ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK RESULTS

Wed, 2020-01-22 09:50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHO WILL TAKE HOME TITLES IN 2019 - The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championships will be determined this weekend. In our ARP Question of the week, we asked you, the reader who will be champion. Here are the results. 

TOP FUEL

A majority, 44-percent, believe the Top Fuel championship will head back to John Force Racing with Brittany winning the title behind the wheel of the Advance Auto Parts dragster. Defending series champion Steve Torrence pulled in 31-percent of the votes, just ahead of Doug Kalitta, who grabbed 21-percent. 

FUNNY CAR

A 46-percent majority believe Robert Hight will hold on to the point lead through Sunday to capture his third NHRA Funny Car title. What might come as a shock, your votes suggest John Force will leapfrog Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman for second place with a 26-percent share of the votes. Beckman and Hagan finished third and fourth in the voting. 

PRO STOCK

An overwhelming majority believe the 2019 title is Erica Enders' to lose. A 75-percentage of the vote-getters believe she will breeze to her third title on Sunday, leaving Jeggie Coughlin with a paltry 11-percent share of the votes. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYLE

Andrew Hines is the favorite to win the Pro Stock Motorcycle title grabbing a 44-percent share of the votes. It won't be a cakewalk, as 21-percent of the votes cast beleve Jerry Savoie has a legitimate chance of swiping the lead on the last day. A 19-percent share believe Matt Smith can make a Hail Mary run at the title. 

 
WHO IS YOUR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FOR 2019? - After adjusting for a massive ballot box stuffing campaign, Austin Prock was the overwhelming reader's choice for the NHRA's Rookie of the Year choice to be determined at Monday's NHRA Awards Ceremony. Prock scored 74-percent of the legit votes, followed by Jordan Vandergriff, Lex Joon, and Cameron Ferre. Upon inspection of the voter IP addresses, it was determined one of the candidate's votes came from the same IP address negating a large number of votes. Members of the national drag racing and motorsports media select the recipients each season. 

IS IT TIME FOR A BODY RULE IN PRO MODIFIED - It’s time to make a Pro Mod a class for vintage bodies only. At least this is how the thousands of CompetitionPlus.com readers voted in the latest ARP Question of the Week poll.

A 56-percent majority voted the body styles should be 1971 or older for the quickest and fastest doorslammer division in NHRA Drag Racing.

“I think there should of been a rule a long time ago,” CompetitionPlus.com reader Dan A Baker Jr. said on Facebook. “The old school bodies is one of the reasons pro mod was so unique. The old school Corvettes, Studebakers and Willys were badass looking as Pro Mods they were like the Funny Cars of the ’60s and ’70s.”

Reader Steven Bunker believes, either way, Pro Modified goes, it’s still a monkey-see, monkey-do approach.

“It doesn’t matter what year the body is - competition will gravitate towards the best advantage,” Bunker wrote. “Remember all the 1963 Corvettes 10-15 years ago. This same conversation was blasted on the forum boards back then. People just need a desire for individuality like Chip King, Doug Winters, and others that don’t “follow the pack.”

Consider Dave Mathers, CompetitionPlus.com reader, and Facebook poster one of those against the idea.

 

“Do NOT touch the body rules,” Mathers posted on Facebook. “That is the magic of the class!!”

 

WHICH LEGEND WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? - Warren Johnson, the fans have spoken. Now all someone has to do is pony up the cash and he will return.

Johnson edged out Don Garlits as the legends race fans would like most to see back in NHRA competition. Legendary Pro Stock duo Reher-Morrison with Bruce Allen was third.

"Just remember Nitro and a Blower "DO NOT" make a man," Facebook reader Bob John surmised.

MORE UNFINISHED BUSINESS? - A resounding 66-percent majority said the NHRA's Unfinished Business was great
to watch but should be a one and done. NHRA's Unfinished Business program a bona fide hit at the NHRA Gatornationals with Warren Johnson sealing the deal. 

ABOUT THE STAND-ALONE PRO STOCK SHOW - Following the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event in Phoenix, NHRA experimented with a stand-alone Pro Stock show in much the same format as the Pro Modified shows.

