Hot Rods NHRA Moving Out Of California

They'll all end up in Kansas. Where it all started. WE may let them back in. Maybe not.

 

I think NHRA is in decline. Race attendance is down, they are having problems getting a full field in some classes, they even dropped some Pro Stock races from the schedule. Events like SEGA, the no prep races, nostalgia super stock and others are drawing huge crowds. NHRA’s politics against some classes and some of the overkill safety requirements have killed a lot of the Sportsman classes, and has affected the Pro classes as well. I think they are in the same boat as NASCAR, they have micro managed everything to the point that the spectators are turned off by the product and are looking elsewhere for their entertainment. I’d hate to see them go away, but I’d like to see a more racer and spectator friendly sanction group.

 

X2

 

I agree, and am looking elsewhere.
In the meantime, i thank the inventor of the mute button and the fast forward button when i watch.

 

Same thing is happening in Australia with the emergence of IHRA. They don't give a shit about sportsman brackets, just bums on seats for the big boys.

 

Now if we could just get the Goodguys show and the Super Chevy show back to Raceway Park...

Sent from my SM-T500 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Come on Phil you must have missed the meeting when we discussed this.

 

NHRA moved out of hot-rodding a long time ago

 

Bring back the guys who wear rolled up levi's and white t-shirts with flat top hair cuts and work for a living and on Saturday the pop the spinner hubcaps or racing disk, off their 40 ford's and head out to the drag strip. Working on their car by themselves. No pit crew. No stickers on their car advertising oakley sunglasses, or vapor pipes. Just sitting in the bleachers watching 23 t-buckets with buick's in them along with a cadlasalle 3 speeds racing a 49 ford coupe. And trying to listen to the announcer who you can't understand due to the green cone shape speaker's hanging high on the chain link fence and spaced out to far apart to hear. All this while eating a mustard covered hot dog and drinking a coke out of a wax covered paper coke cup. No beer stand, no barbecue grills filling the air with carne asada, no churros, no cheese covered fries, no tutti frutti drinks. Just plain old kids having fun before going too the sock hop next Friday night. Sheeesh. I miss though's days.

 

Not exactly like that but Fomoso has events similar. As does Eagle Field out here. But they have been discovered by shirt and churro vendors. Still a good time though.

 

Sounds like the HAMB Drags and a dozen other events.

 

This was a planned move that started MANY years ago. I first heard about it a few years ago during a conversation with a senior tech official. Covid might have sped up the process showing that they dont need a huge space to operate/conduct daily business. The Indy Property is more centralized and lays dormant for most of the year, so its a smart business move on their part. Also going strong for them is that Ca. real estate is going crazy right now and a sellers market. Say what you want about Ca (I dont care) but I could put my house up for sale today , and by tomorrow have 15 offers at above asking/market price. Not bad for a 1985 purchase of $160K and have had offers of $800k+ (not for sale)
The Fairplex drag strip is leased from the county and they govern its usage-- so the existence is out of NHRA control if the county desides not to renew the lease.
The Museum is strictly funded by the Heritage racing series, Reunions, and Benefactors, There is no Corp involvement except for the use of the name. With the disastrous season last year funding could be a problem unless the LA County took pitty

 

everyone has gotta do what they gotta do

 

Ya Peter. Close. I try to make it there every year for the Hot Rod Reunion. Next best thing.

 

I have to agree about the whole Nascar thing. A few weeks ago I was
watching the Kentucky Derby. The prerace excitement was high, the fans
were excited the whole affair is quite festive. When the gates opened the
announcers calling the race started with the "and their off!" Now I realize this
event only lasts a minute or so, but the guys kept the pitch up for the entire
duration. The next day I tuned in to the Talledega race. The whole event was
and has become very blase. The announcers tried but the thrill is gone. No
more pitting when a team wants or needs to. No more drafting trains with
guys like Petty, Yarbourgh, Peason, Erahart and a host of other colorfull
drivers blasting away and swapping leads often a few times per lap. The
announcers then would reflect excitemnet in their commentary because
it was exciting! Now the it seems the only way you see close lead fights
is the result of a green white checkered finish. The races usually show a lead of a second or more with followers spaced out in similar distances. The
announcers seem to be more concerned with who can make the cutest
comment or be more funny than the other fellow. The Derby announcers
reminded me of the Nascar announcers of the past era. I am not implying
that todays race drivers are not capable of providing equal excitement. It
is just the way the technical and rule structure has evolved. I have been a
nascar fan my entire life as long as I can remember. Now I may watch a few select events but am usually disappointed like I was with Talledega. The attraction to me is the fact of 40 cars going W.F.O. for 5oo miles all the while fending off 39 other guys trying their damnedest to get in front of each other
at every given moment. It was meant to be wild ass balls out competition.
Of course I realize there must be strategic plans to survive or win an event
of this duration. It just seems it has become a mechanical chess game
whereas it once was mechanic joust! Just my rainy ass Thursday opinion.

