by "Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
Published 02/13/2017 at 08:33
by "Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
Published 02/13/2017 at 08:33
Tags: NHRA
; Drag Racing
; Nitro
STARS: 3
No, I don’t mean with the drivers, but with the teams.
In my opinion, the NHRA is the most diverse motorsport with a television presence in the US. However, watching this weekend I was shocked at how thin the fields are now.
There are three teams that are consistently competitive in the nitro categories. They are as follows:
Top Fuel:
Don Schumacher Racing
Leah Pritchett
Antron Brown
Tony Schumacher
Shawn Langdon (under contract but not currently racing due to sponsorship issues)
John Force Racing
Brittany Force
Kalitta Motorsports
Troy Coughlin Jr.
Doug Kalitta
Funny Car:
Don Schumacher Racing
Ron Capps
Jack Beckman
Tommy Johnson Jr.
Matt Hagen
John Force Racing
John Force
Courtney Force
Robert Hight
Kalitta Motorsports
JR Todd
Alexis Dejoria
Every weekend those three teams fill 15 of the 32 spots in the bracket in the nitro categories. The only drivers/teams not already mentioned that won last year are Tim Wilkerson (FC) and Steve Torrence (TF). That’s it. 17 competitive cars in the two top classes.
I’m a casual fan of the NHRA and not an expert by any means, but here’s my opinion why it is this way. Nitro racing is all about data. These cars have an extremely small window to run in. Too little power/clutch and the car shakes the tires and doesn’t get down the track. Too much power and the car smokes the tires and doesn’t get down the track. Add to that the fact that these cars are tuned to the hundredth of a second and the more data you have, the better chance you have to set your car up properly. Don Schumacher Racing gets 3-4 looks at the track each session per category and 7 overall. That’s 28 runs before eliminations start. All of their crew chiefs have access to each others data (during qualifying at least) to help their setups. A single car team gets one per session.
Economies of scale also come into play. Per-car costs are lower when you run multiple teams.
It has gotten harder and harder for teams to stay in the game in recent years. 3 highly competitive nitro teams have closed the doors over the past two years. Last year it was Alan Johnson Racing and Bob Vandergriff Racing. This year it was Morgan Lucas Racing. Without solid funding to make lots of passes and gather lots of data; teams can’t afford to keep their programs going.
What’s the solution? I wish I had one. It’s hard to see a sport that is claiming to have it’s best exposure and TV ratings have such a small pool of cars to pull from.
"Comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer" (cyclonefan94)
02/13/2017 at 08:49, STARS: 1
Parity...a parody is a mocking of something by imitating it in an exaggerated way. I mean, unless you’re getting at the lack of parity is causing the NHRA to become a parody of itself.
"theloudmouth" (theloudmouth)
02/13/2017 at 08:50, STARS: 1
I admit, I came here to say this...
"jimz" (jimz)
02/13/2017 at 08:50, STARS: 0
I’m just amazed those engines can hold together like they do. nitromethane may be relatively hard to ignite but it burns so violently and they pump so much of it through those engines it’s impressive.
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
02/13/2017 at 08:52, STARS: 0
Ugh, as I wrote that I thought I needed to make sure I had the right one, then forgot. Thanks for helping out.
"Comes over to help work on your car and only drinks beer" (cyclonefan94)
02/13/2017 at 08:57, STARS: 0
No problem, hope it didn’t come off as grammar police-ish, the last part was trying to make light of the situation, not be snotty, was worried it would come off that way.
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
02/13/2017 at 08:57, STARS: 1
I’m amazed at the consistency at which they can run these cars. Over three days, in varying weather and track conditions, here are Doug Kalitta’s time slips:
3.697
3.686
3.693
3.696
3.687
3.698
And then he smoked the tires in the finals.
Guys with 13 second bracket cars can’t make them that consistent.
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
02/13/2017 at 08:59, STARS: 0
unfortunately, it also has some truth to it. Seems like in a few years all the cars will come from one or two teams.
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
02/13/2017 at 09:01, STARS: 0
Also, the world needs more grammar police.
"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
02/13/2017 at 09:32, STARS: 3
And I throw my hands up, the stats are all rigged, it’s never gonna be ok. Whoa—oaa-oaaaa, there’s not parity in the NHRA!
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
02/13/2017 at 09:42, STARS: 0
Ouch, man.
But starred. LOL
"Hammerdown" (hammerdown32)
02/13/2017 at 09:43, STARS: 0
what just happened