MORRISON — Common knowledge holds that the fastest person, or car, to the finish line wins. So would it matter if the finish line was 320 feet closer to the start? Not really, according to drag racing crew chiefs and drivers.
After funny car racer Scott Kalitta died in June 2008 (his car burst into flames, went through the sand pit and slammed into the retaining barrier), the National Hot Rod Association made the original quarter-mile race 320 feet shorter for the top fuel and funny car classifications.
Bandimere Speedway was the first track to host the shorter event last year. And after a year of 1,000-foot racing, no one really cares to go back.
“Everything about it is good because, after you see (firsthand) the disasters we see, you realize, as many racers put it, nothing good happens after 1,000 feet,” said Austin Coil, the senior crew chief for funny car racer John Force.
When the race length was first changed, many people wondered whether it was going to have an effect on the competition. But it seems to have had the opposite outcome; many believe that races are tighter than they have ever been.
“It brought the finish line races a lot closer,” said Ashley Force Hood, a funny car driver. “People are losing and winning by a lot less than they were before, which is a good thing. Plus, they are racing against new times, as records for the quarter-mile race are now obsolete.”
The shorter distance puts a little more pressure on the drivers, as they don’t have the space to make up any lost time.
“You are a little bit more up on the starting line, so to speak, to make sure you cut the best light you can and because you don’t have that distance to try and get by,” said Brandon Bernstein, a top fuel racer.
While keeping racers safe (drivers have more room to slow down their cars), the shorter race also saves car components, which in the long run saves money — an added bonus in this economic climate.
“Fuel-burning race cars kind of operate on a method of continual destruction,” Coil said. “If we shut the car off a little sooner, you come back to the pits with a lot more parts that you can run again.”
Rob Flynn, the crew chief for Bernstein, agrees.
“You might get a little more life out of your components,” he said. “From an owner standpoint, it can save a little bit of money, which certainly can’t hurt.”
The race length will stay at 1,000 feet through this season, and then the NHRA safety board will decide whether to keep the shorter distance or not. There are some tracks that are much longer than the 1,000 feet race distance that, if necessary, can go back to the quarter-mile length. Then there are other tracks that don’t have much shutdown space at the end of the quarter-mile and would probably be safer if they ran a 1,000-foot race.
“I feel like there are racetracks that we go to that are definitely too short,” Bernstein said. “If we went back to a quarter-mile, I don’t know if it would be completely safe in the same aspect of the same motors that we are running now.”
The purists of the sport would like to see it moved back to the original length.
“I just like the longer length on it,” said Gayle Cose, a fan from Iowa. “It seems to go too quick now.”
Others debate the impact of the lost space on race watching.
“It’s still loud and all the things that fuel racing is,” Flynn said. “It’s just a little shorter distance, but it’s all in the name of safety.”
Anica Wong: 303-954-1720 or awong@denverpost.com
Mile-High update
FRIDAY NIGHT
Rain stoppage: First-round qualifying was halted at 6:31 p.m. because of rain, just before the final division, top fuel, was scheduled to begin.
Top qualifying runs: Ashley Force Hood (funny car, 4.287 seconds, 283.49 mph), Allen Johnson (pro stock, 7.038, 195.70), Hector Arana (pro stock bike, 7.416, 179.21)
TODAY AND SUNDAY
Today: Gates open, 10 a.m.; Round 3 qualifying, 3:45 p.m.; Round 4 qualifying, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday: Gates open, 9:30 a.m.; eliminations noon.
Tickets: Today, $40-$50; Sunday $48-$58.
Information: or 800-664-UWIN
