In the wake of Scott Kalitta’s recent death in a racing accident, the NHRA took an interim step, reducing the length of Top Fuel and Funny Car races to 1,000 feet. The change kicked in Friday night at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
“We’ve got to stop the bleeding,” Force said. “I don’t want to see no more of this. Something had to be done. I’ve become a big fan of NHRA over this - for making a decision that quick. They made a decision and didn’t play around with all that stuff we do politically.”
It’s the first time the NHRA has conducted racing at any distance other than a quarter-mile at a national event since the first one was held in 1955.
NHRA national event announcer Bob Frey thought the switch to the 1,000-foot track went well - except for a couple of oil downs on the strip, briefly pausing the action.
“Certainly different,” said Frey, who’s been calling quarter-mile races since 1966. “I thought it was cool thought it was cool.”
“It’s a huge thing in slowing down, especially on short racetracks—in Denver more than some others because the air is so thin,” said Gary Scelzi, who has won championships in both nitro classes. “When everything is right, we can stop on a dime. When everything is wrong, we need every inch we can get.”
All other classes will continue to run the full quarter-mile. But the nitro cars, which reach speeds approaching 330 mph, need more runoff room. And most engine explosions such as the one that precipitated Kalitta’s crash occur near the finish line.
“We all get in these cars and risk our butts for entertainment. We all have kids at home,” Tony Schumacher said. “I don’t want to walk out there want to walk out there and know there’s a one-in-30 chance I’m not coming home. That’s not right.”
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