Let’s look at the stats, and by the way, this is the 22nd year of NHRA stats I have in my database, so there are plenty of data points to qualify my points of observation.
- Top Fuel on average has 48% good elimination races and 70% good runs at any given event.
- Funny Car on average has 44% good elimination races and 67% good runs at an event, which you would expect since the rails would be slightly better because of their wing.
- Pro Stock cars have around an 85% good elimination races and 90% good runs at any given event.
Does 2008 point to a downtrend on race day? Are there more aborted and terrible eliminations this year? Not really. Actually, the events have been average.
Let me give you the worst eliminations in the last 22 years. Amazingly, there has never been an event where there were zero side-by-side races in the last 22 years. But there were events where there was just one.
Top Fuel: Denver 2001, Brainerd 1997, E-town 1997, and Spring Houston 1999
Funny Car: Sonoma 1991, Phoenix 2007 and Indy 1994
Pro Stock’s worst is Houston (in the Fall) in 1988 where there were only four good side-by-side runs out of 15. Bob Glidden beat WJ on a holeshot to win the event. There have been many events where 100% of the elimination runs were full throttle in Pro Stock, but none in the fuel classes.
What I’m up on the tire about this season are the high elapsed times that we continue to see. Yes, I know 90% nitro, rev limiters, tires, and whatever, but Chuck Etchells broke the 4-second barrier in Topeka in 1993 with a 4.987. Folks, it’s 15 years later and in Funny Car we are still seeing 5-second bubbles (Houston and Phoenix), and the average event elapsed time in the 4.9’s. (Gainesville, Houston and Vegas) and a 5-second bubble in Top Fuel at the Vegas race! In fact, two Top Fuel cars qualifying with 5-second runs (Dixon and Chrisman). I thought Vegas was supposed to be the great track that recorded all these great times? Thought that is what I read… maybe not!
Enough of that, let’s finish with who is hot and who is not:
TOP FUEL
Hot: Tony Schumacher 12-3; Larry Dixon 11-4; Antron Brown 10-4
Not: J.R. Todd 0-4; Alan Bradshaw 0-3 with two #1’s; Bob Vandergriff 1-4
FUNNY CAR
Hot: Ashley Force, of course, 9-4
Not: Mike Neff 0-5; Jerry Toliver 0-4; Melanie Troxel 0-2
PRO STOCK
Hot: Jason Line and Jeggie 11-4; Greg Anderson 10-3
Not: Ron Krisher is the only one who comes close going 0-5, but has qualified in the top half twice.
I mentioned earlier, that this is my 22nd season keeping stats. Of course you know that John Force and Warren Johnson have recorded at least one stat in all of those years. But there is one more driver who may not come to mind as also being in that group. No, Larry Morgan is a close second with 21 (he hasn’t qualified this year), not Del Worsham either, he started racin’ in 1990… that’s right, Gary Densham. He keeps on truckin’ and is one of the friendliest guys out there!