Little engines that can

[John Brown]

Current NHRA racing is run on a qualifying set-up in an eliminator bracket. Whoever runs the farthest under the unrealistic standard that is set for each class is the number one qualifier. If by chance, by accident or on purpose, a car and driver was to set a record at the level that they can really run, they would have to qualify against that new record. It's too easy to just leave the records alone and qualify 1 or 1.5 or 2 seconds under the minimum. You can then pick your own dial in and use that number for the rest of the event. Can you say " big bracket race?".