Years ago I dabbled in drag racing at the long gone Toronto International Dragway north of Georgetown

Closed in 1974 - 75 it was a great 1/4 mile track that had many legends of the sport race there

Wheel standers....funny cars....top fuel....gassers...jet cars.....amazing stuff from years gone by

My question is this.....

I understand the 1/4 mile thing......But i dont understand this 1/8 crap

Is the 1/8 for racers with severe ADD that cant pay attention for a whole 1/4 mile?

Is it for cars that are unsafe at higher speeds?

Is it for strip owners that cant afford to buy enough property to have a real race?

Help me understand why people are trying to change the whole drag race industry....to half a race.....

Inquiring minds want to know ????????

 

I think the only reason the 1/8 mile drag strip was ever invented was because the participants would be out of breath, or they would break one of their heels before reaching the end. IMO, the only thing a 1/8 strip is good for is RC cars.

Dan. Thats not the "drag" racing i was talking about

You guys east of toronto sure have funny ways as i would never know where to find those pictures on the internet

Just sayin

Having grown up and lived in Georgetown most of my life, I also messed around a bit at TID.......Today, with todays speeds, that track would be too short to be a 1/4 mile track....That is the reason the Top Fuel classes are now 1000 ft, speeds just got too high.

Most drag racing is about reaction time, so 1/8 mile proves that. There is talk about an 1/8 mile track at Varney....cant see it happening, but I would welcome it if it happens.

What got me thinking about this was the other day i was talking to this guy and he was bragging his kid ran an 8.30 at the track. I thought WOW he had some car . Untill he said it was a jr dragster

Now good for him that he takes his kid out and all but.....

Well, I've run on a few tracks that had real short shut down areas and it can be intense.
Been off the end of a few too where there was marginal shut down, but I made a mistake and ran out of room.
Honestly, I think that most slower bracket cars are well suited to running the 1/8th, keeps the show going.
The TF stuff is way too fast now for most of the tracks.
I don't have a problem with the 1/8th mile stuff but agree its not the same.

The trend seams to be shifting to the 1/8th mile. Most guys are looking at there reaction time and the 60 foot. They also run taller gear, so they are pretty much tapped out at the 1/8th mile marker, not much gain from there on.
The tempo is quicker, so you get to run a few more times.

In an ideal world I think all tracks would be 1/4 mile but the fact is it's cheaper to build a 1/8th mile track. Also, as other posts have mentioned, some older tracks don't have enough shut down area for todays faster cars. You sometimes see those tracks run a full 1/4 for the slower classes and 1/8th for the faster cars.

At first I hated running 1/8th mile tracks but lately I don't really mind too much.
The big disadvantage I found with the 1/8th mile tracks was that I didn't know if I ran a good time or not. If I ran a 6.50 I didn't know if that was good or bad. The only way I could tell was to look at an old 1/4 mile time slip and see how quick my time was to the 1/8th mile. If I happen to do a personal best run on a 1/4 mile track I'm really happy but if I get a good time on a 1/8th mile track it doesn't mean much to me.

I still prefer to run a full 1/4 mile but there are a few good points about the 1/8th mile tracks.
The races go quicker because you don't have to wait as long for the cars to get clear, they can start the next two cars sooner. You can see the finish line better from the grandstand. It's a little easier on the engine because you're not winding it up in high gear quite as long.

As far as the racing itself goes, there's not much difference. Most decent bracket racers can get their cars to run within about 3 or 4 hundredths of a second from their dial in time so the race is usually decided by the reaction time on the line. If you get a slow reaction time, you're probably going to loose, no matter if the track is 1/8th or 1/4 mile.

Drag racing , as a tradition was always 1/4 mile....heads up racing.run what ya brung....agreed?...but then some sob said hey, lets drop it down to 1/8 mile ...put up some lights and see who is quicker off the line etc etc...and the times have changed, Sorta like hotrodding was back in the day,,,take different parts, engines, trans , rearends etc...build yourself a car...traditionally it was toss them big tall skinny wheels away, slap on some 15"...make em wide for the rear... ditch the exhaust manifolds ...slap on some homemade headers,,add a carb or 2...hell, even a supercharger..that's how it was for years....then over the years it got technical...things changed,,, some moon monkey designs an oversized stupid looking wheel with bandaid tires and puts them on his Honda,,,then they started slapping them on domestic cars,,,wtf!! that aint right!!!...then the days of when a car was built by trying different combinations...changed because some smart ass decides to computerise the car...ask a kid today about rebuilding a carb...some will look at you like you kicked them in the nuts... a Fuel injected, computerised car is better!!,,,depends who you are talking to...right? some like tradition... some like change..some race on whats available....to each his own......just sayin!

fastchevy wrote:

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Whether it be 1/8th or 1/4 mile, we have to go by the rules NHRA or IHRA puts out if we want to run in a certain class...

-- Edited by fastchevy on Friday 20th of September 2013 06:36:58 PM

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            what he said.

