Hate to be a dummy but what is ASO?
Will there be a printed rule book for drag racing come out from NADM? And if so, when?
Will NADM be racing on the west coast anymore this year?
Is there a schedule somewhere I can look at?
If I have a low 10 sec truck and don't want to compete in the Unlimited Street class due it being 1/8 mile will I be allowed to run Brackets?
If I do decide to run Unlimited Street, can I get full pass time slips during test and tune?
If all of the Unlimited Street trucks were 2 wheel drive would we still be talking 1/8 miles races or 1/4?
We are currently building a 4x4 Duramax that will be in the 5600 lb range. It has a roll cage rated for 9 sec. Is the fact that many of the Unlimited Street trucks don't have 9 sec roll cages what's causing the switch to 1/8 racing?
If that the case, why not have them install a 9 sec cage?
ASO = Alternative Sanctioning Organization. This is awarded by NHRA to groups such as ours that complete the necessary steps. Part of this process is rules approval. Currently NHRA has our rule book. Why are we doing this? Because it allows us to govern diesel drag racing. It also means that we will have to carry NHRA approved insurance, because NADM will become the party providing the event insurance. Again, why would we want to do that? Because it allows us to control what is legal for our trucks. We require a parachute at 140 mph. NHRA is 150. But NHRA was very happy we required it due to the excess weight of our trucks. So far the racers that do have them and exceed that speed, were happy to have them on some tracks. Yes, they have been thrown, and the first comment made to me was "maybe we need two". At ANY time we don't meet NHRA's expectations of managing our sport, our ASO status can be yanked.
We do not have another event scheduled for the west yet. We do have a couple of people asking us for it, and we are looking into it. But being 100% honest, we must stay within budget. Until I know we can fund the event, then have signed contracts, we won't announce them. We are very young (4 months old and 1 event down with another in 2 days) and while we would love to be all over the country, renting tracks for diesel only days is not cheap. We would rather put on a show like Crude Drags 2 then have everyone meet at a test and tune. Give us time to grow and get more financially sound and we hope to be in a city near you.
oke:
The 1/8th mile thing came about when I was talking to the Unlimited Street members over the last few months. This idea was brought to me, not the other way around. I then called every US member racer and discussed it. Not one racer said they had to have 1/4 mile. It was either yes I vote 1/8th, or it was it didn't matter, just as long as it was heads up. With the amount of things that went on prior to Famoso (setting the company up, getting rule books done and printed, setting up events, setting up sponsors, etc.) we have been quite busy. As I stated in the other thread, I failed to announce it. That is on me.
As far as how do we move forward, I can tell you the east coast guys are aware of this discussion, and the one's I have spoke with, still vote 1/8th. I will be talking to the other racers this weekend to see how they feel. After we hear what they want, we will internally discuss what we will do and will let everyone know.
Now, lets look at some facts on why we are concerned.
NHRA does not allow sub 10 second passes in 4x4 vehicles. They never expected diesel trucks this fast. They are not real excited about them being this fast either.
The tubing specs that NHRA requires for cages and bars are not rated for our weight. Some chassis inspectors will take a 7.50 spec cage, and rate it for 8.50 in our trucks due to weight. Right NOW that is all they know to do, but again, they are not excited about the liability issues these trucks potentially create for themselves. They are watching to see how we progress, we as in ALL of us.
Crankshaft center line rules state 31" down to 10.00, and 24" 9.99 and quicker. Anything greater than 36" FAILS tech. :rules:
The problems arise when tracks tech. Some know the rules better than others and some enforce tighter than others. As an ASO, we are consistent because all we have to know is our rule book for diesels. We make the call and if you fail in California, you will fail in Georgia too.
All of the east coast trucks capable of sub 10 passes have certified cages. They are legal to run. What we don't know at this point is, are they really safe?
As a former racer, I DON'T like 1/8th mile racing on a 1/4 mile track. But when nearly every sub 10 second US member asks for 1/8th mile, I assumed I was doing the right thing by listening to my racers.
I would expect a sanctioning body to look out for the over-all good of my sport. I would expect some things to not be the way I as a racer would want them, but would need to understand sometimes there is more to the situation than I am aware of. As I said earlier, I consider each of you a friend and fellow diesel enthusiast that I would not want to see get hurt.
We have two options, be proactive and rule on what we feel is safe, or show up at the track and let them tell us what is safe. Then deal with rule changes when they think they need to happen. I've seen most tracks require the mandatory long pant, over the shoulder shirts, and helmets while I have seen a truck make a 12 second pass without a helmet, in shorts and tank-top. If that guy had wrecked and got injured, do you think the track's insurance would cover the incident?
We have all been very lucky. These trucks are doing things on the track never done before. We have been fortunate to have only a few "near mishaps" or a brush of the wall or two, and only one truck I am aware of (saw the video) that literally just went over the wall and flipped. The good news is, what interested me in that video, was how well did this trucks bar hold up and was the driver ok, and from what I could see I thought it did really well with no injuries. The bad news was the truck hit and leaped the wall like nothing and this truck wasn't running NEAR the speed capable of today and was 2 wheel drive.
Sorry this was so long, been writing it off and on this morning around getting ready for the Redneck Nationals in Albany GA this weekend at US19 Dragway where gates open at 8:00 AM and time trials will start at 10:00 am. :hehe:
One more thing. We had rule books at registration last Saturday, and you can download it from our site at
www.runNADM.com. :thankyou2: