The common choice these days for the power
adder seems to be the ProCharger. It’s definitely
easier to tune with the guys I’ve talked to, but
we’re sticking with nitrous. We’ve stuck with it
because we think we’ve got it figured out. But you
can have a blower, a nitrous car, a ProCharger, a
twin-turbo. There’s good variety, that’s for sure,
and that’s fun to watch.
Joe Fisher: (The drivers) want to go fast and
they want to be in qualified fields. It’s the com-
bination of that, and some of us just like to go
fast. Last year, I was going 5.90s and that’s some
pretty cool stuff. These ProChargers and the way
they’re making the blowers now, they’re just so
easy to use and not tear up. I’m going to bracket
race my Top Dragster this year. I’m going to de-
tune it, but I’m going to bracket race that because
it’s the car I’m in the most anyway. It’s pretty cool
you’ve got a 5.90 car you can race competitively
in a bracket race. The fact is, we’re paying a little
more than you would for a bracket motor for a
ProCharger motor and you can make them the
most versatile car it can be.
Zach Sackman: There’s a lot of different places
you can race Top Dragster or Top Sportsman,
whether it’s NHRA, PDRA or even Keith Haney’s
(Mid-West Pro Mod Series). I just think there’s
so many different places you can race, it makes
it more available to racers. For me personally,
it’s still fast and it’s still bracket racing. I really
like bracket racing, but I also like going fast, so
it fits me pretty well. Plus, the cost to go fast is a
June 2019
lot less than any heads-up class.
Glenn Butcher: There’s a lot of fast cars now,
more than there used to be. On the dragster side,
you can go so much faster cheaper now with the
ProCharger stuff. On the Top Sportsman end,
it’s funny because like in Division 2, which was
always strong in the IHRA days, it seems to be
the weaker NHRA side. But on the PDRA side,
it’s definitely really strong and good.
I think it’s doing well. You look on the PDRA
side and you see 64-65 cars at almost every race.
I like going because I like racing faster cars and
you get the opportunity to do that.
“I just think there’s so
many different places
you can race, it makes
it more available
to racers. For me
personally, it’s still fast
and it’s still bracket
racing,” says Sackman.
LIKES WHAT HE SEES Glenn Butcher is a Top
Sportsman veteran dating back to the original heyday
of the class in IHRA, and he believes the class is in a
good place in 2019.
Sandy Wilkins: I think one of the neat things
about the class is just the variety of cars and en-
gine combinations. For a guy like myself who is
an engine guy, I really like the diversity. If you
can get in the race and you’re one of the fastest 32,
you can win the race and that’s really important.
If you’re in the qualified field then you have as
just a good a chance of anybody else, unlike like
some of the other classes. A guy that has a car
that will run, say, 7.40 in Top Sportsman that
can hit the tree and his car runs within a couple
thousandths, that guy is going to be a threat even
if his car runs a second slower than the No. 1
qualifier. In my mind, a guy that has a package
however fast it is and is consistent can win a race.
It’s still a bracket race. Just because you go 6.10
doesn’t mean you’re going to win a race.
One of the major stories for Top Dragster
over the winter was NHRA changing the min-
imum dial-in to 6.10. Were you a fan of that
move and how have you seen it affect the class
thus far in 2019?
JF: I personally take it as a negative thing.
These cars are a 100 times better than they were
20 years ago – safer, reliable – every aspect is
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