racer’s perspective, it just adds to
the fairness. I don’t think there’s
anything unfair about it, that’s for
sure. I like it. It’s another twist to
it. I’m all for it.
LB: Probably sooner than later.
I think it’ll trickle down to the
other Compulink tracks and the
major series. It wouldn’t surprise
me if it was in place at NHRA like
next year. I haven’t really heard
any buzz about that but it just
makes sense. Along the bracket
tour and the smaller tracks, obviously the other timing manufacturers will have to adopt their
own system and write that software. It’ll take a few years to get
it where it’s really uniform. I just
don’t see any disadvantage to it.
MB: Well, the biggest thing
is going to be cost because the
tracks are more than likely going
to be the ones to pay the cost to
have that installed in their system. Granted, Bristol and Vegas,
because of the Spring Fling, those
two tracks are going to have it,
but it’s probably going to take
quite a while before your local
tracks are going to see that come their way. As
a promoter, I can’t see going out and spending
that kind of money at this point. As a racer, I’m
good with it either way as long as I know what
the rules are going into it. It’s cool. We’ve all been
on both sides of a double red.
I definitely admire what Peter and Kyle have
done; putting themselves out there and their
wallets to get that done. I think it made it very
interesting. I spent some time doing a lot of statistics after they made the announcement that they
were going to do it, and of course everybody was
bantering online for or against. I took stats from
some previous Spring Fling events and a number
of our Loose Rocker events that we’ve done and
found that it changes the result of a round typically about one percent of all elimination rounds
in the event. It’s not a huge thing, but for that one
driver that’s affected it’s a huge thing.
What are the pros and cons of racing at a
sanctioned event, like a national or divisional
event, versus a big-money bracket race?
SL: To me, personally, the divisional events
are tough because the primary focus of going
to a divisional event is to get grade points to go
into a national event. There’s very little money
that the NHRA and tracks put up for a divisional
event. I believe it’s like $1,000 to win in a Super
category. By the time you think about it, you’re
out there for four days and it’s a couple hundred
dollars to enter. You have race fuel, you have
motorhome gas to get out there – there’s a lot
92 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
NEXT GENERATION At age 25, Troy Coughlin Jr.
already has a wealth of experience behind the
wheel of sportsman dragsters and roadsters,
turbocharged Pro Mods, and even a handful
of runs in a Top Fuel dragster. He’s optimistic
about the future of NHRA sportsman racing with
new president Peter Clifford at the helm.
of stuff like that to where if you don’t get into
the final, you’re taking a loss for the weekend.
With the contingency program that they offer,
you can offset that by getting to the final round.
As a racer you definitely want to support these
companies that continuously are involved with
the contingency program.
The national events are a great experience, but
for a Super category it’s not big money. The big
thing about the national events is if you do well
“I definitely wouldn’t
be where I’m at today
if I hadn’t put in my
time at those (national
and divisional) races,”
Langdon admits.
at a couple national events it’s the
notoriety out of those national
events that you get. For me, starting out racing in those divisional
and national events, fortunately,
I was able to have some success
doing it. You get that notoriety
and that kinda’ gets your name
out there. I definitely wouldn’t be
where I’m at today if I hadn’t put
in my time at those races.
TJ: Starting at a NHRA divisional or national – just the atmosphere, the historic measure
of it is noteworthy. There’s a lot
of prestige with competing at that
level, let alone winning. You get
a lot more laps at bracket races,
a lot more track time overall and,
generally, many more chances to
win. There are pros and cons to
both, so picking one or the other is hard. I think it depends on
where you’re having success. If
you’re doing well on the top bulb
racing or if you’re going a bunch
of rounds Super class racing.
LB: There’s a lot both ways.
Running the NHRA tour, I think
the biggest thing is the prestige of
it and the ability to attract outside money in terms
of sponsorship more often than not. And then I
think a big advantage to it for somebody like me is
that there’s still a gap. I think that style of racing,
mainly because it’s still quarter-mile, particularly
the classes I run where you bring the throttle
stop into effect and it’s one race contested over
multiple days, it really magnifies or maximizes the
discrepancy between the inexperienced and the
experienced, the prepared and the unprepared,
and the confident and the unconfident. Whereas
bracket racing nowadays has gotten so immensely
competitive that the gap isn’t there between, say,
the best racer at the track and the worst racer
at the track. There’s not much in between them
because it’s eighth-mile, because equipment has
gotten so good, because of all of the aids that are
available, you know, through technology not only
on the race cars but in the way we’re running the
races. It’s a more level playing fie ld. I don’t even
want to say it’s easier to win one or the other
because they’re both incredibly difficult. They
kind of require different skill sets. But for somebody like me, I’m going to win more often on the
NHRA tour than I am at big-dollar bracket races.
KS: Divisional races are very hard. If you had
to list them one, two and three, divisional races
are going to be at the bottom of the list every
time. Most divisional races you’re going to be
racing for three or four days, you only have one
chance, and you don’t get a whole lot of track time.
National events, in my opinion, have prestige.
Issue 110
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