 

The NHRA got into the same mind set that NASCAR was,,,,is,,,,,,they forgot the fans,,,,,,,the fans really pay the bills .
Years ago the NHRA decided they were gonna take a bigger cut of the racers proceeds from selling souvenirs,,,,,,all didn’t go along with this .
But,,,,they are instrumental in setting rules and policies,,,,,,and the nhra has legislated itself out of being fan friendly .
NASCAR is suffering from that right now,,,,,hardly no one is at the races,,,or watches it on tv.
When you have to take low ball offers from sponsors,,,,to have their names on the series,,,,then the that is a sure sign.
Nhra has what name on its series now,,,,,,i can’t even think who it is ?
NASCAR is same boat,,,,,who is the title sponsor ?
I quit watching nascar after all of the last minute caution flags for “debris “ ,,,on the track,,,,,a soft drink cup maybe,,,,,come on .
It would bunch the cars up and cheat the guy in front from a well deserved victory.
How many green / white checker flags were there?

And the micro managed rules,,,,,,give me a break,,,,,,NHRA is guilty of this as well .
The top brass has just about run off the only people that really matter,,,,,the Fans !

And besides,,,,,,no one will admit this,,,,,but I am gonna let you all in on a little publicized secret,,,,,are you ready ?
When the tobacco money was outlawed from motor sports,,,,that signed the death notice of all motor racing here .
Now,,,formula,,,,and other open wheel stuff is still doing okay,,,,,somewhat,,,,,but the teams and owners put huge amounts of personal money into it,,,,and huge amounts of sponsorship money as well .
And how many people really watch all of that,,,,,it’s hard to find the races on tv to be honest .
The fans pay the bills of our racing,,,,,and the boardrooms have to justify just how much they can put into racing,,,,,and still see a return .
Sponsors are hard to come by now,,,,,,who are the top drivers in NHRA and NASCAR,,,,,it’s really hard to remember now ?

Tommy

 

Wait till next year. I don't know what I'm implying.

 

I've got a couple of buddies in California, and they do nothing but complain about it, politics, cost of living, restrictions, etc, and we just hired 2 guys from the Anaheim area, they have nothing positive to say about it either. Gas is $2.78 a gallon here today, don't see why anybody would wanna leave that place lmao!

 

Just my 2 cents...
I don't know diddly about NASCAR but I am very familiar with the NHRA. There is nothing welcoming to the new people to be interested in. Super Gas will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to run 9's. Pro Stock will run into the millions. Funny cars and top fuel will run into your first and second born plus millions. Rules change every year as do the specifications for parts. Racing four abreast just makes you sick from sensory overload.

Warren/Coburn built a car in a garage, now some teams have 200,000 square foot buildings minimum. Even TV is a pain because of "analyst's" who just can't shut up. Engines are leased, rich guys are running two, three, five, maybe 9 cars in different pro classes.

Interviews from the timing tower of fuel altered or top gas drivers consisted of: "yea, it was out of hand". Now an interview consists of: "the KY jelly, maiden form, marvel oil Ford was a handful but when we get back to the trailer and see the video and the computer print out we'll see if we need another Pepsi light.

Now its a business where as before it was because of the love of the car and the competition.

That's progress I guess and I'm a dinosaur but if it came down to watching an old altered built by the likes of Leon Fitzgerald or Richie Guasco, or a dragster driven be Jeep or Ronnie Hampshire or watching a new car 16 car field of identical cars with identical engines... I'll take the old guys.

