Rule changes add excitement

Wednesday, April 5, 2000 | 10:38 a.m.

Fans of drag racing who have yet to see an NHRA national event in person this season will be in for a pleasant surprise at this weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

At least that's the opinion of five-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein.

The National Hot Rod Association implemented rules changes for this season which are designed to make the races more enjoyable for the fans -- with less down time between rounds and closer competition -- and Bernstein applauded the sport's governing body for its action.

The three major changes involved a new spec nitromethane/methanol fuel that consists of no more than 90 percent nitromethane and two fan-friendly ones -- reducing the minimum time between elimination rounds from 90 minutes to 75 minutes and deducting championship points and assessing fines for teams that oil down the track.

"The new rules are great," said Bernstein, who in 1992 became the first driver to surpass the 300-mph barrier. "I think the NHRA and the owners and drivers who participated in making these rule changes, I think we got lucky as can be and hit the nail right on the head the first time.

"Our races are now over in four hours and 40 minutes on Sundays (as opposed to seven or eight hours). The down time for the fans is limited to hardly none and the parts and pieces for us, as owners and drivers who have to pay the bills, is doing a little bit better. It has all been a plus at this time."

Although there was some initial concern about both the 75-minute and the 90-percent rule, Bernstein said there has been no grumbling from the Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers with whom he has talked.

Although Bernstein said he initially balked at the penalties for oil downs, he now concedes that even that rule has been positive. Teams that oil down a track during qualifying are penalized $500; during elimination rounds, teams are fined $1,000 and lose 10 championship points.

"The 75-minute rule, none of us have had a problem making that time zone, which has speeded the process up," Bernstein said. "I still don't know if I like the one part about the points being taken away (for oil downs), but I'm living with that OK right now -- until I get an oil down and they take away 10 points.

"But, in all honesty, that's a pretty good deterrent and I have to give credit to NHRA about that one ... because I see their point. The main thing was to keep oil downs to a minimum so that the fans could enjoy the races instead of sitting there for eight or 10 hours watching races ... and it has worked."

Bernstein, who is in his 23rd season driving the world's fastest race cars, said he likes the direction the sport is taking by making the races more competitive and fan-friendly, and expanding into new markets such as Las Vegas.

"It's just awesome today with what they've done, even with the rule changes this year, they're still unbelievably powerful race cars," Bernstein said.