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
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