STATE OF DRAG
cy of – has been largely at the forefront. Where
do you stand on the preparation of drag strips
in 2016? Have we reached a fair consistency
on the NHRA level? Has class-specific prep
become an issue? Do you have an opinion on
the growing popularity of no-prep racing?
AJ: There could be too much track prep in
certain circumstances, although NHRA does a
really good job of avoiding that. Inconsistency in
track prep – there’s a number of other factors that
can cause that. When we go some place where
we’re going to see temperatures in the nineties
with no cloud cover whatsoever – you’re going to
have a hot racetrack and it doesn’t matter how
hard the NHRA track prep staff works, you can
only fix it to a certain extent. So, you’re stuck with
that and you can complain and bitch all you want
about the track prep when a track’s 135-degrees,
but let’s be honest, you can only make it so good.
Put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. NHRA’s done
a great job in their track prep and their consistency with it. And you might get some pushback
on that from certain individuals, but I think as a
whole, they’ve done a really good job and you see
that in numbers. We ran on 122-degree racetrack
in Charlotte this year and ran 3.74. Those are
numbers that you wouldn’t even dream about
5-years ago or even two-years ago, and that’s just
a compliment to NHRA.
RC: It’s great in our deal here. I think there are
times when it could or should have been a little
bit better for the conditions, but I think overall
it’s great. I think sometimes we get caught up in
the rush for things like live TV and we don’t do
things the way we normally do – and I’m mainly talking about dragging and spraying. I think
the process gets changed every so often, and it’s
no coincidence that cars will start going up in
smoke. I’m not sure they are aware of what that
does to these crew chiefs. I’d say 99-percent of
the time the prep is great. I’ve been fortunate to
get to d o a lot of Nostalgia Funny Car racing at
a lot of tracks that we don’t go to on the NHRA
tour and I think that’s when I really realize just
how spoiled we are by the NHRA Safety Safari.
LP: I think this season in NHRA we’ve all gone
through a little bit of change with the unfortunate
passing of Mark Lyle. But I have to say that I feel
like it’s basically a non-issue. Every track we’ve
been to so far has been a ‘dual laner’. For me, the
prep seems to have been very consistent and is
one of the lesser issues we see in NHRA. I have
to admit that I’m intrigued by the no-prep races
and I’d like to see what that deal is like.
JS: The no-prep scene seems to be hot, especially out west in Texas and Oklahoma, but
truthfully I think it’s kind of silly. First of all, once
you get a hundred cars out there doing burnouts
in glue and dragging it down the track – it’s not
at all no-prep. I don’t really see what people get
out of it, but it is what it is. I know some guys who
have run some no-prep stuff and they’ve been as
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fast as 3.80s on those tracks, so I don’t believe it’s
much different than an outlaw Pro Mod race. It’s
popular, though, and to each their own, I guess.
SJ: First thing I have to say is no-prep racing
is stupid. I have no idea why they are attracting
so many fans. I think it’s because all of the ‘Street
Idiots’ are doing it, and people come out to see
those guys. Everybody keeps asking me when I’m
going to go no-prep racing and asking if I can I
“I don’t believe
that any more
limitations should
be set on Pro Mods
at all. That class
is the epitome
of extreme and
hardcore drag
racing – giving it
all you’ve got and
being creative,”
Pritchett comments.
outrun any of the Street Outlaws. Well, I’m happy
to go on the record and say there’s no person that’s
ever been on Street Outlaws with a race car that
I can’t smash into the ground, and that anybody
that runs in PDRA can’t smash into the ground.
They’re just not on that level. But, anyway, I also
believe that tracks for organizations like PDRA
are over-prepped. That’s not the problem, though.
The problem is catering to setting records. I’m
not trying to sound like a dickhead, but racing
at three o’clock in the morning to try and chase a
record – which I have done – is not good for the
sport. One guy in the stand sees it and the whole
class pays for it. We need to be racing during the
day. We need to run in whatever the conditions
are and quit over-prepping the racetracks. What
that will do is make it to where anyone can win.
If you take an average funded team that doesn’t
have a thousand laps on their race car, put him
up against Todd Tutterow – big experience and
funding – and give them a perfect race track,
Todd’s going to win 99 times out of 100. If you
take that same guy and put him on a 140-degree
track, well, he’s got a shot. Waiting until the sun
goes down to start eliminations takes the little
guy out of it. NHRA races during the day, and
so should we. You figure it out or you lose. In
the heat of the day, anybody can win a round. I
think we need to go back to running radial races
during the day, too. All of this tiptoeing around
the sunshine sucks balls. If you race during the
day it’ll take care of the track prep problem, it will
make it cheaper because you can’t over-glue the
track and it’ll slow the cars down, which is what
everybody is bitching about. Start the show at
10AM and it’ll slow things down two-and-a-half
tenths right off the rip. It’ll pick up car counts,
Issue 111
PHOTO: NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER
★★★★★