In our most recent ARP Question of the Week poll, we posed the question to you if you'd like to see this format more. A 65-percent majority of the 6,000-plus votes cast responded with a resounding "no."

"Having a stand-alone show two days after the race is asking for the class to not exist at all," said CompetitionPlus.com reader Michael Smith. "And a lot of us still like pro stock and hate to see it get disrespected that way. If a stand-alone show it should follow the fuel class as a show not two days later."

"Not at all," JC Gonzalez added. "That's like going to see bracket racers at my local track on Thursday nights."

Randy Hess disagreed, pointing out, "I think it's great, it will be interesting to see the ratings. I won't be watching the nitro races waiting for the two minutes of Pro Stock coverage anymore."

DRAG RACING'S GREATEST RIVALRY? - The No. 1 all-time rivalry on drag racing's big stage is the one which pitted the ultimate battle of the sexes. A majority of readers (29%) voted the honor to Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney, a battle for the ages. Comig in at second was the Pro Stock battles between two legends - Lee Shepherd and Bob Glidden. Third place was the Snake versus Mongoose, also known as Don Prudhomme versus Tom McEwen. 
 

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN A REALITY SHOW? - The readers like the Cajun girl with a fiery spirit.

A majority 31-percent of the nearly 4000 votes cast in the ARP Question of the Week would like to see newly appointed Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson rider Angelle Sampey as the focus of reality show.

Sampey, a three-time NHRA champion, finished ahead of John Force and Family and doorslammer sensation Stevie "Fast" Jackson.

ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK: WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SEE A MOVIE MADE ABOUT? - There has already been a movie titled "Big," but 40-percent of the thousands polled in last week's ARP Question of the Week say they would most like to see a movie on Big ... Big Daddy Don Garlits.

We asked you who you'd most like to see a motion picture film featuring a legendary drag racer. Sliding into a close second was the Funny Car dynamic show of Jungle Jim Liberman and Jungle Pam Hardy. A distant third was John Force.

ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK - WHICH COUNTRY OUTSIDE OF U.S. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE NHRA NATIONAL EVENT? - NHRA national event drag racing used to run regularly across the border outside of Montreal, Quebec, with the Grandnational event before being abandoned in the early 1990s due to overwhelming regulations forced upon the racers.

In our ARP Question of the Week, we asked you which country outside of the United States, would you most like to see an NHRA national event.

A resounding 54-percent said they would like to see the NHRA return to Canada, with events on both the east and west coasts. A distant second (19%) was Australia followed by the United Kingdom (9%).

Facebook follower Mitch Cooper doesn't see how NHRA could contain the overwhelming costs associated with international competition.

"There's no way in hell NHRA could manage costs," Cooper wrote on Facebook. "Just like racers can figure out how to blow stuff up - they can figure out how to spend ridiculous amounts of money. Drag racing has ALWAYS been an ego sport...who's s*** is the fastest, shiniest, trickest - from racecar, to trailer, to significant other."

"Who is gonna pay for all those funny cars/dragsters to be flown out of North America?" Drag Racing photographer Will Lester asked via Facebook. "The teams? I don't think so! NHRA? ... hahaha They would need a special cargo jet to haul the dragsters do to their length. But then perhaps Kalitta Air will cut a deal?"

Josh Hajek pondered via Twitter, "Any thought that this is needed (drag racing outside of the USA) to bring bigger purses and fresh young talent into the sport?"

ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK - YOUR FAVORITE DRAG RACING MOVIE - There's no summer like a Funny Car Summer. Of the 3000-plus votes cast in the latest ARP Question of the Week poll, a 30-percent majority determined Funny Car Summer, the documentary chronicling a summer of drag racing with Jim Dunn, was the sports greatest movie.

Second largest vote-getter was Heart Like A Wheel, the movie based on the life a drag racing's most prolific female drag racer Shirley Muldowney.

American Graffiti was third.

ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK - YOUR FAVORITE NHRA NATIONAL EVENT VENUE - Creature comforts, excellent customer service, and the great racing are the cornerstones of this venue voted the best by our readers in this week's ARP Question of the Week.

Summit Raceway Park, formerly known as Norwalk Raceway Park, hosts annually a June date in the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. It garnered 23-percent of the votes.

