IN ONE EAR

Larry Carrier, IHRA's outspoken president dropped a bombshell on the drag racing community when in early December he issued the following statement:

"After extensive study, I have made the decision to drop Pro Dragster (Top Fuel) for all 1984 IHRA national events." Carrier then proceeded to list his reasons for doing so.

"To start with, there only a few nationally competitive cars in the Pro Dragster division. The cars have been very unsuccessful getting sponsors. The popularity of the Funny Car as a fuel burner far exceeds that of the dragster. I feel the duplicated purse of the Funny Car for the dragster is unfair to the Funny Car. We all know that the Funny Car breakage is more than the dragster, but we also know that their popularity is far greater than that of the dragster.

"I know there are no more dragsters being built and I can foresee by the money we've put into the Funny Car division that more Funny Cars will be built. I feel that since 1970, when IHRA was formed, we have been the sanctioning body that has made the strides in the sport. While some will criticize this decision, the true facts will weigh heavily in favor of it.

"All Funny Car fields in 1984 will be 16-car fields with a minimum of $12,000 winner money. They will range from $12,000 to $30,000. Where the purses won't be a complete double of what some Funny Car drivers might think, they will be the best purses ever offered in the Funny Car division. At the end of the season the Funny Car World Champion will take home $75,000.

"In making my decision, probably the most popular question asked me was, 'What would you do if the Funny Cars strike?' My reply was always the same: 'They never have, and it would be hard to think that they would strike the only guy who has ever listened to their story and done something about it, I have no fear of anyone ever striking on me, but if they did, I'd shut her down and go to the house."

If there was ever any doubt that this millionaire Tennessee horseman was bluffing, don't forget it was Larry Carrier who also killed the blown alcohol classes several years ago when their lack of support threatened IHRA's other eliminators. But that was Pro Comp and this is Top Fuel, and Carrier's announcement is certain to alter the course of professional drag racing as we know it.

Is there any substance to Carrier's allegations that Top Fuel is a dying breed? Let's examine his motives. Firstly, he claims there are only a handful of dragsters that are competitive on a national level. Outside of the half-dozen or so touring pros, he's right. If Beck's 5.50's don't get you, Amato's 5.60's will.

Next, it is also true that with the exception of a few well-heeled "sportsmen," fuel dragsters are not the rolling billboards some would like them to be. Why not? Because they are physically smaller (at least those areas available for sign space) and they spend less time in front of the crowd than their full-bodied nitro counterparts. (Don't forget, funny cars do long, smokey burnouts and are forever jacking around on the starting line. All of which adds up to more exposure for the car's sponsor.)

And we'll also concede the fact that funny cars are indeed more popular than dragsters -- to the majority of race fans, at least. Perhaps it's because the flops have greater mass appeal, whereas to appreciate the diggers requires an above average knowledge of drag racing in general, and mechanical relationships in particular. As for the flops, they're big, colorful, loud, and quite thrilling visually. It's difficult for the first time drag racing specator to miss 'em. (My own experience with taking newcomers to the races has been that they always come away babbling about how "exciting" the "funny cars" were.)

If there's one bone of contention in Carrier's message it's the one about "no more dragsters being built." That's simply not true. There are at least six chassis shops throughout the country who have welded up a Top Fuel dragster in the past 18 months. And Al Swindahl's Chassis Components alone is responsible for eight of the top ten NHRA T/F finishers in 1983. None of those cars is older than two seasons. How many funny car teams have new cars every year? I'll bet only the top four or five.

What Carrier said about the "best purses ever...." again is true, especially now that Pro Dragster's kitty has been dissolved. Figuring the FC world champion will win a few races during the course of 1984, including a $30,000 biggie at an event like Bristol, that plus the $75,000 bonus could add up to a nice piece of change.

This renewed financial interest should preempt any moves to boycott IHRA races by the funny car drivers. If they did strike, they'd be sealing their own fate as far as Larry Carrier is concerned because true to his word, he'd shine the whole thing on and go back to breeding quarter horses.

Without a doubt, this entire situation is causing a lot of racers to rethink their roles. Several "marginal" Top Fuel racers will simply quit, while others will jump on the bandwagon and switch to funny cars. But there's one more important factor that needs to be considered here. If IHRA has turned its back on Top Fuel dragsters, will other sanctioning bodies be far behind? Take AHRA for example. In 1983 its two top attractions were Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney -- both in Top Fuel cars. Shirley has already made the decision not to run AHRA in '84. If Garlits chooses to stick around his new drag racing museum instead of fielding a car, what "big names" will AHRA have to pump up its attendance?

This scenario would put the burden on NHRA to maintain a place for the remaining Top Fuel cars to compete. And well it should. Never has interest in the breed been so high, thanks to the great numbers turned in by Beck and a host of others in 1983.

It is fact that the "beer cars" have emerged as quite an influence on policy making at the various sanctioning bodies. Maybe it's time to break out one category and promote it to the hilt much as NASCAR has done with the Grand National Stock car. Maybe not. Only time will reveal the true wisdom of Larry Carrier's decision to drop Top Fuel.

written by Steve Collison from Super Stock & Drag Illustrated page 7 & 75-76 - March, 1984 © Lopez Publications Inc. 1984