Change is a Comin’!

… and I don’t know if I’ll like it. Those who know me know I’m loyal, probably to a fault. I like the stability that comes when things DON’T change. Here’s a perfect example: pizza.

I ALWAYS get pizza from Marco’s. I just jump online, place my order and BOOM! Pizza’s here!

Then, the other night, my daughter wanted me to order pizza that is not from Marco’s. She wanted pizza from this place called Tommy’s. I hid the fact from her that I was freaking out inside but I couldn’t hold back my questions.

Do they deliver or do I have to pick it up? Can I order online? Do I have to pick up the phone and CALL? Is the pizza even any good? I have to set up yet another account, don’t I?

Brooke calmly said, “Quit freaking out and just order it!” That kid can see right through me!

I got online and found that the place is Tommy’s Pizza AND Chicken… and MORE, like appetizers, wings, soups, salads, subs, chicken, ribs and pasta! OH MY! They also list seafood, but I don’t think I’d try that delivered, and gluten free, which is just stupid!

Anyway, I believe that was the fastest I ever set up an online ordering account! I figured I’d start with just a pizza for now, then I saw the stromboli! Okay, pizza for the girls and stromboli for me! Thank God there wasn’t a “one of everything” button on the website. I wasn’t extremely happy with the 60 minute delivery window, but the stuff showed up in 35 minutes. It. Was. Delightful!

I’ve already forgotten about the other pizza joint I mentioned a few paragraphs ago!

Another big change is coming today. A couple weeks ago I talked about some of the challenges John Force Racing has faced over the last year and a half. Force is one tough son of a bitch and he’s not going down without a fight! Hell, he’s not going down.

Over the past several weeks he’s secured big sponsorship deals with Peak Antifreeze and Lucas Oil…

…to replace exiting sponsor Castrol Motor Oil. Forrest Lucas, founder and CEO of Lucas Oil Products, had this to say of the new partnership:

John Force is a guy I have admired for many, many years. In my opinion he made Castrol oil in this country. The fact that he became available was shocking to me. I see him partnering with us and it will be a huge economic boost for Lucas Oil around the world. It will be good for John Force Racing because it is more stability and I see this as a win-win situation. It will also be good for NHRA drag racing because it keeps John racing and we don’t have any intentions on leaving so it should be good for everybody.  Hopefully all the fans will keep coming back and using Lucas Oil.

There are not as many young people coming into NHRA as we would like to see but John has his beautiful daughters involved and they are doing a good job. He has given them good equipment and has good people working with them. Morgan grew up with the girls and they are all good friends. The fact that we are creating the second generation of drag racing leaders and we are not the only ones doing this but we have some of the top rising stars out there.

Today’s big change will be the announcement of who his vehicle manufacturer will be going forward.

John Force has had a partnership with Ford since 1997. Throughout those 17 years he’s delivered 10 of his 16 NHRA Funny Car titles to Ford Motor Company. Ford doesn’t care and will be gone after today.

There’s a lot of speculation about who he’s gonna partner up with. All the other nitro Funny Cars are sponsored by Toyota and Dodge. I just don’t see Force blending in with either of those manufacturers. I think he’s gonna go with Chevrolet. Maybe a “Camaro?”

I’m a Ford guy so I’m not excited about this change, but it’s not like Force had any choice, Ford forced his hand.

I’m sure I’ll be fine with whoever he partners up with. In the end, the manufacturer is merely wrapped on the car body. John Force Racing actually builds the cars from the ground up.

The 2014 NHRA season ends today with the Auto Club Finals from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California and the Funny Car Championship will be decided as 32 year old Matt Hagan leads 65 year old John Force by 22 points.

There are four rounds of racing in NHRA eliminations on Sunday. I struggle with the way eliminations are scored. Here’s how points are awarded:

Winner – 100

Runner-up – 80

Third round loser – 60

Second round loser – 40

First round loser – 20

Here’s how I see it. If Force and Hagan BOTH lose the first round, Hagan wins his second NHRA Funny Car Championship by 22 points.

If Force loses the first round and Hagan wins, Force is out of contention by at least 2 points.

