We are much stronger in numbers than if 1 or 2 racers ask for Rule changes. Not saying that it will make a difference from when you asked for changes, but more people participating also makes a much more exciting class to watch.

FWD or RWD there are no need for handicaps now. Before when Padilla won the Championship the FWD cars were not were they are today. So asking for Rule changes today makes sense.

A good friend of mine Jack Sacchette actually went from a Drag VW to building a full tilt FWD Drag Honda. His philosophy was if you can't beat them with the Rules in place why not beat them at their own game. This would not be my approach, but the rules have been screwed up for a long time. Hopefully we can get our SH?T together and organize this a little better. So all the sanctioning bodies take us seriously.

 

I say 1800lbs for 'RWD 2-rotor' should do the trick and even up the performance gap.

 

 

Well the NHRA just made 'Sequential' transmissions legal for 'FWD' in the 'All Motor' class.
Let's see if they enforce the 150lb penality for the 'Sequential' transmissions.
I still don't understand why the weight penality for the aftermarket transmission. Just about 100% of the racers all use a non stock tranny may it be in the stock case with an aftermarket gear set and sequential/vertigate shifter or a full blown sequential/clutchless tranny. It's funny because some of the FWD racers were using sequential type shifters on their trannies even when they were not allowed.

Page 42 (eff 03/16/07)
Transmission, Manual: Remove “Sequential transmission prohibited” from second sentence of first paragraph

Sequential, clutchless, V-gate or non-OEM aftermarket
transmissions, add 150 pounds, all cars.
All weights include driver, verified after the run.

 

I still can't believe they could weight so low and get away with it.I think
alot of racers in the FWD class where using Straight cut gears since the
beigining in their trannies but i think they should still get penalize with
the 150lbs anyways.

 

The only way we can compete with these cars is by trying to make more POWER. We all have little tricks up our sleeves to try and make more power. But, the really bad part about Mazda Rotary Performance enthusiasts is secrecy. Informing other competitors with the same powerplants is sharing of knowledge to better the sport. The playing field is definitely uneven and the only way to address the issue is R&D engine combinations, intakes, exhaust systems, transmissions until we figure out a winning combination. We don't spend more money than any of the cars we compete against. It will just be a matter of time before someone with deep pockets steps up to the plate in the Mazda Rotary arena to do more R&D to push our powerplats to the cutting edge. $$ have a lot to do with what we are trying to accomplish. I know for a fact the Toyota, Honda and VW's spend way more cash on their power plants than we do in our Mazda Rotary engines.

 

It's not about making the power. That's never been the problem. Power alone does not make you a winner. As a matter of fact the fwd's have only eclipse the power of the rotaries in the last year or two and not by any worthwhile margin either. It's about making the playing field even for all the racers. Just a little hint even if you make more power and increased the the performace they are going to change the rules to suit.
Just in case you didn't know the power difference between both power plants are very minimal at this level. It goes back and forth but the rules never change in the favor of the rwd's and that's what have to change. The RWD's have always been the ones to be handicaped performance wise from the beginning.
The fwd's have always been given the opputunity to advanced both performance and technology wise.
It's all about who they want on the winner's 'circle' and not about the actual talent and results of each individual.
The way they are going presently the class is probably going to be dead like the rest in a matter of time. Even the FWD racers have recognised that fact and their request for the racing organisations to even up the field and make it more competitive for everyone involved have fallen on deaf ears. The organisers don't care about what the people who are putting on the show or even more important what the people who are paying the entrance fees wants to see. They still have no clue what import racing stands for and have been based on since the beginning.

 

hey cris whats up wit domingo and no fire supression system, we could of used him in the am class.

 

That's not the main reason for not letting him run. There were other factors involved but I'm no going to get into that on a public forum. There were other cars in the class that were not even perfect but they were running. We don't go out there to be cry babies like the rest. We just want to run and have fun.
After some of the **** I saw this weekend by the NHRA bending the rules for their key 'stars' and not letting a couple of the local favorites run by applying these same rules that their key players were not comlying with to me was a disgrace.
Now that we are on the subject of Moroso this weekend, what is your opinion of 'Effantis' running again after he was DQ'd for taking too long to stage? At least the entire crowd voiced their opinion on that situation. The same **** happened to 'cuco switch' but he was not allowed to run again. I guess it was not a technical malfunction like was claimed on the Effantis case.

