Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragster Drag Racing

Rules Being Kicked around

2012-02-03T02:47:00.000-08:00

Seems like some actual suggestions are floating around on the subject
of rules changes.
Like it or not, there WILL be rules changes in our future.
There is not much doubt new records will happen at the March Meet which may or may not bring NHRA into this.

Some suggestions out there being talked about.

Smaller pump
Lower OD of around 10%
Get rid of the Hoosier tire in favor of a true 12" slick.
Either go back to the old M&H or allow another version of the Hoosier with smaller roll out.
If the smaller tire is adopted, allow a change to a 3:70 gear ratio.

For many reasons, I'd personally like to see weight breaks for true chevy powered cars. The NTF class had them in the beginning and they should be brought back.
Every Chevy powered car is carrying ballast to make weight which just makes being competitive even harder.

Permanently take the idea of a 2 speed and bigger pump completely off the table.
There is nothing that is going to change the course of Funny Cars being more popular.
Quicker et's and faster speeds didn't help in 1974 and it won't now. That's just life. However, lower car counts at races will do us in.

It's my understanding that the more modern fuel pumps can be downsized via gears so racers won't have to buy new. Correct me if I'm wrong on this.
Where the pumps have to be tagged anyway, this might be simple solution.

-------------------------

AA/FD association:
There is a membership drive currently going on but also the very real possibility of an East Coast version.
Personally, I'd like to see the current organization address the issues more on rules and also work harder for the East Coast racers. But with the possibility of an East Coast version, we might get what we need either way.

Bob

Heritage Rules

2012-01-29T05:36:00.000-08:00

After talking with several racers, here's my take on the Heritage rules.

1. I'd like to see someone get off their lazy ass and actually publish complete Heritage Series rules COMPLETE, not just amendments.
You have to go back through several years before you can get all the rules as there is no consistency year to year. Items left out or modified without referring to the previous rules.
Amendments are supposed to be last minute changes to existing rules not the entire rules package. Even NHRA's site doesn't publish the complete rules. Please don't point to a specific document from one year and tell me that is the one we go by.
I can easily find something in 2008 or 2009 that isn't mentioned in 2010 as one example, but it's still said to be part of the rules.

2. Why make Bowling Green subject to all of the Heritage Rules when it's not a points Heritage race?
On that subject, why isn't BG a points race?
Many east coast racers make the tow to Bakersfield, shouldn't they be allowed to run for points at Bowling Green?
The west coast racers have approx 4 races to lock up points even if they can't make Bowling Green.
Just seems like the fair thing to do.

Bob

Carbon Fiber Rule

2012-01-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Reference: New Nostalgia Funny Car carbon fiber rules for 2012.

It occurs to me that if NHRA had imposed this 240 mph cap and applied it to Nostalgia Top Fuel rears, NTF car counts would not have fallen off a cliff at most events.
It's not too late NHRA, many top fuel cars sitting on jacks right now.

Just saying..................

UPDATE: Thanks to DRO for publishing the above comment in the letters section.
Now if NHRA would only listen. My take? The quickest cars would still win and the increase in top speeds might slow down.
In short, what could it hurt? Larger car count and leave it up to the racers how fast they want to go and at what price.
Where they changed the rule for Nostalgia Funny Cars, it would not be unheard of to
change something that never made any sense.

Sending off all the re-cert stuff in March after returning from watching the March Meet.

Bob

Just Pluggin' Away

2011-11-07T12:49:00.001-08:00

Little by little getting stuff done on the dragster as well as getting the ultralight plane ready for it's inspection to be a legal 2 person experimental aircraft.

I don't know which has been the bigger pain in the butt but for sure the dragster is more expensive. lol

Finished the Leahy device air clys today. Actually much easier than I thought it would be. Now just waiting on the actual controller to show up.

Got the 1/2" parachute mounts done. Just need to run it over to Undercover Chassis to have em welded in.

Started on the new CO2 cooling system for the heads. Should save about 80 lbs in weight over the old water system.

I'm holding off a bit on the carbon fiber brakes as I'm not sure what my work status is for next year. Might not be in the USA to use them.

Stay tuned!

Bob

Getting out of Hand? Updated 10/30

2011-10-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else see NHRA getting involved soon with the ever increasing speeds and et's?

Here's some misc stuff that was talked about at the California reunion.

1. Carbon Fiber brakes WILL be enforced at the March Meet. You mean they weren't before? Guess not according to some people.
If anyone had known that beforehand, might have been a few more Top Fuelers there!

2. Talk about Top Fuel having the same equipment as Funny Cars. Not sure where that went but was brought up. There's even talk among funny car teams that the class is out of control. Wish Top Fuel would start talking like that.

3. With some reports of speeds (via computer) hitting 275+ mph in Top Fuel, just how long before NHRA steps in?
Wouldn't it be better to do some changes on our terms rather than "big father"?

4. Talk about bringing back "A" and "B" fields. Not a bad idea other than the "A" field might be very short.
Not really a good idea as it wouldn't be 16 car "A" and "B" fields. It would be 8 in each. Considering there would have been approx. 9 cars in the "B" field and 5 in the "A" field, is this really the best solution? Plus there might be even less in the "A" field than the qualifying numbers suggest.
My guess is, and this is a good thing, the "B" field idea might bring out many more racers and become the "most interesting field"?
This has all happened before people. The "A" field becomes the play ground for the "money" guys (maybe 5 of them), the rest go for the "B" field which has more cars than qualifying positions.
The answer before was the only people who could run the "B" field were those that couldn't make the "A" field. This resulted in loss of car count as many didn't bother to show up. Many didn't want to run the "A" field but had to if not enough cars showed up. When racers were given the choice, the "A" field numbers fell off the map. Many of you remember Indy from years back when we watched the implosion of Top Fuel right before our eyes from which it never recovered at Indy.
The only "A" cars that showed up were ones that were paid to come. When that money dried up, so did the car count. The "B" cars found out about the paid in deal and basically said "F--K YOU" and never came back.
What all this tells me is many, many more racers want to run 6.0's rather than 5.70's.
This fact hasn't changed in over 6 years but NHRA has yet to catch on.
I'd really like to know of anyone running fuel who is happy right now?
NHRA, do something before the first March Meet happens with an 8 car field.

While the recent 5.50's were impressive to say the least, what does this do to future Top Fuel and Funny car fields?
The distance between the have's and have not's is growing bigger with each race.
Are you really going to hook up the trailer if you ONLY run a 5.90? 1st round loss almost guaranteed.
1st round winners times: 5.67, 5.84, 5.56, 5.91 (the lone 5.90)
Bartone is running in another zip code! lol
The eliminations ladder tells the story better than I EVER could!
You can even figure out where the A and B fields would come from.
Top Fuel Ladder

Don't get me wrong, we all would be running these numbers if we could afford it and the effort people have put into this is amazing and should be applauded but think about what this is doing to the health of the sport long term?
The Reunion, in Top Fuel, was perhaps the 5th race in a row with short fields. Sure they publicized a full field but we all know that wasn't true.
How long before the field is reduced to an 8 car field? Might be closer than you think.
Bowling Green went from a 16 car field to an 8 car A and B field to just an 8 car field that now is short even at 8.
How many will make the tow to Bakersfield when it will take a 5.80 just to get in?

Many nitro teams attend these races thinking they might? have a shot at going rounds but that "shot" is now out of reach for many.
This situation is not good for the future of our sport.

Time to start building again

2011-10-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

Well, things are starting to look a bit better on the financial front so now time to start looking into the updates for the Nitro Central car for Top Fuel in 2012.

Chassis updates are done so it's just a matter of bolting on some carbon fiber brakes and Leahy device.

If we just race Bowling Green this year, that's just the way it is. I'd love to run the March Meet but without major financial help, it just ain't happening.
Anyone interested in helping out, let me know. Plenty of ad space available.
You just know the March Meet NEEDS a small block SMILE

I'm seriously thinking about adding the Young Blood graphics we've talked about for a couple of years now.

Time will tell.

Bob

Top Fuel Revisited yet Again

2011-09-13T02:27:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:
I've received a few phone calls, in short, saying I'm beating a dead horse and I agree with you guys completely.
One person or even two or three, is not going to have any impact on the current situation with rules.
Currently the AA/FD group is only a name. Honestly, I have no idea what exactly they do but it's obviously not doing much.
Increasing performance changes, less races, more costly safety add-ons. Not exactly what you'd expect from an association that should be working to grow the sport, not oversee it's demise.
Listen to all the racers that wish Good Guys were still in charge? Who would have ever thought we'd be hearing that?
I've heard that Sacramento is also a short AA/FD field which makes this the second race in a row with a short field. AND this is on the West Coast. Just how much evidence does anyone need?
Fix it people, while you still have some time!
Doesn't matter if it's what I've suggested or some other idea. Doing nothing is not an option.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've noticed of late there are several threads related to approx. what I was talking about several months ago.

Basically 2 ways you can run Top Fuel.
Either with all the new requirements which will allow any mph and et.
OR
Run a more basic setup but have a 6.0 et cap.

Some recent races have shown less than full fields in both Funny Car and Top Fuel with many racers not being able, financially, to meet the new requirements.

I often ask, who would this change hurt?
The answer I most often get is a 6.0 car beating up on a "fully legal" car.
Is this the best answer any of you can come up with?
If so, it's a poor one at best.
Some have said that if you can't meet the rules, just quit or bracket race.
An equally poor response. We need more cars, not less.
Too many have quit already.

Currently if you show up, you're in at most nitro races. How does this lack of car count help anyone? It doesn't and you know it.
Racers sit out qualifying sessions simply because there is nobody to race against to get in the show. Might as well save your fuel and parts.
And this helps the overall show how?

Some races now insist that a car make at least one qualifying round during prime time spectator watching times. Who would have thought a few years ago that this rule would even need to be implemented?

While it's pretty obvious nobody at NHRA has any interest is stepping back in performance, it's only a matter of time before more and more teams call it quits or just race locally for fun.
Idaho and Bowling Green were both short fields due to rules only. Yes, finances played a part but rules were the major stumbling block. We can all name teams that would have been at either race but for rules.

How many tracks are going to tolerate these short fields or worse "Chicago Format" races before pulling the plug on the classes?
My guess is it's already happening. Sacramento comes to mind.

The recent changes to allow 2-spds in Top Fuel is going to come back and bite a lot of racers. While the change is all about "saving the clutch", does anyone believe that this is where it ends?
The 2-spd was the secret recipe in the 70's that first got cars into the 5's. Apply the same logic to now and you have NTF going low 5's and well over 280mph.
Now you will have owners complaining that with the 2-spd, the current tire isn't big enough. Given NHRA's total lack of control, the obvious next step is bigger rear slicks to help out the 2-spd. When will it end. Answer, it won't. The mind boggles at just where this could go. If you've got the 2-spd, why not drop down to a 3:20 gear?

The other argument is spectators won't go along with lessor performance. Bull Shit!
NASCAR has actually grown since restricting it's races and mandating smaller motors.
Most fans could care less than a 1970 stock car is actually WAY faster than the current cars at places like Talladega. More cars/teams can actually win in Nascar than ever before and the fans love it.

Somehow this entire escalation of costs has to stop or none of us will have anyone to race against. Most just sit on their hands and will worry about it next year.
Don't expect NHRA to do anything as they've proven over and over again they have zero interest in racers other than supporting the companies that benefit from the rule changes. I'm still smarting over $650 foam seats that have $40 in parts LOL

When it's gone folks, it's really gone! We've only ourselves to blame for letting this spiral out of control.

There is an old business adage that applies here.
Company's with no clue are happy to see other companies go out of business.
Successful ones want to see everyone doing well.

Bob

2012 can't come soon enough

2011-08-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

All of you will be glad to know we are going to run Top Fuel in 2012.

Finances are starting to look a bit better and after much soul searching, I know I would not be happy stepping down in class to run injected only.

Whether or not we do many races is another question but if we only run Bowling Green and perhaps the March Meet, that would be fine with me.

Might even work something out to leave the car in California. We'll see.

Depending on how things go, we might try and do a test deal late in the year with Linc's car and bring ours along too.

Til Later,
Bob

New Jr Fuel Class

2011-07-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

All this time on my hands and thinking about what 2012 will hold in store for the gang at NitroCentral.

I'll admit I'm very intrigued by the new injected nitro rules package that Gary and Gene Adams are putting together.
With Top Fuel all but dead on the East Coast I'm thinking very seriously about this new class especially since building for it also allows running two classes with the same equipment and heads up to boot.
Nostalgia injected nitro AND 7.0 Pro which means it's not just a West Coast deal.

All that and the cost to convert to this class is LESS than just the updates to run Top Fuel in 2012! Not to mention only having to re-cert every three years instead of every year.

The rules package that's being talked about also makes our small block competitive which I'm sure everyone will enjoy more. The fact is, we may even have to add weight to make minimum weight. Another plus lol

Time will tell how this all works out but if this does come to pass, it would take about 4 weeks to put this together. Might even consider California again.

While just generally thinking about 2012, I wonder why no track in the East has come forward and put together a race on par with the March Meet?
While I love Bowling Green it's become apparent that it no longer holds quite the "must be there" appeal it once had.

1. The dates have proven to be an issue on more than one occasion. Be it rain (3 meets),oppressive heat, or just too many other places to race that same weekend, the father's day weekend is slowly becoming an issue.

2. West Coast rules for East Coast racers. Many stayed home this year due to changes in rules. Saying a race is not officially a Heritage Race and then applying those rules to Bowling Green was not the best decision on NHRA's part and the lack of some cars proved this out. Good Guys saw this issue many years ago and were able to keep full fields with only Bowling Green being the exception.
Another thought might be to do away with the 8 car field. With the eight car field, some cars might stay home fearing they won't get 1st round loser money. Throw the fields open and they might attend. No, they're never going to get 16 cars at Bowling Green in the Pro classes but they won't have short fields either. Will this cut down on the number of qualifying passes made? Sure, but you were in the field driving a pickup truck this year. Hell, maybe you were in this year without making a single pass, who knows? Bowling Green is certainly not the race to be restricting the size of the fields.

3. I was actually surprised by the number of racers who stayed home due to the Thursday through Saturday format. I thought it was a great idea leaving Sunday as a rain date and it worked this time but many racers I talked with had a hard time dealing with one more day they had to take off work in this economy. Some racers had to leave as early as Tuesday to make the trip. Local racers often only took Friday off with the old format. Actually, I can even remember some Pros pulling in on late Friday night.
This year, that wouldn't have worked even without the rain. Any illusions that the change might help with the poor gate on Sunday was obviously a failure given the lack of people on Thursday.
Starting a race on Thursday is NOT a long weekend, it's a lost week!
The idea should be to make it easier for people to attend, NOT harder!

All that said, the Hot Rod Reunion has not become the "MUST RACE" date it might have been. It certainly started out that way but something happened. What that "something" is, I'm not sure. I'm just guessing but the lack of a second race before Bowling Green contributed.
I'm also convinced that treating the race like it was a clone of Bakersfield while ignoring the fact that the East doesn't run many of those rules was a mistake.
At the very least, NHRA might want to do some research into a better date weather wise. My vote would be 1 month earlier as both Indy and Bowling Green have struggled with weather in June.
NHRA might look into staging Bowling Green BEFORE one of the other Midwest races especially if they want to draw more funny cars and top fuel.