If Hagan loses the first round and Force wins the first round, Hagan will be up 42 points as Force advances to the second round.

If Force loses in the second round he gains 40 points, but it won’t be enough as Hagan will have that 2 point advantage and win the Championship.

Basically, Force has to go two rounds deeper than Hagan to win his 17th Funny Car Title!

WHEW that was a lot… I prolly shouldn’t think out loud and type it in here because it’s confusing!

There is a potential controversy brewing here. In the first round John Force faces Bob Tasca. Bob’s not a teammate but a fellow Ford driver. If Force beats Tasca I’m certain people will be saying Tasca laid down so Force could advance.

We shall see!

C’MON JOHN WIN THIS SHIT!!!!

I Feel Bad for John Force… :(

The National Hot Rod Association is the governing body for drag racing. It was founded in 1951 by Wally Parks to “create order from chaos” and legitimize popular illegal racing…

…by taking it to a controlled, safer, environment with rules.

It’s a fascinating sport to watch! Oh yeah, it IS a sport! Without a doubt the best motorsport, in my opinion!

I’ve had people rip on me for watching it because it’s “just a couple cars going in a straight line.” Those same people can’t even properly operate a 200 HP street car. I’d love to see ’em try to wheel a 10,000 HP Dragster or Funny Car, especially when shit like THIS can happen:

Nope, not for me! I’ll leave it to the pros.

NHRA drag racing is a small, niche market sport. People love it or, as I mentioned above, people think it’s stupid! I’ve made no less than 20 people drag racing fans for life, however, over my 25 years being a fan! When I get them to a live event and they see their first Funny Car or Dragster race, they’re hooked!

I didn’t realize just how small the NHRA is, from a revenue standpoint, until I researched it today. The NHRA generates about $150 million in revenue a year. That sounds respectable until you compare it to the $10 BILLION a year NFL. Back in 2006, the NHRA was sold for $121 million. The shitty NFL Buffalo Bills just sold for $1.4 BILLION!

Alright, it’s not fair to compare drag racing to the NFL, so lets try a motorsports comparison. NASCAR brings in $3.1 BILLION a year!

Why is the NHRA such small beans? It’s not a lack of excitement, because drag racing is WAY better than NASCAR! It all boils down to TV money!

All stick and ball sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL), and even NASCAR, are able to sign very lucrative TV and cable provider deals.

Why can’t the NHRA do the same?

It simply comes down to the live experience and the nature of drag racing. A full weekend of racing involves 4 rounds of qualifying over two days to set the field for 4 rounds of elimination on Sunday. Each day of drag racing takes anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. That shit just can’t be televised live. Cars break on the track and there’s a shit ton of down time when that happens.

“NASCAR cautions, after a crash, only take a few minutes to clean up the track so why does drag racing cleanup take so long?”

That’s a great question! Most NASCAR tracks are a mile or longer. The racing surface, while somewhat important for tire wear, isn’t as important as individual car setup. Oil dry can be used to clean up any chemicals spilled on the track, so it’s a quick cleanup!

The NHRA track is a beast of it’s own! It’s coated with a compound called PJ1 TrackBite. Shit’s sticky as hell! It’s the only way drag racing teams can maintain traction with the amount of HP they’re working with, especially the nitro teams. 10,000 HP will go up in smoke without PJ1.

If there’s any kind of liquid on the track after a car crashes or blows up, the NHRA has to essentially re-prepare the track, otherwise there could be severely dangerous conditions. That cleanup can take about 15 minutes!

Basically, NHRA events are too damn long to televise. Nobody’s gonna watch racing when there are 15 minutes of track cleanup after a car pukes oil all the way down the track. I’ve been to several Sunday elimination days and those days take about 6 hours to complete. The NHRA takes all the footage, cuts out the downtime and puts together a presentable 2-3 hour show which doesn’t air until 9:00 or later on Sunday.

Because of those issues, the NHRA can’t get those lucrative TV contracts that most other sports can.

Having said all that, NHRA teams have to rely heavily on corporate sponsorship to keep their very expensive teams afloat because they don’t have TV money to share. Last year I was all pissed off because two of John Force Racing’s sponsors, Ford and Castrol Oil, are pulling their money out of top level drag racing.

