Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I'm sitting here watching the world of outlaws race on dirt vision and they mentioned Tony Stewart's transition to drag racing. I've been a long time oval racing fan mostly sprint cars and super modified but I just have never liked drag racing. I've been to a few events, but it's never appealed to me, in fact, I think it's a pretty stupid lower form of motor sport, just above monster trucks. I know NHRA has a huge following and a lot of money is invested in the sport so I'm probably in the minority, but I just don't get it? I was thinking about the reasons I don't like it, but if I were a fan of drag racing, I could make a good argument against all the reasons I don't like it. Driver skill, strategy, too much reliance on the car, etc., etc. So, since I was bored, I thought I'd post a question here. What do you think Sprint Car people, are you a fan of drag racing?

I wouldn't consider myself a Drag Racing fan but have watched it a number of times through the years casually I will say. I probably watched more of it when I was younger and it was on ESPN. My dad on the other hand loves it and will talk about it non stop saying terms that I do not for the life of me understand. My son and I did go to our first NHRA show last June. As a matter of fact we went to a lot of different forms of racing last year amoung many adventures. The event was actually pretty neat and enjoyable for the most part and I think part of the appeal to a lot of people is the ingenuity of the sport or the gearhead part of the sport. I noticed a lot of people were there more to watch the guys work on the cars vs the racing part of it. Having worked on a few things over the past handful of years myself, I can say I started getting a little intrgued by a lot of the stuff. On TV yes it does look like 2cars going down a straight line in 3-4.5secs, yes the sport is vastly different than it was 20-40yrs ago (maybe longer than that), and while I knew that I still found myself kind of mesmerized by the mechanical aspects 

I wouldn't consider it or even monster trucks a lower form of racing. Even though I may not view it as much as other forms of racing, I don't think that makes it lower. I don't understand or watch F1 at all and do not have any desire to but it obvioulsy is not a  lower form of racing. There are just things that we may not enjoy as much as we do others but just because we do not enjoy the other stuff as much, does not mean it has not validity. 

I don't think it would appeal to me at all, but my brother went to an NHRA event and thought it was really cool.    I've never been to one myself.   As a dirt track fan I don't even understand why people like late models.    

Doesn't appeal to me much. It's good for about 5-10 passes then I'm over it. I think most who enjoy it are mechanics who appreciate the builds and what they can or can't build vs others. I'm a poor excuse of a mechanic so it's just not my cup of tea. I don't know if most care about driver skill and strategy but probably rather prefer to be more car focused. 

I used to love drag racing back in the 60s!

They had all sorts of classes based on body types & cubic inch displacement.... lots of home built cars & creativity, run whatcha brung

Some guys in the town where we lived in Virginia won the National Championship in "A/ Competition Coupe"., 1960.. I saw the car thru their shop window while riding the school bus & got to meet them

Now its all BIG $$$, hi-tech rocket sleds, unaffordable to the average Joe. Its gone from participatory sport to spectator sport, boring as hell

But I'd go to Nostalgia/ Vintage drags in a minute. A few years back I flew to California for Tulare Trophy Cup... a bunch of guys were on the flight headed to Vintage drags in Bakersfield. I was very tempted!

Here's the car: Lickliter Brothers, Staunton, Va....basically a coupe body on top of a slingshot dragster: 

As a kid growing up in NW Iowa, a few times a summer we'd go to Thunder Valley Dragways in Marion SD (SW of Sioux Falls) on Sunday afternoon as an excuse to leave work early and a motorcycle ride - but that was always under the guise of what we were really doing - an excuse to leave early because we were going to Huset's anyways. So we'd get a form of a motorsports double. 

There were even a couple times where we'd leave right after the Knoxville Nationals finale night and haul it up to Brainerd to catch the NHRA final rounds on Sunday...even though we're not really drag racing fans.

But if you have never seen a live NHRA top fuel run standing by the track once in your life, it really is quite the experience. TV does zero justice.  All your life you 'know' that you have internal organs without (hopefully) knowing they exist. But after one top fuel run, you can actually feel the organs in your body, it's that intense of a sensation - and I would recommend it to anyone.

Note: if you're not a fan of big crowds, lines and walking a mile from your parking spot, I would suggest going on a qualifying night where there's a fraction of the crowd, and you can still get the exact same sensation - without the hassle. 

If you are a fan of motorsports, even if you just go for a couple hours when the top fuel cars are qualifying, it's an experience you'll never forget.

my wife doesn't go because she doesn't like the way it "tastes".  it's that vibration you feel inside that you described.  there's nothing else like it other than probably watching a rocket take off.  i really don't care who wins so i go the maple grove with my daughter every year on friday.  somehow she's the only person in my family who isn't afraid of it and she's the youngest.  

they always sell barbies which helps.  lots of female drivers in drag racing.

i would also call their overall fan experience the best in sports...not just motorsports.  every ticket is a pit pass.  you can meet the drivers and i've never seen one that doesn't take great care of the fans.  

so yes...it's is cars just going in a straight line especially if you just watch on tv.  in person...it's a sensory experience like nothing else and when they say they care about the fans...i actually think they mean it.

As a former owner/driver my main interest is wing410's but as a gearhead to the core and I like it all at least a little bit. 
one of the appeals is anyone can try their hand at it in the car they drive to work. I've taken a couple of my street cars just for the heck of it 

While it's not drag racing I did drive a buddies car at a land speed event in Arkansas. Lots of similarities where you start from a standstill and run over a 1 mile course. The car ran 218mph in the mile and gave me a newfound respect for the drag racers!