On the subject of Top Fuel and Funny Cars, it pretty obvious to anyone that the pay at Bowling Green is not impressing anyone. As I said before, Funny Cars get more than that just for showing up at many places. Why use up equipment and perhaps not be able to make a better paying gig down the road?
This is NOT the west coast. Many racers tow from much greater distances to do Bowling Green but the purse is not reflecting this fact.

Bob

Missing Bowling Green BAD!

2011-06-16T04:21:00.000-07:00

Update: Lincoln wins Top Fuel at Bowling Green.
I think everyone involved with nitro central racing over the years feels like we won too on this one.

Congrats Linc from all of us.

---------------------------------------------

Thought I was over racing but turns out the start of the Hot Rod Reunion at Bowling Green this week has brought on massive amounts of withdrawal. lol

Great to have everyone calling me and keeping me up to date on happenings and nice to know the Nitro Central crew is very much missed. Thanks Guys.

Very light fields for this meet.
7.0 Pro cars stayed home due to rules
Approx. 4 Top Fuel cars stayed home due to rules. Only 7 there right now.
Might be only 4 for eliminations. Currently approx a 19.2 sec bump spot.
Funnies are no where to be found with only two on the grounds.
Watch for almost no qualifying Friday night session. Almost everyone is hitting the 4pm Friday session then calling it a day as fields are so light, no point to it.
Video feeds of the pit area show a big drop in car count. Can't ever remember the grass area not being covered with race cars.
There's even many spaces open in the Pro areas.
Some of this might be due to the change in dates this year. Who knows?

2012 I'm sure will bring on more opportunities for us so we won't be gone long.

Again, thanks for the calls of support.

I WILL be watching you all on Bang Shift and wish you all the best of luck.

Bob

The Break is Somehow Relaxing

2011-06-02T11:02:00.001-07:00

I thought about right now I'd be going nuts and in the midst of getting everything ready for Bowling Green.

Instead, car is complete, sans updates, sitting quietly in the shop ready to run anywhere but NHRA and the Heritage series.

While I thought this situation would be stressing me out no end, I'm finding the decision to take a break very relaxing.

Lots of time to think about next year and what direction to take.

Right now, I think the decision making process is somewhat taken out of my hands as it really depends on what NHRA does next to screw up Top Fuel. More importantly, will there be more than one race in 2012?

I'm especially glad to hear of the success of the A/F class in Vegas and the full car count. I originally built this car for A/F but things happen and that idea fell after only 1 year.
The racer in me is now looking at this class again with fresh thoughts.

Some have noticed my small block stuff for sale on racing junk.
Which ever path I take next year WILL use a hemi for power. More than likely a 426 based power plant.

Until the dust settles on 2011, I'll simply wish everyone luck in 2011.

Have fun guys and play safe!

Bob

Return to Open Top Fuel?

2011-05-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I predicted where this was all going at Bowling Green but at the time it was not taken seriously.

But first a couple of points to make in the category of IMHO.

1. Might as well give up now getting funnies to run at Bowling Green.
The payout just isn't there and never will be. Any Funny making it down the track under it's own power can make more per run almost anywhere that same weekend.
The payout for funnies can't be raised as this would raise the ire of the top fuel cars not getting equal pay so just write that off from the beginning.

2. Even when there were no completing races that weekend, Bowling Green could get no more than 4 top fuel cars in October with only 2 funnies doing basically, "testing" for a fee.

Bowling Green just doesn't have the cars or draw that the west coast races have for top fuel and that's just the way it is.
Will there be a full field this year? Perhaps but unless someone is getting paid to travel east, it will be a slim one at best. Back when they raced at Indy, you could make sense out of a two race deal. That does not exist anymore. Guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

Which brings me around to my original point.

Bring back the Open Fuel class with a 16 car field.

The last time this class was run, you had to actually qualify to get in as there were over 16 cars there.
An alternative would be an 8 car A and B field.
Now before the purists jump up and down about a legal top fuel car having to run a blown alky car, remember, this is way it's been for 3 years at Norwalk and they've had more cars trying to qualify than Bowling Green could ever dream of.
The "less than legal" front motored cars turned out due to a chance at a much bigger pay day. At the very least, many turned out due to first round loser money helping with towing costs.
As it turns out, a couple actually qualified quite well.
And just who does this hurt?

The top runners are still going to win.

The fans get to see more rounds of qualifying. (no more making one pass and sitting in the pits til first round. Why make a pass when you're in no matter what?)
Or think of it this way. There are only 8 top fuel cars in the pits. You're in at #7 with a 7.20 et. Are you really going to make another pass? Not likely. However, throw in a couple of blown alky cars that may run a high six and you're coming out again. There's too much risk in how you'll end up on the ladder to just sit out a qualifying session.

A return to actual differences between cars not seen in quite some time.

Perhaps a return to a 16 car field?

No more calls around trying to dig up an 8 car field as is happening right now.

Open Top Fuel was always a good alternative to NTF for the east coast and with less races,higher fuel costs and new updates, there is no better reason to bring it back than now.

Bob

Nitro Needs another direction

2011-03-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot on the boards lately related to the new? rear engine dragster class. The 5.47 run at the March Meet is only the beginning but I'm not going to talk about that this time out.

Racers are saying that once the Genie is out of the bottle you can never go back.
This might be true in the case of NHRA's big show as time and time again NHRA has proven to be a complete failure in keeping a lid on rules.
Can anyone name even one class, sportsman or pro, that NHRA hasn't messed up completely over the last 50 years?
Didn't think so.

The current state of nostalgia top fuel and funny car reminds me a lot of the original days of "econo dragster". Without digging into that subject too much, you all know how that went, I'll skip right to the meat.

When the whole nostalgia movement started using nitro, the best of intentions were there. Reasonable rules and what might today be seen as reasonable et's.

Somewhere along the way the racers and NHRA and Heritage series lost their way.
The first time I noticed this was when one top fuel car showed up with an injector on it I'd never seen before. He was allowed to race with it several seasons.
This was actually the first clue the nitro classes were in trouble.

The second clue came when NHRA said they were not happy with the et's and high mph but did absolutely nothing about it. In fact, allowed tires that actually allowed even higher mph.
Now, under the guise of helping out engine damage, they are going to allow 2spds.
It never ends and wide slicks and wheels will be next.

While I understand that money wins races, it is NOT in the interest of even well funded teams to allow this to continue. In fact, it would be in their interest to roll the rules back a bit.

I've been to quite a few March Meets and California reunions and it's been quite a while since I've seen a full field in Top Fuel. Now before you say there were 18 cars there in such and such a year, how many actually pulled up for first round?

It's now gotten to the point that all but perhaps 5 cars are just running to have fun with no hope of winning. Just how long will they keep that up? This year had a few no shows. The fact is, these cars would be much better off match racing.

While funny cars are all the rage right now, the cut in field and payout at the March Meet showed in car count. No where near what was at the 2010 March Meet.
And did anyone notice how many stuck around for the final when the money was better in Arizona? Not many.
It's the same situation in Funny cars as in Top Fuel. If you can't run in the Top 6, you might as well look at it as getting some round money. Why do that when there are other races?

What needs to happen is for racers and NHRA to take a real hard look at what is happening right now and fix it while there are still some guys left who would like to win but totally outclassed and outspent.
The solution is not to allow the dragsters to run faster but to slow both classes down.

Just an opinion.
Bob

March Meet Etc

2011-03-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

I have to start out by giving a big thanks to Bangshift.com for their excellent coverage of the March Meet. Over the past couple of years, the coverage and format has stepped up to the next level in quality.

While it's been in the format since the beginning, this is the first time I've used the chat window below the video feed to converse with friends during the race.

Rather than a bunch of kids ranting endlessly, the chat was filled with some very knowledgeable racers which came as close as you can get to being there in person.

Again, thanks for the great videos.

First Rant:
Why the classes were left out this year is anyone's guess. There was plenty of time to run A/Fuel, AA/Gas, 7.0 Pro etc.
Some have said the downtime was not as bad this year. Guess I was watching another race as I kept leaving the videos, do some odd jobs, come back, and clean up was still going on.

2nd Rant:
Short or shorter Fuel Fields
Perhaps Famoso was hoping for last years field which is why the above classes were canceled but from my perspective, there were many less fuel cars this year.
When we ran in 2010, there were 22 or 23 Top Fuel cars in the pits. This year it was 15 max.
Funny car appeared to be well down as well perhaps due to making the field 16 instead of 32 car. They did run a "B" field but have no idea what the payout would have been for that.
More to the point however has to be the new rules.
I'm sure many teams, like ours, just didn't have the bucks to upgrade all their stuff. Seems there was a mad scramble going on to even get the cars they did.

3rd Rant:
The New Rear Engine Top Fuel Class
This turned out to be a total waste of track time. I realize there are some behind the scenes things going on with this class and the track but I couldn't find even one supporter of this idea while watching the racing.
Yes, they have the potential to outshine the current nostalgia top fuelers but why?
Show me the need for this class and I might change my mind.
More importantly, where is the AA/FD association during these changes?
Bakersfield plans to use the rear engine cars and funny cars for it's nitro night shows. What happened to just using the existing nostalgia top fuel cars? Is something at play here we don't know about?

4th Rant:
Tech in general:
You guys were there, I wasn't but I'm hearing from many people that tech for the new updates etc just wasn't there. As I suspected, if they had actually enforced the new rules you could have cut the fuel fields in half.
So was all this stuff just frosting on the rules for paper work reasons?
As far as the shut off device is concerned, you guys know what was going on out there which just proves what a useless idea it was from the start.
Watch for some changes on this soon!

5th Rant:
The whole 2spd, perhaps big tire, changes
What Top Fuel does NOT need is more changes.
Yes, this rule change DOES help our small block out quite a bit but somewhere along the way, someone has to start thinking about the good of the class in general.

End of rants
Bob

No Nitro Bowling Green?

2011-02-20T04:05:00.000-08:00

This is one of those rumors that has started to appear everywhere on the web.

While I do know that there will be no nitro cars at the Indy race, there has been no statement to that effect for Bowling Green in June.

HOWEVER,
Given the large number of nitro cars that have refused to add the new updates, the lack of nitro cars might not need any formal announcement to actually happen.
Remember only 3 nitro cars at Bowling Green October? And this was before the new rules took effect!

I like to think I'm up to date on who's doing what but my ego isn't that big to actually believe that. LOL

A quick count this morning comes up with a total of 4 Nostalgia Top Fuelers that are legal right now and one of those won't be running BG.
The question now is how many will make the tow from out west for just one race now that Indy is gone? Of course NHRA could pay cars to come but if that word gets out, watch the field get smaller as a couple of east coast cars won't like that much.

The Funny Car situation is a whole other deal. My guess is there ARE 8 legal cars in the midwest and east. However, many of those have prior commitments.

Many hope that NHRA will come up with a way for non-legal cars to run BG.
One possible way is the fact that Bowling Green is not an official Heritage Series race and might not be subject to Heritage Series rules? We can only hope.

However, there is one interesting thing going on that has many wondering what ta hell is going on?
Bowling Green has scheduled a nostalgia race approx. 4 weeks after the Reunion.
There are many nostalgia races going on that time of year and to create one right after Bowling Green just seems, well, strange to say the least.
Sure, 4 weeks is a long time but now racers have a choice between which race to attend. Given the fact that the March Meet threw out at least 3 classes this year, is this a way for NHRA to make the field smaller at the Reunion while giving them a place to race 4 weeks later?
What actually prompted the change at the reunion where there is no racing on Sunday?
Has Bowling Green created a back up plan with the other race?
And if so, a back up plan for what?
UPDATE:
Seems like several racers have told me they are going to do the July race instead of the Heritage Race. Said they'd rather park on asphalt than get stuck in the grass again.

There are many unanswered questions about Bowling Green this year.
Our car is ready to go including new chassis specs. All we need is a phone call telling us to be there. That is until we agree to another race that we know we'll be welcome at.

Bob

Things Going To Hell

2011-02-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

While most of us have been all wired up about problems in the Nostalgia ranks, we've lost sight of the fact that all over drag racing, it's not looking so good.

The most obvious is IHRA's Nitro Jam, not real racing, format.
Yep, it works for spectators but not for racers. While I'm sure the paid in cars are quite happy to get a check and have fun, this placing of sportsman racers in a second class standing position is not good news.
Yes, IHRA has a couple of big buck races on the schedule but it's not much.

Next up, stock and super stock and perhaps others.
Many of us remember the days of racing a few National events and getting a few bucks after we got home from contingency sponsors. In some cases that figure might reach a couple of thousand dollars which makes all the difference.
Those days are gone with NHRA, and the companies, getting together and deciding that out of 25 races in 2011, contingency money will only be paid at 4. That's right 4 races.
I don't think it takes a genius to figure out NHRA wants to just get rid of these racers, PERIOD!

What bothers me most about all this is the short sighted position the manufacturers are taking on this?
I've talked to a couple of engine builder friends of mine who said this decision has all but killed their work. They are not building motors like they used to before each season. The reason their customers are giving? We're not racing NHRA any more. No building equals no buying of parts. What's wrong with this picture?

A/Fuel up next.
I don't think we have to go any further than prize money has been cut, in some cases with no warning, prior to a race.
This on top of rules changes on a par with the insane ones NHRA put on Nostalgia Top Fuel this year.

Combine this with some tracks switching from NHRA to IHRA and it doesn't paint a very optimistic future for sportsman racers even the ones who think they are pros.

While I've never been much on conspiracy plots, the path the Heritage series is taking has got to cause many to wonder what ta hell is up?

Put these items together in a package and see what you think?

1. My guess is the Top Half of the field in Funny Car at the March Meet will probably be NHRA big show Pros. Are they doing this just for fun or is there a future plan at work here? The field has also been reduced to 16 from 32 cars.
Just how long will the remaining 16 race when it's dominated by Big Show owners?
Also, remember that NHRA had to change it's Pomona race due to conflicts with Daytona? Well, guess what, the March Meet was changed so the Pros could make it.
There was some story about better weather etc but it's pretty obvious why it was changed.

2. Rear engine nostalgia top fuel.
At first I thought it was a joke class. No More.
There is some serious money being spent here. Could this be the "other" nitro class at the events with the funnies?
Even more new rear engine cars being built. All for a class that doesn't exist?
If you believe it's all benign, I have a bridge to sell you. lol

3. Then look at what's happening with nostalgia top fuel.
There is absolutely no concern over the number of cars dropping out of this class. In desperation, they are now allowing 2spds next year in an effort to run quicker than the funnies and give themselves some credibility.
Perhaps the reason is NHRA already knows what they'll do if nostalgia top fuel goes away? See #2 above.
The key word NHRA is using is "evaluate" the 2spds. You have got to be kidding me!
Is there any sane individual that thinks the cars will be slower with a 2 spd?
Is this the real reason behind the carbon fiber brakes and shut offs?
The next step will be bigger tires to make use of the 2 spds.
This will continue to escalate and we all know it, only to loose to the rear engine cars in the end.
What's really needed is to get the rules back to a more sustainable level.
*Personal Note:
I'm almost amused about how our car was hit on for not conforming to NTF rules a few years back. We were running a 2spd with 14.5 wide slicks and 3:50 gears.
Great mph's and didn't hurt a thing.
Anyone want to take a bet that NTF adopts all the above in 2012?
We were just ahead of our time. LOL

4. Lastly, are we looking at a way for NHRA to make up for their lost revenues at National events by bringing in well known Big Show cars to run a copy of IHRA's Nitro Jam? With the possible future loss of other NHRA tracks, a Nitro Jam clone might be just the way for NHRA to hold on to them via a revamped Heritage Series.