JohnnyBgood wrote:

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Was down south several years ago to look at a car that I wanted to buy. Guy had a Opal Cadet that he ran in the 1/8 mile. He said that once you run in the 10s you had to have a different roll bar and a chute if my memory serves me right. He didn't want to spend the money so he runs the 1/8 th mile since there is not enough track for him to reach the ETs for the other safety equipment.

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         Every racer knows the faster you go = more it costs. At 11.49 it starts.People are happy with 10's because at 9.99 the wallet comes out.(right foot connected to wallet) and then the Medical/Physical exam required for Competition licence (9.99 or faster) And regular chassis certs etc etc etc.

        

1/4 mile ..77.

Less than 3. something seconds...ask Glenn's wife...Ba Boom Ching!

 

 

-- Edited by 69SS454 on Saturday 21st of September 2013 10:35:07 AM

1/8 drag strips is just like going to the beer store to buy a 12 pack !! I mean, ya, it's still beer, but there's only 12 of them!

Grumpsbodyworks wrote:

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I have read your replies

But isnt that what its all about?

Less than 5% of drag racers will ever see below 10 secs

So why change? Isnt racing about who is the smartest and best?

Who can cut a light an whos car will last?

For the very top who run 4 second 1/4s. Have special tracks

For the majority. Keep it at a 1/4

If you ask 100 drag racers 99 % will tell you a drag track is a 1/4

Anything less is something else. Its not TRUE DRAG RACING

WHEN most of us were street racing back in the day. We would have got our asses kicked

If we said LET RACE AN 1/8. We would have been laffed at so hard we could never show our faces around the burger joint or DQ ever again

Gawd im old. And I HATE CHANGE!

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 Don't Top NHRA Pro catagories only run 1000' now?... Just say'n

hemi43 wrote:

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1/8 drag strips is just like going to the beer store to buy a 12 pack !! I mean, ya, it's still beer, but there's only 12 of them!

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 This is likely the most relate-able analogy and is quite accurate. A two-four always trumps a twelver, but twelve is still better than none - so if 1/8 mile is all we end up with in the end will we still race? ....or boycott the whole drag racing deal altogether? I'm thinking that those that want to race will race no matter which format is available. My $0.05.

Someone else posted it was more expensive to build a 1/4 than a 1/8 mile so the dollar plays a big factor. Not being a racer my question is ...if a person builds a car for the 1/8 mile would he build it different if he was running the 1/4 mile? Is it a factor of better parts and more cost for a longer track or is a car a car and distance dosen't matter so you build them the same? As a spectator it looks like the cars are pretty evenly matched up and most races are won or lost in the first hundred feet. Slower reaction time, spin the tires, blow the motor up or what ever it seem it happens in the first few seconds. Both distances are fun to watch from the bleachers but I think as a driver the longer distance would be way more fun. Love them both from the benches.

John, can you tell us when it was built, i have heard years ago, but can't remember again! Lol (where the Harvey family the only ones involved in the construction?)
The first time i ran there LONG ago, part of the pit was an old orchard.

Glad I was there last year to see it going for 50 yrs. It's always been my favourite track

sasquatch wrote:

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John, can you tell us when it was built, i have heard years ago, but can't remember again! Lol (where the Harvey family the only ones involved in the construction?)
The first time i ran there LONG ago, part of the pit was an old orchard.

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         Mid 1962.Harvey's and local contractors were involved. There are still a couple apple trees left from the orchard Ray.

        Will,the closure of the Airport strip to local racers and gear heads led to the building of Sparta Drag Strip. There was a car club and a Kennington fellow that  approached Mr Harvey with the idea. Judy Harvey Burgess one daughter wrote her thesis for University on Drag Racing in Ontario and the construction of the facility.I had the opportunity to read this,very detailed.

JohnnyBgood wrote:

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 Not being a racer my question is ...if a person builds a car for the 1/8 mile would he build it different if he was running the 1/4 mile?

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 Most guys build the car to run a full 1/4 mile but I have seen a few guys from the US that gear their car specifically for an 1/8th mile track. You normally gear the car so that it's reved right up in high gear as it crosses the finish line.

By the way, most drag cars that are geared for a full 1/4 mile are already in high gear before the 1/8th mile mark. Most of the acceleration happens in the first half of the track, a car that's doing 100mph at the 1/8th mile mark will only be doing about 122mph at the 1/4 mile mark. So, the difference in gearing for a car running the 1/8th or the 1/4 isn't as much as you might think.

A car geared for a full 1/4 mile will run just fine on an 1/8th mile track but a car geared specifically for the 1/8th mile is not very good on a full 1/4 mile track. I guess the guys geared for the 1/8th mile would have to just back off on the throttle a bit and hope the pistons don't come through the hood on the last half of the track.

 

 

Thax for the info Jim SS409.

now, if you could get the "bench racers" to understand the last few posts , all would be good

flatblack55delivery; sounds like you are the perfect candidate for the Armdrop Drags Sept. 28, 2013 at Picton airfield and not that far away.

wuga

I just noticed over in events that you will probably be there.  I knew you were the perfect candidate.

-- Edited by wuga on Sunday 22nd of September 2013 04:39:18 PM