One of the big challenges facing racing organizations is how to convert grassroots racers in the local bracket ranks into full fields for their heads-up classes, but it’s no stretch at all to put the better part of $75,000 into your first year of heads-up racing. That’s a lot of discretionary income to pour into one hobby, for sure, and it’s hard to come up with a way to drop the cost below that and still win races.
Editorials & Opinions
Paul Huizenga: Bucks-Down Heads-Up – Is it even possible?
by
Paul Huizenga
on
September 7, 2010
Comments (1)
Our Shop Dawg talks about his relationship with parts stores and the people that work there. If you’ve ever gotten the “what year, make and model” routine, or the wrong part from a parts store, you’re going to sympathize with our head mechanic.
The U.S. Nationals, most commonly known as “The Big Go” or simply “Indy” is the most prestigious and illustrious drag race in the world. It’s the one everyone wants to win and the one everyone wants to witness at least once. But sadly, and much to the denial of many, the race just isn’t what it used to be.
NMRA Real Street standout Bruce Hemminger walks us through his weekend at the recent NMRA/NMCA All Star Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, NC as he chases a season championship in the category.
There’s no easier way to get out of the stands and onto the track than drag racing. Nobody’s born knowing how to drag race though, and everybody was a newbie once. Going to the track for the first time can be intimidating – nobody wants to look like they don’t know what they’re doing.
The NHRA’s newest racing venture, NHRA Unleashed, has been a hot topic amongst the organizations’ critics since the announcement of the series’ inception early this year, and with its inaugural event in Atlanta in the books, public opinion doesn’t appear to have changed.
Picking the right Carburetor size for your car & engine combination is paramount in being successful – whether you’re a professional racer or just want the right carburetor for you’re Saturday night special. There are 3 main parameters that correctly determine your baseline selection. John Dickey of AED Carburetors shares with us some of his secrets.
Before you start thinking that I’m going to sneak a shop safety spill on you, let me assure you that’s not the case. This month’s article deals with how much skin we’ve left in engine bays and how much blood has been spilled on the garage floor. This is a universal fact in doing maintenance: THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
The ADRL’s wildly popular Extreme 10.5 category is suffering from the same parity issue that made Pro Modified a tumultuous arena for years, raising questions of whether any semblance of a level playing field can be achieved and what the future holds for the class.
At first read some might think, “You aren’t new around here?” While this is true, things-are-a-changin’ here at powerTV. Instead of a variety of people having their hands in a various areas of all our websites, we have consolidated a bit. I will be taking over as Editor for StangTV and Dragzine, while Kevin Shaw will be handling Street Legal TV and LSX TV. We will assume full editorial responsibility for our sites. With that being said, I would like to educate you a bit about who I am.
This week Bobby talks about a recently diagnosed disease and champions the cause for Racers with disabilities. You’re not going to believe what he has in store for dirt track promoters!
So if a beam tripper isn’t cheating, is it really an advantage? In bracket and index racing where robotic precision rather than raw speed wins races, it certainly can be. But in the kinds of heads-up racing so popular in ADRL and elsewhere, the margins of victory simply aren’t usually close enough to make a 6-12 inch extension the deciding factor in who moves on to the next round.
I turn wrenches. That’s my sole purpose in life. I have found my calling, and you can call it what you want; grease monkey, gearhead, shop dawg, or for you fancy guys, ‘automotive technician,’ because apparently with our politically correct society I can’t just be a mechanic anymore.
Stand Down for Safety: Team Member Killed by Nitrous Bottle at ADRL
by
Paul Huizenga
on
April 26, 2010
On April 24, 2010, Mike Walker was critically injured in a pit incident during the ADRL Georgia Drags and subsequently died. In the armed forces, when a serious accident occurs it’s not uncommon to have a “stand-down” in the immediate aftermath, when everyone stops their normal activities to focus on safety. My belief is that the best memorial for those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of the sport we all love is to stand down for a moment and think about what we can do to head off another tragedy before it happens.
As a life-long enthusiast of the sport of drag racing, former street racer, promoter, and drag racing journalist, I am filled with mixed emotions when I read about the situation swirling around Al Anabi, Street Racing, ADRL, and Mustapha Mohamed Atat (“Moe Atat”). There are so many layers in this story that, in my opinion, make this situation dark, difficult, and painful to discuss.
