Not a Damn thing! NHRA allowed that Genie out of the Bottle with Multi-car teams a long time ago. Suppose Team Force-Shoe-Kalitta started a Diving Clinic these last 2 races, what rules could NHRA change to insure that doesn't happen again?

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Shift for Brains!!!!

Simple. Limit each operation to one team instead of four!

LOL, multi-team operations are fair as long as they're not TOO multi. I'll bet if sportsman class owners had several teams and it was determined to be an unfair advantage, they wouldn't stop at limiting them to only four to avoiding stepping on toes and that they wouldn't hesitate to do it.

How about this. Limit each operation to one team to take away the extra data collecting ability. In return, open up the restrictions on innovation.

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The faster you drive, the further you have to walk to get back to the road.

I hate dives.

Thought we've been through this but let's go again.... multi car team run by a family with the same sponsors... JFR, CSK, I don't care... don't think we're going to see it this year with both Robert and Papa John running for the title... next season with the faked points race? I hope the whole final 8 races are one dive after another... bottom line.

And I don't think we're going to see it from DSR... but again, I don't care...

Long ago, I saw 2nd level cars paid to be 'broke' and put on the trailer... back when the quick looser would run on 'the break rule'... or not show up so someone got a bye at a National event... so what...

And guess what? as a Fan of the "Pro Show", I don't give a Flying Rat's @$$...
But, if you're going to 'lay down', be out front about it... but don't throw away a 'Championship' by being 'good sports'....

'Winning isn't Everything, It's the Only Thing'

And having said all that, I'd love to see Robert, Jimmy, Hop, and the guys Win the LAST REAL FC TITLE. But, if something happens and numerically your out of the chase by Pomona, block for the boss, and get that title back to JFR where it belongs

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Hypothetical question.

If you were in a position to win a Pts championship or an event and the car in the other lane is on your payroll, would you risk it all by running heads up, or do you tell the other car to lay down?
\
Recently in a Pro Mod finals at an IHRA event, both cars ran 22 second times, the boss getting the win. The reason was that they didn't want to give the illusion that team orders weren't given. PO'd a whole bunch of folks.
It's a no win situation for a team owner not to dictate the results in a manner that's best for his teams interest.
If we like seeing full fields of quality cars, this is the price we'll have to expect to pay. JMHO

If it's a dive then it's not a race and it doesn't belong on a track. (legal disclaimer--unless it's a match race and the first round winner is lying down so that they have their best two out of three third round--ahem--not that THAT has ever happened--LOL) They shouldn't even have to go through the ridiculous motions. They should just announce "So and so has forfeited" so everyone can go home already.

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The faster you drive, the further you have to walk to get back to the road.

There is a way to limit diving: a "team" championship. In addition to the Eliminator Champions, I would add a team championship.
The "team" would not, however, be composed of one owner and 4 cars in a given eliminator. Instead, I propose requiring those entering the team points chase to include one car from each of the NHRA's eliminators. Thus, from Team Force one could include John's car in FC with, say, Bob Tasca's in TAFC, any Top Fuel car (maybe one of the one car teams such as Baca or Vandegriff), any TAD, a Pro/Stock car and one each from the Sportsman ranks all the way down to Super Street! Just one car from each eliminator, however. If an owner had four Pro/Stock cars, each of them would have to compete for the team championship on a different geographic team. The season points would be added up and the whole team would be honored at the end of the year and given some meaningful bucks to distribute.
I would like to see the "teams" have geographic names as that seems to be all that the soi disant sports journalists understand.
The individual eliminator championships would still be contested, of course. A multi-car owner might then have a dilemma if a dive would cost an eliminator championship en route to a team championship or vice versa. The way I envision this, the owner of the multi-car setup would not actually own all the other cars in the team, but they would be teammates for the purpose of the championship. Teams would have to be established in writing to NHRA before the Winternationals.
Imagine a team championship that came down to Pomona and the final pairing in Stock in which Kalitta's Michigan Maulers needs just that one round win to clinch the team championship from Shumacher's Chicago Cavaliers.
Okay, don't imagine it.
I'm just trying to help. Sure would increase the interest in the season long performance of sportsman heroes . . . and each of the current multi-car teams would have cars on separate geographic teams also contesting for those honors.
Cheers,
Ed
P.S. There is stiil no "e" in Camaro.

