Unsafe, to an extent
& that's part of the draw for the crowds
sort of like the old fuel altereds, it was all about the showmanship
noise & crowd-pleasing aspects, sell tickets
cars look like cars (far from real streetcars) but not swoopy racecars,
albeit some are that too
but;
they know what they're getting into/signed up for also
drag racing has gotten away from it's roots
(for safety & insurance reasons mostly)
IMO a cold track or an un-prepped/stripped of it's rubber track surface
(that's not followed up with traction compound, coke syrup spray/vht etc. aka, dragged & Prep)
is slicker than (most any street) especially tarmac/asphalt
or more so flat concrete road surfaces will ever be...
lots of power on wrinkle wall slicks, with no track prep
is like pulling a grenade pin & waiting, for the Kaboom
it's not if , it's when someone will hit the wall/s
or go on their roof or into the other's lane etc.
I believe the org. intent was supposed to be like
a simulation of street surfaces 'was' the org. premiss
it's gone way past that
I like the fact they are booking races,
helps keep the tracks open, brings in cash & concessions etc.
some of it is hype too
not all the tracks are totally stipped or completely no-prep,
some of it is a marketing gimmick, some of it isn't
It's all about getting asses in the seats
it's a hot ticket today
would I run a 3000+ hp car
especially with a small tire like a 29.5 10.5 (none W slick) slick
on that ****
nope, probably not, especially not at full power
(I know there are different classes too, just an example)
I know there's some truly impressive runs on them 275s too
or even the 9" tires
even in an 1/8 mile
many are on big tires 15"x33" & many are even bigger
IMO cold tracks are bad enough, take away prep or have a bald surface
the surface is slick as ****
& it will be carnage
&/or a smoke fest
the org. deal they had for no-prep, was held in parking lots etc.
they were disasters
just tire smoke shows
but had huge crowds
not my idea of drag racing but it drew crowds & cars
it was hot at the time too
I know my old real dedicated racecars Outlaw P/S 7.00s & 190+
(I did drive it on the streets a few times, for shits & giggles)
or T/S cars 6.69 @ 217
or Pro-gas 7.20s @ 188 cars (drove it on the street a few times)
(neither of which are not fast enough in either case, in today stds)
these cars are basically shorter wheelbase & tube chassis
nonqualifying Pro-mods, "almost' as far as power,
with out all the downforce
without the mid-hi 5 sec. 1/4 mile ets/240+ to 260 mph
(they all run 1/8th mile, from what I've seen)
most of them will run in the low to mid 6.0's if they ran a 1/4 mile
a few would/could be a lil' faster
that's pretty damn impressive
None of mine
would have never gotten down or it'd been really sketchy getting down
even with all the electronic we have today
none of them were 3000+hp
(more like 1300-1400hp NA & then whatever N20 2000 total or blower etc.)
most of them have traction control of some sort now too
hell 1/2 of the big dogs have, (low %) nitro & methanol in the mix too
I personally would like to see a no electronic aids or
no electronic (computer) aided tuning race,
before a no-prep surfaced race...
get the real tuners out there
I raced some seriously sketchy tracks in my day too
lots of match racing crap too, some were truly dangerous
Now my altereds would go down ice it seemed
& never had an issue
the suspended cars were too unpredictable on sketchy surfaces
especially with lil' to no downforce/aero
not worth wrecking it for $40k winner take all nonsense
or a piece of $40k, divided among 32 cars
I had almost that much 'just in the drivetrain'... 20+ years ago
my $0.02 cents