Drag Illustrated Issue 136, September 2018 | Page 103

20 REASONS No. 11 W NHRA TRACK PREP CHANGES LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, KEEP THINGS INTERESTING e’ll preface this by saying we’ll never be in favor of unsafe racing condi- tions, nor will we celebrate racers tearing up cars and parts, but we’d have a hard time ar- guing against the excitement and parity that an overall reduction in track prep has produced at NHRA national events in 2018. While it seems that everyone is aware of what the powers-that-be are doing to keep trap speeds in check for nitro categories, which were routinely hovering over SOCIAL MEDIA 12 HAS RACERS, PROMOTERS No. ENGAGING FANS AND FELLOW RACERS September 2018 330 mph, it’s interesting to note that there’s been no official announcement or commentary from Glendora as to what exactly is being done and why. Nonetheless, we’re largely on board. We recognize there are racers that feel smok- ing tires and aborted runs detract from the show that is NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing, but we’d argue that the first-time winners, on- and-off-the-throttle battles of will and reemerg- ing unpredictability we’re seeing in NHRA’s pro ranks are good for everyone. Hasn’t a key com- ponent to the magic of drag racing always been tuning and tuners? We love an environment where those creative thinkers and risk-takers are rewarded, and we think that’s what we we’re seeing right now. Remember: this is drag racing we’re talking about, not land speed racing. The notion that the only good drag racing is that which produces world-record elapsed times and speeds is incorrect. - WES BUCK F unny Car phenoms Shawn Lang- don and J.R. Todd have their own live video podcast. Luke Bogacki and Jared Pennington deliver the goods weekly with their Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast. Radial tire promoter Donald “Duck” Long, racer-turned-event-organizer Keith Haney, the stars of STREET OUTLAWS, Pro Stock wheelman Alex Laughlin and even our own Wes Buck, amongst several others, draw the attention of tens of thousands by way of Facebook Live broadcasts. Without question, there has never been as many promotional tools available to racers, pro- moters and manufacturers, and it’s clear as day that those choosing to make use of those tools are the ones reaping the benefits in 2018. That’s not to say, however, that these increasingly powerful tools can’t be overused or used in a less-than-pos- itive fashion. What was it that Spiderman’s grandfather had to say? With great power comes great responsi- bility? Yeah, that’s it. – ROB KING DragIllustrated.com | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 103