I will probaly catch crap for this but I may as well stir it up a bit.Its funny reading this and everybody just falling in line,safety,safety and how many lives could be saved.I have a few good friends locally that are older-and old school- that were dong this back in the hay day and to see the pics of their stock looking cars that ran tens is amazing but their stories and outlooks are even more amazing.They ran in a time where more cars ran tens and drove the streets with factory safety gear than their are at the local strip here today,you only worried about the three c's,compression cam and carb,their was no fancy bs and they ran hard,harder than most serious money builds these days,of course pump gas was better.Anyway they never had people dying all the time at the strip,the only people getting in wrecks were mainly on the street and were drinking.Even at the local street races I had never seen a wreck and I got to see alot of it when I was really young since my cousin let me hang out with him in his 69 ss 396 4 speed car because I looked older and was into cars.Another of the old timers working at our local track said there are more wrecks today than there ever was back then,kind of crazy when you consider there were alot more cars running fast here back in the late 70s early 80s than now.Sure attendance is greater now but the average quarter mile times of these cars are slower by about 3 seconds and sure there are a few more 8 and 9 second rides but all you have to do is figure how many more factory mucsle cars and modified cars there were on the road then vs. now and there was alot more action,I was fortunate enough to catch the last of it in the early 80s before it really dwindled.I think its the people,there are too dam many stupid people who ruin good things,its certainly inevitable that when the population grows there are going to be more and more laws to "protect us" but unfortuantely alot of us just fall victim to stupid peoples actions.Dont get me wrong there are alot of good rules in the nhra but along with rules comes politics and it keeps alot of good people-around here anyway-from going to the track,including some of the wisest and most experienced.Oh well,I guess we have been brain washed that everything must be 100% safe to participate-or maybe more people should learn how to handle a car before hitting the track,either way the scene here will never be what it once was,theres my .02,feel free to add yours:-D.
