aggressive way with a unified progressive class.
If you think back to the split and the development of the screw blower in alcohol racing it was the sole divider of the class, it was the stall of the growth,it was the end of the fast Match Racers and it ruined its Identity. I see that this is now happening with Pro Mod ... we went from nitrous .... to a few blower cars.... to better blowers.... to slower nitrous cars ...to lack of Parity..... to inner conflicts and Whining .... to a Division of quality and reduction of committment (IHRA/AMS-TLR/BIG DOG/transition and rules changes+variety) we saw this happen 12 or so years ago in TAFC. I see Pro Mod heading the same torn up road .
We racers are born "TINKERERS" and I have seen that when something is really great ! We (the tinkerers) cannot leave the damn thing alone . It's our Fault it Happened, we just need to be standing on the side of the line that we are most comfortable now.

 

les, i agree with you 100% that the screw was the big divider in the class. unfortunatly i don't think they will outlaw them . i wish they had never allowed them . i ran 80's with a roots without any timers, or leanouts 5 years ago and didn't even have a computer on the car. but i wanted to race in the nhra so guess what i had to buy. i think if ihra had of stayed this side of norwalk and mabey kept the number of events down i would still be running there. one good idea would have been taking the best 8 races out of 12 towards points. since ihra wanted to spread out this might have made it easier to compete for points for some of the underfunded teams. thats what i like about the divisional series in nhra. most of the div.1 races are within 5 hours of a ride. i hope for the sake of all alky racers ihra doesn't get rid of the class and could only hope they bring back 16 car fields to give the smaller teams somewhere to show a potential sponsor they can hold their own. for now i think i will just keep tuning my sons jr. dragster. you guys have fun.

 

I would like honest opinions on this question.....What will it take to save this class ?i love these cars and would hate to see the class disappear.What can the fans and racers do to help?

 

OK, I can't sit back and keep my mouth shut any longer. Some of you know me and most don't , but I've been in a Funny car since 1987. I accepted alongtime ago that I would never be able to afford to run competitively on my budget so I run 10 to 20 matchraces a year all along the east coast. When Bill Bader took over IHRA, I moved my family from Massachusetts to North Carolina. I thought he was going to make it possible for the many racers in my situation to be able to move up slowly with experience and the cash flow needed to do it.He did everything he said he would and I thank him for that.Now to the current situation, Mike E; your letter to Mr Peco is not the only one he received. His so called 5 year study on the decline of funny cars is directly related to the $500 to $600 entry fee imposed on us and the unanticipated common sence of funny car racers, as a whole, to find the increaseed the first round money of $200 unacceptable to most budgets.Add that to the travel commitment and lost pay, time off work,it makes little sense.I'll get back to this in a minute. BobK.: You are probably correct in your accessment, but hind sight usually is. I've run what you suggest since I started and have managed to run without embarrassing myself. Pecco's concern is the Pro Mods can run as quick as Funny Cars at some races...DUUUUHUUU they are FUNNY CARS WITH DOORS>>>They ,IHRA, didn't do much to limit their performance,so of course they are finally catching us. what did everyone expect?Stupid door slammers? Snappy: the gate money from those 9 or 10 DNQ are used to make the winner and runner up money what it is today! Now I have nothing against the 4 or 5 cars that involves, but we all know they really didn't need that increase to continue! This brings me to the 2 possibilities for the future of the class. I submit that IHRA implement the new SFI 100K spec. This spec would be formulated around the team applying for and presenting at the gate a letter of credit from their bank stating the team has at it's disposal an account containing $100k. This would guarentee the organization that every team can afford to race without compensation. Now they can get the under budget teams out of the way and rearrange "The SHOW" to include the top 8 of every class at every venue! Sure sounds like monster truck racing to me! Now if they somehow can not implement this in good concience it would seem only one course of action remains.Flood the email address of the only man in drag racing whom I feel can save the class with a single phone call; Evan Knoll ..Convince Mr Knoll that he can save Alcohol Funny Car. We need a series sponsor that requires a 16 car field. Short of that happening, I wouldn't recommend anyone remortgage their home to up grade their equipment. Remember pro stock truck? That's just my 2 cents from an old man who won't be doing it much longer!

