Please leave your 16 second beater at home!

[BigG]

Bla bla bla, you are all missing the point of dragweek. Yes it is fun. BUT it is all about finding the fastest street cars in America! Maybe I look at things differently. I go to win! Why wouldn't you? If you know the bump spot in the slowest class last year was like 11.90 why would you even consider taking a slower car? Do what you have to do just looking for a little help. Hey BBR just remember I have 3 dragweek jackets all in a Chevy! How many do you have?

[BBR]

Congratulations on three wins. I have zero jackets because that's exactly how much I care about winning one. I don't go to win because I know I can't win. A 9.0x average won my class last year. 10.00 is the limit for this car (if it ever gets that quick) and that's fine with me. I don't want to jump through all the hoops to go faster. I finished second in 2012 and I am darn proud of it, but I did not go expecting to be in the hunt and I certainly do not expect to be in the hunt this year. I want to survive the week, have a blast with some great friends and if I manage to place, well that would just be the cherry on top.

[BBO Javelin]

Congratulations on three wins. I have zero jackets because that's exactly how much I care about winning one. I don't go to win because I know I can't win. A 9.0x average won my class last year. 10.00 is the limit for this car (if it ever gets that quick) and that's fine with me. I don't want to jump through all the hoops to go faster. I finished second in 2012 and I am darn proud of it, but I did not go expecting to be in the hunt and I certainly do not expect to be in the hunt this year. I want to survive the week, have a blast with some great friends and if I manage to place, well that would just be the cherry on top.

X2 I'm in a ls turbo foxbody I built and have no chance of winning srsbpa cause I have no nhra license so I'm limited to 10.0 and will just try to stay at 10.0 all week. I would love to win but not why I go. I go for the fun and standing around at night at the motel drinking a few and shooting the shit with new friends I meet.

[Orange65]

The expense to run faster than 10.0 is not worth it to a lot of people. I am working my way toward it but even now find the expense just to run slower than 10.0 is hard to bare. Just wait till I have to donate to the NHRA, but lots more safety stuff, and start wearing out parts faster- yikes!

[BigG]

BBR 2nd place is a win in my book! And 10.0 is fast! That is my point! The world wants to see a bunch of cars that are barely drive able , driving from track to track. When the cars make it, everyone is in awe. Look, that 10 second car just drove 400 miles... Wow!, but 18 second Durango....not so impressive. Kinda like power tour, tubbed cars driving across the country are cool. 500 brand new camaros are just junking up the show. Sure if it was my show I would take their money too but when something is a sell out in like 8 minutes like dragweek. I think they could afford to add a performance rule!

[BBR]

Next year is supposed to be a new set of rules so who knows what DF will come up with. I think the "no refund" thing was really a mistake. It really shoots the idea of having a waiting list in the foot and encourages people that break or run out of time to bring a Plan B.

Oh and it's a 17 second Durango, thankyouverymuch.

[Hemi Joel]

BBR 2nd place is a win in my book! And 10.0 is fast! That is my point! The world wants to see a bunch of cars that are barely drive able , driving from track to track. When the cars make it, everyone is in awe. Look, that 10 second car just drove 400 miles... Wow!, but 18 second Durango....not so impressive. Kinda like power tour, tubbed cars driving across the country are cool. 500 brand new camaros are just junking up the show. Sure if it was my show I would take their money too but when something is a sell out in like 8 minutes like dragweek. I think they could afford to add a performance rule!

That makes some sense, especially considering the 8 minute sell out. It will only be worse next year. Maybe have qualifying on Saturday. The quickest 250 or 300 pre-registered cars that show up get in, the others don't. You will know the risk when you register. If your fast car is not ready and you have to take your 16 second back-up, you might as well just be a spectator.

[Moms Car]

My guess is that there are going to be big changes next year because of the 8 minute sellout. I am glad I got in and look forward to meeting a bunch of cool car folks.

[38P]

Bla bla bla, you are all missing the point of dragweek. Yes it is fun. BUT it is all about finding the fastest street cars in America!

No. If that were true there would be only ONE CLASS and a field of about twenty cars. Everything else is just filler.

Maybe I look at things differently. I go to win! Why wouldn't you?

The definition of a "win" is not the same to everyone. Some of us couldn't give a flying fig about a cheap Chinese jacket or 10 seconds of bathroom/reading room fame from a postage-stamp picture in Hot Rod. Anyone who thinks DW is about winning a stupid jacket doesn't understand the event.

