maveRick
05-06-2002, 05:36 PM
I was part of the crowd watching the True Street races at FFW. It was great to see all streeter’s do the trek and then back-to-back runs. It proudly showcases Ford’s small block’s ability to take a licking and keep on ticking.
However, I believe the method they use to determine each TS full-second bracket winners should be re-considered. Let me be the first to say I don’t know all the rules (like most of the audience) and I might be off-base on a few aspects of the current rules.
The first round of TS showed most drivers hauling butt all the way down the track. The next two rounds were mostly watching all the participants go through the 1,000’ mark only to shut it down and start adjusting his mph – just to get his/her average times down to the next lower bracket.
Personally, I found no entertainment value whatsoever in witnessing this and think there should be rule changes. Let racing become racing again!
Why should someone who has a 12.8 second car be penalized by having to shut his car down before the finish line and guess how close he’s going to come to averaging a 12.000”?
Suggested change: Go ahead and have the individual ‘bracket’ races, but don’t require the driver to have his average be the closest to a rounded-off number.
Example: A driver runs his all-out best all three rounds. He dials in at 12.80 and winds up running a 12.800, 12.750, and a 12.850. His average of the three runs is 12.800. But, more importantly, his ‘off dial’ average is only .050”. No other car in the 12’s runs a better ‘off-dial’ average. He wins the bracket! It’s still the 12 second bracket right? Same thing goes for all the other brackets.
I also saw a lot of guys waiting for the other car to get off the line first to ensure he/she could concentrate on getting a good or consistent launch – not concerned about reaction time at all.
The driver has no initiative to cut a good light. He has until the other lane’s car almost crosses the finish line to launch without being penalized doesn’t he? Again – not exactly ‘racing’ in its purist form.
The drivers should be encouraged to cut a good light. Here is where cutting a good light might help someone improve their chances of winning a given bracket:
In the event another car runs, say a 12.9XX and his average ‘off-dial’ is .050” also. The driver who cuts the lowest accumulative reaction times (without red lighting) of the two wins the tie-breaker!
With these changes, the opportunity remains for a driver to shut his car down early during the final race in order to better average an ‘off-dial’ number . To prevent this from happening, ONLY SHOW THE TIME-SLIPS AT THE END OF THE THIRD RACE – NOT AFTER EACH RACE.
This way, every car will be trying to cut a good light every time, will be Wide Open Throttle all the way down the track, EVERY time. No sand-bagging, etc.
Just hearing the crowd ‘sigh’ and ‘ho-hum’ over the disappointment of seeing drivers shut their cars down in the second and third rounds of TS should be an indicator that something needs to change.
I’m sure there are a lot of drivers whose times are in the middle or at the upper end of a whole number who would tend to agree that something needs to change to make it more enjoyable and put the "racing" back into "bracket racing".
Are there any drivers or spectators reading this who feel the same way? Do you have other ideas on how to eliminate the less-than-exciting 2nd and 3rd rounds?
<html> <font size=1> (I'll be posting this article on other sites as well. so please disregard the repetitive appearance. Thanks) </font>
However, I believe the method they use to determine each TS full-second bracket winners should be re-considered. Let me be the first to say I don’t know all the rules (like most of the audience) and I might be off-base on a few aspects of the current rules.
The first round of TS showed most drivers hauling butt all the way down the track. The next two rounds were mostly watching all the participants go through the 1,000’ mark only to shut it down and start adjusting his mph – just to get his/her average times down to the next lower bracket.
Personally, I found no entertainment value whatsoever in witnessing this and think there should be rule changes. Let racing become racing again!
Why should someone who has a 12.8 second car be penalized by having to shut his car down before the finish line and guess how close he’s going to come to averaging a 12.000”?
Suggested change: Go ahead and have the individual ‘bracket’ races, but don’t require the driver to have his average be the closest to a rounded-off number.
Example: A driver runs his all-out best all three rounds. He dials in at 12.80 and winds up running a 12.800, 12.750, and a 12.850. His average of the three runs is 12.800. But, more importantly, his ‘off dial’ average is only .050”. No other car in the 12’s runs a better ‘off-dial’ average. He wins the bracket! It’s still the 12 second bracket right? Same thing goes for all the other brackets.
I also saw a lot of guys waiting for the other car to get off the line first to ensure he/she could concentrate on getting a good or consistent launch – not concerned about reaction time at all.
The driver has no initiative to cut a good light. He has until the other lane’s car almost crosses the finish line to launch without being penalized doesn’t he? Again – not exactly ‘racing’ in its purist form.
The drivers should be encouraged to cut a good light. Here is where cutting a good light might help someone improve their chances of winning a given bracket:
In the event another car runs, say a 12.9XX and his average ‘off-dial’ is .050” also. The driver who cuts the lowest accumulative reaction times (without red lighting) of the two wins the tie-breaker!
With these changes, the opportunity remains for a driver to shut his car down early during the final race in order to better average an ‘off-dial’ number . To prevent this from happening, ONLY SHOW THE TIME-SLIPS AT THE END OF THE THIRD RACE – NOT AFTER EACH RACE.
This way, every car will be trying to cut a good light every time, will be Wide Open Throttle all the way down the track, EVERY time. No sand-bagging, etc.
Just hearing the crowd ‘sigh’ and ‘ho-hum’ over the disappointment of seeing drivers shut their cars down in the second and third rounds of TS should be an indicator that something needs to change.
I’m sure there are a lot of drivers whose times are in the middle or at the upper end of a whole number who would tend to agree that something needs to change to make it more enjoyable and put the "racing" back into "bracket racing".
Are there any drivers or spectators reading this who feel the same way? Do you have other ideas on how to eliminate the less-than-exciting 2nd and 3rd rounds?
<html> <font size=1> (I'll be posting this article on other sites as well. so please disregard the repetitive appearance. Thanks) </font>