I can’t understand why sponsors are leaving John Force Racing. Of the last 23 years, John Force has won 16 Championships of his own and 2 others as a team owner! Anybody know of any team in any sport that has dominated 78% of a quarter century?

John is working hard to secure sponsors for upcoming seasons. I fear one of those sponsors will be freakin’ Toyota

This past week, however, shit took a turn for the worse for Team Force. Long time teammate and current tuner & crew chief of Force’s Castrol Mustang, Jimmy Prock, got fired.

Actually, that fucking whore Prock was making calls to other teams looking for a job after 16 years of gainful employment with John Force Racing. Force got a call from another owner as a heads up, confronted Prock about it and Prock said he was quitting after this season. Force let him go immediately.

John Force is 36 points away from his 17th championship with only two races to go. He had the following to say about moving forward without Jimmy Prock and I totally agree:

I am going after this championship and I am going after it with the people that will stay with me for the long haul. That is what I owe my sponsors and fans.  As much as I want No. 17, not even for a championship will I race with somebody that I know is leaving me.

This final quote by Force is what made me sad. He is, hands down, the best driver to ever wheel a car in the NHRA. He has helped to BUILD the NHRA over three decades. I go to races and the majority of the fans are clustered around the Force cars in the area known as Nitro Alley, where the teams tune their cars between rounds.

I am a big boy and I’m going to put this team back together. I am going to fight, win or lose. If we get No. 17, great, but if we don’t I know I will have gone down with people that believe in me, that trust in me and that will stand by me, not just in good times but in bad times. I am not just racing for this championship; I am racing for the next 10 years.

John Force shouldn’t be putting anything back together, because he’s the best ever.

The 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series has their First Eliminations Today!

Hellz yeah! I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the sports world. The last few days I’ve seen NHRA updates on Facebook and Twitter but thought there was just some testing going on.

Nope! They’re RACING this weekend in Pomona, California for the Circle K NHRA Winternationals! I just saw that all three John Force Racing Funny Cars are in. That’s John Force, Robert Hight and the lovely Courtney Force; qualified 1,2 and 7 respectively.

John broke national records for Elapsed Time (3.966 seconds) and Speed (324.12 MPH)! WOW! That is 5 MPH faster than 2nd place Robert. What a great way to begin his title defense!

Oh yeah… and John’s other daughter Brittany qualified 8th in Top Fuel Dragster!

Speaking of John Force Racing… as I mentioned in August, Ford and Castrol, long time sponsors, are both leaving the team after this season. He’s now forced to find about $10 million a year to keep the team going. They announced the other day that Peak Antifreeze and BlueDEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid have joined the team as associate sponsors. The press release didn’t mention the dollar amount, but being an associate sponsor doesn’t pay that much!

L to R: Robert Hight, Brittany, Courtney, John and some dude from Peak Antifreeze

John Force had this to say:

We are excited to add PEAK and BlueDEF to the John Force Racing team. We pride ourselves on treating all of our sponsors like family for more than three decades. Bringing PEAK and BlueDEF into the family will make us stronger in 2014 and for many years to come. We have had a lot of conversations about the future and I know this will be a great deal for everyone.

With Ford leaving though, the John Force Funny Cars will not return next year as “Mustangs.”

This saddens me greatly because I’m a Ford guy…. and if he jumps in bed with Toyota I may not follow the team any more. I realize it’s just a different wrap on the car, but still, Toyota? Nope!

Anyway, keep your eyes on Courtney this year as a potential Champ… did I ever mention that we met her a couple years ago?

I so wanted to get a picture with her, but the kids come first!

Courtney won this Pomona race last year…

… and went on to win another at New England. She really developed some consistency in the second half of the season, going to the semifinals 4 times and runner up once in the final 11 races!

It kinda sucks, though… they’re racing right now at Pomona (Started at 11:00 PST), but the coverage is on a six hour tape delay, so I gotta avoid Twitter and Facebook because of potential spoilers ’til 8:00 when ESPN2 airs it!

In the meantime, here are some drag racing fun facts:

One Top Fuel Dragster’s 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of NASCAR race cars at Daytona. That’s 8 cars!

