Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone
They should have known that 20 years ago. Where were the leaders then??
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I was watching very closely back then, and it was apparent that this wasn't even on their list of things to keep an eye on. This was when the "tech is a PITA and too expensive" thing started. The NHRA had been embarrassed by the Glidden boys and instead of correcting the problem they more or less threw their hands up and walked away.
Back then, Don Ness in particular was doing some amazingly creative things to improve aero and handling on his cars, and he was clever enough to do it so the cars would still pass the template test. Jerry Bickel may have been doing the same, but I never worked closely with any of his cars at the time so I can't say for sure.
I'm not sure that a lot of people know that chassis builders were involved in getting the spec bodies designed, built, and sold. It was easier for them to build a car with an already tweaked body and they were making a profit on every body they installed.
Some of them had invested in the development and so were even getting money from the bodies another builder installed. It was not the customary profit from getting a dealer discount and then charging retail. Since they were involved in the manufacturing they could charge whatever they thought they could get.
They had enough pull to convince NHRA that this was a perfect way to not have to worry about a close inspection of bodies since everybody would have the same ones for any given model. So no precision templates needed to be built for every new model, and no tech inspectors were needed. Real cost savings so more money for bonuses! And no more embarrassment when you've been outsmarted. I doubt it took very long for Glendora to jump onboard with the plan.
I was told by a supremely reliable source that before the move to spec bodies, NHRA had been approached to do laser measurement much like NASCAR developed. They refused to consider the proposal. They'd been planning on saving money, not spending it so the cost of keeping tech workers on this job along with the cost of the system was out of the question.
The manufacturers got involved and allowed wind tunnel time. It was an easy way to fix a great looking but very bad aero model into the best of the best.
Fast forward and we have certification sticker on blobs.