[Michael Beard]

Part of the "platform" issue is that some combinations receive horsepower while the same engine in a different body does not. The HP factor is an expression of an engine potential. An engine either has a certain power potential or it does not. The idea that an engine can receive HP hits in one body and it somehow makes sense that you can move that drivetrain to another body to start over with a clean slate on HP factoring is nonsensical.

While you can obviously argue that one 'platform' *utilizes* that HP more efficiently than another, it is logical that if a HP factor is raised on an engine in one platform, it should be raised on all platforms: perhaps just by a different amount. The proper way to do it would be to have the same HP across the board for a given engine combination, adjusted by a 'platform factor'. Unfortunately, this is little more than an academic discussion, despite it not really being much more complicated than they've already made it.

'Course you also have several classes in which sticks and automatics are run combined, where the automatics get a weight break in some classes, but not in others. Figure that out.