You have to remember the oft quoted story from a few years back where someone said NHRA would prefer a car show/nostalgia deal rather than an outright race.

Bob

More on Rules

2011-01-31T10:34:00.000-08:00

Funny how we forget just what is taking place when it comes in small doses rather than all at once.

Some don't notice when changes come in $1,000 or less hits without ever adding up the total cost.

While I'm sure the prices will vary depending on who's doing the work, I've put together a list of changes for 2011 and those that are rumored for 2012. Almost a waste of time to call them rumors as everything we heard about in 2010 has happened so is there any doubt 2012 will be true as well.

2011:

Safety Box: Depending on who does the work etc. Approx. $800
(Some reports are it doesn't even work all the time and there is a significant safety issue with the Mag version setup. Testing with a straight pin? Get real NHRA)

Carbon Fiber Brakes: This one is a wild card, $3-9,000 depending on what you have now.

Flywheel: Cheap it out for $900 or the normal version $1,800

1/2" bolts and 3/16 brackets. Let's call it $300 if you're not a welder

SFI 2.2c tag: Ball Park $1,100 (I got an estimate from two chassis builders on this)

2012:

2 spd Lenco $2,000 with shifter and bottle

Dry sump oil system $?? This one can go off the charts But lets call it $1,500

New sfi spec on wheels $2,000 each. Oh you didn't hear this one? Shame on you, thought you were going to run non sfi or modified wheels forever?

Radio add on to safety box $250

The above is just what is being talked about, who knows what lies in wait?

My take on where we should be heading

2011-01-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

This latest rant is not about the new rules as almost everyone has spoken out against them and how idiotic they are. Call this a simple solution rant.

But first some rumors floating around.

1. This is NOT the end of the new rules. In 2012 you'll need to add the receiver part of the shut down device. Has any one even tested this with Funny Cars running Super Mags? We all know how bad electronics work with Mallory's.

2. Although there are a couple of sources for carbon fiber brakes for brands like Lenco, Dana, and SPE the simple truth is racers need to send in their rotors etc to have the appropriate brackets made. Problem is, nobody is sending them in to even get started on the process of design let alone actually having them built.
This comes from two sources who claim they have yet to see even one unit sent to them for re-design.
I would guess this is because, at this point anyway, it's an open end price deal. You really don't know what the final cost is until AFTER the work has been done.
While this lack of activity might be seen by some as based on the hope that the rule will be extended to August to get beyond the Hot Rod Reunion, reality is many people just aren't going to do it period.
This is also confirmed by the very few orders for the shut down device. (If you can even get in touch with the company) We're also getting close to a "go/no-go" time frame to get any of this in time for the March Meet.
I'm just guessing here but I think NHRA will extend the deadline until after Bowling Green.
If not, look for less than 13 Top Fuel cars at the March Meet. Then it's simply a slippery slope down to an 8 car field.

Let's just look at the simple economics of all this.
In the East there is currently only one race where any of this is required. Actually, only one race PERIOD! Hence you have to think of this as the largest "entry fee" ever proposed. $4,000 to $7,000 to enter just one race on the East Coast.
Is it any wonder people are moving slow on this if at all?
Currently, there is only one (that's right one!) legal car in the entire east using the new rules. Where does the field come from for Bowling Green in 2011? Paid in show? Even if you count the guys on the fence on the rules, you still only have 4 east coast cars.

Plus: NHRA is going to require any track running funny car or top fuel to install the necessary transmitters for 2012. So, any track that MIGHT? hold a nitro race isn't going to invest any money to meet these rules for 2012.
So we have one race and in 2012, who knows if Bowing Green will pay the freight to upgrade their electronics for one race?

3. As I understand it, there was a vote to allow 2-spds in Top Fuel which was voted yes. However, rumor is NHRA turned this down. Reasons for the 2-spd was to bring performance more in line with the nitro funnies. Problem is there are also rear engine nostalgia dragsters being built that will, more than likely, become the quickest cars at Nostalgia events. Thus making the need to make the current top fuelers quicker a moot point.
My guess in California? 8 Car Front engine top fuel and 8 car rear engine top fuel.

Which brings me to my suggestion for rules:
While there have been many good suggestions on changes of what you can use, this penalizes those teams that have already spent the money whether it's a well funded team or not.
Think this through and I'm pretty sure you'll like it as many have told me it works for them.

1. Establish two ways you can run Top Fuel. Not two separate classes. Just two ways you can do it.

a. Install all the proposed updates, shutoff, carbon fiber, etc
Any Top Fuel car not wanting any restrictions on their et's or speed would go this route.

b. Allow the 6.0 3 year tag to run Top Fuel without all the updates.
The cars would have an et cap of 6.0 with a cushion of .04 sec. and Max Speed of 240mph. Run 5.96 once during eliminations and you're fine. Run it a second time and you're out.

c. Implement Steve Gibb's oil down rule.

This would satisfy any speed issues NHRA might have with insurance companies etc without the fear of short fields due to people not meeting the new rules.
And, lets face it, a 6.0 would get into almost any race that's been run over the last few years. In some cases, a 6.0 would have been in the top half of the field.
This does not stop anyone from running unlimited if they wish. It just allows racers to decide just how important that last tenth is to them.
Some will say the "Top Guys" will still run all out. I say let 'em. Before they just had to win the round, now they have to win AND stay together. Recent history has shown this is not that easy.
How do you determine if a run is actually an oil down? Quite simple, anything that results in cleanup of the track using the sweeper. Simply sending the clean up truck down the track to check is not an oil down.

This also allows other NHRA tracks to run fuelers without the transmitters. It would simply require any other racers to go by the 6.0 cap. If they want unlimited fuelers, they buy the transmitters. If not, they can still run fuel cars.

Throw in the oil down rule and now you're got a race. How many unlimited cars are going to take the chance of getting thrown out when racing a 6.0 car? Sure they might lay down a big number in qualifying but when it comes to eliminations? Doubtful. There is too much at risk.

Anyway, food for thought as it's doubtful NHRA will listen to any reasonable idea.
What is needed is another organization that actually represents Fuel racers. The AA/FD group is basically looking after the 6 top teams and little else. They've lost touch with reality. If the intent is to get their races down to an 8 car field, they're heading down the right path. If Top Fuel is to survive, there has to be more cars, not less. Many have said this is a repeat of the 70's-80's where Funny Cars took over and Top Fuel all but disappeared. Unless a plan to revive the class and rules is implemented, they might be right. Those few guys building rear engine cars might be on to something after all.

It seems to me the more basic problem is NHRA will not say what it actually wants Top Fuel to be? In my opinion, NHRA can't continue to just tack on more safety rules forever without stating what it's objections and/or guidelines are.
There has to be a dialogue between NHRA and the regular racers and not just the millionaire boys club. At this rate, the "boys club" won't have anyone or anywhere to race. Why even the well funded teams can't see this, I have no idea.

Bob

Yep, I'm selling Out

2011-01-02T02:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. My stuff is for sale on racing junk.

Several reasons for selling and no, I am not getting out of racing. Just a change in direction perhaps.
Did the new rules play a part in this decision? ABSOLUTELY! lol

Stuff is for sale here----> FOR SALE!

Misc Racing Stuff

2010-12-30T01:19:00.000-08:00

Just more Rumors.

1. Bowling Green may be holding a reunion race on July 30th however no fuel classes are being talked about.
This is strange. One month after the Reunion? What's up with that?

2. Troy Green (Chuck Neal's idea) has submitted a new engine shut off device to NHRA for approval. No air bottle required and much lighter in weight.

3. Virginia Motor Sports Park is holding it's Best of Times deal in April. Haven't heard if any fuel classes are involved.

4. R4's Domain is now active. Stay tuned for updates to the site.
Be sure to send an Email to Pete Jensen.

http://www.r4racing.org/

Revolt/Boycott Brewing?

2010-12-26T03:06:00.000-08:00

Update!
Like we really need more rumors. LOL
However there is some traction beginning to stage an alternate race to the March Meet which will include the classes kicked out of the March Meet.
Could be quite a show when you include all the Funnies that won't be legal for the March Meet. Stay tuned.

---------------------------------------------------------

Many, many rumors floating around right now and you have to remember it is "Silly Season".

1. There may be a boycott of the March Meet by quite a few teams due to the new rules. This rumor has been floating around since the new rules were first hinted at. I'm not exactly sure if it's an actual boycott or more like "nobody meeting the rules so they can't run" type deal.

I don't have a dog in this hunt but in all honesty, I hope they do it. For one thing, I doubt if it would actually happen. There is too much money to be made in BF so my guess is the track owners would do something to stop this insanity and let everyone race. Sure, some guys would show up but that's a big risk for the track. Especially if the ticket buying public found out.
The brakes/shut off deal is a non starter on the East Coast. Our car has been the only 100% legal car at two events but still the others ran.
This is really only hurting the West Coast cars and those that worry about running Bowling Green which is not many.
Remember, Bowling Green is not part of the Heritage Series points races.
A big mistake in my opinion but I'm getting off topic. LOL

2. In no way related to the above, Pete Jensen is collecting names of those who are NOT going to submit to any more of NHRA's insane new rules.

This is a short piece from a message board. Full link can be found below.

"Title: Carbon fiber brakes...
Post by: Pete Jensen on December 23, 2010, 01:21:30 pm
I need to make a list of N/FC's and N/TF's that are not going to put carbon fiber brakes on for whatever reasons...Please email me....foothillflr@centralhouse.net"

The full link is here:

http://classicfunnycarboard.com/CFB/index.php?topic=17206.0

Step Up People and support this or loose it for all time!

Just an FYI, but I heard at PRI that there is not enough carbon fiber setups available to meet the new rules anyway. This doesn't even address the issue for users of SPE floaters for which there is no available option out there.

3. 2.2c chassis specs?

What happened to them?
If anyone can figure out if it's still required let me know as I can find nothing in the rules referencing the new sfi specs now?
This was after cutting out the diagonal and then finding out it might have been a mistake on sfi's part.
The reply from sfi to me was we're working on it and should be out in a few months.
No, I'm not making that up!

Update:
I was told to not grind or cut anything right now as the spec is going to change sometime in the next couple of weeks.

2011 Rules are Out

2010-12-23T04:05:00.000-08:00

Not a Merry Christmas for anyone except maybe the manufacturers.

The new 2011 rules are out and there is no joy out there for anyone running NHRA nostalgia races in 2011.

ALL the feared rules have been confirmed which basically puts many teams, including ours, on the trailer for next season.
Even the 1/2" bolt for chutes is back.

Estimates to complete all the new rules come in at about $5,000 for Top Fuel and add a level of complexity that is bound to cause problems for racers.

I'll continue to update the chassis but we have hit the wall on costs.

We WILL NOT be racing any NHRA events in 2011 simple as that.

2011 Heritage Rules Amendments

March Meet in 2011?

2010-11-25T02:43:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's that time of year again and the guys are talking about the loooong trip west for the March Meet.

Thanks to lots of folks last year, we were able to attend and the experience was addicting to say the least but you can only guess what it cost us to go.
North of $5,000 would be a conservative estimate.

Well, we're on the hunt for some cash to do it again this year.

Given our reception last year, and the great responses from fellow racers, Bakersfield will miss having the only nitro small block chevy in the field.

Bob

BeadLock Wheels

2010-11-23T02:45:00.000-08:00

Just talked with the machining company and prices for NEW Nostalgia Top Fuel bead lock wheels will remain the same for the beginning of 2011 at $995 each.

Choice of 16 by 11 or 16 by 12 with any backspace you need.

See my web page for more info as we will built any wheel/backspace combination you need for any class of competition.

http://www.bead-lock-wheels.com/ntf.html

Filling the Void left by Good Guys

2010-11-16T03:13:00.000-08:00

I kind of held off writing anything about this until the dust has settled so here goes.

Very disappointing that Good Guys has dropped out of racing but not really surprising given the car counts at recent races.

I told everyone that was within range that if they didn't step up and support Good Guys that they'd drop a race or two.
I never imagined that they would drop ALL racing!

Well, the fact that only 3 legal cars showed up at Bowling Green October apparently was the last nail in the coffin.
Apparently the Funny Cars had better things to do that weekend as I only saw 2 cars.

Now some cars were down for repairs and I understand that but some decided just not to go for what ever reason. Well now you're all set, you won't have to race another Good Guys ever again. Happy?

So now we're faced with only one race on the East Coast in 2011.
I know, you're all thinking you'll match race. Good luck with that.
Honestly, did anyone race more than one race for ANY promoter in 2010? Not likely.

There are now more self described "promoters" out there than anyone can count.
All giving wild promises and competing on price with each other. In at least two cases in 2010, the tracks got so confused they didn't hold ANY race.

Which brings me to the point of this rant.
The East Coast racers need to get organized.
One point of contact for any track or promoter to deal with.
Currently I believe there are approx. 4 racers out there trying to do their own deal and doing a terrible job of it.
Personally I have no problem with someone speaking for me on race dates as long as what I'm looking for is met.
Plus one contact person could keep track of all available race cars and avoid what has become routine, short fields and no shows.

How bad is the situation? When even Good Guys was calling around trying to find race cars you know something has to be done.

We need to find or elect someone to represent us as a group and not just this rag tag group of racers who have no idea how to run something like this.

As of this post, I see where IHRA is going to run 5 nitro classes in 2011. Trust me on this, our group of racers is going to have to step up big time if we expect to be included in this. I'm not talking about performance, I'm talking about actually racing and being committed to a program.
Showing up when called and actually supporting the organization that feeds us.

As always, just an opinion.
Bob

New Rules a Joke

2010-11-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Or should I say What's New

Time for my monthly rant for all the good it will do.

Little back ground first to rant about races this year.
After working our butts off trying to meet the foam seat deal, we weren't even checked and in fact, we were the ONLY (repeat) ONLY legal car at Bowling Green October. A foam seat is NOT legal, must be poured foam.
(also must have black food coloring to make it look right, apparently black spray paint is also a popular option LOL)

The rule change is very clear but apparently everyone ignored it. Had to as if they had enforced it, it would have been a one car show.

Don't get me started on the whole tagged fuel pump deal. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask someone about it.

Now Top Fuel is faced with 3 possible changes in the rules for 2011

The first, the 2c spec, is a joke among almost every chassis builder. If you've seen the change, try and explain to me why the two chassis designs given are different as to the rule? Nope, you can't!
Basically a pain in the butt for no stated reason. Think of all the grinding off of your new paint? No, it's not the end of the world money wise but what is the point?
Perhaps there was an accident that this new rule would have prevented but do you make a new rule based on one incident? If so, we're doomed!

Now there's the carbon fiber brake deal. In one fell swoop, this deal if it's true, will knock off many many racers. Personally, there is no way I'm spending $3,000 on a brake system that is well known for issues. Plus, I'm lucky, most will have to spend almost $5,000 to meet this rule. Thank god I don't own a Funny.
At least 4 racers now have said "no way", not now, not ever.