 

yeah that was some bullxxxx , and it almost got ugly but like you said EFANTIS is one of their stars and they wanna make him happy they dont give a crap about the privateers ,but it was so good to see ken give him a rotary powered asskicking. i didnt get to be there on sat and see most of the drama that was goin on , i was actually out in palmdale ca for the battle of the imports event wanted to be there for the last race before it closes down also give RENE some support and eat his doritos let me add that he gave the fans a great show, and against all the odds made it to the semifinals. after that i took the red eye out of lax @1015 and landed in tampa @0635 drove to west palm beach. got ther just in time to see domingos pass , car looks really good .

 

well im in. 93 fd all motor on methanol is on the works. Cris once im done. count me in on what ever issues need to be addressed with nhra. last time I gave nhra's Jim Skelly a piece of my mind..

 

Yep that was great. Ken's performance all weekend was perfect.

Is Rene comming to Orlando in two weeks for the next Battle Of The Imports?
It would be really nice to see him here. The all motor class at BOTI in orlando is very nice with a lot of competition without all the drama.
BTW. What is closing down?

Thanks.
I'll let Domingo know.
Man you're one travelling person. Hope to see you out here for BOTI.

 

BTW. What is closing down?

los angeles county speedway is closing its doors this summer sometime www.lacr.net its sad cause its been around for about 50+ years but while that one closes another one should be open www.dragcity.net




Thanks.
I'll let Domingo know.
Man you're one travelling person. Hope to see you out here for BOTI.[/QUOTE]


i should be out there for the boti event but i will find out for sure 2 -3 days before

 

Damm!
I remember Palmdale. I ran my car out there like 6yrs ago.

You guys should try and make it. Tell Rene to stick his car in the BOTI trailer with Bissi's civic!

 

Go here ----> http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1927303&page=3

Check out how the top FWD competitors in the 'All Motor' class are complaining about the weight penality for the aftermarket tranny. Their point is that it's not a performance advantage which we all know but it's a durability advantage. It's funny because the RWD competitors have said the same from the beginning yet they were the ones slapped with the weight penalities and have been handicapped and have dealt with it.

 

They paint a pretty grim picture of the future of pro stock (and the whole SC racing scene). I hope it works out for the best, for everyones benefit.

 

Unfortunately the NHRA only see thier point of view. It's all based on commercial profit/investment for them. Notting is wrong with that but you have to strike a balance but they don't. It's always their way or notting else. They don't understand the roots of Import Dragracing. They tried to bring it to a certain level too quickly. As a result the new breed of racers come and go in a short time. The old ones are still there and will continue to be there. The NHRA wants it to be at a professional level yet the racers can't afford to maintain that level based on the present returns for their investment. It's simple math.
It's funny because the local racing scene is based on old school methods. They always have a better turn out both racers and fans wise and the pay out is much better for the racers. Which one you would prefer to go to as being a racer or a fan.
The NHRA is like going to a circus. Their racing is all based on a freak show. There's no true competiton anymore. How many fans can go to an NHRA event and say I can build one of those race cars or have some similarity with the pro racers/racecars.
Go to a Pro 5.0 or Fastest Street Car shootout and compare the difference. Ever wonder why they are so successful over there. The fans can associate themselves with the racers and the cars they race. Something which all import fans always had until the NHRA stepped in and removed that one thing they had. Now they are trying to bring that back but it's too late now. It's like they never even took notice of what happened in the second half of the season last year in the modified class. Instead of protecting what brought the fans back to the seats and the competition that the cars from PR brought to the racing scene they were more concerned with protecting the wishes and cries from their star circus racers in the class and all that resulted in were rule changes to basically outlaw the competition that brought fans to the seats.
Personally I believe we all need to form our own sanctioning body to represent what we really do.

 

Hasn't that already been done a few times?







Sad but true. At least your in the mecca of the rotary community. I remember seeing the first side by side 6 second import pass at my home town track. The house was packed and everyone was on the edge of their seats. The last "import race" i went to was embarrassing. The only person that was there was Dan and a few other hardcore locals.

What would be nice is to get the IHRA involved. They always seemed to tailor more to the racers than the NHRA does.

 

Yes it has but they all eventually sold out to the likes of the NHRA.