When Performance Trumps Performing
Craig Miller was a star among the ORSCA Outlaw 10.5 ranks of the mid-2000s with his nitrous-boosted Camaro, but the class eventually waned in popularity as moments like this Atlanta Dragway wheelstand became a thing of the past.
I’m not so sure most of today’s fans, and certainly not casual observers, harbor the same reverence for (or at a minimum, recognition of) the talents of a Spencer Massey or a Jack Beckman or an Erica Enders, and all because it looks too easy. It looks like they, the fans, could do the same if only given the opportunity.
They couldn’t, of course, but the watered-down show that comes at the expense of record-setting runs makes it seem that way from the stands.
And it’s not limited only to drag racing’s highest levels. The search for the perfect pass in my opinion was a major factor in the fall from grace that Outlaw 10.5 suffered just a few years ago and that’s well on its way to doing the same for the ADRL’s Extreme 10.5 class.
When Outlaw 10.5 came to national prominence in the early- to mid-2000s it did so with wild drivers in wild cars doing wild things on a regular basis. Perhaps not so surprisingly the nicknames were out in force, too, as the Hitman, Outlaw, Bad Brad and Ax Man piloted supercharged and nitrous-breathing beasts to sky-clawing passes on a pretty routine basis.
But then came the realization that those crowd-pleasing wheelies weren’t the quickest way down the track. And after that came the ability to better control and then practically eliminate them. And soon after came the waning interest of fans and media as they turned attention to the yet untamed Limited Street class that eventually repeated the cycle and handed the mantle to EZ Street and so on and so on.
When drag racing becomes boring, regardless of the performance involved, it becomes expendable to all but the most zealous of fans. On the other hand, provide a show full of wheelstands, wild runs and Wow!-inducing moments and maybe, just maybe, it can regain its stature as the most exciting and unpredictable of motorsports.
ok I'll be the first tel l Ian to call the show 803426-8022 he is a fooooooooool!
Doug Allan