Please note: I said limit diving. Eradicate it entirely? When pigs fly!
Cheers,
Ed

Afternoon Ron....
The average 'rube' in the stands can't tell the difference from a 4.7 and a 5 flat, nor can he tell the difference between a .102 and a .80 light... there ain't pro match racing anymore... or is there? The Pros book in 23 races a year... put on a show for the Promoter (NHRA) and the promoter takes a couple of hundred bucks from the fan for the weekend... some of the stuff I heard standing at the rail at 600 feet was bloody funny... and sad... like not knowing the difference between Ace Manzo's car and Big Jim Dunn's... heck, a A/FD Torco car and JR Todd...

Hardcore fans might tell, but the average 'butt in the seat' was clueless...

And I still feel that if someone can get the bucks and the drivers to run a half dozen cars, more power to them... if the family business is racing, then ya should be allowed to race as many cars as you need... and yeah, the sponsors want 'kids' in the cars, that's the demographics...

And if a team has 'Orders' so the Title goes home with them, so what? Like the world is going to end Monday morning? To your sponsors be true, everything else is just a show to the Unenlightened spectator.

And yeah, I want to see the Title go to JFR, no matter what it takes

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Laydowns happen in all motor sports. Good running #2 Cars become blockers in NASCAR and Didn't Ferrari make their #2 Driver Rubens Barrichello, obviously lay down for Schuemacher in F1 a while back. They had no problem doing that on a world stage.
Just a suggestion, if there is going to be a laydown, let the boss run, and when the win light goes on, let the other driver make an all out blast. Atleast the fans who paid good money will see and hear Nitro the way it should be.

within 1% of all their runs made the entire weekend including qualifying (full runs without engine damage) in other words an adverage of all the runs.
If you fail to run within 1% with a fellow team car in other lane (diving) then the winning team car has points deducted just as an oildown.
With the exactness the cars are running these days that 1% should be really no problem.
It would be just like bracket racing. Now how many times have you heard on a broadcast that so an so is running like a bracket car?
just my thoughts

"... some of the stuff I heard standing at the rail at 600 feet was bloody funny... and sad... like not knowing the difference between Ace Manzo's car and Big Jim Dunn's... heck, a A/FD Torco car and JR Todd..."

Karl, you've got it backwards...that stuff if beautiful. Those are people who have never been to a drag race and have spent their HARD EARNED money to walk through the gate. The fact that they are there is wonderful...so what if they aren't uber-fans. If people like those you saw stop showing up we're all back to waiting for the dragster to show upn the week after one of the NHRA's 10 national events.

Oh yeah I forgot...those were the good ol' days. Yikes.

Brian

Well . . . I've been thinking about this all day and I have the answer!
If a driver running for the championship wins a round over a teamate, drivers, crew chiefs and team owner will be required to submit to lie detector tests. I'm still working on the penalties for those caught lying, my initial idea would involve a car crusher operated by the Safety Safari. -
Sorry - just couldn't resist! It's pretty obvious that there is no way to police this. Crew chiefs have unlimited options to affect a car's performance at any point during a race - clutch weights in the pits, fuel, ignition and clutch timing through the laptop, etc.
Every fuel car is running on the edge on every run. Unless a disgruntled crew member spills the beans (and I doubt that any crew members would have any knowledge of a dive), no one will ever know. Multiple car teams have helped the sport grow and diving may (or may not) be an inevitible part of this.
We can endlessly speculate about diving, but none of us will ever know.

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"The Counterfeiter"

With the team car concept so popular these days is diving really any different than the team car blocking competitors by winning rounds against other team's points leaders?

I would fully expect to see some diving these last two races in T/F and F/C.
I would also not fault them one bit for so doing. This has been a long fought season and every point has been won with blood. Why throw all that away with an obvious gimmie offered by a team mate at a crucial point?
Just don't lie to us when we know darned well what's going on.

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"The Doctor"
www.wannaberacing.com

I am not against team diving, not really.
I mean, I don't like to see an obvious dive, but I understand why they do it.
You know how NASCAR will have the fans vote on whether to iinvert the whole field, the first 10 cars, or whatever at the All star race at Charolette?
Maybe NHRA could do this........... for example, if 2 JFR cars are meeting in round 2 at Vegas next week, have the fans vote on whether to make the 2 drivers "swap" cars when they get to the lanes. And keep the vote results a secret. It's just crazy enough to work LOL