my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Hmmm 70 MPH sounds fast for a 13 yr old. But, then again, how fast do the JR. dragsters go in the 18th ???
NHRA Jr Street (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter FABMAN
- Start date
70-80 MPH in a Jr. Dragster 2' off the ground will feel a lot faster then in a car!
rick
Nitro Member
I attend several of the local Indy area race tracks and several of the jr. dragsters can go in the high 7's at the 1/8th mile going nearly 90 mph.
In a street car, my olds alero, (olds version of a Pontiac grand am) which was a stock as you could get 3.4 liter v6 would consistently go 10.40's at 64-65 mph in at 1/8th mile
In a street car, my olds alero, (olds version of a Pontiac grand am) which was a stock as you could get 3.4 liter v6 would consistently go 10.40's at 64-65 mph in at 1/8th mile
I don't remember all the details, but years ago, around 2000-2002?, there was a program called Teen Championship Racing, I think it was an IHRA thing, but if not, we had it at Grand Bend at least. I was a co-driver a couple times. basically, street car, max 75 mph in the 1/4. Co-driver drove the car everywhere but staging lanes to turn off. Was pretty popular as I recall.
yoda
Nitro Member
Hey Zappy... it's Friday. How close are you to your local track? (I'm spoiled- mine is 15 minutes down the road).
Head over to your local TnT night with your daily driver. Hit the tree a couple of times, but lift when you get to 70- you'll be screaming for the run to be over. Its not as fast as the speed seems on paper. Now add in a co-driver that can at least tell you when your over your head (cue the panicked parent now...) or, if your lucky, you get that person beside you that can talk you through cutting a good light and how to drive the stripe. That's what the objective of this is; to get kids doing this that can't make the investment in a jr car.
Jimbo
Nitro Member
Lord knows there are plenty of 1/8 mile drag strips in the South Eastern part of the country and most appear to be very busy on test and tune nights and race day.
Should be interesting to see if they are interested in this new program.
Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com
Should be interesting to see if they are interested in this new program.
Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com
rckymtn3
Nitro Member
Well there you go. -laughing-
I thought it was a great idea for the NHRA. Hey, more power to them for borrowing good ideas. Key being "good". Maybe if NASCAR ditches it's chase, NHRA will do the same with the countdown. Nobody (real fans) seems to respond well to contrived outcomes.
Nope, nope and nope. My 13 yr old went nuts when she heard about this. Maybe if I had a beater car I would consider it, but the last thing I need is to tell my insurance that my 13yr old smacked the wall(or got smacked) on a car that I am still making payments on.
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
Now now, PJ. Just think about it a minute. This is for those that can't afford a couple grand to field a jr dragster. The kids drive the
family car that you drove to the track. They only drive down the track 1/8 mi. make the turn, and to the ticket booth. You then drive back to your pit.
You drive to the lanes, not the kid. It's safer then riding a bike.
family car that you drove to the track. They only drive down the track 1/8 mi. make the turn, and to the ticket booth. You then drive back to your pit.
You drive to the lanes, not the kid. It's safer then riding a bike.
my friends call me Zappy
Nitro Member
A showroom stock 4cyl - auto trans - in the 1/8 mi. - on a straight dry race track, with you in the seat next to her......What could go wrong??
Think she'll get out of the grove and smack the wall. Come on, give the girl some credit. Do you let her drive go-carts ??
Think she'll get out of the grove and smack the wall. Come on, give the girl some credit. Do you let her drive go-carts ??
Luke Nieuwhof
Nitro Member
She could get hit by a meteorite while walking down the road (God forbid), but you let her outside (I presume)? Need to weigh up the odds - and the odds of putting a 10 sec 1/8th mile car into the wall are low.
Even still, let's say you don't want to risk the family car. Go buy something which is slow, safe and cheap for her to use. Buy something she likes and let her have it as her first car for when she does turn old enough to get her licence.
This still offers a far lower point of entry than Junior Dragster racing which requires not just the car but trailer, possibly a car that can tow a trailer, safety equipment - so on. That's an awful lot of investment, especially if it turns out your kid doesn't like it.
