Too many drivers in FD? Only keep the top 16

[YOitzJDM]

get off your high horse and realize that YOU ARENT IN A POSITION TO JUDGE THESE DRIVERS IF YOU ARE NOT AN FD LICENSE HOLDER ANYWAYS. you have no idea the level of effort people put in, or how much extra practice they can afford, or testing sessions....

I'm a paying customer. I know what I want to see. I want to see the best of the best, and I'm willing to pay good money for it. When I go watch a Supercross race, I don't pay to see the guys who barely qualify out of the heat race or LCQ, I pay to see the top 5 or 6 guys battle it out and I actually scream for everyone else to get the F out of their way. I hate seeing my favorite SuperX guy get taken out by a guy who will be lucky enough to be on the lead lap at the end of the main event. This is the same reason. Less of the boring lopsided tandem rounds, more of the highly competitive rounds.

using your logic...soon you'll tell me that anyone who isnt an assistant manager up to the CEO of a company needs to be cut... i mean -IF YOU CANT GET A PROMOTION THEN QUIT, TRY SOMETHING NEW.... amiright?

besides, more teams makes the series much more legitimate. a 1/2 empty pit area makes it much less appealing to fans, and sponsors of the series.

I agree that if you can't get a promotion, you should try something new. I have worked hard to move up in my career, and if a company won't give me an opportunity to move up any more, I'll jump ship. I've done it before and I'll do it again. It happens all the time in corporate america.

I've never set foot in the pits of the lower half. At FD Atlanta, once you get past that main strip of rigs, I just turn around and walk the other way. If all those guys went away and the 'dodge ride and drive' was closer to the other rigs, I'd actually be happier. Same with FD Vegas and some of the other tracks. Once you get to the lower guys in the series, most fans turn around and walk away. Some of my good friends have competed in FD for a few rounds, and they would complain about how nobody ever actually came to their pit because they were 'stuck in the back'. So in reality, you aren't cutting that much if people aren't even visiting those areas anyways.

really sick of the disrespect being shown to guys POURING their efforts into a team/car/career to have people say they should go home. they earned an FD license, let them compete. same goes for the teams that are on top, you don't take the kid with an A+ to a B to make the kids with C- feel better... suck it up and study. (funny part is the drivers of FD aren't the ones complaining, its the spectators.)- i guess its the "parents" of the C- student who wants Mr.NerdyPant's kid's grade lowered to a B?

So everyone should get a 'thanks for participating' medal? I'm glad you earned an FD license for being the best amateur in your area, but there's a big step between being able to link a track and beat your local competition, and being competitive and entertaining on the FD Level. Odi did XDC for a year before coming to FD. Matt Waldin and Pat Cyr both have been kicking butt in DMCC, but can't win more than 1 tandem battle in an FD event. Does that mean they should get passing grades because they were 'good enough' to get that far? Being the best amateur is far different from being competitive at the top level.

REAL ISSUES:
FD TV program skipping 80% of the event and showing just top 8.... how do we expect less funded teams to get support if we don't get them ANY air time?

Start-and-Parkers in NASCAR don't get any TV coverage. because they don't deserve it.

[YOitzJDM]

I forgot to mention, Joon Maeng SHOULDN'T be in this idea of cutting drivers. He's so skilled and I really like him. lol

I like him too. But he still doesn't win races. The only person who I'm willing to keep around if they aren't winning is someone who's easy on the eyes (IE: Danica, Kournikova, etc)... and let's face it, I don't want to see Joon in a bikini.

[Dafne]

it's kind of radical for me to imagine this, I guess. so many fans would be disappointed if this ever happened, so many drivers who gave their hearts to it and are able to be qualified for the 32 would just see their dreams vanish?
ok, FD is not perfect, every set or rules has its advantages and disadvantages. but man, I'm in Brazil and I love to spend hours watching it online and I don't complain at all about 32 drivers or about how long it takes to finish one round. you know why? cause lots of fans, like me, aren't able to travel to the US or other places to watch competitions and we just enjoy every minute available for us to see, and I don't mind if there are some spins or walls, because after any round, the feeling is: great battles, even with ups and downs I had the opportunity to see people who love drif and fight for showing what they can do.
I just wonder if FD would have gotten the success it has today if there was only a small number of drivers, less cars to battle, less variety behind the tracks. what do you say? =) I'm asking because I really dont know and I dont have the knowledge to answer.

[Bebop]

You cant reason with the unreasonable.

Folks have been using the "time" excuse since 2004.

Lets all sit back and watch the paint dry for another 8 years.

[YOitzJDM]

it's kind of radical for me to imagine this, I guess. so many fans would be disappointed if this ever happened, so many drivers who gave their hearts to it and are able to be qualified for the 32 would just see their dreams vanish?
ok, FD is not perfect, every set or rules has its advantages and disadvantages. but man, I'm in Brazil and I love to spend hours watching it online and I don't complain at all about 32 drivers or about how long it takes to finish one round. you know why? cause lots of fans, like me, aren't able to travel to the US or other places to watch competitions and we just enjoy every minute available for us to see, and I don't mind if there are some spins or walls, because after any round, the feeling is: great battles, even with ups and downs I had the opportunity to see people who love drif and fight for showing what they can do.
I just wonder if FD would have gotten the success it has today if there was only a small number of drivers, less cars to battle, less variety behind the tracks. what do you say? =) I'm asking because I really dont know and I dont have the knowledge to answer.

