CAPPS TALKS 1,000 FEET
Mon, 2008-08-25 23:35
Veteran driver would welcome a mix of distances in 2009 …
The IHRA has plans to incorporate 1,000-foot drag racing into a mix of eighth-mile and traditional quarter-mile venues in
2009. The NHRA has yet to reveal whether 1000 foot racing will continue beyond 2008.
The NHRA announced a temporary scale back to 1,000 foot drag racing for the nitro division through the 2008 season following the tragic death of Funny Car racer Scott Kalitta during the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ.
Veteran nitro Funny Car racer Ron Capps, a drag racing purist by his own admission, wouldn’t mind seeing the NHRA run quarter-mile at certain venues while scaling back to 1,000-foot on those tracks with shorter shutdown areas. Veteran driver would welcome a mix of distances in 2009 …
The IHRA has plans to incorporate 1,000-foot drag racing into a mix of eighth-mile and traditional quarter-mile venues in
2009. The NHRA has yet to reveal whether 1000 foot racing will continue beyond 2008.
The NHRA announced a temporary scale back to 1,000 foot drag racing for the nitro division through the 2008 season following the tragic death of Funny Car racer Scott Kalitta during the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ.
Veteran nitro Funny Car racer Ron Capps, a drag racing purist by his own admission, wouldn’t mind seeing the NHRA run quarter-mile at certain venues while scaling back to 1,000-foot on those tracks with shorter shutdown areas.
“I’ve been waffling a little bit, which I try not to do,” Capps explained. “As a historian, I didn’t want to veer too far away from the quarter mile. It’s kind of what the foundation was built on. It’s what (NHRA founder Wally) Parks built everything on. But I’ve got to tell you, you can ask most drivers, and the majority of them are going to tell you we’re pretty happy with things the way they are right now. There were a few more explosions and such in Reading, and we kind of had a feeling because of the conditions, the weather, the atmosphere conditions were good there. So guys were really leaning on their stuff to run better. But I think just finding a good way to mark the 1,000 foot for the Funny Car guys and gals is important because you kind of get lost when the clutch comes in, and it’s hard to find a thousand foot sometimes.
“But I’ve got to tell you I’m pretty happy with it. And more than that, the fans are probably the best beneficiary. Because they’re allowed to go in the grandstands, take one drink in their hand, and sit through the whole session and not have oil downs take a half an hour here and there. And they’re able to go back in the pits and watch their favorite drivers and crews do their work. It’s a win win thing right now. But I think containing these cars at the finish line will be the key. We’ll see what happens next year. But that’s not our call.”
What Capps doesn't want to see is a return to quarter-mile racing that includes the sanctioning body alter the current chassis/engine combination.
“Del Worsham and I were talking the other day and I would rather run our cars the way they are, full tilt, get your attention,” Capps admitted. “That adrenaline rush that we get and running like that to 1,000 foot, than to have a governor put on these things that they only run 300 miles per hour to the finish line. That’s my personal opinion. They become slot cars at that point. We went to Denver, and 1,000 foot was good. And the weather conditions there being the mile high the cars always seem to run slower anyway. So those two put together (meant slower cars).
“We left Denver, but when we got to Seattle and that first lap in Seattle, I looked at every other driver and said, ‘Man, this is what it’s all about.’ You step on the gas and this thing makes your eyes the size of a half dollar, it’s, you know, there is nothing that replaces that. So my personal opinion is I’d rather run them like they are to 1,000 foot, than to have them slowed way down to a quarter mile.”
The IHRA has plans to incorporate 1,000-foot drag racing into a mix of eighth-mile and traditional quarter-mile venues in
2009. The NHRA has yet to reveal whether 1000 foot racing will continue beyond 2008. The NHRA announced a temporary scale back to 1,000 foot drag racing for the nitro division through the 2008 season following the tragic death of Funny Car racer Scott Kalitta during the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ.
Veteran nitro Funny Car racer Ron Capps, a drag racing purist by his own admission, wouldn’t mind seeing the NHRA run quarter-mile at certain venues while scaling back to 1,000-foot on those tracks with shorter shutdown areas. Veteran driver would welcome a mix of distances in 2009 …
The IHRA has plans to incorporate 1,000-foot drag racing into a mix of eighth-mile and traditional quarter-mile venues in
2009. The NHRA has yet to reveal whether 1000 foot racing will continue beyond 2008. The NHRA announced a temporary scale back to 1,000 foot drag racing for the nitro division through the 2008 season following the tragic death of Funny Car racer Scott Kalitta during the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, NJ.
Veteran nitro Funny Car racer Ron Capps, a drag racing purist by his own admission, wouldn’t mind seeing the NHRA run quarter-mile at certain venues while scaling back to 1,000-foot on those tracks with shorter shutdown areas.
“I’ve been waffling a little bit, which I try not to do,” Capps explained. “As a historian, I didn’t want to veer too far away from the quarter mile. It’s kind of what the foundation was built on. It’s what (NHRA founder Wally) Parks built everything on. But I’ve got to tell you, you can ask most drivers, and the majority of them are going to tell you we’re pretty happy with things the way they are right now. There were a few more explosions and such in Reading, and we kind of had a feeling because of the conditions, the weather, the atmosphere conditions were good there. So guys were really leaning on their stuff to run better. But I think just finding a good way to mark the 1,000 foot for the Funny Car guys and gals is important because you kind of get lost when the clutch comes in, and it’s hard to find a thousand foot sometimes.
“But I’ve got to tell you I’m pretty happy with it. And more than that, the fans are probably the best beneficiary. Because they’re allowed to go in the grandstands, take one drink in their hand, and sit through the whole session and not have oil downs take a half an hour here and there. And they’re able to go back in the pits and watch their favorite drivers and crews do their work. It’s a win win thing right now. But I think containing these cars at the finish line will be the key. We’ll see what happens next year. But that’s not our call.”
What Capps doesn't want to see is a return to quarter-mile racing that includes the sanctioning body alter the current chassis/engine combination.
“Del Worsham and I were talking the other day and I would rather run our cars the way they are, full tilt, get your attention,” Capps admitted. “That adrenaline rush that we get and running like that to 1,000 foot, than to have a governor put on these things that they only run 300 miles per hour to the finish line. That’s my personal opinion. They become slot cars at that point. We went to Denver, and 1,000 foot was good. And the weather conditions there being the mile high the cars always seem to run slower anyway. So those two put together (meant slower cars).
“We left Denver, but when we got to Seattle and that first lap in Seattle, I looked at every other driver and said, ‘Man, this is what it’s all about.’ You step on the gas and this thing makes your eyes the size of a half dollar, it’s, you know, there is nothing that replaces that. So my personal opinion is I’d rather run them like they are to 1,000 foot, than to have them slowed way down to a quarter mile.”
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