 

Don't for get Pro "Stock". Thanx to recording, I don't have to listen to Tony Pedregon very much. And now there're Mustangs in Pro Stock! Me thinks they have someone else's engines (or are they all based on any "Stock" engine?).

And as for the motorcycles, recently sponsored by HD, but the Suzukis are starting to kick their ass again, so probably the assn. will rewrite the rules for the umteenth time. Ever see the cu. in. and weight breaks? And, of course, the announcers never reveal what "make" the bikes are anyway.

 

Jungle Jim stated several times in his day, You can not trust the NHRA. He disliked them with a passion. That was a big reason he Matched race , and made money. Of course we are now in very different times.,

 

Shame that the things that affect the things that we all like can't be discussed. People are obsessed about political parties, but don't want to discuss policies of the parties that get us there.

 

I really did like listening to the drivers before the corporate sponsor takeover. Now, it’s mostly thanks to the sponsors with little of what it was like, did the flames get to your face ? Was it a handful ? Could you actually see the track at 8 G ? Or, were you aware of flying through the traps upside down ?
But sadly it is just a plug for nhra’s great job and to the sponsor.
Yea, really tired of the clowns in the booth. I did like Mike Dunn though. At least he seemed honest in his commentary.

 

Paraphrasing Warren Zevon...
I've been to Kentucky, and it ain't that pretty at all.

 

I personally think the NHRA puts on a fantastic show at their national events. Before the border closure I would either attend Seattle or Pomona and at the end of the event I always feel I got my $60.00 worth of entertainment . At my local track where I race a couple events or Friday night grudge races the same thing. The staff at tech always check my helmet and seatbelt expiry date, for my own good. The car wranglers at the staging lanes are on the ball, the timers work, the ambulance is ready and waiting. Absolutely no complaints from me.

 

Cant blame the high cost of racing on NHRA. that belongs to the racers, but when NHRA tries to curb the run-away cost , you complain that they are restricting ingenuity. I can build a $10,000 BB and run 9.90 SUPERGAS index, but some will spend 5X that for an engine and put timers on it to slow it down, The 9.90 ET is the same 9.90 ET it was 40 yrs ago

 

Never said my state was pretty, i was saying from what I'm told, your state sucks.

 

Pro stock has become really boring. The two Mustangs have added some visual improvement. However there not powered by any type of Ford engine . The rules changed to allow any brand engine a few years ago in any car so there powered by some type of after market big block type chevy type stuff. Wont be long battery powered pro stock will be the rage I mean the end of it all!

 

Dre,
You’re right about the timers,,,,but who allows it ?
The NHRA could handle that easy,,,,,and reign in the crazy cost of racing.
And it is boring as all get out,,,,,to see a car launch like a bullet and then fall on its nose,,,,and then take off again like nothing happened,,,,and win .
I like the real racing,,,,,I’m a fan,,,,,,and I believe most of them feel similar to me .

And the top pro teams,,,,it’s all a computer readout .
Fuel is not much fun anymore,,,,,pro stock is generic,,,,who built the engines,,,,,just rent your best choice !
And if we go too fast,,,,,just slow them down !
I understand safety,,,I really do,,,,,,but everything in life is a risk .
Let’s just play a video game of the race,,,,,that 100% safe,,,,but wait,,,,,,we have thumb problems now,,,,,we need a more safer controller !!!

That is why I always loved pro motocross,,,,,,those boys put it all on the line every lap.
25-30 feet in the air,,,,,,doing 70 mph,,,,,,that’s guts !!!

A few years ago I was watching a NASCAR race,,,,and they were letting them come into the pits at 200 mph,,,,,it was beautiful !
Just like the old days,,,,,,it takes guts,,,,and I understand it’s dangerous .
But they did an awesome job and no one even came close to being hurt .
But what in life is really safe,,,,,,you can die sitting in a recliner from a heart attack or stroke .
Nothing and nobody is really safe,,,,,that’s life .

Oh well,,,,sorry about the story of being an unsafe advocate .
Just like Evel Knievel,,,,,he risked his life every time,,,,but it was not a boring life he led .

Tommy

 

and are virtually cripples by the time they reach 35