In 2008 or 2009, any of the top 30 or so drivers could win any round. You saw more drivers on the podium in 2008 and 2009 than in any other 2 year span.

In 2010, JR podiumed at 6 of 7 events. In 2011, there was more diversity on the podium but the top 10 or so drivers walked away from the rest of the field. If you had simply made top 16 every round, you would have ranked 10th in the final championship points. In some cases, it was top drivers screwing up against slower drivers in top 32 that took them out early. In others, they faced off against other top 10 drivers in the first round. I think there was an ASD vs ASD battle in top 32 at 3 or 4 of the 7 rounds this year. Those are the great battles i want to see every round, not Jeff Jones vs JR where the only chance Jeff Jones has is if JR spins or breaks something.

Let's not live in the past. Back in 07 / 08 / 09, having 40 drivers at every event was exciting. Now that it's 2012, there's less than 16 drivers who have a realistic chance at winning, and 20 to 25 other drivers who are just burning up sponsor money to barely make top 32.

[boxmod]

every comparison with supercross and nascar are VERY limited to engine/power/chassis and come down to driver, not like some nascar guys get tires and others are running scrubs or lower compound... its already very strict due to DECADES of running. And there tv coverage actualy shows the whole pack at times and they dont have head to head battles. DRAG RACING shows all the rounds last time i watched, and showed qualifying, but they too are very strict/ well established racing leagues.

you cant seriously say that new guys in their 2-3rd season should have not trouble vs 7 year+vets are you?

full spread in pits is more appealing, its not the new guys faults they dont have models, giveaways, 150,000$ cars for you toget all star struck by. none of those guys showed up and got a semi truck deal, they had to earn it like these new guys are working on.

as far as the old series podium differences, some of that is due to people not working out with a team/ or getting budget. another reason is that some teams now have a much better understanding of car setup, due to more testing and work... its a larger gap and more evident now.

if you think its so boring, help drivers get a sposonor/be an agent to those who need it? or move to japan and not be so tortured.

the rules FD has in place to earn and maintain a license are fair and there is nothing stopping better drivers from showing up, but dont penalize the guys who did what they were asked to, to drive FD. im not disagreeing that id rather see close tandem 100% of the time - i'm just realistic that it will take time, id say a FAIR estimate is another 5 years maybe till we see enough teams with real support, real knowledge leveled out, and then you will get closer tandems more of the time

[5150 Cruiser]

You cant reason with the unreasonable.

Folks have been using the "time" excuse since 2004.

Lets all sit back and watch the paint dry for another 8 years.

It's not about being unreasonable, its about facing reality. I said it in the tire limit thread and boxmod touched on it realy well..
Experiance, experiance, experiance. nothing, and i mean absolutely nothing is going to make up for it. Like i said, name one motorsport where every race/run is completely toe to toe, neck to neck?

The reason things were as exciting as it was back in 04', 05, 06, was because everyone started at the same level. Forsberg, JR., Gushi, Millen, Hubinette, etc were all new to drifting. While many used different chassis, all there cars were built simular. There were no "pros" so to speak at that time. everyone was pretty much at the same level. This made for good drifting.

Jump forward several years and these "entry level" drifters that showed up in pick-ups with tire machines bolted to the beds towing flat bed trailers, now are the pro's most of us know and love with 2 level semi trailers transporting there machines between each race. They started somewhere just like the privateers are now. They shouldn't be penalized for working hard to get were there at today.

Privateers of today are future pro's if they continue to work hard like the Og's did. Kicking them out will kill this sport faster than it can grow. Now let me make on thing clear...
I don't believe they deserve any kind of "leg up". They need to work there way to the top just like everyone else. But i do believe they should be given that chance to prove themselfs. NO leg ups, just an aportunity like everyone else. If they have what it takes, they'll qualifiy and make it through. If not, then its time to keep practicing.

the rules FD has in place to earn and maintain a license are fair and there is nothing stopping better drivers from showing up, but dont penalize the guys who did what they were asked to, to drive FD. im not disagreeing that id rather see close tandem 100% of the time - i'm just realistic that it will take time, id say a FAIR estimate is another 5 years maybe till we see enough teams with real support, real knowledge leveled out, and then you will get closer tandems more of the time

This is preety much it in a nut shell. You can't force less experianced drivers/teams to do better. They have to learn the sport, drive, build as they compete. And that just takes time.

[wesismyhero]

So what happens if one of the top 16 drivers starts to suck? What would happen if he DNQ at every round? I know that is unlikely, but it could still happen. Do we kick them out and then only have top 15? What if someone retires? How would we pick a replacement? NASCAR is doing something similar to this with the Chase for the cup. Only the top drivers get a shot at the title, if a person outside the top few drivers won every race of the Chase, they still have no chance of winning the title. That would suck if you were one place out of making the cut.

[boxmod]

pretty sure Chase for the Cup is a math matically prrepared list (like who has enough to win the season) and not a pre selected list... i just looked up and after a certain point the top 12 are shuttled into "the chase"... and then a new points system is used for final rounds. any team can make the list based on season performance that particular year.
http://www.nascar.com/news/features/...mat/index.html

this wont be feesable with only 7 rounds in FD.

seeded drivers usually means that they dont run first round qualy and get in t32. then t32 requalys on day 2 to get a t16 to then tandem. its not something where you just shove people in slots to make a t16 ladder. i dont think the majority of fans want to see 2 qual sessions over a t32 tree