I will also say if you have not been to a national event where the top fuel cars run it is worth the time those cars are amazing 

"so yes...it's is cars just going in a straight line especially if you just watch on tv.  in person...it's a sensory experience like nothing else"

That makes perfect sense.... just like sprint car racing (which isn't NEARLY as boring on TV)

If the drags were on TV in the 60s, tho, I would have loved it, cause I cared who won. Unwatchable now

I like to watch drag racing, mostly Pro Mods.  I would say I'm a bit more passionate about dirt track racing, but the mechanical engineer in me loves drag car construction, and who can't like a big thumpin 959 ci nitrous motor that literally shakes the ground?

Depends on the class much like dirt racing. Bracket racing with dial in times, handicap trees, and breakouts kinda suck like watching modifieds.

On the other had pro drag racing with the top fuel dragster and funny cars are the baddest thing on the planet. Nothing compares to the ground shaking, the pressure wave at launch or  the smell of nitro of top fuel.

I enjoyed the NHRA events I attended.  However, I can't follow it religiously because it just doesn't do as much for me.  I will tune into the finals of an event on TV if I am just sitting around---for example I watched Smoke make his first Top Fuel final round appearance last year just by chance.  My dad is really into it, but his first car was a Chevelle 454 and all of his buddies were into drag racing on the backroads!

Definitely more of a sport for 2 generations ago, but some my age are into it!  I for one, am not that much.  It's fun to catch every once in a while, but that is about it for me.

Ditto. I took my mom to the Motorplex on qualifying night during that insane NitroFish crash (Bruce Allen/Kenny Koretsky) in 2005 and it still is one of the most vivid motorsports memories I ever witnessed in person.

How the two drivers made it through this was amazing (for any type of motorsports):

https://youtu.be/IiEv0j-SzlQ?si=kDOhn8P3o4UkIqdx

I spent a lot of time at the dragstrip in my younger years. I've been photographing sprint cars for a lot of years now. A couple of years ago when the Short Track Nationals (and every other dirt track in the region) rained out, I went and shot some drag racing in Tulsa and had a blast. So I shot more of it last year, including 5 NHRA events. I'm really enjoying it.....The vibe in the pits is unequaled. These days, everyone in the pits at a sprint car race has a "stick in their ass"........But at an NHRA event, it is total chill. Plus the programs are run super efficient and I find drag racing challenging to shoot. I have enjoyed it so much that I fly to Gainesville Wednesday for the Gator Nationals as I embark on shooting the whole schedule this year. 

And yes, the sensory overload is incredible when you're up close......Don't just sit in the stands, go watch a couple of passes down on the fence.......Smell the nitro......feel your innerds get tickled......

And Pro Mods and Top Fuel Motorcycles are just crazy...

www.plgphotos.com

Member of this message board since 1997

That was incredible, and more so because there were no serious injuries.  Here's Scott Palmer at the World Series of Pro Mod last weekend, he walked away without a scratch and he's as old as I am

https://youtu.be/kbTlq88yp1o

If you have never been......go. You might hate it but I bet you won't. Like others said, go on Friday when there are less crowds. I don't follow it as like sprint cars, not much has changed in 30 years. I did the Knoxville/Brainerd double a couple times too like Darin, 89' and 94' I believe. Here is what you can expect:

https://youtu.be/CpbTq1O4XPs?si=4vqzXDpqWmdnWLFW

Drag racing is very popular one reason is the horsepower and they have had some really great personalities like John Force clear back to Don Gartlis. As much as I like sprint cars we dont have the personalities like when Karl,Steve,Sammy and Doug were the face. I watch DV and Flo but the 1/2 mile races dont have much passing with current format. NASCAR is a production and Monster trucks have a WWF atmosphere. 

I think what hurt drag racing is people lost their sence of humor. In the sixties and seventies what was considered boys will be boys they want to put you in jail for now. Also for a while cars on the road were real dogs. The newer cars with V6's are now turning more horses than most of V8's once did. I have a 1973 Nova SS that beat every Mustang & MachI in two counties in the 1/4. (bought it new & still have it). Two years ago my wife got a Buick Enclave with V6. One day she said "this thing really goes when you get on it" After reading some of owners manual I said "do you know your car has 100 more HP than my Nova and I am pretty sure would beat the Nova in the 1/4". (we are early 70's)  When drag racing was more popular people owned their cars. They are just tranportation now.

I grew up with drag racing, that's what my dad took me to every weekend at York US 30. Pretty awesome times, local and national events, I'll never forget them. Sometime around '75, family friends invited me to go with them to Williams Grove, we went to the infied in turn one. Well, after seeing those sprinters fly down those big long stretches and turn left, broad slide and bounce those sumbitches around slinging mud in the air I was hooked. The drag strip closed down but there were plenty of dirt tracks in the area, I lost some interest in drag racing and became way more interested in circle track racing. I still enjoy the drags but they should be witnessed live to feel the power of those beasts.

I worked for NSSN the first year drag racing came to Charlotte. 

I remember going into the men's room while everyone was watching the top fuel.  Loud as hell.  I was the only one in this massive bathroom with a million urinals. 

Force literally walks up in his uniform and takes a piss right beside me.  Looks over and ask how Economacki is doing.  I nervously said he's doing ok.  He smiles and said does he still talk loud as hell?  He's pretty deaf nowadays.  I jokingly said he's almost as loud as you. He smiles, slaps me on the back, and said good to hear. And walks off.  

I look around the bathroom and there isn't a soul.  I literally have no one that can prove this story is true.  But it is.

Brandon McLain
United Sprint Car Series Driver
2014 Season
National Rookie of the Year!
National Points - 8th
Southern Points - 3rd
Asphalt Points - 3rd
18 Races, 3 Top 5's, 14 Top 10's