Is Nostalgia Top Fuel Dying out?

i think nostalgia is starting to dim out. its harder to find events that actually run the cars. and still most only run a few cars, and dont do much more than a burnout and half pass. the cars have so much more soul than the new shit, kinda sucks its disapearing

 

Not from where I sit, between the March Meets and the CHRR it gets bigger and better every race. Nitro nights, nostalgia racing is tops for sure.

 

Jim Davis was killed on a Harley on the street in early 1989 as I remember. His son Brent was badly hurt in Jim's old car at Fremont at the last Nostalgia race in the fall of 1988. The term "Nostalgia" is defined as longing for something far away or long ago. It looks like we have had both in N/TF, as the cars I raced were as close to 1965 era as we could get and the current crop of what they race today could not be farther away than the "Slingshot" era of the 60s, when front engined dragsters ruled. Just my opinion.

 

Bakersfield has been 'nostalgia central' now for over 20 years. Not aware of any other place thatdraws such crowds. and it has evolved into multi generations of fans liking the 'old stuff' . It is not just old guys dying off and the niche of the sport thinning out.

In Arizona it is also popular and we have tracks, some old, to run on year 'round.
Here is another pic of my AA/FD. I try to make it look as period correct as is possible. Had the chassis made narrow front and in the cockpit like the old days, no large squared off cage. Also has vintage looking chrome front axle with fake radious rods, 3 rib hat, candy apple red paint, polished Halibrands, etc. I also have a wider front axle for it though I have not used it yet.



It is a very demanding car to run but, is also very satisfying when things go well. I love running blown nitro. Engine is based on a '59 389 Pontiac

 

I guess time will tell

 

i got to share it with my son helping dan sr.when it was closer to what it was like backintheday........
thanks again to dan you are getting to take part in the nitro experience...
you are doing a good job with your falcon too....

 

Well, there were eight T/F cars at Famosa and what, 30 FC'S?
The FC's were within a tenth of the TF cars, and I still say they put on a better show.
It's reality, not "purity" that counts.
Run a bigger tire, go faster, they must have more performance to be more popular. Sure that's more money, but what else is new?

 

There were 15 NTF cars. One did not run (Horan Sr) and one hit the wall in qual (Denver). Lots of oil downs in both classes.

 

So why did they run seven cars in eliminations? How come number 9 didn't run?
In any case, the ratio of FC to T/F was 2 to 1.

 

They ran first round Sat. #9 Dunlap first round winner

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/race-coverage/20372-nhra-nationals-same-day-coverage

 

I stand corrected!

 

Still sad to see a short field in NTF. Word in the pits was, there are some new cars in the works.

 

It was nice to see a NTF car make the trip from New England, they ran a BBC and the Champ. Speed Shop guys were running a bad a$$ SBC.

http://allamericanfueldragsters.com/

 

And my new Ford powered NTF dragster stayed home

 

NTF is on its way out. Long live fuel altereds.

 

Well i,am going to build a new 225" wb car this spring, never thought i,d build another. Back in the early 90,s i built my last one and had to change a new car several times in a couple years because of rule changes and it burnt me out. So today i,am building a ntf "legal chassis" but i,am gonna run my 427td with a 5/8 crank stack injected on alky, alum heads and a long glide,3.70 gears and one of my latest chute pack body. I dont care what there rules are except for safety. I,am out for fun period. Keeping the cost as low as possible and work to a minimum. We,ll see.
Old man bob

 

I know I'm bringing a dead thread back...but what the hey.

Love the points of view in this thread....especially from guys who actually own the cars.

There was an interview of Don Prudhomme a while back. When they asked about the future of nostalgia racing....he said money will probably kill it....among other things. Guys with the money will be the ones at the top..and less and less will be willing to do it. You can blame NHRA too....but in the end..you need money to keep up with the rules....

My take: I'm a fan...and I race from time to time (altered). I'm not real fond of the newer feds. To me...they don't look the part anymore. Everyone has a different opinion on what they should look like. Some guys like the early short dragsters, some like the mid 60's (my favorite era.....like Pink's Old Master), other's like the late 60's early 70's. I could care less about a 5 sec run. I just want to see an era correct looking top fuel fed run. Could care less if it ran 7's....the sound and smell is enough.

Here's a perfect example. One of my favorite times at the HRR Bowling Green this year was watching 7.0 pro. Sure the typical stuff was running the class...then I heard what I thought was a nitro car. Sure enough, here comes a dragster named Lethal Injection. Look like it stepped right out of the mid 60's. No blower....but had stack injection running a 392 on 96% nitro....and a clutch car to boot (If I remember correctly). THAT was what I came to see. Looked like a cackle car...only this was was actually racing.

