Slow Stockers...Strong Divisional Finishes
 

What a great year for the slower stockers! This list is cars that spent at least a portion of the season dialed 12.00 or slower. 4 of these cars are 15.00 or slower...which I think is pretty neat personally. In this day and age of faster cars being more prominent it is always good to see some of the slower cars being competitive still.

Congratulations to the following, and I apologize in advance if I missed any top 10 finishers that meet the criteria I listed...

- Jody Lang National Champ and D6 Champ (L/SA)
- Darrick Ellam Division 6 number 3 (W/SA)
- Brent Kopetjka Division 5 number 3 (EF/S)
- Ellis A. Buth Division 3 number 4 (W/S)
- Chip Johnson Division 2 number 6 (P/SA)
- Gary Hampton Division 7 number 8 (DF/S)

Re: Slow Stockers...Strong Divisional Finishes
 

FYI, the Ellis Buth referenced in this post is my father not me.

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Thanks Ellis this was a long time goal for Daren and myself. That being said a big shout out to Jody I've always been a fan of his, and your Family's Pinto stick car. It brings back childhood memories my dad raced an Opel wagon in Z/S back in the 70's

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Well done gentleman!

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Just a curious question for the slower stock racers, do you race a slow combo because of financial reasons or do you feel that there is a advantage with them? Serious question.
And do you want to go to a quicker combo if you could?

Re: Slow Stockers...Strong Divisional Finishes
 

I race slower Stock and Superstock cars now because I feel more
comfortable and at ease in them at my ever increasing age (70s +)

In 1991 I had a serious crash in a Race boat and severed my left
foot and came close to dying from the severe infection it caused.
I spent the next couple of years in a Wheelchair.

I enjoy the competition and the friendships BUT I am realistic about
my current Physical Limitations and Motor Skills.

We own a Dragster and a couple Street Outlaws cars = But I leave them
to my kids. 10 Seconds is about the comfort limit for me anymore!

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Totally respect where your at! Great reply!

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I to, am old, about the only exercise I get anymore is swiveling my neck left or right when the FS/AA cars come whizzing by........

It's a whole new experience trying to judge the finish line and the speed of the on coming car. I am getting better at it, but it has took awhile.

#5458

Curt Rees

V/SA

Re: Slow Stockers...Strong Divisional Finishes
 

I have been fortunate enough to have a great car owners in Daren and Veronica Poole-Adams. We started in the Cutlass a few years ago. Daren put me in one of his Copos and I won my first national event last year. We were headed towards a top ten in it until our mishap last year. Fast forward to 2020 we brought the Cutlass back out and did well with it. Ive ran 9.20 to 13.50 F/SB to Q/SA. So to answer your question I really don't see any distinct advantage fast or slow.

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Whether you choose to spend 15 grand or 150 grand on your car, you can win. Proven by Lang and others. The beauty of stock eliminator.

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Ya know, I had a prominent S/SS Racer tell me once that "if you can't be the fastest car then be the slowest car". He always felt that there is a distinct advantage either way.

Stock (and SS) is unique because of the many different combos that are available to the Racers. Is a -1.20 AA/SA Hemi car "faster" than a -1.20 W/S Pinto wagon? No, it isn't. It might be "quicker" but not "faster" and it will get you the same punishment.

I can only speak for myself but I just enjoy doing something "different" from what everyone else is doing. A pretty significant amount of time and money went into my 6 CYL. cars. Maybe not as much as a 396/375 combo but they weren't "Dime Rockets" either. Finances definitely come into the picture but when you're racing for the same purse (which is a joke today) unless you're racing to feed your ego, it isn't about what you spend but what you keep. I like to "play" with the "Dime rocket" and FWD stuff because it makes me think and I get bored easy. And I would like to think that it might encourage a few wanna-be Racers to give it a try.

Every once in a while I get a chance to take a "quick" car for a ride and I do enjoy the experience but I don't have any overpowering urge to go any "quicker". Now "faster", that's a different story.

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They say that, "The cream always rises to the top"!

One interesting thing. We freshened the 307 motor in the Cutlass and my 6.2 COPO motor this year. The cost was pretty much the same. It proves that once you own the car, the overhead can be controlled.

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Great job by all. Racers and spectators love a Q/S vs FS/A!

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Congrats to everyone on this list. It is not easy running a slower car in stock with as fast as things are getting, but boy it sure is fun. Like Ellis and I discussed the other day, if all you've ever driven is slow stuff then you feel right at home.

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A most excellent point! I sit in the stands alot to watch Stock and Super Stock and I will say that the races with a huge handicap do, indeed, get the crowd buzzing. Sadly, most of the fans (?) have gone back to the pits or to the concession stand, but the ones who stay and watch really get into the slow vs. fast cars.

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Slow cars are at a disadvantage until NHRA commits to Tru-start system. (redlight first)

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Ya know, back in the old days, a "slow" Stocker was at the disadvantage of the first red-light but it was offset by a "fast" Stocker possibly spinning the tires on pre-prep starting lines.
Now that you can't walk out on a starting line without losing a shoe because we are racing in a time when the starting lines are spray-glued, the possibility of a "fast" Stocker spinning are significantly less. With that being said, I do think that it's time for NHRA to commit to Tru-start. It only seems fair to take away both disadvantages.

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Billy you have some valid points - but when was the last time you sat on the converter giving a six second head start ? Fast cars can't always wait for the green .....How about we switch cars one day.

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And you too have a valid point Jack - but when was the last time you watched the starting line crew spraying the track while you were sitting in the waterbox and wishing that you could dial up 2 hun? When was the last time you were sitting in the pre-stage beam and watched the flag go from head to tail and knew that you were going to run out by a tenth or not cover?