Fun Hemi fact: Ford was running engines with hemispherical combustion chambers long before Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth ever did. Chrysler just marketed it first!

These cars don’t run on gasoline, but 90% nitromethane…

… and 10% methanol. If you’re within 50 feet of one of these cars while they’re running, the fumes burn your nose, mouth and eyes like you wouldn’t believe… It’s freakin’ awesome!

Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1 1/2 gallons of nitromethane per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully loaded 747 but with 4 times the energy volume.

The supercharger takes more power to drive than a stock Hemi makes.

Even with nearly 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into nearly-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock.

Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.

At stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the flame front of nitromethane measures 7050 degrees F.

Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After half track, the engine is dieseling from compression-plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting off its fuel flow.

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in those cylinders and then explodes with a force that can blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or blow the block in half.

Dragsters twist the crank (torsionally) so far (20 degrees in the big end of the track) that sometimes cam lobes are ground offset from front to rear to re-phase the valve timing somewhere closer to synchronization with the pistons.

A Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with a force of 5 Gs, the same force of the space shuttle when it leaves the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.

If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs $1000.00 per second.

A Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than .8-second, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed…

A Funny Car is slowed by a reverse force more than 7 Gs when both parachutes deploy simultaneously.

Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars use between 10 and 12 gallons of fuel for a complete pass, including the burnout, backup to the starting line, and thousand foot run.

NHRA Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet.

From a standing start, Top Fuel dragsters accelerate faster than a jumbo jet, a fighter jet, and a Formula One race car.

A fuel pump for a Top Fuel dragster or Funny Car delivers 65 gallons of fuel per minute, equivalent to eight bathroom showers running at the same time.

The fuel-line pressure for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars is between 400 and 500 pounds, about 20 times greater than the pressure on passenger-car fuel pumps.

Depending on size and angle, the large rear wing on a Top Fuel dragster develops between 4,000 and 8,000 pounds of downforce.

The 17-inch rear tires used on Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars wear out after four to six runs, or about two miles. Some brands of passenger-car tires are guaranteed for 80,000 miles.

It takes just 15/100ths of a second for all 7,000 horsepower of a Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels.

It’s desirable for a Top Fuel dragster to race with its front wheels inches off the ground for about the first 200 feet of the run. This ensures proper weight transfer to the rear wheels, a crucial part of a good launch and quick run.

The nitromethane used to power the engines of Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $30 per gallon.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday folks!

More John Force Racing News….

Here are some snippets from THIS article. It’s more horrible racing news to go with what I mentioned a few weeks ago about John Force Racing.

JFR is losing about $8 million in sponsorship money from Ford when they pull out of the nitro cars after next season; they’ve been a sponsor for 16 years. That’s 40% of JFR’s annual budget. Castrol motor oil is also leaving him. They’ve been a sponsor for 29 years!

He may switch from a funny car to a dragster, which I can tolerate. The problem, for me as a Ford fan, is Team Force won’t be driving “Mustangs” come 2015. Chevrolet, Toyota, and Dodge are still in the sport, so if he remains in a funny car, he’ll be in one of those, as well as his daughter, Courtney and son-in-law, Robert Hight. My guess is it’ll be Toyota. Yuck!

Will I now have to break up with Team Force? I dunno just yet. Right now I feel like I’ll stick around, but you’ll never hear me cheer for Toyota… just the money they’ll pump into the team!

Now John Force isn’t gonna just sit back and wait for what happens next.

He’s gonna be proactive and do a few things here… One is start another reality show since his last one, Driving Force, did pretty well.

This quote made me feel sorta sad, though…

I’m on the market again. For the first time since I got into this sport, I’m a free agent. Let’s see if my name can keep my businesses alive.

…so he hired a couple marketing firms that will begin the search for sponsors to replace Ford & Castrol.

I’m certain John Force Racing will be just fine… I just don’t believe a team that has won 17 of the last 21 funny car championships couldn’t be. Hell, all three JFR funny cars are in the NHRA “playoffs” this year, so they have a nice shot at #18!

If all else fails, Courtney could do more nude photo shoots…