Will rule changes hurt fan appeal?
- Studebaker
- Tom
- Studebaker
- Studebaker
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» Studebaker - Rule changes for fuel cars may be restrictive.
Recent changes for fuel cars may cause them to actually go slower. Although this is a rule change for safety, many fans and racers may not like it. Will this change your feeling for fuel cars or drag racing in general?-- posted by Studebaker
» Tom - Safety Changes........
Well, I assume that there isn't a lot of difference between NASCAR and the NHRA when it comes to the safety subject.The big safety villains last season were the open wheel boys with five deaths, three fans and two drivers. There were also several injuries in the mishap at Charlotte where an open wheel car's "wheel" was knocked off in a wreck, and flew up into the grandstands like a rocket. This is the incident that caused the three deaths. You may have noticed that a lot of their top drivers are looking to race elsewhere. Although, now they're touting the wheel tethers (small steel cables), to keep the wheels from leaving the racer. I remember writing in a article about NASCAR testing the wheel tethers for their Winston Cup cars. I believe they'll be mandatory for the 2000 season, along with the hood tethers, which were also tested last season.
Now we address the slowing down of the fuel cars for safety, and will the fans like or dislike it. They will dislike it! This has been proven by NASCAR with it's restrictor plates that were added to the throat of the carburators to reduce the size of the port holes that allow the fuel to go to the engine, reducing the horsepower by at least 200. This rule change went into effect after the wreck at Talledega (Alabama) in '87 where Bobby Allison took out 30 feet of fencing in front of the grandstands.
So, even after NASCAR slowed down the cars at Talledega and Daytona, initially for the safety of the fans , the fans don't like it. The drivers don't like it.
But, amid the grumbling, the restrictor plates are used every year, 4 times, at these venues, and life goes on. The engine builders have figured out ways to get around the plates, just as they will in the NHRA when restrictions are imposed.
-- posted by Tom
» Studebaker - Drag Racing Safety
Unfortunately, the issue is safety. Everyone will hate it but the underlying issue is $$$$. The insurance companies are threatening to discontinue or raise premiums. With fourteen injuries at Pomona due to Eddie Hill's engine exploding, they all got scared.-- posted by Studebaker
» Studebaker - Pomona indicates little harm done in rule changes
Early indications are that the 90% Nitro rule has not overly affected times and speeeds of the top classes. I had often wondered if some of those big boys might get a better bite at the starting line if the power were curbed a bit. Let's check back after we've seen racing under some other conditions.-- posted by Studebaker
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