As far as switching cars one day, let me know. I think that you'll be in for a rude awakening.

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Billy- the real point is that neither have an advantage as they both have bad points ....and congrats to the 'slow' cars that finished strong this year ! ! !

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Stock and Super Stock dosent have to be expensive if you dont want it to. If I had the money now I would have a slow stocker open trailer and pickup with a truck cap on the bed and sleep in the back at the races.

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Ya know Jack, I realize that life's not fair. Every morning when I get up and look in the mirror at my rugged good looks, I feel sorry for the rest of you. I get it. It's not fair that I'm so damned good looking and you're not.
The REAL POINT is that a REAL disadvantage has been taken away from the fast cars so why not take away a REAL disadvantage of racing a slow car by instating Tru-start?

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Strictly economics to me.
If I could afford to go faster I would.

A slow car is on the track longer so a .01 change in et could happen a lot easier

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Although financial reasons play a big part, I like the challenge racing a FWD vehicle brings, and this year like 1990, 2006, & 2012, I had success with a front runner.

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To Jack and Billy
I will bet more stockers blew the tires off on these fine prepped tracks than we had 2 cars red-light bringing tru start into play

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Quite true for me .......Billy - I'm not convinced that either slow or fast cars have an advantage with Tru-Start .

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I think that's the whole idea behind it.

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I can agree with that Jack. BUT, another one of the great ironies of our sport is the "first-or-worst" rule. It applies to everything BUT the "first-or-worst" red light. Why is that?

Now back to our regularly scheduled program. Good job by all of my Horsepower Challenged Brothers. It ain't easy bein' slow.

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For me it is practical at this time to run a slower car as I'm the new guy in the class. This is only my second year running stock and would like to one day go a little fast. I would like to maybe run high to mid 10's and that would satisfy me. But for now I will stay where I'm at as I'm having fun.

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A request for the lower class racers mentioned at the start of this thread. Please take a look back at your LODRS racing this year and post some data on how many of your wins were due to the other lane being red, late or too quick. It’s tough to wait more than a couple of seconds or tighten the stripe at 30-50 + mph closing speed.

As Billy noted, there may be an advantage to being one of the slower(et) cars on the sheet.

Thanks in advance.

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I went from a 8 second super pro car to a 13 / 14 second stocker. When I ran super pro I quite often was the faster car and could see what was happening much better at the finish line than I can now. Trying to judge the finish line when someone has 50 mph on you is challenging to say the least.

Jim Mantle V/SA 6632

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I don't have dad's stats in front of me...but he definitely had 1 run in Columbus where the opponent was green but wasn't close to their normal RT. However, on that run...dad was .03x and running dead on so he wasn't going to be an easy target. I believe he had 2 or 3 red lights against him in competition as well. As for breakouts...we did induce a few of those with his car this year as well. If I get a chance to actually do the data I will try to do that.

As for me...I drove a W/SA vehicle all year. I had 0 red lights against me in stock and only a handful of runs all year where I felt the driver in the other lane was "late" or outside of their typical RT range. I definitely didn't get any of the advantages that can happen when opponents have to wait this season.

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Not slow enough ;-)

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Someone needs to have a Slow Ride Nationals!!!!!!!!!!!Something like 13:85 Index and slower.

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Just need an R/SA car and I'm in

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The way I see it, when both racers break out of their dial-in at the top end, the worst breakout is the loser.

The same should apply at the starting line. If both racers redlight then the worst of the 2 should be the loser.


Fair is fair ....at both ends of the track


JMO

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Pitted next to Daren at this years Indy NMCA race. First time to meet him and got to enjoy his stories about the COPO's.

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Financial reasons for sure, however my car is no dime rocket. However, I always raced something “different” for the past 4 plus decades. Ran stick combos up until 1980 then switched to auto combos while raising my family to fend off possible breakage I could not afford . Sold my Monza stocker in ‘14 and decided again on something different to build. After several PMs and phone calls to Dr. Nees decided on a 267-2v combo in an ‘81 Camaro for U/SA. Several friends and acquaintances thought I lost my mind but I was up for the challenge. Was told the Dual Jet carb would be a problem, but since finishing the car in late ‘17 have managed consistent time slips and have gone .72 under the index. My Camaro is considered a “slow” stocker, however for me I enjoy the ride as much as any fast combo I have driven. It’s all about your perspective. For me it is very gratifying taking a combo that would run a 19 second qtr. mile bone stock and manage to turn it into a stocker with beer can diameter pistons knocking on the 13 second time slip door. Also, a shout out to Mr. Bill Bogues for his advice and his knowledge dealing with the 267 combo in his Monte Carlo stocker.

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This response coming from a guy building a U/SA car It is a combination of both. I truly can't afford a higher class Stocker and I also know that I can potentially be competitive in U/SA. I know if I build this car using the best components and tricks I can afford that I can qualify near the top of the ladder and use the advantage of a low horsepower slow car on race day to put pressure on quicker class cars.

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Not to diminish Gary’s Phoenix win (woohoo!) but there is just something about Darrick Elam’s Pinto wagon (wearing #63 next year again) that really captures the essence of the slow stocker. No FWD bias, just older slow trumps newer slow for me and extra points for being a wagon. Darrick’s mowing them down last year at the Vegas Divisional (until running into the Sorensen buzzsaw) was very impressive. Double kool would be it in “woody” livery. Not to challenge the “Wong equation” but having a slow stocker on the west coast would be great to me. May have to investigate...