Good read

https://www.dragzine.com/featu...UREHHOSa48FW15m1Kqvc

Todd writes a good article for sure. The class has first world problems it appears. The fast cars want smaller fields so they don't have to run slower cars. And at the stated 42 mph difference, I guess I get it. But when you make the field smaller, and faster, you run the risk of making it a wealthy man's club more or less. And maybe that's part of the deal. Weed out the low dollar deals that are just there to cut a light and mix it up at the finish line? Those who are all in, in top dragster from what I can see mostly have cars dedicated to the class. I guess I can see why they would not like to see super comp cars sliding into the bottom of the class. I can't afford to have a car for brackets and one for TD. And I enjoy being able to run locally every weekend. So I watch the, well pretty awesome cars running TD.

Here's the problem I see. I get it, people are always wanting to go faster and faster. Fast cars don't like running slower cars....BUT.......keep narrowing up the fields and pushing out the slower cars, pretty soon you have a situation where you have the same small group of racers running all the races and little diversity in the class. Then add in the fact that not everybody can afford to go as fast as others, that's the number one reason they have the et breaks they do. So a slower car can compete fairly against a faster car....I can't tell you how many times I've been in the stands and heard people rooting for the slower guy because they are looked at as an underdog...they want the slow guy to win, and it's more exciting for them when they do. Can't just look at it from a racer's perspective... Denver's FAST 16 class is similar to this. We have the same core group of racers running the class all the time, with the same racers usually winning, all the time....The class is competitive, don't get me wrong, and for a racer, it's a big accomplishment to even qualify, but even the fans are getting bored with watching the same cars every race. Heard many times why aren't there different cars racing? One last thing to consider is the cost. Keep making it cater to only the fastest cars by making the fields smaller, you're going to start driving racers away because they can't afford to go that fast. The more this happens the smaller the whole class becomes. Yeah, it's exciting to watch two cars go head to head at over 200 mph and have a tight finish...But it's also exciting to watch that slow guy get run down by a fast car and still get the win.....If you take away what made the class then the class dies....Look at Pro Stock....while not a bracket class, it's lost so much popularity due to what it's become it's a dying breed....and because of the expense, inability to get sponsorship, and lack of fan base, it's not going to be around much longer.....watch the stands when pro stock comes out...they empty....Top Dragster and Top Sportsman are getting that way whether you see it or not.....without the fans, sponsorships go away. Without sponsorships, it becomes nothing more than a rich man's playground....then when the money dries up, the class dies....

Me personally think they should have the larger fields so there is more competition, not just fast cars...just because a car is slow doesn't mean he's not competitive.......

quote:

Originally posted by Coloradoracer:
Here's the problem I see. I get it, people are always wanting to go faster and faster...

I don't think there's much concern with the class dying. The way it's set up, when the fields get short for whatever reason, they will eventually fill again with people on the slower end as long as there's any incentive to race at all, who will then up their game if they wish to stay competitive. Also, cars in these classes can be built WAY cheaper than any (competitive) heads-up car, so comparing the two doesn't do either justice. I personally couldn't care less if no one is in the stands when TD comes up. I'm not a showman, just a racer.

What would kill it is turning it into another standard bracket class with little to no incentive to be fast. Also, smaller fields help tremendously with turnaround time, and increasing the size would mean stuffing more runs into a limited time frame. Even the 48 car fields at Topeka last year made a noticeable difference there.

Regarding Denver, that's a special case. I'm in the D5 footprint, and I would rather get some OD races than deal with going there. The options for cars will be limited unless they can convince others to come up to the mountain (which they seem to do a good job of for some events, but will be difficult for a bracket class). Quick 16s in my area tend to get a decent variety of cars from race to race.

Edit - Shortened quote for visual clarity

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TD5023,

Edit...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: COPO Rat,

Just my $.02.
What's the difference in a 40 MPH split in TD or TS as it is in SP stock or Comp, or any of the super classes?
I race my Corvette in SP with a top MPH of 126 and race 170+ dragsters.
Best package is still the winner.
I run 200 in my TD against 230 dragsters same deal.
Talking about too large of fields. Last year at Vegas I did not qualify in a 48 car field with a 6.90.
Bought a bigger blower and pump.
I don't know how long I can stay in the class but am having fun while it lasts.