Interesting factoid to add to this. The majority of cars who ran off the end of tracks had carbon fiber brakes. Coincidence?

2nd: The whole noise about an engine/parachute chute shut down feature.

Now if there was ever a rule written that doesn't relate to what we're doing, this is it.
To begin with, it's difficult to know what ta hell they're even talking about where there is actually no rule you can figure out yet.
Plus to my knowledge nobody makes one that will work with a Super Mag.
If the shut down/parachute deal is tied to the burst panel just what on earth is that going to solve?
Sorry, but I've seen lots of motors in pieces in the pits and the burst panel was fine.
If it's that NHRA Big Show remote control deal, someone tell me where we race that even has that equipment?
So we install something that only works at select tracks but makes life more complicated at regular tracks?

The bottom line here is NHRA has gotten out of control with nostalgia racing same as it did with the Big Show.
Perhaps their intent is to only have a very select group of Nostalgia Top Fuel cars and get rid of the rest like the Big Show?

The alternative, slow the cars down, just doesn't seem to occur to anyone even though the NASCAR crowd proved long ago that reduced speeds does not effect spectators one little bit. In fact, interest went up when more cars were able to win.

The East Coast cars will have a really hard time spending this kind of money in 2011 for just one race. Bowling Green. And with that one race, where does the Heritage series think the cars are coming from to race at Bowling Green? All from the West Coast for one race? Will make it an easy race however, if you show up you're in. Won't even have to bother to qualify.
My prediction? The promoters will have to pay extra just to get cars to run Saturday night.
PS if it had been a totally legal tech, it might? not have been a full field in 2010.

What on earth are some people thinking going along with this garbage? Wake up folks, we're talking about an entire series that is only 4 races NATIONWIDE! Again, 4 RACES!

Oh, I'm sorry, you didn't understand the first time? It's 4 Races! You didn't run Boise or Bowling Green? Then you're willing to spend $6,000 plus to run 2 RACES?
Apparently I stopped selling the Brooklyn bridge to people way too soon!

Personally, I've hit the wall on these latest changes. (I'm very much not alone)
Problem is, without racers standing up and making it known they won't accept this, it will be business as usual with NHRA.

Many of us passed up match racing deals to run the Heritage series at Bowling Green so it's not like we're not going to race.

Racers, let those in power know where you stand and stick to it. If you don't now, you just know more is coming down the road.

Hey, might as well add some rumors to this post as it's certain nobody else is speaking out until it's too late.
Remember, these are just RUMORS!

1. Dry Sump will be required on all nitro cars. This is not as strange as it sounds.
Seems whenever something goes wrong at the Big Show, nostalgia pays the price and the oil downs in Vegas just pushed this to the front. I rate this one very high in the "possible" category.

2. 2 spds will be allowed in Top Fuel

Now here's one that makes some sense. Funny cars have them AND big slicks and seem to be running away from most Top Fuelers in the performance department. Of course it doesn't occur to anyone that the increased speeds will translate to even more safety gear. Hmmmm, is this the real reason behind the auto shut off feature?
If this happens, can bigger tires be far behind?
And to think some assholes complained about my power glide and 15" tires in the old Open Fuel class. Obviously I was way ahead of my time. LOL

3. Foam seat changes. This was a bad rule when written and nobody could make any real money at it so watch for NHRA to re-issue a more stringent spec. Obviously one that makes money for someone close to NHRA. (PS Black die does not make foam fire proof LOL)

4. Another diaper and/or catch pan spec will be issued.

Solutions?

Now think about this a bit before jumping all over me.

1. Let's get the cars down to the 6.00 -- 6.20 range and forget all this other "safety" crap.
This was the intent in the beginning and somehow was lost over the years.
Does anyone remember the old funnies running these kind of numbers?
No, of course not.

2. Issue this new guideline:
Any car running quicker than 6.0 or faster than 240 must meet all new safety and tech rules.

Cars running slower than 6.0 and under 240 don't.

Allow 6.0 slower cars to have a .05 second cushion in case they run that rare "5"

Once these new guidelines are established even the well funded teams will be in favor of it.
They are well funded because they were smart with their money in the past and would love to keep more of it I'm sure.
Maybe even some of the teams that have quit would come back?
This is a hobby sport you know..

Bob

Bowling Green Here We Come

2010-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, three of our valued crew members won't be with us on this trip.
For various reasons, Jim, Robbie, and Samantha will not be with us to race next weekend.
You all will be missed. We will keep you up to date as much as possible.

I leave Wednesday morning as soon as I wake up for the 12 hour drive to Bowling Green.
Frank flys in Thursday night and everyone else arrives Friday morning.

According to rumors, this may be the last race Good Guys puts on at least involving our class. Too bad racers weren't more willing to support Good Guys but this is a tough economy. Fact is, I really shouldn't be doing it either.
I hope the rumors aren't true. Time will tell.

However, it does sound like a full field and a cold track is where this little small block can shine.

More later
Bob

Foam Seat Done! Woo Hoo!

2010-09-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, the 2nd time was the charm and a whole lot less expensive than any kit.

This time we had the benefit of doing a test pour ahead of time to gauge just what was going to happen.

We also removed the seat pan and put it outside. There really is no need to do it in the car as you're going to trim the hell out of it anyway.

The $62 kit mentioned below was way more than we needed and I'm giving the remainder to Linc to do his as well.

Trust me on this, no written directions can tell you how to do this well. Give me a call first.

Here's some photos of the work in progress.

http://www.nitrocentral.com/seat003.jpg
http://www.nitrocentral.com/seat001.jpg
http://www.nitrocentral.com/Seatdone.jpg

Bob

Bowling Green October

2010-09-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Just got the confirmation letter for Bowling Green from Good Guys.

We're all set guys. Give the new slicks a try and attempt to kick some ass. LOL

Cruz and Tony Pedregon will serve as grand marshals of the third annual Goodguys Nostalgia Nationals Oct. 15-17

Time for more autographs on the trailer door.

Bob

Foam Update

2010-09-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

There are lots of expensive ways to do the foam seat deal ranging from $175 up to $600 kits.

If you are able to obtain either nomex or carbon X cloth to cover the foam, here's a source for really cheap expanding foam.
I just tried a test with the 4lb version and it's more than hard enough to use for the seat foam. The 8lb density stuff sold in kits is much
too hard IMHO.
I may try the 3lb next week just for the hell of it as it expands even more.

The 4lb density / 16lb kit is more than enough to do two pours if you screw the first one up. The only thing you'll need to purchase
separately is some 3 mil contractor garbage bags at Home Depot and of course some nomex or Carbon X cloth.

Get some 2 1/2 qt measuring tubs from Home Depot paint department as well.
Oh, and don't forget a mixing blade for an electric drill. About $7

Cost for the kit is $62 and ships UPS for about $10

http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

Let me know if you need any good info on actually using it.

Bob

Thanks

2010-08-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who let me know how they screwed up this foam seat deal too. LOL

Can't wait to see the ones people think are fine.

All in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Bob

Bowling Green October

2010-08-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like we're all set for Bowling Green in October.

I had hopes we'd find an angel to get us to Bakersfield but it was not meant to be.
Too bad as I would have left the car there and run the March Meet as well.

Getting some new pulleys to up the overdrive on the blower a bit more and new fuel system mods are complete.
Going to start out running the old Bradenton tuneup and go from there. Big mistake making all those changes before the March Meet and we paid big time for it. Never again. We'll just run our own program and learn from it.

While the advice given was all honest and helpful, in this sport no two cars are the same.

Heard Adam Douglas and his dad might also be running the 7.0 Pro class. Hope it's true.

Bob

Teams Quiting

2010-08-15T03:11:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:
As usual, DRO has published something that can't be confirmed.
Sources say that there was no testing of nitro at Boise.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

While I'd rather have someone else post just who is getting out of nostalgia racing, it will be a shocker to many about who and how many.

Why? The ever increasing number of rules plain and simple. No, this is not me on my "rules rant" again. This is from the very teams getting out.

Car counts are way down at most races, Boise had 9 Top Fuel cars for a 16 car field.

I'll be the first to admit if I'm wrong but my guess is 4 maybe 5 for Norwalk. The rest will be non-legal "fill in" cars. Will they get full round money? We'll see.

I've never been able to figure out why, when the economy sucks, people in power consider this a great time to increase costs to everyone.

With the new chassis spec coming in January, I'm wondering how many will return in the spring? The March Meet will be a good barometer of the future.

IMHO, The AA/FD association needs to be more vocal in it's opposition to these new rules. While I'm sure that much is being discussed privately, this needs to be more open.
For one thing, has anyone considered that the fuel checks at Boise might be aimed at requiring NHRA approved fuel at all their meets?

I also just learned of another rule that is bound to hurt the funny car teams. This new spoiler rule might require some teams to start cutting their bodies to comply?

Foam seat Bogus

2010-08-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:

We are going to try another, maybe two, more pours for the seat.
I found a cheap source for the foam, approx. enough for 2 more pours.
MUCH less than any other source.
And forget the garbage bag route, there is another way.

I've since found out that most seats done look as bad and are as worthless as ours came out.

Thanks to Jim, we may have found a way to pour an entire seat and not just a section of it. The kits do NOT have enough foam to do an entire seat and obviously were not intended to do so otherwise the bag would have been much bigger. We now have a solution to that problem.

Give us about 2 wks and watch this section and I'll report about how it all turned out and perhaps a MUCH better way to do this.
If it works out the way we think it will, I'll put together a kit and instructions on how to do it much better than is currently being done.

Bob

------------------------------------------------------------------

I tried to be objective about this whole foam poured in seat deal but after doing it today I've changed my mind.
This has got to be the most bogus safety rule the NHRA has EVER come up with.

People had told me about how they cut and sanded away most of the padding, and where there is actually no spec on this deal, I now understand why.

I had previously seen how bad this deal can turn out but figured, hey, I can do better.

WRONG!

Yes, it does work.
No, it does not do ANYTHING for safety.

In fact, IMHO, it actually might be a safety hazard by itself.
I assumed the point of all this was to pad the driver all around with foam.
In fact, it does not work that way in real life.

Most drivers I know were a snug fit to begin with. So when the foam sets, it tends to go to places where there is some space. Unfortunately, those spaces have little or no opportunity for injury normally.
In fact, the foam itself actually can cause injury by itself as it puts pressure on places that previously had no pressure especially in the kidney area.

If I could race without this foam piece of shit idea, I would and will when ever we're not racing a NHRA rules event.

The risk of this foam is more than most drivers realize.

Bob

More Poured in Seat stuff

2010-07-19T03:27:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks, by way of emails/phone, there seems to be an overall rejection of the poured in seat requirement recently announced by NHRA.

While many/most of NHRA mandates make sense in some respects, this new one makes none at all.

After being stung by the last "foam pad" mandate and the hundreds of dollars lost on this rule change, most driver/owners are just not going to do it.

The common thread in their complaints comes down to money. If you take all the requirements in the new rules and roll them into one big bill, it's a substantial amount of money. With the auto shut off feature, it could run into the thousands of dollars.
Many are just thinking that if I'm not going to be legal in one respect, I might as well not be legal in ALL of them.

While some of the new mandates, six point harness, tagging lines, tagging fuel pump, are somewhat just a pain in the ass, the seat and auto shut off are over the top in terms of cost.
In my case, the auto shut off will just plain keep us from racing anywhere it's required.
There is just no way currently to make this system work with a Super Mag.

Have you ever had anything work right that's attached to a Super Mag? Didn't think so! So will they now require we all switch to an MSD? What about the funny cars that are required to run points ignitions? I.E. Super Mags

Please re-think these new rules before we hurt these classes even more.

Bob

Foam Poured Seats

2010-07-11T03:42:00.001-07:00

Sorry but I can't help but start another rant about this "poured in" seat deal.

To begin with, has anyone seen just how ugly they are?
I know, small complaint, but let's get down to the nuts and bolts (or tape) of this deal.

Just a year ago NHRA came up with the deal about padded seats. So many racers went out and spent several hundred dollars only to have NHRA decide to try something else.
This really smells like the same deal all over again.

Think about this for a moment:
You pour self expanding foam into a plastic bag which you sit in to form it.
Not too quick though or no foam under you.
But you've got plenty of time, 20 seconds to get it all right.
Oh, don't forget, you can add sheets of foam to add back support. HUH? thought that was what the foam did?
You then take a kitchen carving knife and cut off the excess slop.
(Me and a carving knife and foam? This I got to see LOL)
Then take a grinder to make it somewhat smooth.
Don't forget to get out that kitchen knife to cut slots for the belts.
More holes so you can access the dzus fasteners? Not sure about that one.
Carve out an area for your Hans device to fit into.
Now you glue on the fireproof covering. Say what? You glue it on?
All this and it does NOT have an SFI sticker?

Of course you have to look at the following as well.

1. There is no way to guarantee how much foam is actually around the driver
2. For tech, you'll need to remove the foam to access the dzus fasteners for tech
(how long will it last constantly taking it out?)
3. In Top Fuel and Funny car, many teams use multiple drivers. A seat foamed to one driver will not fit the next. How safe is that?
4. While I have not actually seen how you put on the fire proof covering, a few I've seen are worse than nothing.
5. I've talked with some friends in the business and there is some concern the foam used might actually be toxic. Both in a fire and even installing.
Has NHRA even tested this aspect to see if it's safe for amateurs to work with?
Remember, years ago self expanding foam was outlawed for use in homes and for very good reason.
This new foam could very well be safe but has it been tested?

Considering that when requirements for the next Heritage race were posted, there was no mention of the foam seat even though it's required. Does this mean it's being re-thunk yet again?

Many, many teams are NOT going to go the foam seat route. Preferring to let the tracks decide just how much they want to enforce all these new, and imperfect, rules.
This might all but eliminate all but West Coast cars from Bakersfield.

Also, the six belt harness was also not mentioned. How does doing away with the anti submarine belt in favor of a "hammock" make any sense at all?

Complicated does NOT mean better.

Bob

Tear down complete

2010-06-28T02:44:00.000-07:00

Update:
Hose line testing sources.
Testing Sources

-----------------------------------------------------------

Frank and I finished the motor check out Sunday and all is fine with the clutch and motor.
Floaters and disks have never looked better and bearings still look new.

Amazing what the right clearances can make. Thanks Jimmy.

Now to start on this tagging fuel and oil lines joke of a NHRA rule.

It sure would be nice if when NHRA writes a new rule, they would explain what exactly the rule meant???

As it's written now, it absolutely a meaningless test. Test the line and get them tagged. Doesn't matter what you do to them afterward. My own feeling is they got in trouble by naming specific manufacturers (previous rule) and had to come up with something else.
Many are asking, "what ta hell led to this new rule?"
Does anyone know of anyone who burst a line?

There have been a few bad leaks but they were attributed to loose or cracked fittings which this new rule does NOTHING to address if you even could.

The "engine shutdown" device is equally messed up considering that, as of this writing, Leahy does NOT make a device for use with a Super Mag. MSD only.
Also consider that not one of the Heritage series tracks use the system to shut down a motor.
It could be argued that the burst panel shut off takes care of this.
Come on NHRA, look at the real world.
The only incidents I can think of where the device might have stopped a car would not have using this device as the burst panel did not blow.