This offers a way for kids to try the sport and possibly stay involved.
YES, YES AND YES in my mind. Forums harp on about needing to get young people involved - this is a fantastic way to do it.
That is part of the objective, provide another way into the sport. However, what I think this also does is bridge the gap between JR's and big car racing. Wonder how many kids walked way from Drag Racing after JR's because there was nothing they could drive for 1-2 years?
Might be the dumbest reason ever. Let's see the odds of sharknado hitting my house aren't that bad so maybe I should start base jumping off windmills. One has nothing to do with the other.
What was a cheap entry, now you want me to go buy a car for her to run???? Yes the odds of something going wrong are low. We can also all go on you tube and watch several low speed bonehead accidents. I'd be curious to see what an insurance companies response would be if something were to happen. I know they wouldn't cover it, but would they drop us completely then? Would they not insure her in the future when she was legal? This would be different then a go-cart or jr dragster as they are purpose built and not street legal.
PJ ... it all comes down to the parents. If they are risk averse, don't sign up. If they do not believe their child is capable, don't sign them up.
But, what about drag racing parents who have a street car they race at the local track? They can expose their teen, who has grown up at the track, to the next level at little to no cost. What about high school auto shop students who have "souped up" a street car and want to test it out?
Review the program, there is a required vehicle orientation test (like driver's ed. class). There is a property familiarity test conducted at the track they race at. Plus approved "test" passes to obtain a license for a very small fee. Check tracks that already implemented this program, driver and co-pilot are probably charged nothing more than a spectator fee to enter Jr. Street.
This has been around awhile in IHRA and its sanctioned tracks. NHRA was late to the party but realized they need as many avenues as possible to keep young teenagers (or bring in new ones) in drag racing. Let's face it, most teens leaving JDRL will likely race a full sized car with doors and not have an expensive bracket racing dragster. And, the JR Todd, Langdon, Enders path from JR's to the Pro ranks is the extreme exception and not the rule. So, if NHRA cannot keep the 16-18 teen drag racing, how can you maintain or grow the sport?
Luke Nieuwhof
Nitro Member
It's a way of demonstrating that there is risk in everything we do. Risk's presence alone should not be the decider, the amount of risk is. If you make the decision that the amount of risk is too high for your daughter, then that is your decision.
The suggestion of buying a cheap car is because you said you didn't want to use the one you were making payments on. And yes it is still cheaper than a Junior Dragster.
In regards to insurance, since when have insurance companies for the street ever been interested in what happens on the track, other than outlining in their policies that they don't cover race tracks? They are not going to take your daughter's race track history into account for street insurance - simple. They don't ask how many crashes peewee motocross riders have had before they insure them to ride motorcycles on the street.
I know safety is paramount but I think we exaggerate the dangers sometimes. At the heart of it, guiding a car in a straight line to perhaps 60mph if they are lucky is not an overly difficult or dangerous task. The kids in Junior Dragsters seem to manage it just fine.
rckymtn3
Nitro Member
It's a good question. I had it myself when I was made aware of the deal.
Since I don't have kids, I left it at that. A question.
If I had to answer it, I might ask the NHRA point blank if they've researched that issue (seems it would have been a logical question for them to pursue) or the IHRA folks involved in their version which seems to have been run quite awhile, and the SCCA, where I believe they've moved the minimum age to 15.
I think it would be addressed, and treated as any other motorsport where an underage child is insured (not necessarily for the vehicle) like motorcross, karting, jr dragster. I think the big red flag for an insurance agency would be an incident unaffiliated with a sanctioning body with safety rules and operational rules in place.
vegasnitro
Nitro Member
There is no regular, state required insurance policy that will cover you on the track, period. In fact, if you did wreck your street car on the track, the last thing you should do is call your insurance company, not only will they tell you they aren't going to cover it, but you are likely to get a rate increase anyway. As has been said, if you are not willing to accept that risk, don't do it. No one is making anyone take their car and kid to the track. It is a voluntary recreational activity.
A wise man once said, don't ever race a car that you couldn't afford to push off a cliff.
A wise man once said, don't ever race a car that you couldn't afford to push off a cliff.
Similar threads
- Article
