[Chuck Norton]

Mike,

Certainly, both of us recall the marathon late-night coffee shop sessions during which the original rules for Top Stock were debated and re-hashed. I recall questioning your position that stick and automatic cars in the upper classes were essentially oblivious to the choice of transmissions and then, months later, watching your position be validated once all the cars were on the same track.

In the end, Top Stock, during the initial event or two that it was contested, before the crate motors were accepted, has remained one of the most striking examples of Stock Eliminator drag racing parity that has been achieved thus far and it was done with paper and pencil, using the framework of existing NHRA horsepower ratings across a variety of platforms and a cross section of cars and drivers, and with every car laying down the absolutely best numbers that it could muster on every pass. You will recall that the top two qualifiers were a stick and an automatic. The top ten qualifiers included six stick cars and four automatics. The final round featured a stick and an automatic, the #4 and #5 qualifiers.

Among the lessons learned at Norwalk in 2000 that directly apply to AA/S and AA/SA:
1. Sticks and automatics CAN run together in the higher HP classes without putting either at a debilitating disadvantage and if the indexes are the same, why have two classes? In the end, track prep and maintenance are the deciding factors. In the case of Top Stock, when the track was good, the stick cars ruled. When the bite went away, automatic cars prevailed. Nothing will be any different in 2015. So, take your pick.
2. In the case of AA/S and AA/SA, with the new cars removed from the equation, leaving the original combinations that are well-known entities, there is no particular performance advantage to the choice of either transmission. Why not give the fans something to get excited about? How could anyone not enjoy seeing pairings such as Hemis versus Thunderbolts, heads-up, flat-out.
3. Indexes mean everything when it comes to qualifying and next to nothing when it comes to racing. The AA class is no different than any other class in Stock Eliminator in this regard. If you plan to run Indy in a AA class with the index at 10.60 you will be at a huge disadvantage against any other class index in the field. And, if you can’t qualify, you don’t race.

With regard to the AA entries, if the committee doesn’t elect to merge the transmissions into a single class, let’s hope that they get it right by assigning fair indexes to them so that they may enjoy the same opportunity to qualify at Indy as any other class. Everyone has a vested interest in parity and a level playing field.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Mike!