These new rules will continue to make Heritage racing a rich man's only sport. Driving out many drivers and making for smaller fields.
Please re-think all this, PLEASE.

Bob

Bowling Green in the books

2010-06-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

Update: 6/25

Ruled out ignition completely from our problems. After a lot of discussion we've narrowed it down to a bad fuel setup.
Now going to re-think our hi/low setup after we get the pump checked out.

Although we had a great time in the heat at Bowling Green, we didn't make the show.

WAY too many things didn't work out this year at the NHRR.

Lots of head scratching in the pits on the tuneup but we'll figure it out.
We're still dropping 7 & 8 almost at the hit and dropping #1 about 800ft.
#1 is not so much a concern for us and we think? it's just a matter of leaning that one out a bit but 7&8 have now got 12 runs in the books dropping off at the same point regardless of nozzle sizes used.

I'm beginning to think it's either or both of the following:
Too little lead in the mag. Going from 50 to 55 next time out.
Switch to spiral core wires from solid core.
Could be using the Super Mag at 7.6 amps is just not enough using spiral core.
Going back to solid core next time out.
We went with spiral to protect the data cables but never tried the solid core to see if we even had an issue.

Damn, getting very close!

2010-06-09T02:19:00.000-07:00

Down to just a few days before heading for Bowling Green.
I'm leaving Florida 0-Dark-Early Monday morning.
Arrive BG late that night.

It must be pretty close as I'm getting at least six calls a day from those involved or following our adventures.

Many thanks for all the kind comments about the new body. While I was looking for graphics ideas, many have said leave it naked. I'm beginning to agree with them although I'd change my mind for the right sponsor. Hint Hint

New Body Photo

Good luck to all those attending Indy. Play safe guys.

Bob

Almost There

2010-06-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Down to ten days before hitting the road for Bowling Green.
Leaving Florida on the 14th for kind of a laid back drive up.

Car is completely done including the new body which looks amazing.
Now to find some place to put all the stuff that won't hit it.

Crew shirts came yesterday so at least we'll "look" like we know what we're doing. LOL

Quite a large crew this year. More like how it was when we raced the first BG.
14 total I think.

This time out we DO need to take more photos.

Bob

Misc and Bowling Green

2010-05-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

I talked personally with the tech guy for Bowling Green and the new rules won't be enforced at Bowling Green. Perhaps because it's not a Heritage event?
Most likely reason is there is just not enough time to get stuff done and rules are not exactly what you'd say are "Clear".
There is also the issue of timing for Bowling Green.
Many people, and it's not hard to figure out why, assumed the new rules took effect on August 1st, 2010. I'm still not sure WHEN they were supposed to be in effect as it was in print before the March Meet but nobody I know was tested or tags checked?

The pressure testing is a complete joke.
Ask yourself, if you get a line tested and tagged, what's to stop anyone from changing fittings or otherwise modifying the lines?
This rule would have been better served if it had stated lines from "approved manufacturers" and left it at that.
Why the rule at all when it's so weak to begin with?
Perhaps some people were mixing and matching fittings with lines they didn't match?
Perhaps the lines we purchased actually didn't meet the testing standards they claim to meet?
Maybe NHRA figured out they couldn't actually list "approved manufacturers" as none had actually been approved?
I actually think it's this last one as it sounds like some lines didn't meet some spec and it's easier to make the racer verify the lines.
The change from "approved" lines to "testing lines" was rather quick. LOL
Who ta hell knows.

The fire proof covering on brake lines appears to have been written by someone who's never seen a front engine dragster or thinks we all use rubber hoses.
I use braided lines and only about 1" could be exposed to fire. And that's a rather big IF. Fire would have to get by the slicks first.
However, this is no biggie. Just a pain in the butt to bleed the brakes again after slipping on some cheap covering available at Summit.

The big puzzle for me is the new chassis spec. One type of chassis has to have the new kidney bars where the other does not even though they both have the same uprights and space between. There is only one part of the spec I agree with. That there should be a horizontal brace between the lower frame rails before it makes its bend upwards at the rear. I was actually surprised to find out many chassis didn't have this piece. I couldn't jack my car up without it.
The one I most object to is installing a "K" member in the bay ahead of the rear axle. While the rest of the stuff is bullshit (adding some small bars), this one requires cutting out an existing diagonal.
In many cars this is the same space where your clutch stuff is and sometimes even the brakes. Nobody can figure out why they just didn't require the easier fix of making that bay an "X" member. Most diagonals in that area are 1 1/8. So we cut that out and put in two 1" bars with a common attachment point? Read that again, "a common attachment point", Give me a break!

Car is going back together nicely. New body panels are in for paint and should be back in a couple of days.

We're all getting together on the 29th for final assembly and then in the trailer for the trip to BG.

Rumors are this will be a huge Top Fuel field. I really hope this is the case and the story of a huge field doesn't scare some cars away.
Top Fuel fields have seemed to dwindle of late as some owners are going the funny car route.
Good that NHRA will see that enough Top Fuel cars exist, even on the East Coast, to continue to support the class.

Bob

New Rules--My Opinion

2010-05-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

Just got done discussing rules for Bowling Green.
While some of the rules apply to after August 1st, a couple will apply for Bowling Green.

The first is pressure checking pressure lines.
I have a remote filter so both lines must test at 750psi for 30 seconds.
Also, don't forget the oil pressure gauge line.

All flexible fuel pressure lines must also pass the same test.
In my case that is the line from the pump to the filter, the filter to the barrel valve, and the line from the barrel valve to the port nozzle block. 3 lines total.

All the rest are not pressure lines but returns.

If you read this any differently, let me know at web4search@yahoo.com

The second is that your fuel pump will need to be tagged with a pass/fail tag as to whether it's legal or not. Ask you pump guy.

Lastly, they are calling for fire proof covering on the brake lines. Search for it on Summit using this number:
This product is approved by NHRA
DEI-010470

As far as sources for hydrostatic testing, a friend suggested checking local Dive shops but lines must be absolutely clean.

Bob

Just the worst possible news

2010-05-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

Our hearts go out to the Beech Bend family.
Unlike recent flooding at another track, it appears there were no race vehicles exposed when the floods came.

What does this do to the Hot Rod Reunion? It's a sure bet the campground won't have full services if it's even available.

Does make me wonder how many racers will make the long tow for just one race, Indy.
All this doubt is, of course, premature right now and the track may come back in fine shape.

Bowling Green Flood Photos

More Info from Track

Bob

General Updates

2010-04-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Things are going along pretty well in getting ready for Bowling Green 2010.

Clutch is back
Blower is back
Dragster is going to shop Saturday to have new body panels made for a more nostalgia look.
Linc's got the new canards made and in the process of painting
Mag is at Spuds for a tuneup.

With any luck, with the exception of having the new panels painted, we should be all back together and ready to race in about 2 weeks.

Now for my least favorite project. Cleaning all the rubber off the side of the trailer left there from the tire blowing out on the way back from BF!

Seems like forever since Bakersfield but good to have a bit of a break before BG.

Bob

Time for a Break in the Action

2010-03-26T16:48:00.001-07:00

It's been a good couple of weeks since Bakersfield other than still suffering from voice issues. Every time I've been to the patch I've lost my voice afterward but this time it's hanging on with a vengeance.

Anyway, motor checked out fine on tear down. Blower sent out to be checked out as it's been 3 years since it's last rebuild.

Hat and Flywheel sent out to be resurfaced.

Heads going in for a complete rebuild. Nothing wrong but again it's been three years since they were last gone through. We're suspecting we may have the start of valve guide issues so might as well just "do it".

Money and logistics issues seem to have chosen the next races we attend.
Bowling Green is for sure! (who can miss Bowling Green) and Norwalk Blue Suede Cruise (Everyone loved the place and will be great to go back.)

Already the rumors are floating around about returning to Bakersfield for the reunion but seriously, there has got to be some serious money help to do that again.

Bob

March Meet in the Books!

2010-03-13T01:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it took me over 40 years to do this and it was like living a dream to finally take part in the March Meet.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible. Frank, Jim, Ed, Linc, Matt and Fred all helped out both financially and labor to make this all work.

We had no illusions about how we'd do against the baddest on the planet but getting in the show at number 14 against a 21 car count was the ultimate end to a long battle to get to California.

Special thanks to Brendan Murry, Famoso dragway and others in the Top Fuel and Funny car community who helped make this effort work.
Special thanks to Claude LaVoie for the last minute clutch work.

Seems like every top fuel team, at some point, was over thanking us for making the journey which was much appreciated.
The emails keep coming in from all over the globe who watched the TV coverage and every move we were making.

This was the ultimate end to a life long dream guys and although it would have been nice to have gone a few rounds, we did our best and the world appears to know it.

Bob

Final pre race test complete

2010-02-22T16:04:00.001-08:00

We basically spent Saturday totally rebuilding the motor for Bakersfield.
We really hadn't planned this but I had the parts so why not?

Fired the motor up on Sunday to make sure everything was ok and it was.
Still have some minor issues with fine tuning at idle but we'll sort it out when we get to Bakersfield.
More a case of not really knowing what I'm looking for than anything else. Jimmy Young has given great advice but I'm slightly lacking in experience on gauging what is wet and what isn't. (at least in motors that is)

See you all at the patch and wish us luck. It's going to be a tough field.

Bob

Bakersfield Here We Come!

2010-02-13T06:44:00.000-08:00

Testing was a success at Bradenton last Monday.
Car ran a 6.59 shut off completely at 1,000ft even after dropping 2 cyls at the 1/8

I think we've figured out what went wrong but motor is perfect so we're making the big tow west leaving on the 26th.

Bob

Getting Closer all the time

2010-01-03T05:47:00.000-08:00

Motor is here and intake came out perfect. Figured it would so no surprise.
Dropped off the alm block to see how that will work out, will know later.

The only surprise is it doesn't look like I'll need a spacer for the rear distributor drive.
I have no idea why but it seems like it's the same depth as before the mating surfaces were cut. Maybe the deck height changes but the actual front and rear of the block remains the same regardless of deck height.

The front and rear of the intake was NOT machined. Only the area that mates with the heads.

I'll have the motor mostly together by this weekend. Can't do anything until late in the day each day, due to this cold lately and using silicon.

Bob

Progress Report

2009-12-14T14:47:00.001-08:00

UPDATE:
Finally got the correct head studs and delivered the long block to Toby for the milling work on the intake.
As luck would have it, my existing push rods will work. There was enough slack left in the rocker arm screws to allow for the .060 lower heads.

Jim, Frank, and Ed were at the shop Sunday after spending the weekend at the PRI show in Orlando.

I decided to part with some money and purchased a Computech computer system for the dragster so we'll be able to collect much better data.

We got the majority of the block done with the exception of not having the correct head stud lengths but they should be here in a couple of days.
Then off to have the manifold port matched and we should be in business right after the holidays and right on schedule.

Bob

Rollin Right Along

2009-12-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

Things are coming together very well in the clutch/motor department.

We now have block and crank back with all clearancing work for the new rods complete.
You were right Jimmy, the "small" end on these GRP rods are anything but small. lol

New bearings should be in by the 8th ready to assemble the motor perhaps on the 13th.

Clutch is on the way back from Crower all tagged and ready to rock.

All normal re-cert stuff is back at the shop.

Chassis was re-tagged Saturday for Top Fuel for another year.

Oil pump was checked again and pressures checked.

Looks very good for our testing in January.

Bob

The build up begins

2009-11-20T02:34:00.000-08:00

Update: 11/26
Just returned home from Franks where we dropped off the block and crank for clearancing work.
New rods are on the way from GRP
All stuff in for re-cert.
Clutch is at Crower for tagging
New chassis tag being done Dec 6th.
Should have things complete by end of December.
Then, set up a track rental day or run at the Nitro Jam at PBIR.

=============================

I just returned from a road trip up north to Naylor Racing Engines.
Picked up the new block and a pallet of Brad Penn 70wt Nitro oil.

Heading down to Frank's Sunday to do some mock up work on the new block.
Some issues remain involving getting the CR we want using most of the parts I have.

I've done the math countless times but until we actually plug some parts into the new block, it's all just guess work and relying on dubious math abilities.

Biggest sticking point is the crank counterweights weren't designed for less than a 6" rod. Naylor engines in SC said the best fix is to have the crank counterweights cut down and then re-balance the crank. Now to find a shop that can do that.
The crank would need to be balanced again anyway for the new rods.
Who knew that a .150 shorter rod could cause so much grief.

The good news is I can use the same push-rods again. A combination of Crower spacers and slightly thicker head gasket makes it all work.
We'll end up around 6.9 CR which is about what we were shooting for.

Bob

Slowly-slowly-slowly

2009-11-11T04:28:00.001-08:00

I'm still waiting on the block but for now, that's fine as still rounding up parts.

Bill Miller wasn't able to build the rods I was looking for so going with GRP who now has a Pro version of their small block rod in ANY length. Not a bad price either.

We're going to be running Linc's old cam to start the season and see how it goes.

I've got a few odds and ends on the way from Summit and another order going in to Good Vibes to finalize all the pieces.

Now I have to work out the changing the parachute bridle mounting points to 1/2" bolts but not sure about the wording NHRA has used. No surprise there. lol

We plan to do a track rental deal at Bradenton again end of January so stay tuned.

Bob

California Here We Come!

2009-10-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

By this time tomorrow I should be somewhere between Houston and San Jose, CA

Meeting up with Ed in San Jose and then driving to Bakersfield.

This lack of something to actually race has been a great vacation so I'll enjoy it as long as it lasts. No better way than the California Hot Rod Reunion.

By the time I get back, should be time to pick up the new block and start the building process. :-)

See you all there.

Bob

New Block Plans

2009-09-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

Well, after lots of soul searching, pencil pushing, and financial planning, we're going with a new Dart Iron Eagle Block.

We had planned on a Brodix alm block but decided we needed something with much more meat to it.

I wasn't able to get a 9.500 deck height block in Iron Eagle but found a place that has 9.400 blocks.
Going with a .150 shorter rod which will get us into the 6.6:1 compression ratio range while using our same stock of pistons.

Not sure what the final outcome of the old block will be. Haven't heard back on if it can be fixed or not. If it can be fixed, I'll be selling it for use in a mild blown alky deal or injected alky. 4.040 bore, filled, with 9.500 deck, raised cam, if interested.

Timing now is not looking good for any more racing in '09. Actually, I'm not too disappointed in that. We've had a good start on the program and it may just be time to step back and plan the future a little better.

I took some parts up to SC Wednesday and was very impressed with Naylor Racing's shop. Might be in the middle of nowhere but never seen so many blocks being worked on in one shop. If you're looking for a block, I'd give them a call.

http://www.naylor-racingengines.com/

I'm heading for Bakersfield with Ed for the CHRR October 15th for a little R&R.
See you all there.

Bob

Norwalk in the books

2009-09-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Norwalk had a big plus for us and an equally big minus.

Car ran it's best of 6.68 which is it's 7th straight "quicker than the last run" pass.

However, main bearing issues kept us from going further.

We'll be making some changes over the next few weeks and see how things play out.

Still hoping for the March Meet after more testing to see if we have this cured.

Bob

Ready to Rock and Roll

2009-08-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Frank and Jim we got the car done in plenty of time for me to go over it completely for Good Guys at Norwalk, Ohio.
Awesome to have such a HUGE crew working on this. I ran out of "Thank You" space on the side panel. LOL

Dual bottle fire system is in even though I still think it's a bad idea.

