Nitro Dogs Racing

Nitro racing in Denver: ‘It’s still going to be loud, it’s still going to be fast’

Melanie Troxel, last year’s Top Fuel low qualifier in Denver, ran 3.92 to 1,000 feet. Alan Johnson expects speeds to exceed 300 mph.

Race fans headed to Denver for this weekend’s Mopar Parts Mile-High NHRA Nationals and to points beyond will be keeping an even more keen eye on the scoreboards at Bandimere Speedway, eager to see what type of performances will be recorded by the Top Fuelers and Funny Cars under the recent rule change reducing the length of their race course to 1,000 feet.

The move, heavily supported by the race teams themselves, may have shortened the actual racing distance, but will do nothing to take away from the spectacle of 7,000-horsepower, nitro-burning race cars.

Cory McClenathan, twice a winner at the Mile-High Nationals in Top Fuel and, before that, in Alcohol Dragster, commented, “I still think you’re going to see good side-by-side racing and still see 300-mph-plus runs, so I don’t think the fans are going to lose out on the show.”

“No question about it,” agreed reigning NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher. “In fact, there may be better side-by-side racing. I guarantee you that the sights and sounds of nitro racing will still be there.”

Last year in Denver, where the mile-high air limits performance, Melanie Troxel qualified No. 1 in Top Fuel with a 4.610 that was clocked at 3.925 at the 1,000-foot timer while the Funny Cars were running in the 4.1- to 4.2-second range.

Schumacher’s crew chief, Alan Johnson consulted his records and offered his thoughts about the performance potential for this year’s event.

“Last year, we were going 304 mph to 1,000 feet during our night run in qualifying,” he said. “The second round of eliminations was probably the hottest conditions we ran in, and we were going 280 mph spinning the tires pretty hard. The fastest we’ve run [in the quarter-mile] in

Denver was 331.4 mph in 2005, and it was going between 305 and 306 mph [at 1,000 feet].

”When we made the 4.42 run at the Finals in 2006, we were moving pretty fast early and were going 322 to 323 mph to 1,000 feet. You’ll still see people go 320 mph or close to it on really good runs. Fans can expect that it’s still going to be loud and it’s still going to be fast. In the long run, it’s a great idea. It’s going to make the show better and it’s going to be better racing.”

The decision, made in the wake of the tragic accident that claimed the life of former world champ Scott Kalitta June 21, only affects the Top Fuel and Funny car classes – Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle and all of the Sportsman classes will continue to duel for 1320 feet — was characterized by NHRA as a “step that is being taken while NHRA continues to analyze and determine whether changes should be made to build upon the sport’s long standing safety record, given the inherent risks and ever-present dangers associated with the sport.”

“NHRA has been defined by the quarter-mile since 1951, so this is probably one of the last alterations NHRA wanted to make,” ventured Funny Car racer Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline/MTS Dodge, “so you know that they’ve done a lot of soul searching and consideration and realize it’s a good thing. The more I’ve thought about it, I realize it’s probably the most prudent decision that they can make with the status of what we know today. It’s still going to be good racing, it’ll probably cut down on some of the engine explosions, and you’ll still see 300-mph race cars at just about every single race track.”

Race teams supported and applauded the move for many reasons, safety and engine life chief among them.

“I’m very proud to see that NHRA has taken immediate action starting at

Denver,” said another former world champ, Gary Scelzi, driver of the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Funny Car. “I think we should all band together and applaud the NHRA for trying to make things safer.”

Echoed Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Charger, “It’s going to be strange to shut them off early, and it’s going to take some getting used to for some guys, but I think it’s a great thing that NHRA has stepped up and is taking interim action to figure out what the next step is. Until we can get something to slow us down I think that’s a great call.”

“Obviously it will give the drivers more time to slow down,” McClenathan added, “but from the engine standpoint, we’re doing most of our damage between 1,000 feet and 1,320 feet, so I think we’re going to see the engines live longer and get better wear out of the components.”

Elapsed times at the sea-level tracks should be into the three-second zone for Top Fuelers – on “The Run,” Schumacher’s title-clinching 4.42-second pass a the 2006 Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, his elapsed time to 1,000 feet was 3.759 – and Funny Cars right around that mark; at the same event, John Force’s final-round Funny Car pass of 4.69 was achieved with a 3.989-second 1,000-foot clocking.

Funny Car driver Del Worsham, pilot of the Checker Schuck’s Kragen Impala, acknowledged that the shorter course will make for some new thoughts about the performances. “A 300 mph run in a Funny Car now will be an absolutely huge lap, not a run-of-the-mill deal,” he noted. “I’ll admit I have some mixed feelings, because drag racing has always been a quarter-mile deal and this is really a big change, but I know in my heart that this is the right thing to do while we figure this all out for the future. It’s going to be strange, but we’re all in it together so the playing field is completely level, and I’m happy to see that NHRA acted so quickly and strongly on this.

“At the track, the fans are still going to see the most powerful and quickest-accelerating cars on the planet, and we might just find out that the racing is even more exciting.”