IHRA: Setting the 2016 record straight

There were multiple record-setting runs in the IHRA's 2016 season in a variety of classes, but perhaps not quite as many as you'd think – with about 100 records listed by the IHRA, there are a variety of reasons why some seem destined to last a very long time.

Such as? Well, maybe the specifications of the class have changed, resulting in a slower car for the more recent seasons. Perhaps a record pass was made during what amounts to a "perfect storm" situation – a newly paved track, exceptional atmospheric conditions, a nice tailwind and an engine and chassis setup that happened to be just perfect that weekend. Maybe tire rules have changed in a particular class, making it harder to get 100 percent of the power to the ground on the current specifications.

The oldest records on the IHRA books are in the "Exhibition" class, for jet-powered vehicles, and in one case, a "rocket car." That record in particular is likely to stick around: Set in October of 1981 at Bristol, Larry Flickinger's rocket car record is an ET of 4.22 seconds, with a speed of 344mph.

Yeah, we would have liked to have seen that one, too.

The oldest record of all was set in August 1997 – Billy Mattio's jet dragster run of 318.92mph at Norwalk.
Fast-forward to this year, and here are the latest entries into the record book:

• Rickie Smith's Pro Modified elapsed time of 5.831 seconds at the last Pro event of the year, the Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park at Martin, Michigan in August.
• Billy Glidden, at the same event, same class, set a speed record of 250.98mph en route to the event championship.
• Bob Malloy, running at his home track, Maryland International Raceway, set a Nitro Motorcycle ET record of 6.204 in June, putting the class on notice that for the rest of the season, he would be a contender at every event.
• Jason Rupert (), in the last of the four Pro records set in 2016, rode a Nitro Funny Car ET record of 5.522 seconds, and a speed of 262.64mph to the event win at US 131 Motorsports Park, and another season championship for the California team.
• Jim Wahl, in I/SA Stock, set an ET record of 11.353 at a speed of 115.68mph in his Plymouth Volare at Orlando Speed World in April. Wahl already held the H/SA record set in 2011 at Palm Beach.
• Peter Noriega, in the same event at Orlando, drove his L/SA Chevrolet Malibu to an ET of 12.206 at 107.49mph. Like Wahl, Noriega also holds another record, this one in M/SA set in 2011 at Palm Beach.
• Larry Coppock, in eighth-mile Super Stock, ran a 5.906 at 116.77mph in his SS/PCA-1 Chevrolet Camaro in June at Piedmont.
• Jonathon McCandess, in eighth-mile Stock, turned in a 7.236 at 93.47mph in his K/SA Dodge at Piedmont last June.
• And Tony Valerio, in eighth-mile Stock, ran a 10.958 at 119.50mph at Grand Bend in Canada in his H/CM Chevrolet Camaro in June.

For everybody else – there's always next year!