Anyone out there think getting hit with 20lbs of fluid in the face is a GOOD idea? It's an open cockpit car for god's sake!

While the motor was apart we literally made the motor "new".

The clutch is still a question mark but we expect to see "easy" 6.40's The motor has the power even at 85% nitro, it's getting it to the ground that is keeping us busy.
Even with the 2nd bottle, we're still only 30lbs over minimum weight.

I'm also getting some feedback on possible help in getting us to Bakersfield for BOTH races. Honestly, they may have trouble getting a full field at either race so hope we get some help as we're serious about doing both races on the left coast.
No illusions about winning but everyone on the crew REALLY wants to do this.

Bob

Back from Maine and back to work LOL

2009-08-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

Good visit to Maine. Love it this time of year. Got to see the 1 day of summer LOL

Callies let us down on the crank so have gone with Crower. New crank should be here Wednesday the 12th which gives me 2 wks to put it back together.
Frank and Jim are coming up this weekend to get the heavy stuff done and fire bottles plumbed.

I've got some minor projects to do until then so should have no problem doing the Norwalk Ohio Good Guys race on the 29th and 30th.

Frank and Jim are flying into Akron to meet up at the track and Robbie is driving up with me from Florida.

Unrelated:
I notice that traffic on message boards is way down and I figured out why.
I joined Facebook and everyone I race with is on there.
I was part of Myspace but to tell the truth, it's a pretty worthless site unless you're 16. lol

I'm currently working very hard to find us a sponsor to help with the costs of doing the March Meet this year. Difficult job in this economy for sure.

Bob

No rest this time either

2009-08-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, the motor had more damage than we first thought.
Crank ended up total junk. We know why but that doesn't help matters.

So now we've got 3 weeks to rebuild and get ready for Norwalk, Ohio end of August.
Other than the crank, rest of the motor looks fine and only putting new rings in just 'cause we've got it apart.

Good news is there is much more left in this motor/clutch combo.
Now we're just hoping for a full field to race against.

Bob

Heritage Series and Misc.

2009-07-25T03:46:00.001-07:00

Rumors out there that the NHRA Heritage series is up for sale.
This must be tied in with NHRA dumping the museum or as they say "moving it".
There's no way to tell what any of this means right now.

Lots of talk about the Heritage series is a big threat to NHRA's big show as witnessed by NHRA's lack of decent coverage of Bowling Green this year. It's almost like it never happened. Thank god that the photo and event coverage from other sources was so good.

NHRA's web traffic is way down and so is attendance at National events. It just could be that NHRA's hold on drag racing is now just a foot note in history.
Many other meets draw more spectators and racers than the big show and it does make one wonder just how long NHRA will continue in it's current role.
My personal bet? NHRA drops MANY National events from the schedule and only keeps the ones on tracks it controls.
Forget the actual sale of NHRA, tracks can too easily run their own deal and many racers especially in the sportsman classes are taking advantage of that fact.

Could be great news for Good Guys. Would certainly be funny if the originators for the whole nostalgia deal, including rules, ended up the big winners in the future.
The bad part is I doubt if the total number of races would be the same.
That said, the rules are now in place and the format could be easily copied by ANY track wishing to jump in on the nostalgia movement sans some of the more stupid rules NHRA has adopted lately.

Either way, the nostalgia movement will continue to prosper as more tracks see the profit in staging these events.

Our Progress:

Block/Crank should be back in a few days and we get ready for Norwalk race with Good Guys. Expect to see much better times as we found many "first time out" bugs in our setup.
Figured out a way to add the 2nd fire bottle. Not pretty but it will do the job.
View Image HERE!

Surprise, surprise!
NitroCentral.com has now become #1 on Google search for Nostalgia related stories/links.
See Google Search Here!

Bob

Motor update and 20lb rule thoughts

2009-07-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

Looks like we lucked out yet again on the motor.
Crank and block checked out fine with only a polish needed.

Diluted oil with nitro is being blamed for what happened to the push rods at Roxboro and now we think it started the mains down their road to failure.

Lesson learned? Don't ever change from your plan. Too lengthy to go into here but those that were there know what I'm talking about. LOL

This whole 2 10lb fire bottle rule is causing issues with everyone. I have figured out how to do it but man is it going to be ugly to look at.
Many, many cars just don't have the chassis width to have 2 bottles plus clamps located in what might be called a "neat" way.

But, I still don't think it's the right course for NHRA to insist on it.
Here's why.

Already people are talking about such things as "waiting to see how bad the fire gets" before pulling the trigger. Yes, it's a stupid idea but it's not that hard to see why.
Many teams had a spare 10lb bottle in the trailer in case of either a fire or just an accidental discharge of the bottle.
Well, now the spare is on the car which means they have to purchase two more bottles for $700+ to have as spares.
It also means that "pulling the trigger" will now cost a minimum of $700. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if you pull the trigger, you won't make the next round no matter how minor the fire turned out to be.
Cold Fire, from what I understand, is not that big a clean up deal so unless it's a major fire, a car will be out of the race simply because they didn't have the spare bottles.
This is going to end up being a real "car count killer" at some races, watch and see!

This is not good news for NHRA actually. Personally, I only have one race a year that is going to require the 20lbs of Cold Fire. Some tracks have even gone against NHRA in enforcing the rule already as they don't think it passes even the most basic "sniff" test. Funny cars I understand but open air dragsters?

The good news is you can refill the bottles yourself if you have a source for air that can provide 250lbs. I'm waiting to hear back from a supplier but a re-fill kit, which is basically concentrate plus water, will be around $30 and can be easily stored in your trailer.
Fire departments re-fill their own so I can't see this being an issue. I'll know more later this week after talking with Cold Fire's tech department some more and will post the results of that talk.

Bob

Now on to the Clutch

2009-07-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

OOPS!
I spoke too soon.
Lost 3 main bearings.
I think? it will clean up easily without re-grinding but will know more later.

Just got done tearing the clutch down and all looks good.
Wear is less than I expected to see with new discs at .380 and ones in car at .335 after 6 passes. Approx. .020 per pass per pack.

We're going to try a little more stall next time out which should reduce the pack wear a bit and get it down to around .015 and get a little more tire speed up.

We do know we're doing Good Guys Bowling Green in October but kind of on the fence about Norwalk in August. The added expense of Norwalk might be too much for us to bear.

I've got a couple of leads for minor sponsor money for both races but we'll see how that plays out.

These two races will be a BIG test for us and the car. If all goes well, we all want to head to Bakersfield to at least say we've done it.

Bob

Motor fine after Bowling Green

2009-06-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

I just finished the tear down of the motor and all looks fine so far.
In fact, with a leak down of 1.5%, this is the best the motor has ever looked after a race.

Now on to the task I hate the most, cleaning and checking out the clutch.

Hmmmm, think I'm going to delay that a few more days. I'm sick of working on it. LOL

Plus, as all you local guys know, my lawn has taken over the place.

Bob

Bowling Green in the Books

2009-06-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that it was only 5 months ago we decided to go the Top Fuel route in 2009.

While I wish we had more time on the car before BG, none of us are complaining one bit.
Each run was a tenth quicker than the one before and if we had known about a cracked plug before the final run, who knows what we might have seen.
Final pass was a 6.77 at 201 shut off at 1,000ft

No, we had nothing for Rick Rogers in the first round but we left knowing the car has much more left in it.

Tearing the motor down in a few days to check things out but didn't appear to be any issues anywhere.

Thanks to Toby again for a great job prepping the block and checking out the heads.
Thanks also to Gene Adams and Spud Miller for all their help.

Everyone on the crew is happy as hell that even though it was a small field, qualifying at #7 in our very first time out with the car put smiles on everyone's faces.

Now back to Bowling Green for the Good Guys deal and if that goes well, Bakersfield in March.

Bob

All set to head out

2009-06-13T07:50:00.001-07:00

Less than 24hrs and we're on our way to Bowling Green.
Yep, a little early but plan to do some tourist type stuff for a couple of days and actually enjoy the trip for a change. LOL

Tops on the list is a visit to the George Patten museum at Fort Knox. I was there years ago while doing some government contracting there. (tank targets, what a hoot!)

Then on to Mammoth Caves for a day of exploring. You really do need to visit it sometime.

We plan to be in line Thursday morning first thing for tech and getting set up for Friday. Linc and the gang arrive Thursday night. Long night of drinking?
Oh that's right Matt, you've quit. Right! LOL

Bob

Indy a NO GO

2009-06-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Try as we might, we could not make Indy work for us.
Way too many loose ends with business to escape that early LOL.
Retirement is not as care free as we think it is.

Anyway, Bowling Green is a go if we can find nitro. I guess Torco will be at the track but going to give them a call today and reserve some.

So I'd say it's almost 99% positive we'll be there.
Leaving Florida this Sunday, arrive BG sometime Monday.
Do some tourist stuff for a couple of days and then get to the track.

See ya all there.

Bob

Indy/Bowling Green getting closer

2009-05-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

How time flys!

Car is all back together and ready to go.
Only waiting on the ISP head restraints and oil sub pan for under the diaper.

Got some maintenance to do on both the Dually and Jim's RV but got plenty of time to finish that up.

We left A LOT on the table at Bradenton so looking for something in the 6.40's at Indy which should? get us in the show. Of course, we're always hoping for better. LOL

A few folks have said we were nuts to go with the new Hoosiers but I'm beginning to think most have just never really tried them.
Having been through tire shake for years, it was nice to not have even one instance of it at Bradenton. Smooth as silk on both good runs.
We're going to run the 4:30's at Indy and see what we get on the rpm recorder before making any decision on going to 4:10's.
We had a 1,000ft pass that logged in a 7500 max rpm so will probably stick with the 4:30's due to the much bigger roll out with the Hoosiers.

The plan is to begin taking more fuel away before doing any more work with the clutch. It was so fat, if we didn't get the motor making heat, we'd be chasing our tail with the clutch right now.

Several people came up to us at Bradenton and commented on the HoleShot wheels I helped design for Top Fuel. They couldn't believe how thick the centers were on these wheels. What really sold them was you can specify the offset you want, of course the price don't hurt either.

Bob

Bradenton Test Report

2009-05-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hot as hell at Bradenton this weekend but first couple of passes on the "real" nitro motor and in the book.

We were still running plenty fat with no heat on the plugs but Sunday's 1st pass gave the best info..Plus, no damage of any kind.

4.26 1/8 with a 5.65 1,000ft. Clicked it early as planned.
Not bad considering this was at a test and tune deal and track was not the best.
In fact, most cars were running street tires and we all know what the track is like on those days.

Was going to do a full pass but due to an oil down and weather just off the end of the track, the staging got all screwed up so got out of the groove right away and shut it off so no data.

Video of run link below. Turn up the volume and hear a small block that doesn't know it's a small block. LOL

Sunday 1st Pass

Bob

Ready for Bradenton

2009-05-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

All fuel system parts are in.
Gene sent me a second pump because the original is still being worked on so we'll have two pumps for Indy and Bowling Green.

Jim was up tonight and we finished drilling and tapping for bleeders and warm up lines.

All that's really left is fitting the high/low control cable.

We've now got a new, second, clutch pack in the trailer along with more discs and floaters just in case for the Indy/Bowling Green trip.

Bob

Getting Closer

2009-05-01T01:18:00.001-07:00

All the bits and pieces, read improvements, are coming together nicely.
Should be no problem on making the test sessions at Bradenton the 16h.

Got the word from Gene Adams that the fuel pump "locked up" while testing and went out to Enderle to be rebuilt.
Guess it was a good thing we never got in that second pass.
Gene's got a spare fuel pump I'm buying so we'll have two fresh pumps for Indy and beyond.

One more piece added to the puzzle of why we popped the puke tank. Does explain the issues we were having adjusting the idle perhaps?

Modifications to the fuel tank should be done any day now. We'll now have approx 12 gallons on board. Hated to add the height but not much else I could do.

The gang is slated to arrive Friday night May 15th and then on to Bradenton to test both my car and Kevin's Funny. Don't plan on any sleep guys.

Bob

First Outing in the books

2009-04-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:

Tore the motor down and it looks like it's never been run. Everything is perfect.
I've sent off the pushrods to have Manton put on hardened tips which seems to have been the issue with the melting problem. They should have been in there all along but who knew?
Next testing is at Bradenton on May 16 & 17.

------------------------------------------------

The story for better or worse.

Jim and I drove up early Friday and got to Linc's in Raleigh about 6pm
Because I just ran out of time and didn't have all the parts we ended up working
at Linc's, in the trailer, until 2am Saturday morning finishing the fuel system.
Was I ever glad to have this new trailer. It actually wasn't too bad to work out of.

Got up Saturday morning and drove to the track about an hour away.
Set up everything and the process of getting it running began.
Don't let anyone fool you. The process of going over to a good load of nitro is NOT easy.

Small imperfections in valves, poppets etc can cause major problems with how it runs.
System volume is much higher so a little bit of "nothing" will bleed off huge amounts of fuel.
Seems like we spent hours just cleaning stuff that was never a problem before.

We finally got it running about 2pm using 50 degrees of advance and 80% Nitro 14% OD on the blower.
But we had huge amounts of fuel blowing out 1 & 2 so spend several more start ups balancing cyls.

FINALLY everything looked good enough to make a part pass. The plan was to do a decent burnout and then
do a short 300ft squirt and then check everything out.
We had an initial clutch setup but wasn't really sure how that was going to work either.
In fact, where it was a total ground up build, we weren't sure how anything would work. lol

Got to the line and backed into the water box. Which is interesting in itself. It's a hole in the ground with water
in it. We actually had to dip our hands in the water and spread water over the tires.
Don't get me wrong, the track was fine but the water box was a joke.

Motor fired right up and Linc did a loooong burnout. I don't think there was anyone there that expected the sound
that came out of this motor. Anyone who was sitting was now on their feet in the stands.
Starter turned to me and said, that is one bad ass motor!
Announcer got on the PA and REALLY built it up.
One of only 3 small blocks running nitro in the country.

Linc backed up but clutch was having issues. Too much static and hard to get into reverse.
Backing up, the amount of fuel coming out of the pipes was looking like an NHRA top fueler.
This was about 5pm and you could easily see header flames. The sound was bouncing off everything and
you'd think we had a hemi in it.
There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Linc staged but unfortunately was not in the best grove on the track. (starter tried to tell us but too late)
He couldn't get it into forward so I had to rock the cage to get it into gear.
He finally got it into gear and staged.
Light went green and it took off like a rocket. Linc later said that it was the quickest he'd run with a clutch with
this motor with a 1.11 60ft. Not bad for right out of the trailer.
But, it blew the tires off at about 200 ft so he shut it off.
At the hit, all 8 candles were lit that is for sure.

I turned to the track owner and said something about sorry it wasn't a better show but he said forget it, didn't
you hear the crowd? LOL
I WILL have you back.

Got back to the pits and nothing wrong anywhere. Motor looked fine but Sunday would turn out to be another story.