The bump at the April LODRS 7-2 race in Vegas was 6.724 with 61 cars!

https://www.dragracecentral.co...er=Year2019#indextop

quote:

Originally posted by TD5023:

quote:

Originally posted by Coloradoracer:
Here's the problem I see. I get it, people are always wanting to go faster and faster...

I don't think there's much concern with the class dying. The way it's set up, when the fields get short for whatever reason, they will eventually fill again with people on the slower end as long as there's any incentive to race at all, who will then up their game if they wish to stay competitive. Also, cars in these classes can be built WAY cheaper than any (competitive) heads-up car, so comparing the two doesn't do either justice. I personally couldn't care less if no one is in the stands when TD comes up. I'm not a showman, just a racer.

What would kill it is turning it into another standard bracket class with little to no incentive to be fast. Also, smaller fields help tremendously with turnaround time, and increasing the size would mean stuffing more runs into a limited time frame. Even the 48 car fields at Topeka last year made a noticeable difference there.

Regarding Denver, that's a special case. I'm in the D5 footprint, and I would rather get some OD races than deal with going there. The options for cars will be limited unless they can convince others to come up to the mountain (which they seem to do a good job of for some events, but will be difficult for a bracket class). Quick 16s in my area tend to get a decent variety of cars from race to race.

Edit - Shortened quote for visual clarity

Good points.

As far as incentive to go fast: What is the incentive now? Yes to make the field of course. But beyond that? It is kind of relative really. What I see is a group that has some guys that want to run the big numbers and always be the catch up car in a run. Not a lot different from a regular bracket race. That incentive is there regardless of number of cars in the race. They are motivated internally to go fast.

As far as the health of the class: The economy is pretty good both for the working man and small business owners. When racers have money, they go racing. The build faster cars. And you see better car counts. Certainly the economy isn't the only factor, but it is a significant one. Get a soft economy and suddenly we are all talking about what is destroying this and that class and car counts. Blaming it on everything, except the economy. LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:
Good points.

As far as incentive to go fast: What is the incentive now? Yes to make the field of course. But beyond that? It is kind of relative really. What I see is a group that has some guys that want to run the big numbers and always be the catch up car in a run. Not a lot different from a regular bracket race. That incentive is there regardless of number of cars in the race. They are motivated internally to go fast.

As far as the health of the class: The economy is pretty good both for the working man and small business owners. When racers have money, they go racing. The build faster cars. And you see better car counts. Certainly the economy isn't the only factor, but it is a significant one. Get a soft economy and suddenly we are all talking about what is destroying this and that class and car counts. Blaming it on everything, except the economy. LOL

Yeah, as racers, there's always motivation to go fast. However, I know a fair few who only go as fast as they do to feel comfortable making fields. I'd be perfectly happy parking it in the upper sixes if I could be confident it would result in pulling up for R1. My only performance priorities are making the field and keeping speed differences halfway reasonable so I can still see faster opponents coming.

So how big are the splits at a big buck race? I don't recall any of the folks we race with complaining about racing slower qualified cars. Increasing the field size will not help the class stay healthy. I watched first and second round TD at Vegas and I'm telling you it was cool! What a show! Keep it fast and the class survives. Slow it down and it sinks. The way it is now works...

Don't post on here very often but my thoughts are this. Top dragster is really cool to run and watch especially if there are 32 cars all running in the sixes. Yes it is more expensive to run a six second car but as they say speed costs money how fast do you want to go. With max dial in T/D over eight seconds there is nothing Top about that. That's super comp when the throttle stop doesn't come on. I believe the max dial should be in the low sevens if not 6.99. Hell my grandsons car runs 7.80's in Denver. It is certainly not a T/D.
JMHO. Need to keep fast to be called T/D.