[dwydendorf]

I had the opinion for a long time that many of the new cars that were being produced by the Detroit automakers were not as fast as what was made in the muscle car era. Many Stock and Super Stock racers grew up in the era of the muscle cars and had the same opinion as I did, along with much of the younger generation also. Until the New Cobra Jet Mustangs came out, I thought there was no way that any car that was close to a production car could come close to running with a 427 Fairlane or 427 Corvette but these cars changed my concept of how fast a production car could be. The Detroit automakers don't build 40 year old 427 Fairlanes and 427 Corvettes any more but the do build Mustangs,Challengers and Camaros. They needed a showcase to show how fast these cars are, and that is what they did, build cars to compete with the 40 year old Detroit Iron. Now if you want to prove the new stuff is as fast as the really fast muscle cars of a bygone era, wouldn't you want to run against them in the same class? Many guys get emotional when it comes to their cars and Stock and Super Stock racing which clouds their thinking. Now maybe it is just chance that the new Cobra Jet is rated at the 425 horsepower which happens to be the same factory rating as the 427 corvettes and 427 Fairlanes from the factory, which would make them weigh the same for aa or a stock. The Auto makers are in the car business and the parts business is only a sideline for them so what is wrong with making something that is faster than a 40 year old car? Is it wrong for them to prove that they can build something that can be fast to try to hook the new generation of car buyers like they did our generation? The car makers are trying to sell cars to a new generation of car buyers and NHRA is helping them do it because it also brings a new generation of racers to the sport. Are the guys complaining about the new horsepower factors on the Mustangs or Challengers mad because the car makers rated the new cars softer than their soft horsepower factors? Well gee that is too bad. You can let your ego get in the way or you can just go out and race. As they say If you can't beat them, then Join them. Go out and build your own Cobra Jet or Challenger if you can afford to. If you can't afford it, you don't have anything to complain about anyway because you probably don't have enough money to be the fastest A or AA Stock even if the Challengers or Cobra Jets were not there. If you think a boycott will do any good you don't know much about how NHRA thinks, because in 1980 when they got rid of Modified Eliminator, the Modified racers held a protest Parade at the U.S. Nationals down the return road, and it did not stop NHRA from getting rid of Modified Eliminator. They could care less, they will only replace you with some other bracket to use as a filler for their Pro's.