 

Bill, Sorry , to burst your bubble the Evan Knoll/ Torco deal ..... was on the table for us to have a Shoot Out this year (an AFC racer was in the meeting) with IHRA and Evan , They were told By IHRA to put the money into the Pro Stock program instead of F/C. The reasoning was not apparent and was not public to anyone except the people in the meeting for some reason ???
As far as the Bank letter Getting you Qualified these days.... that is so far from the truth you have no idea. Fred and Mark Tigges , J.C and John Foster,Terry Munroe .... They work their tails off to run fast and have done their homework to get where they are and none are taken lightly ! Suggesting that money alone sped up their performance you are absolutely wrong . It does however provide the ability to race more often, test new things and be more aggresive . When you get to the point where the race car is as consuming in time as your day job and you are constantly trying different things to make your deal better you will have the same success . If you do chose to spend money to speed the learning curve up my suggestion would be to hire a "tuner" to get you in the ball park (maybe Fred/Mark Tigges for the right $$ and beer) , look at Mark Thomas for Example he is very experienced in AFC but he hired Jimmy .... Do you think he wanted to go through adulthood having his lunch taken from him like he did in school ?? No way ! he wanted some one to take his deal to the next level so he could focus on his day job and family .
Its not a cheap class to race for sure but there are people doing it with alot less than you think it takes .

 

In response to "LES'S" comments: There is no doubt in anyones mind that dedicatation to the point of obsession and innovative thinking are important parts of the equation to success, but at the end of the day no matter how you slice it and dice it, in this game, the dollar rules. Whether its, as you mentioned, being able to afford hiring a tuner, buying up all the Kobelco's you can find, wearing engines out on a dyno, what ever, T.D.R!
Just for a moment, imagine what kind of competition there would be if we all had a $100k-200k budget to play with (Bill Naves $100k rule).
In answer to GP Kings question, in the democracies we live in, if enough noise is made (petitions, etc.) to the top people, series sponspors, presidents, head marketing people that the fan base wants to see things as they were, not as they are, they should pay attention, especially if it could mean a loss in revenue. There's that darned old "money" thing again Les!

 

the eight car field cut the chance for a local car getting in to the field . this will also parlie into less local spectators as people all like to go out to watch thier local racers run at the big show.cutting the field count cuts back on the amount of new cars comming out so where do the new stars come from??? . now ihra just gets enough fuel cars out(8 car field) next they do this to funny car cut pro mod back and how do you sell the show to the spectators they can come out on any weekend to see more fast cars run for less money. hmmm insted of our ihra and nhra helpin racin they are hurting the sport. open your eyes big boys and watch stock car racing steel your spectators as they help thier clar class's stay strong it just amazes me when i watch a stock race at our local track pay out twice the money to hobby stocker as they do a funny car with the same size crowd. lots more to say but why?

 

i was there when I.H.R.A. ran NEBRASKA AND OKLAHOMA.. we had 6 cars there..top dragster at that time a normal field was 90 cars for a 32 car field,we had 8 at one 6 at the other.and 8 F/C...BAD ADVICE FOR GOING THERE OR EDMOND OR TEXAS.more to think about!!!!get of IHRA,NHRA can't get full fields, even at MAPLE GROVE in SEPT...sooo what is the answer!!!!COST,COST,COST

 

Well, you all have a lot of interesting views when it comes to the 8 car field. Nobody can do a thing we are done. Scooter wanted the class eliminated since he got involved with IHRA. My points are a little better from a small bugdet side. Get out, run NHRA pays better, still has sixteen car fields, even though we dont fill out the show they keep us around. Scooter wants full fields every weekend right. So does that mean we all go to 8 car fields next year because only two pro classes have had full fields at all events, Funny Car and Top Fuel. On the other hand money plays a very big part Les, you names Fred Tigges, Chris Foster and Terry Monroe. All three can do damage to a championship contenders chances at any givin race, but they are not contenders. They can't afford to go all the way out to Edmonton. I have some names you forgot though, what about Melinda Green, if she went to San Antonio she would have been the points leader going into Grand Bend. Money does not make you a contender, TREVOR LEBSACK, he has been to every race and the only one he qualified for was Edmonton. NOBODY WAS THERE. I have been around racing for a long time, but it has never been this bad for the funny car field. Think it over.

 

Hi Bill,
We sold the funnycar 3 weeks ago and bought us one of those left hand steer funnycars. As you may remimber I thought driving and owning our family TAFC was the coolist thing that I always wanted to do.(Remimber (75\80). The 8 car field, $600.00 to get in (Was free when we first got the car), the 3 to 4 days to run a race and the match race stuff dring up, we had to do something before or car was unsellable. This weekend we ran a Q-8 race at Mason-Dixon witch is only 12 miles away. We made 5 1\8 miles fat and happy runs in the 4.60's and took home $2000.00. That was hard to beat. I still would love to run a TAFC agian or a TF\FC but till I hit the lotto we will just race close to home.

PS with fuel going to $3.00 I don;t know who could tow real far anymore.

 

Hi Bob, congratulations.it sounds like you made the right choice. I wish I could picture myself on the left side, but I'm doomed to ride this wave to the end. We'll be at Capitol with Bunny this weekend, Come on by and say hello

 

NICE.....LOL, 100K BUDGET WE WOULD HAVE LOTS IN THE BANK..

[ August 08, 2005, 08:53 PM: Message edited by: M Tigges ]