Then I hear another nitro car... This time it was Tiki Warrior. Had only seen him run with the funnies the last two years doing 1/8 mi burn outs and running in the 6's. This year they competed in 7.0 pro. Loved it. Still did an 1/8 mi burn out every time and was only running in the 7's.......but the crowd went nuts every time just as they did when Tiki was running in the 6's. My guess.....they aren't going through parts like they were in the 6's ...but the crowd is still loving them just as much.

They need to somehow get back to what the original idea was (7 sec for $7000). I'm worried that crap runs down hill. If the top fuel classes are diminishing...eventually everything below it will start to suffer. I knew nostalgia racing would fade eventually....but think there are things that could be done to help it last as long as it can...

 

It has been almost 30 years since the Nostalgia T/F movement began. Tom Prufer and Brian Burnett brought back what we remembered....1/4 mile tire smoking Fuel Dragsters. I would pay to see that again.

 

Hi Scott. Thanks for the kind words about the Tiki! I am very proud of what we have accomplished with the car. I do need to correct one thing though. We run alcohol. Always have and will most likely stay that way. We can run the car down into the low sixes if we want to or de-tune it to run in 7-0 pro which we won at NHRR in 2011 and was number one qualifier at CHRR last year. As you can tell I love doing the burnouts for the crowds! That is one of the main reasons why the fans come out. If they weren't so cool why has NASCAR taken what WE started and made it their own now?!?!?

Go to your local drag race and tell the teams how much you dig what they are doing. I can say that we all appreciate it!!!

 

Frank, Here are some pages from "Drag Racing" and "Street Rodder" Magazines from 1986, they show how much the racing has evolved. That's me "Smokin" the tires in the Dragster, what fun for not much money.

 

You have a few guys who showed up with a truck load of money and killed it. Now there's "Big Show" trailers, AJPE heads, racks and racks of pistons, these guys will blow their stuff up every run. They are going to price themselves right out of racing, history repeats it's self.

 

Dont blame the people with money, every car goes down the track with the same number of parts in the motor. learn to race smarter then them.

 

most running funnys are new also the telstar is all new

 

So now we have nostalgia for....nostalgia?
Hmmm
I personally don't care about "nostalgia" per se, I care about racing.
It's about rules, not money. Racers will always stretch the rules to the breaking point, but rules are, more or less, up to the racers themselves ( by participating or not).
You MUST have modern safety rules, other than that you could take it back a notch, but is that what the racers themselves want?
As for whining about money, guess what? Life isn't fair. I've been hearing guys gripe about unfair "money' since my first race at age 11 in 1964!
I'd frankly rather see two double A fuel dragsters smoke 'em all the way down , I don't care about ET or MPH! Why nobody does this ( as an exhibition) is beyond me!
But all in all, to sum up, that's racin'!

 

Thanks for the corrections. Shows how much I know.....lol.

And thanks for putting on a show when ur out. I, for one, am a big fan of you guys. I know you don't have to do the big burnouts, especially in competition....but it's certainly cool you guys realize how much the fans love it.

Do you guys also own the Jungle Jim cackle car?

 

They don't smoke em down the track because of tire compounds and glue prepared tracks. I'd pay also...

 

Your right same number of parts. But there's a big differance in using a $2500 supercharger and a $9000 one. Or using Mastodon heads and using AJPE heads. You don't have to be smart, just have the money to replace what you blow up.

There are short NTF fields at the March Meet, thats the proof the class is dying.

 

Yes and no! They can smoke 'em all the way down for burnouts if they want! I can't be convinced a car couldn't smoke the tires if they want! But for sure they won't go very fast. Track prep drives me nuts. A reasonable amount, yes! But Famosa for example, untold HOURS are spent prepping. I'm not talking about cleaning up a safety hazard either.

 

Agree...to a point. A buddy of mine has raced in 7.5 pro, and won HRR Bowling green a few years back. If were to look at his operation...you might not have pegged him as a potential winner. Definitely NOT a high dollar operation. I can almost bet he had the smallest financial investment of just about anyone in the class...but he's smart and is able to do more with less because of it.

He always tells me to race within my means. Don't price yourself out of racing...and be smart with your decisions.

But....in top fuel, although everyone has the same parts, some teams can afford more/better parts within their means....tune things more to the limit. The can also afford the tighter safety rules as well. So they get to keep racing while the guys with less money are pushed out cause they can't qualify, or afford the safety equipment. Not whining...just saying that's what it looks like.

Just wish there was a class that would allow the guys like applekrate to race more. Keep those guys on the track. After all....what could go wrong with having MORE TF cars out on the track?

 

Warren Johnson said you could run a TF operation with a checkbook out of a phone booth....lol