Second-generation drag racer Mike Bucher beat the drum for the popular facility located outside of Cleveland, Ohio.

"When you look at detail, cleanliness , track set up, personnel who operate the track, track surface ( brand new 2018) Summit Motorsport Park Norwalk is head and shoulders above the rest," Bucher wrote on Facebook. "It is America's track. It has one huge problem. Ohio weather. Next time there take a good look around. Everything is spotless clean, painted, every weed pulled, grass cut perfectly. The attitude of the staff is fan and racer first. It starts at the top, the Bader family is the best."

The NHRA season bookend facility, the Pomona Fairplex, was a distant second with 11 percent.

Pomona," Michael Ostrofsky wrote on Facebook. "The history. The setting. Paved parking and pits. Been running there so long every facet of its operations run smoothly. Never the quickest and fastest place -- can get close sometimes."

Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis was third.

ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK RESULTS, DRAG RACING THEMED TOYS - An overwhelming 80-percent of those who voted in the latest ARP Question of the Week poll said they played with drag racing-themed toys as a child.

CompetitionPlus.com Editor Bobby Bennett admitted he built his knowledge of drag racing by staging his own Hot Wheels races as a kid.

"I had the old Hot Wheels orange track that I raced as a drag strip," Bennett said.."I numbered and classified all cars to run in Modified Eliminator."

Indeed the Hot Wheels were popular.

"Yes sir,we had hot wheel drags after school," added Facebook follower Paul smith.."Each person would anti up a nickle for each car.Single elimination till we had a Top Eliminator.The winner probably made 65 cents.."

The Cox fuel Funny Car and Dragster toys were popular as well. 

"Probably my favorite was a Cox dragster that followed a string and ran on nitro. At the end of the run a parachute popped out," Jeff Fritz wrote on Facebook.."The smell of the nitro was great!"

"Cox Front Engine Dragster.Nitro in the tank, and I could take it apart and put it back together.....even when it didn't need it," Ken hawkins added. "My Brother had the Funny Car. Lots of fun."

RP QUESTION OF THE WEEK RESULTS, UNLEASH THE BEASTS? - This one presented a furious battle for the first few days. We ask you which you'd rather see, detuned fuel cars running the quarter-mile or all-out to the eighth-mile. A majority of the readers who participated in our vote, 51-percent, said watching drag racing to the quarter-mile means more to them than and all-out, no-holds barred race to the eighth-mile.

Our Facebook community was very vocal in the process.

"Keep them at 1000 feet," Scott Alan wrote on Facebook. "Keep the teams in check so they dont go crazy innovating radical ways of going faster. But at the same time, when something as minor comes along as laying back the headers, step the f$%k out of the way NHRA. That's called progress. Keeps the pro classes from being stagnant, and yes it is stagnant."

Bill Poor added, "Let's face it, the 500cid engine makes too much power, detuning or less track prep is just a bandaid, tuners will figure it out. The days of truely competitve run what you brung nitro racing are long gone. I'll watch a few fuel cars run just for the "chest thunder" but I would rather watch Pro Mod, alcohol cars, or the radial tire cars. The drivers drive, the tuners tune and the racing is fun to watch."

"I kept notes at several races, during fuel qualifing 50 percent did not make full runs!" Facebook reader Doug Gray offered. "I will not go to a nhra nat. event when the nhra in all their wisdom will not fully prep the track!, why not go to 80 percent nitro or as a long time tuner said go to 1 mag. 660' track is ok for bracket racing but NEVER for the fuel cars."

Sportsman drag racer Tom Tourek concluded, "Go back some years to Don Garlits (remember him?) when he said he didn't like the direction NHRA was headed. Keep the cars around 300 MPH at 1320. NASCAR controls the speeds and while no big fan or open wheel cars, the absolute best Indy Car racing I ever saw was when they removed the turbo chargers. Smaller blowers, smaller fuel pumps, one magneto, etc. Not difficult to slow them down. Slowing them down is by far the best and well overdue."

ARP QUESTION OF THE WEEK RESULTS "Points for Records" - The majority of readers who took the most-recent ARP Question of tjhe Week said NHRA should return to awarding points for world records. A 65-percent majority feels the performance records should be reinstated.

 

 

 

 

 
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