Got to the track Sunday and did a warm up. 1 minute into the warmup, I felt something wasn't normal. The rocking and sound just didn't
sound or feel right. I was about to pull the fuel shut off anyway but there was a puff of smoke out of the puke tank so I killed it.
The puke tank was now expanded like a ballon so we knew something had gone wrong.
Did an initial check of the valves and #1 exhaust had tons of clearance now.
Pulled off the rocker arm and the pushrod had the end melted off it. AND I do mean melted. Not broken or bend, melted.
The pushrod was blue from the heat down about 1" from the end.
We didn't have a spare pushrod but at this point I just didn't want to push this any further so we packed up.

This morning, in Florida, Jim and I got the lifter out of it's bore to see if the roller was still there. It was and cam looked fine
so have no idea at this point what happened.
I'll be tearing the motor down tomorrow and see if I can trace what happened and will call Manton to get their feedback.
My big question is could a blockage in the push rod have caused this kind of damage?
The cup in the rocker was beaten up but still there. I'm going to replace that rocker and lifter just to be safe and also check to see
what kind of condition it's in.
Opinions from anyone are welcome.

I'm going to send the pump out to Spud for a check as it's been a while since it got a clean bill of health from Gene Adams
and where I have time, might as well do it.

The amount of fuel this motor is using is scary! We could have not done a full 1/8 pass. Just this long burnout and backing up and
200 ft squirt had used 6 gallons out of an 8 gallon tank. I will be increasing it's size.

Our plan was to get it running and out on the track so I guess in that respect it was a successful weekend. I wish it had gone better
but there is always another day. Motor stayed together and no major mishaps on the track.
Linc is flying down to Florida later to try it again at Bradenton.

I think? there is a video and will send a link when it's online.

http://www.nitrocentral.com/warmup.wmv

99% Done

2009-03-30T13:35:00.001-07:00

Only a couple more odds and ends to finish and car is ready to put into trailer.

Quite a long project but final touches came together pretty good.
We're now in the finishing stages of figuring out the initial tuneup for April 11th in North Carolina.

Only projects left that need to be done prior to Indy and Bowling Green are the ISP head restraint pads and the metal belly pan.

Bob

MAJOR Progress, closing in on "done"

2009-03-19T03:03:00.000-07:00

Frank came up for the weekend and Jim came up Sunday and tons of progress on the car.
Great cookout Sunday. Thanks Debbie, Buddy, and Kaylyn.

Motor is in and complete.
Clutch sorted out even though I have to take .070 off the spline on the input shaft to give some clearance for the pilot bearing.
Length worked out to "exact" length so would have taken out the bearing eventually.

Had to rotate the reverser to fit the can but no big deal there.

Track in NC has said ok to Saturday/Sunday testing on April 11-12.
Staying at Linc's Friday night and leaving Sunday early to get everyone home.

Now doing lots of spreadsheet work and phone calls about the increase to 80+ % nitro.
I don't think we'll have the answers in time for NC but at least we'll get a chance to try out all the other changes that have been done.

The plan is to return to a track like Rockingham early May for testing prior to the first race at Indy.

Bob

Moving Right Along

2009-03-11T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Got a few more things done today.
The BIG one was the floaters are now in and the measurements I took for the slicks to clear actually were 100% correct. LOL
Guess it pays to measure twice, cut once. (Make that measure 50 times)

Odd thing was, one of the axles is too short so having Strange send the correct one.

Also got the anti rotation bolts done so the motor plate is now completely done to accept the clutch bell housing.
I also installed some set screws in the rear drive line cover adapter so it will stay in place more easily...

Linc sent the input shaft so clutch is ready to go in.

Toby has the short block done so picking that up Thursday. Now everything will start going together really quick.

I'll be making a call about testing in NC on April 11&12 in Roxboro

Bob

Slow, steady, progress

2009-02-14T01:42:00.001-08:00

I knew this project would go slow but didn't realize HOW slow. LOL

Now however, all parts are here that I need to start assembly. Because of a screw up on my part, I had to get the chassis tagged again for Top Fuel Thursday but now that's out of my hair.

Also found out I need new boots and gloves for 2009 as mine were 15's and I need -20.
Never ends does it?

Car is now complete from motor forward and now working on all lines etc. Block is at Toby's for a check up and should have that back in 2 wks.

Testing will be at Bradenton in April but will have more exact info later as to cost and how many etc. Probably the usual Sunday Free, Monday $250 deal.

I'm going to hold off on the 2nd fire bottle until after Bowling Green as I want to see how others are planning on doing it before jumping right in.

The plan is still to run the reunion in Bakersfield in October.

Bob

OK I'll shut up now. LOL

2009-02-05T04:24:00.000-08:00

I've gotten some bad feedback over things I've said recently about NPCA and Good Guys events so here to set the record straight.

1. I did not cause the problems with NPCA's 6.50 deal in 2008. Had nothing to do with it. I did point out some flaws with the program but the fact it failed could have been predicted by even those that ran the class. Or should I say, those that did NOT run the class.
Now some feel that somehow it was other's faults for pointing out the problems.

Now they're trying to change the class and perhaps run it again. I wish them luck, I really do.
There were lots of accusations going around about the tie in between Open Fuel and the 6.50 class and why both had issues. I don't think we'll ever know exactly what happened with the Open Fuel deal as the parties concerned are obviously getting two different stories from the same sources. Hey, I can only tell you what was told to me face to face and not over the phone.
Personally, I had no problems with Open Fuel the way it was but many others obviously did. Talk to the guys with issues, not to me.
People forget that it was MY car that was refused entry to Bowling Green in 2008 but that didn't stop the problems with the class that are still being argued about today.
Obviously, I couldn't do anything about my car let alone the other problems.
Some will argue that there is no connection between the 6.50 class and Open Fuel.
They need to wake up, the problems are EXACTLY the same.
The complaints on the NPCA board are the same ones that came up after the 2005 Bowling Green race. No difference.
Does anyone really believe there are only four sub 6 second cars running? Not hardly, they don't complain BUT they don't race.

That said, it really doesn't matter what happened before. The only thing that matters is that sub 7 second cars have a place to race in 2009 without an index.
Get rid of the index and watch the result. But then, who listens.

2. Good Guys opening up Top Fuel rules:

I did NOT suggest the changes. Had no part in the decision that may or may not be implemented.
In fact, I learned about the change from reading the NPCA board, not from Good Guys.

But here's where it comes from.
Good Guys had short Top Fuel fields in 2008. The worst, of course, was at Bowling Green in October.
I'm guessing that there are many reasons for this and I'm not certain of any of them but the number of race dates for too few available cars might play into it.

So, Good Guys starts talking about opening up the class a bit more. If they were certain of car count, I have no doubt they would leave the class "as is".
If races went the same path as in 2008, purses would more than likely be cut due to car count which helps nobody.
Why do you think Good Guys is calling all the Top Fuel cars? They don't want to change if it can be avoided.

The answer is simple really. Legal Top Fuel cars should step up and let Good Guys know NOW what races they will attend in 2009 and stick to it.
If Good Guys can't guarantee a full field for it's races, can you blame them for making changes?

Now that we're legal Top Fuel for 2009, I'd prefer an all VRA legal field but I can see where Good Guys is coming from.
So forget the idea that I even wanted a change in Good Guy's program!

3.
Payouts in general:
Winning payouts should be the same whether 8 cars show up or 2.
I know, this is a tough one for tracks to get behind.
Doing less than that puts the decision making process onto the racers, as to whether they will run a race or not, on how many cars they think will show up.
They're going to call around and make sure the field is full.
If they find out only 5 cars are showing up, they stay home which makes the payouts even worse.
I think they call this a "self fulfilling prophecy".

Google the Term "self fulfilling prophecy"
(A prophecy declared as truth when it is actually false may sufficiently influence people, either through fear or logical confusion, so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy.)

Payouts/car counts will become the main focus in 2009 whether it's 6.50, Open Fuel or Top Fuel.

Bob

East Coast Top Fuel

2009-02-01T04:24:00.000-08:00

UPDATE:

Good Guys is actually considering the below changes to Top Fuel for 2009.
Now if Bowling Green would only adopt the same rules. Think of the money they'd save by not paying in some cars?
-----------------------------

Just an opinion:

Lots of things being talked about regarding Top Fuel races on the east coast.
I'm not sure I agree with all of what is being said but here's my opinion for what it's worth.

With the number of races being planned or now scheduled, many racers will be making some hard choices about which ones to attend this year. The economy has changed things for many racers and many will not be doing as much as previous years.
Plus, there are already conflicting race dates showing up for 2009 in the east.
There are not enough legal cars to support the current race dates.

With that in mind, I'm open to allowing cars other than completely legal VRA type cars in Top Fuel this year.

However, I stop short of allowing the current "all run" type cars currently running the 6.50 index. PLUS I'm completely against any time of index racing.
It puts the VRA cars at too much of a disadvantage.

I feel any dragster (not altereds or funnies) should be allowed to run Top Fuel as long as the following specs are met.

1. Must be front engine dragster
2. Must run a max of 6:71 blower (Injected only also allowed)
3. Must meet all sfi specs and current tags for the et/mph being run
4. Allow any fuel combination

Allow fat tires, multi-speeds, power glides, etc etc.

Legal VRA cars should still dominate the class but allow some latitude that will allow other, non legal, cars in to fill out short fields.
They still have to qualify to get in.

What I do not want to see is allowing cars in with expired tags or not running safety equipment related to their et/mph requirements.

Some will argue that this format would allow a blown alky car to qualify ahead of a VRA legal car.
I don't see the problem with that.
The alternative is to allow a legal car, that can't get down the track, into the race over a blown alky car that runs 6.40's all day long.
Which do you think the spectators would rather see?

Anyway, with the very real possibility of short Top Fuel fields at some races in 2009 this is one possible answer.

Bob

Good Guys Payout

2009-01-29T10:31:00.000-08:00

Just got off the phone with Larry Westervelt and here's the scoop.

It is not certain yet what cars will be allowed to run but there will be a Top Fuel class at all Good Guys events.
While I'm not 100% clear on this, I felt he was saying that all safety and sfi tags per et/mph must be current.
He is doing more work on this and will make a more formal decision later.

Free entry car and driver along with up to five crew members.
$6,000 to win $3,750 runner up
$1,250 first round losers.

I'm signed up for Indy, Norwalk, and Bowling Green in October.

Bob

2009 Schedule or lack of one

2009-01-29T03:34:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else getting frustrated over all the rumors over just
what is going to be run at Heritage series and Good Guys races
in the East?

At first I thought it was just me that wasn't in the "loop" but now
I find most east coast drivers haven't a clue where they'll be
racing and for what.

First we heard Good Guys was running VRA Top Fuel, then we heard it's going to be an Open Fuel show. All run, only dragsters only and 6:71
Then we're hearing, nothing has changed from previous years?

Then we hear it's a booked in show.

Now it's floating around than even non-safety required cars will be able to run as well?

We hear no Top Fuel at Heritage series races other than Bowling Green but also heard Top Fuel will run at Cordova?

Now it's posted that Open Fuel will run at Bowling Green on a 6.50 index but no rules are posted as to just what will or will not be accepted as equipment?

PLUS, I'm hearing that what races are run is going to be completely
dependent on entries (track side) and payout (driver's side)
Hmmm, doesn't that sound a bit like one side in conflict with the other?
Without payout, the entries don't happen.

Too many racers got stung last year with cut payouts/broken agreements and this year everyone is going to be looking very closely at the money side of things.

Sure would be nice if the two race deals posted something official on their web pages including payouts and let racers decide which works best for them.

Bob

2009 Rules--An Opinion

2009-01-24T02:12:00.000-08:00

UPDATE:

Someone has pointed out to me what must be a misprint. (Now who would have guessed NHRA could do that? Only took them 2 years to fix the 2007 rules)

A/Fuel calls for chassis tags of either 2.2b or 2.4b with yearly inspections. 2.4b is a 3 year tag unless they've changed it just for A/Fuel?

Another misprint? The 7.0 Pro class is not getting the July 1st deadline for 20lb fire bottles. Guess you have to have it NOW.

Doesn't anyone read the rules before they post them?

-----------------------------------------------

This is just an opinion but NHRA and the Heritage series, in one fell swoop, have all but banned East Coast cars from running any NHRA type races in either A/Fuel or Top Fuel.

Many East Coast cars had enough issues meeting current rules but the change to a 20lb fire system beginning on July 1st 2009 has all but made that certain.

For many racers this will mean an almost total change of how things are mounted in their cars and even finding room for another 10lb bottle will be a challenge for many.

This comes at a time in the economy $$$$ where racers are trying to justify running any races in 2009.

With the number of races that are not hooked to NHRA growing each year, this is not a good move as many racers will now opt for less stringent races.

We've all had to make choices of where to race each year. This rule change has just made the decision process much easier.

This rule change needs to be deleted immediately for Open Cockpit cars!

Bob

Slow Progress

2009-01-20T03:30:00.000-08:00

Things are slowing moving along with the dragster Top Fuel updates.

Hate the fact that you have to wait for things to get finished before starting the next. Makes ordering parts difficult at best but hey, it's getting there.

Got the powder coated frame back and it's gorgeous, should have done it long ago.

Combining a trip to Holeshot today to get the driveline cover mount machined for the Lenco rear and picking up new Goodyear front runners over at Daytona. Damn I love living in a place where you can get anything locally.

Motor is heading into Toby's this weekend to get checked out on the short block.

Still waiting on the clutch from Crower. I guess they're busy. Everything has checked out ok just short on help I guess.

Once all the parts are actually in the shop, should only take a few days to have it completely together.
Plan is to rent Moroso 1st of April. Might be Bradenton again, just depends on who wants to share track rental time.

Also in the news is the fact Jim and I went to Jacksonville and picked up the new 32ft trailer this week. Very good deal on a totally loaded left over 3 axle with all the bells and whistles. No more ramps needed guys as this has an 8ft ramp inside and 8ft outside. Also outside quartz lighting.

I think everyone is waiting for the new rules and classes to be announced for Bowling Green.
Goodguys is NOT going to have a traditional Top Fuel class at it's meets in 2009. It's going to be everything run to qualify for 8 car field. Only restriction is must be a dragster and max of 6:71
Looks like "Open Fuel" is back! Took them long enough to figure out what works in the East. Now if Bowling Green were to follow the same rules, they'd get a full field. Yes, the purists will be upset but the fact is full fields are looking like a thing of the past in Top Fuel except at a select few meets in California.

The lack of rules from NHRA for the nostalgia classes still has everyone wondering what ta hell is happening.
Rumors about slowing the cars down, is Hoosier really a recognized tire, etc etc has people sitting on what changes they might make.
NHRA hasn't updated the rules formally since 2007 and there were lots of errors even in that addition of the rules.

Whenever NHRA does actually post some rules, I'll post a link here.

Bob

World Drag Expo

2009-01-06T03:15:00.000-08:00

Come visit Holeshot wheels while at the Drag Expo in Chicago area Jan. 24-25

The "new" Top Fuel wheel will not be on display due to other commitments but the style of wheel as well as beadlock rings and anodizing colors will be.

Bob

Nitro Availability

2009-01-05T01:58:00.000-08:00

UPDATE:
I need some feedback on this. Prices are based on whether it's 99, 99.5, or 99.9 pure nitro. The prices vary wildly based on how pure. What is the min. we need?
VP is selling 99.5 as a reference.

Bob

I recently started a project to import nitro to the East Coast.
Unknown to me at the time, there are two other individuals working on the same project.

