I was literally waking up at night with panic attacks.

I just didn't want to engage in any political discussions, it's a waste of my valuable time and I have much better things to discuss, like drag racing, which I love.
Peace out.
Daniel.

I would no longer discuss anything having to do with Paul McCartney. But there are some very good discussions about goldfish at that site.

We have to do what we have to do.

Even/especially for 1,000 feet.

Imagine if they went back to a quarter-mile. We'd see trap speeds above 400 mph with E/Ts still in the low 4s.

I'd love to go to that drag racing school in -- is it Pomona? But I think I'd draw the line at the cars with the governors thhat stop acceleration at 90.

Last edited Sun Aug 31, 2025, 12:26 AM - Edit history (1)

it would be insane, but after the death of Scott Kallita in NJ, I agree with the NHRA in reducing the track to 1000' for TF and FC.

That video scared the hell out of me the first time I saw it. I can't imagine how he felt, being completely out of control.

That's been, what, 20 years or so? It still feels freaky.

Connie was still around when it happened, wasn't he? Shit, he was probably there. Dads in racing often become crew members/chiefs.

I can't even imagine that he was just seconds away from his demise with his dad there.
I hope it was instant and he went quickly.

With the actual impact .

It just makes you sick.

TIA

If the event is hosted by RuPaul and the competitors end up in a library reading books to children.

Good one.
My late, great wife loved RUPaul, not so much me, nothing to do with content, I just thought that Drag Racing was TF and FC, but to each their own.

to establish moral superiority over you for posting about drag racing (in The Lounge, no less) when there's so much wrong with the country, and they're gonna keep fighting it via DU.

I suggest more posts about drag racing to counter their weak virtue-hammering insults.

that's why I'm going to stay in the Lounge or Music Appreciation, much less stress and frustration.

There's mostly a lot of "AMERICA IS DOOMED!!!1" in GD, anyway.

Now I just see auto racing in every form as a waste of fossil fuel. Oh well, to each his or her own.

and I do love the smell of Nitro burning.
I remember when NHRA allowed us to stand beside the track when the cars would go down, but that stopped when spectators started to get hurt or killed by exploding vehicles.

Back in 1988 I went to Indy with a couple buddies, which was mostly a huge drunken party. But we did sit in the stands for a good portion of the race.

We didn't just SEE those vehicles going 220 MPH; we FELT it, viscerally. I understand the attraction.

Just curious.

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When I lived in the city (Chicago) I would use public transit sometimes, but not after I moved to the far western suburbs in 1986 where public transit is logistically prohibitive. Since 1980, every car I've owned has been a fuel efficient 4 cylinder compact. I currently drive a hybrid that gets 50 MPG.

I would absolutely LOVE if we had a comprehensive sustainable energy mass transit system in which owning a car became a rarity. So much land, resources, and money is tied up with insurance, maintenance, roads, road repair, parking, traffic cops, traffic courts, and the costs & tragedies of terrible injuries & deaths associated with this highly inefficient and dangerous form of transportation.

I suspect you asked your question in an attempt to paint me as a hypocrite for owning a car to get to work, shopping, visit family & friends, etc.

Have at it if you like, but the above paragraph is hardly the same as building monster fuel sucking engines for entertainment.

Just my opinion. We all have one.

of the world's supply of gasoline is used in drag racing, and auto racing overall. The "fuel" classes in drag racing do not use gasoline, but either nitromethane or alcohol, so there's that.

There's also the technology of safety and performance (which means "eficiency&quot developed in racing and adopted by the manufacturers of passenger cars and other consumer vehicles.

I figure it evens out.

I doubt racing technology designed to maximize acceleration plays much of a role in cars designed for fuel efficiency, but I'm no expert.

The bigger problem in terms of needless release of greenhouse gases are the choices consumers make, buying cars for their 0-60 performance or big pickup trucks for lifestyle image, never making use of the vehicle's utility.

actually have any real need for them, such as being construction foremen. You sure don't see many that are dinged up or even dirty, like they'd tend to be in that use. A small SUV would probably serve most of those people just as well, but those aren't "nanly" enough. (Notice how mean-looking the front of those trucks are?)

Zero to 60 is important, though -- at least in areas like SoCal that have so many freeways, thus so many on-ramps. (Actually, 30-70 mph is more important for that, which is why Car & Driver and others test it. Also, there're EVs that'll hit 60 in under four seconds, but I assume they're pretty expensive.)