When is a 1/4 Mile Drag Strip Not a 1/4 Mile - when It's a 1000 Feet

Why are there so many feet missing in drag racing? When it comes to racing and numbers, I can get fixed in my line of thinking. I've loved numbers for a long time and numerology is fascinating if sometimes beyond my pay grade. As far as racing, sometimes I can be a downright bigot - although not necessarily in a bad way (my opinion).

I understand all about the advances in technology and I'm all for it, for the most part. Where I don't always agree is when these advances infringe on what I'd called purism. I'm also a purist as far as racing is concerned and when it comes to drag racing, well, obviously from my love of Nostalgia drag racing, I'm enamored with the sports beginnings. Which is where those missing feet come into play ... I want them back.

Luckily for me, Nostalgia drag racing and in particular my true love, Top Fuel Nostalgia drag racing, run a front engine, blown, 100% Nitro behemoth that spews a lovely sound, smell and when you can clear your eyes, a sight to behold. And besides running a dragster that is somewhat like (though technology-wise much advanced) what they smoked the strip a half a century ago - the races are run at a quarter mile. Yes, 3840 inches (320 ft.) further than the current crop run now in the NHRA Pro ranks.

I have a tough time getting excited when talking about races and circuits who run 1000 feet (let alone 1/8 mile, which is another story) - same thing happens when I watch indoor football. My other love in sports is football but when you shrink the field in half to fit it into a smaller stadium, well its not football to me. And how about this? Why should they run around Charlotte's mile and a half circle track when they can just run the tiny 1/4 mile track inside it. Yea, it doesn't work for you and it doesn't work for me either.

So, what's the answer to the conundrum that is NHRA Pro Nitro racing? Why not extend to 1/4 mile where it's possible and leave it at a 1000 ft where no additional extensions (runoff area) can be made? Perhaps: We need to keep the history of the sport. While not every track will be 1/4 mile we can bring it back where possible - drag racing the way it used to be.

Now, I'll be on my way to the next Nostalgia meet where real men (& women) drive front engine dragsters ... at 1320 feet.