If you know the bump spot in the slowest class last year was like 11.90 why would you even consider taking a slower car?

That kind of thinking kept me out of DW until 2012.

But when I saw serious grassroots guys like the the Silver Buick and BBR doing their best with what they had, I realized that the "perfect is the enemy of the good." and decided to see what I could personally accomplish. It is wholly irrelevant if the people watching on the internet or the five people in the stands, or the self-appointed "gatekeepers" with "three jackets" like it. When I'm alone in the car . . . on the starting line or even on one of those late-night transit sections . . . what I'm concerned with isn't a cheap Chinese jacket or entertaining a bunch of spectators or providing good copy to HRM. I'm concerned with getting the most possible out of the car and driver. And there's no other grassroots event that does this any better than DW.

Frankly the condescending arrogance of those "insiders" who want exclusionary definitions of DW is both obnoxious and tiresome. To those folks I say run your car, not your mouth!

[BigG]

I think the no refund was to encourage "wanna be,s " not to waste their money. I do agree that they are not likely to call hot rod to cancel which kills the waiting list. This is why I did not get on the waiting list. I am predicting that this could be the smaller car count because of this. I guess we will find out soon!

[38P]

]I did not get on the waiting list.!

I guess I'd have to change that to "run your car NEXT YEAR, not your mouth."

The whole "wannabe" thing is wrong, too. Very few DW competitors are delusional. Most of them realize what they have and don't "wantabe" anything other than themselves. There aren't that many people with the time, talent and money to compete at the level of Larson, Lutz, Barry, Bailey, Ahokas and the other DW "elites." But that doesn't make those who are blessed with less "wannabes."

It's like the Boston Marathon. 99.99% of the people who enter are not in that discrete, insular group that can win. But they enter anyway .. . . not because they're "wannabes," but because they want to test and prove themselves to themselves.

The fact that some snoozed at the line this year and missed the "land rush" entry doesn't mean that the "long knives" need to come out for everyone who runs a so-called "slow" car or isn't presumed beforehand as "worthy" to compete for the "win."

[bulletproof]

all dragweekers are "delusional" would a normal person take off across country in a car that may not have been running a few days before the event ,to spend week in a car is thats trying to eat itself for 1000 miles.. getting no sleep ,eating gas station gasket sealer sandwiches.spending untold sums of money. with the hope of just surviving. nope not a single thing delusional about any of this..

[BBO Javelin]

all dragweekers are "delusional" would a normal person take off across country in a car that may not have been running a few days before the event ,to spend week in a car is thats trying to eat itself for 1000 miles.. getting no sleep ,eating gas station gasket sealer sandwiches.spending untold sums of money. with the hope of just surviving. nope not a single thing delusional about any of this..

Sounds like the kind of things I live for.

[ksj2]

Exactly.8 years ago I went on my first DW. Primary car wasn't done.I had vacation and hotels that were non refundable.What to do?In talking with others the consensus was go.Shit happens.Around 90 cars entered and around 60 finished IIRC.4 hours away from home and traveling partner we stop for gas.They were going to get a bite to eat. I went ahead.Told them that if they saw me stopped to go on as I would take a nap.From the start of the week I knocked a second off my e.t on the car that was my DD,I drove straight home and checked out 1320 videos of the week til 6 a.m.
.Made lifelong friends etc.2010 I rode with a competitor and we had mechanical problems. I was able to catch rides the rest of the week.2011 I finally took the car that I was going to take in 2007.My brother was finally going to go.DW was originally to be based on TwoLane Blacktop.Going cross country,racing and get to the next town.Im sure they didn't win them all.Now we have people building cars to last for one week.I told others it would sell out in 15.It took 8 minutes.I didnt even bother trying to enter.My brother that has gone the last 3 years lives in Tulsa.I live in Topeka and my nephew lives in OKC.Do I just get a room for Great Bend?Screw that.My own bed on Monday night is all.DF created a monster.All for a jacket.LMAO!

[dougs67]

I agree with the original post. Leave the dd's at home. No one wants to see them run. It's a great time hanging at the hotels and catching up with friends but It's too big now to have guys bringing there 16 second cars. I'm Looking forward to seeing the new rules next year. I hope to come back in the future but won't bother if I can't run 11s or better.