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Maybe something else needs revamping… |
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Drag racing safety has undergone more changes in the last month than it has in the last five years. Looking at other areas, however, it just may be that safety isn't the only thing that deserves attention. Should we consider revamping our points system in the professional ranks to ensure that a driver's efforts don't go for naught in the event of injury or, God forbid, death? In the past two seasons, two incidents have made me see that our points system should have a few new by-laws written into the constitution. Maybe the time has come for the NHRA to modify their points system to ensure that accomplishments of racers like Darrell Russell or Brandon Bernstein from 2003 get the full value they deserve. Since drag racing tries so hard to imitate NASCAR, maybe this is one thing they'll pick up on soon. The NHRA and IHRA have both actively used a point system to determine a champion since the early-to-mid-Seventies. The common rule is that the points go with the driver and not the team or the car. I think when this rule was created it was perfect for the era. But a lot has changed since then. Drag Racing is much larger now and there's more of an investment these days. Things are not so much centered on the drivers as they are on the teams. I know some of the old-timers will be quick to point out the old controversy in the Seventies where in AHRA competition the rules mandated that the points went with the car and not the driver. One team violated the spirit of the rule by painting another car when theirs had crashed over the course of the weekend. This is clearly not the same scenario. Call my idea the drag racing version of “driver substitution” as they employ in NASCAR. Before we go any further, let me point out that I am not in favor of diving for team points (even though it happens) or acquiring the points for the team by dismissing drivers in the middle point of the season, but rather when an injured or deceased driver cannot carry on their championship hopes, allow their points to be transferred to another. Case in point, if Team Amato decides to field another car in competition, then Russell's points that he rightfully earned should be added in. That same scenario entered the picture last year when Brandon suffered the season-ending crash and father Kenny filled in. When Brandon crashed, he was clearly in striking distance for the 2003 title. Despite losing those points for the first eight races accrued for the team, Kenny Bernstein still managed a sixth place finish in the points. Their combined total would have put the team in second. The emotion over the loss of that equity has inspired a lot of commentaries, but this one is something that had been floating around in my mind for some time. In fact, in a group conversation during a rain-delay at a recent NHRA event that very subject came up. I was glad to see I wasn't the only person thinking along those lines. Okay, let's look at the pros and the cons of this proposal: The most noted positive is that a driver's previous efforts will not be in vain and their bid can continue on. If you read our article last month on Don Young, he became the only driver in the history of drag racing to be honored posthumously for his championship when all the other drivers in the class agreed to claim no more events. There was one race left and Young was leading the points. Certainly, that doesn't add credence to our proposal, but it certainly showed the class of other drivers and the sanctioning bodies respecting the driver's accomplishments. Such a revision of the point accumulations would provide the opportunity for a driver to not compete when he or she is clearly ill or hurt. I cannot count the times when a driver who was ill or suffering from previous injuries got behind the wheel for the sake of the points. Special revisions might not add to such an obvious hazard. Now, let's look at the cons. Obviously, there might be a “win-at-all-costs” team owner that will take advantage of the spirit of the rules and I'll leave it to the sanctioning bodies to create certain standards to prevent that. Outside of that, I cannot for the life of me find a negative to the proposal. Of course, there may be a driver on the outside that may protest the fact he or she completed the season while others didn't. That certainly was the case last year with Bernstein when he won the Rookie of the Year accolades over David Baca. However, when you look at the natural progression, had Bernstein finished the season, he would in all likelihood have garnered the award anyway. I do think there has to be a point in the season before this rule can be enacted and we could say maybe five races into the season or so. Again, I'll leave that part to the sanctioning body officials. It's just a suggestion. I think when we ask questions regarding many of today's drag racing procedures we might find many of the answers to be merely “because it has always been done that way.” With this suggestion, maybe we can change this one thing for the betterment of the sport and reward those who have labored hard along the way. What do you think? Drop us an email at competitionpluseditor@aol.com .
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