D R AG ILLUS TR ATED RO UNDTA BL E
better. In my personal opinion, I think the chas-
sis (certifications) are so out of date they should
be refreshed. I just feel it could have been han-
dled a little different. I’ve been doing this for
30 years. I remember racing without gloves and
back then I was going 8.40s with just a jacket.
So these days, you have 95 percent of what the
pros have for safety. I put my wife in these cars,
I put my son in these cars, only because I feel
like they’re that safe.
SJ: I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It definitely
solves the problem. I don’t think it’s going to
hurt the class at all. Obviously some of the guys
are bummed they have to slow their cars down
a little, but what’s a tenth? They can still go 235,
240 miles per hour.
ZS: I haven’t really seen it affect the class that
much. Most of the cars that go 6.00s, they just
had to do something with their tune-up to go
6.10s. I don’t think it will hurt the class and it
will make the racing a lot tighter. In the end, it’s
not a big deal. It’s only a tenth. I understand why
they did it for the safety reasons, but some of the
cars still have big mph.
On the other side of the coin, these cars and
dragsters have become considerably quicker
and faster over the years. Does a maximum
dial-in need to be addressed and would that
affect car counts?
ZS: I think it needs to be addressed. You have
some of these cars going fast against a car dialing
a 7.70. I think it definitely needs to be lowered.
If I made a maximum dial, I would say 7.20s or
7.30s. Your average Super Comp car can go 7.10.
If you’re going to penalize the front of the class
because of the way the class has advanced, you
June 2019
VETERANS & YOUNG GUNS Top Dragster features
impressive diversity, as longtime veterans like Joe
Fisher (top), who has three decades in the class, are
thriving with spectacular performances, while it’s also
a proving grounds of sorts for young, up-and-coming
racers like Zach Sackman (left), who picked up his first
NHRA national event win a year ago in Chicago.
GB: I’ve always wanted to see it made quicker.
I don’t like seeing Super Gas cars race in Top
Sportsman. You’re not going to get enough cars,
but I would have it 7-flat. I guess 7.50s is ac-
ceptable, but I think 7.20s is a good break, but it
doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of cars going 7.20
anymore. We race a lot of Division 3, so when
you show up there you better be able to go 6.90
or you probably shouldn’t come. I hope that’s the
direction it’s headed.
should control the back end as well.
SJ: I don’t think it needs to be. I think the class
will drive itself. It doesn’t help to raise the bump
anymore, but I don’t think you’re going to bring
more people if they lower the bump. I think it’s
going to drive itself, in my opinion.
JF: I absolutely think there should be one. In
my perfect world, if you’re really going to have a
fast class, Top Dragster should be 6.99-7.19 tops.
You have 85 percent of the field spending money
to get a fast set-up, so in my opinion it should be
a little bit faster. But out West, you couldn’t say
that because 40-50 percent of their field might be
6.80s or slower. So, how do you have an answer
for the entire United States?
We’re now seeing 48-car fields for these class-
es in NHRA Division 6 and 7, while the other
divisions still have 32-car fields. Is it a good
thing to have that mixture of qualifying fields
across different divisions, or would you be in
favor of all divisions moving to 48-car fields?
SW: It’s something NHRA has been looking
at for a couple years, but there’s not a good fix.
It’s not a problem if there’s not 32 cars. If 50
cars show up, then, yes, it’s a problem. I kind
of like what PDRA has done where if they have
50-some cars show up they have a second race.
I think it’s important if a racer takes the time to
go race that they get to race, especially since it’s
a non-professional category. I like the qualifying
fields, I think that’s a great deal, but it’s also nice
if they can get into a second race and they can
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