While my project will continue for now, phone calls are going back and forth with the other persons involved in this effort so we don't duplicate or otherwise mess up each others work.

One thing has become very clear. There is NO nitro shortage in the world! When suppliers in China quote quantities in 100's of tons "in stock" for immediate delivery, you don't have a shortage.

While details of how this is going to all work out are still in process, myself and others are already getting calls from companies currently holding nitro stock in the USA about lowering prices.

I'll tell everyone the same thing I've told these companies. Give us a price in the $750 53 gal drum price range and we'll drop our efforts. None of those involved are in this to make money. We just want nitro at a "normal" price.

Many nostalgia teams have already committed to enough drums of nitro to make a container shipment workable but this amount is also the same commitment we'll make to any supplier currently holding nitro stock in the US or willing to import a container based on advanced payment for a container delivered to the Midwest or East.

Contact me with how many drums you're looking for and I'll add you to my list and also the list of others working on this project.
Only list YOUR requirements to avoid duplicate requests.

Bob web4search@yahoo.com or 207 233-1942

PRI Show

2008-12-15T03:20:00.000-08:00

The new Top Fuel and A/Fuel beadlocks were a huge hit at PRI Orlando.
Holeshot wheels did an excellent job of taking my specs and creating a great set of wheels.

I should have photos online soon showing them with 12-16 Hoosiers mounted.

Bob

Progress Report Part 2

2008-12-11T02:35:00.000-08:00

As was expected, welding went fine at Kevin's place.

Tabs, including those for clutch can, are all in and chassis is ready to head to the powder coating shop.
The Holidays have kind of put the painting behind schedule but it should all be complete first week of January and then assembly begins.

Clutch pieces checked out ok and the new clutch should be shipped back just before Xmas.

Takash is waiting for the floater axle pieces but that should be done as well in the next couple of weeks.

Unknown to me was the fact we've been using the wrong size brake line. Might explain our brakes issues lately. The floater kit is coming with new calipers and new master cyl so we will have replaced everything in the brake system.

The HUGE disappointment is the new beadlock wheels and Hoosiers might not be ready for the PRI show in Orlando. Something up a hold up with the anodizing work.

Have a great Holiday season guys 'cause the real work begins right after New Years.

Somewhat related:
Some very good rumors floating around about changes to Top Fuel for 2009.
One, has NHRA making some changes to slow the cars down in the VRA ranks.
Two, is what appears to be a huge change in how Top Fuel is structured at Good-Guys events with their TOP program becoming more like the original Open Fuel we all knew and loved.

Bob

Top Fuel Progress Report

2008-11-27T04:40:00.001-08:00

UPDATE:
Just got the word back from J&W. No charge for fixing the trans as there was a defect in the valve body and that destroyed the rest of the trans.
Great company. Wish I had been able to complete that final round but that's life.

Things are going along quite nicely with the Top Fuel effort for '09

The car has been stripped down to nothing and heading over to Kevin Sines to have some tabs welded on.
Then over to Brooksville for a new Powder Coat black paint job. Been a long time coming but finally the car gets the look it so deserves.

Motor, as usual, is in great shape but it's now time to order the new pistons for the higher percent nitro. Need to get together with Linc and Jimmy over cam choice.

Clutch can and reverser are here and rear housing is into Takash to have the 40 spline floater axles installed.
Crower glide should be ready in a month.
Lots of fabrication involved in this that I hadn't thought of such as new drive shaft, new driveshaft cover, clutch stop, etc etc. Not big things but still a little more work than I first thought.

New beadlock rear wheels (purple centers, who would have guessed? LOL) should be at the PRI show on display with the new 12" Hoosiers mounted.

The great part about this tear down is we'll finally be able to get rid of some of the nagging junk we've had to put up with. Might even save a few pounds in the process.

Speaking of which, Jim and I were amazed at how light this Stirling chassis is. Piece of cake to load it in the trailer. I will put it on some scales at Kevin's just out of curiosity.
With a minimum weight for Top Fuel of 1,600lbs, we might even make it. With the iron motor it weighed in at 1,750 and we're removing a lot of junk.

The plan is to make first test runs early April at a track rental deal and I think we'll have it complete long before that.

Bob

2009 and Beyond

2008-11-01T05:01:00.001-07:00

Lots of talk going on right now about forming a racing association in the SE.

With the economy the way it is (and might be for some time) the opinion is we all have to work harder at supporting tracks within a days drive of most of us.

The current outlaw group has the cars and with a possible expansion to a second level of cars, would give tracks a complete show.
Possibly call it an A and B field type deal.

There is very little in the way of rules which everyone knows I'm a big fan of.

Problem this year has been too many races too close together. Can you believe we're calling this a problem? LOL
But, in fact, it has been. Back to back weekends leaves no time to maintain the cars the way we normally do.
Plus, it's expensive to take that much time off work and expect the crew to do the same.

There will be lots of talk about the coming season over the next few weeks and how best to balance the needs of the tracks, race dates, and time between.

Bob

Valdosta in the books

2008-10-29T01:06:00.000-07:00

Not much to say here. LOL

Got in one pass on Saturday before breaking the trans.
Took us completely by surprise as no problems in five years of racing.
Annual maintenance and that's all it took, then this happens.

Trans is going back to J&W to get rebuilt but we're done for the year.
Time to get started on the Top Fuel effort for 2009.

Thanks to everyone that helped out this year as we struggled to make the new combo get down the track.
If anything good came out of this year it was the fact that we need a clutch.
If we had made any progress at all, we might have kept putting it off. LOL

Bob

CHRR etc

2008-10-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

As usual, Ed and I had a great time in Bakersfield.
Although it seemed to me the crowds were a bit thinner than previous years, considering the economy, it was still a huge crowd.

Met a few more online friends and generally spent the weekend filling up my notebook with info on running Top Fuel next year.

Also got very encouraging feedback on our running the CHRR with our car next year.
Lots of folks volunteering to crew with us which was a major concern of mine considering the amount of work that needs to be done between rounds or even qualifying attempts.

I'll also have Ed and perhaps Guy driving out with me to share driving duties which will be a great help.
No, this will not be a drive out and right back. I intend to make this not only a racing trip but vacation as well.

With parts coming in, both donated and purchased, from lots of sources it looks like this dream of mine might actually happen.

Bob

Parts and Pieces

2008-10-04T03:28:00.000-07:00

Already started collecting what we'll need for the Top Fuel effort in 2009.

Brendan's supplying the reverser, blanket, and clutch can with a fresh sfi tag.

I've got a lead on the Mag wheels from the same company Ed got his from. Holeshot wheels in Florida. Much cheaper than others I've seen and very high quality as they are made in house.

Mag is probably going back to Spud for upgrades to make it handle the nitro better.

Linc's supplying the clutch hat etc. and Crower is rebuilding it all with new parts and the remainder of the parts needed for the 'glide.
Jimmy Young is supplying the needed camshaft from his previous small block.

Takash Racing in Florida will be putting in the floater axles.

We'll be stripping the car down to nothing after the Bradenton race and having the chassis powder coated after the last couple of needed tabs are welded in.

More later.................

Bob

Top Fuel in 2009

2008-09-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally bit the bullet and getting rid of the power glide and going VRA legal Top Fuel in 2009.
The car just passed tech and is now certified Nostalgia Top Fuel.

I want to thank everyone who is pitching in with parts etc to make this work for me. Buying all new would not be possible and without the efforts of many people, we could not do this. Thanks again to everyone.

I will be re-doing the thank you list on the car. LOL

3 more races to go and the tear down/rebuild begins.

Bob

Very Busy 2008 end to season

2008-08-08T02:39:00.000-07:00

Update:
Valdosta, Ga added to schedule Oct 25th and 26th Open Top Fuel....

Hope you guys are ready for a very busy end to the 2008 season?

Clearwater coming up Sept 6 to finish what we began almost 2 months ago.
Track should be much cooler this time out.

Bradenton Nostalgia Nationals Oct 31 to Nov 2nd
Yep, I can cut a better light. Clearwater showed that. LOL
Hell to loose to a slower car.

Moroso for their 1 day Dick Moroso Nostalgia race Nov 9th
All new, full 1/4 mile, all concrete track now.

Bradenton SnowBird Nationals Dec 5-7
Moroso will be a good tuneup for this race as Bradenton's track will be in top form you can bet on that.

Bob

Sunshine Dragway

2008-07-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get excited already about re-doing the Heads Up Pro race at Clearwater in about a month.

Even though the first round was disappointing, that race was shaping up to be a "final of the survivors" Pat Hine and Us.

Not exactly how some had seen it playing out LOL But, hey, that's racing.

No changes this time out other than tire pressure. Car is making tons of horse power and we just listened to the wrong people about track conditions. Should have set it up for the greasy track it turned out to be.
Plus, now that I know how long the track really is, won't be that nervous about getting it shut off.

I think the idea Ed and I came up with on the brake situation will work out fine and no more issues with staging.
Quite amazing that we cut a .079 light considering how much trouble I was having holding the car back.

Ed has other commitments with the Tri-State team that same weekend and he will be missed so let's win one for the absent crew member.

Bob

A Fuel New Rules?

2008-06-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone hear of the proposed changes to A/Fuel for 2009?
Also heard some changes to Jr Fuel as well but can't confirm.

Email me if you know anything about this rumor.

web4search@yahoo.com

Indy in the Books

2008-06-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

Update #2
Only 5 Top Fuel cars and maybe only 4 for the actual race.
Someone brushed the wall and might not be back for the actual race.
Worse showing than even Columbus.

Open Fuel has only 3 cars in the 6.50 field. I had heard 5 but latest has only 3
I'll know more this evening.
Want 10 cars for 2009 NHRA? Call me but be prepared to change your stupid rules which has ruined this class.

Just In:
As many had predicted, there is not a full field at Bowling Green in Open Fuel (or whatever ta hell class NHRA has decided to call it).
It sure ain't A/Fuel! More like "quick brackets" lol
Will be interested to know what the purse is ultimately cut to?
Given the "Custom" class, any doubt who will win?

Thanks to some whiners, this class probably won't exist next year in the East.
They'll simply do away with it like "A" Jr Fuel.
Sure is a far cry from Open Fuel of the past and 12 cars showing up to race.

Racing rained out later Friday with showers part of the day Saturday. Should have good weather for Saturday night and Sunday.

Well, in spite of the rain on Saturday, Indy was completed.

Sounds like this is all going down as many predicted.

Partially lame field for Top Fuel (where were all the California cars everyone was raving about coming) 8.0 was the bump. Heard they let a couple of non legal cars run to fill the field. First round loser money must have been pretty good.

Pits more empty than last year and grandstands looked like a NOPI race. More than a few cars went home even though they were qualified. Yes, the rain played a huge part but wasn't much there before the rains came.

If you could start your car you could run the 6.50 class and also as predicted, the Stanke group won. Four cars I know of, including ours, were match racing for actual money.
Where were all the 6.50 cars? Hmmm, I don't know. Could it be that some people put up such a fuss over rules for BG, nobody wanted to make the tow for one race?

It's the ole "watch what you wish for it might come true" deal.

Bob

No Bowling Green this year

2008-05-06T01:24:00.000-07:00

Update:
Already 3 race dates have jumped into the picture that are almost the same dates we were going to run before. AND much closer to home and better money. PLUS, they WANT us to run nitro! How stupid can NHRA be?
Right now, I'm looking at about six dates so far with a few more possible.

We were all hoping The Museum might change it's mind and allow Dominic and I to run nitro at Bowling Green but apparently NHRA still hasn't got the message that this is not the West Coast.
The lack of an Open Fuel class again this year has made the decision for us.
We will not be running Indy or Bowling Green this year.
Seems the reunion staff have forgotten how this all got started in the East.
It sure wasn't NHRA!
Where are all the cars from the first BG reunions? Outlawed and gone match racing is where.

Look for a repeat of the poor field at Columbus. Maybe even worse.
Word is there won't even be a full field of Top Fuelers. (barely made it at Columbus)
They're going to have to pay some cars to show up.

With Dom and I out, that leaves five cars from Columbus.
On the bright side, they'll cut the purse again and save some money. LOL
Notice how they don't post payouts anymore? They can't as they have no idea who, if anyone, is going to show up.
This is becoming just another car show and every racer has figured it out now.

Although we could still run Indy, the fuel costs with running just that one race has made it a little easier to just cancel heading north this summer.

I feel very bad for the St Louis folks as we were looking forward to running there for the first time for a very good purse. I hope they get a full field of cars in the 6.50 class as I'd like to see this race a success for the promoter.
If there is any way we can run just that one race, we will.

Regardless, there will be more races down south this year and for much better money considering travel costs.

Bob

Dragster Now Complete

2008-02-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

Finally got the car back together and now looking forward to testing at Bradenton on April 20-21. Ed Crafton will be flying back down and the usual cast of characters will be there as well.
Perhaps Mike and Kevin will be testing as well. I know Sam and Frank won't miss it.
Now all we have to do is convince Ed to bring his Hemi down.

But now for the REALLY big news. As of last Friday I'm officially retired. WOW

Time to load up and just do some touring/racing beginning end of May.

1st off, The March Meet in Bakersfield. Missed one year but not another one.

Then, off to Alaska for a 9 day trip of just playing around and some snow mobiling in the high country.

I'm taking retirement very seriously. lol

Bob

Busy As Hell!

2008-02-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

It's been nice to spend so much time in Florida this year.
Lot's of projects going on, even some completed, that always have been neglected in years past.

New, built in ramps for the trailer along with generally fixing it up for the season.

Dually is finally going to get the attention is so badly needs. Robbie is even going to detail it! Wow!

Trans and converter are back from J&W and very little work required. Looks like we've found our sweet spot.

Block is down at Toby's having some very minor work completed and should have everything back together by Feb 20th.

Still debating having upholstery put in the car as the shipping is almost as much as the work but we'll see on that one.

Change to injected nitro has been put on hold for the time being. Seems there just wasn't the level of interest that first appeared on the message boards. Too many people wanting the rules their own way. Hmmm, why am I not surprised lol
The rules package is still going to be forwarded to NHRA as we do need to keep this moving forward even if slowly.

Next outing for the crew will be testing at Bradenton in April

Bob

March Meet 6-10

2007-12-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

Ed is coming
Debbie and Jim are coming.

Lot's of folks from the HRE board will be there.

Looks like another good time in Bakersfield

Bob

Damn Good Year!

2007-12-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Hey Gang,

Just got the long awaited phone call from J and W and trans/converter are fine. Almost no wear at all on anything.
Hard to believe with the way we've struggled with tire shake that it didn't bend something.
Just the usual replace it type stuff while it's apart.

Guess it helps to get out of the throttle when shake happens huh Dick.
Pass that info on to your buddy with the lead foot. LOL

That, combined with a motor that's in perfect shape, made 07 a pretty stress free year.
Sure makes the three race swing of St. Louis, Indy, and Bowling Green in '08 look very possible.

Piston/wall clearance ended up .0085 so tightness is coming from either the blower or belt becoming too tight. We'll go back to our old way of setting belt tension and see if it goes away.

All the above combined with our 6.74 run, made this a great year even if a win didn't come our way... Can't wait until 2008!!!

Thanks to everyone on the crew and may we all have a Great Xmas and exciting New Year!

Bob