[Dwight Southerland]

Please note my statement "There is a statement in the rule book that can be taken as an explanation, though it does not specifically explain the ESI issue." I was not trying to defend what and how NHRA's technical information is assembled or has been published. But, in practice, if there is not a power-to-weight factor listed, you cannot classify the combination in Stock or traditional SS.

There was a practice put in place after the SS/GT classes were defined that allowed manufacturers to submit shipping weight information about models they wanted to be available for competitors. This was more common in the late 1980s and 1990s than now. Manufacturers used to submit a lot more of their product line than they do now. Some manufacturers transitioned to primarily FWD cars and mostly 4-cyl and 6-cyl products but still wanted their name and make to be showcased, so the information was submitted for their cars to be eligible for those classes, but the engine data was insignificant. The manufacturers target was the SS/GT classes and other modified classes specifically and shipping weight is all that was needed. It would be good for NHRA tech department to include some statement in the rule book or accompanying the technical documents that provided a simple explanation for some of those "unwritten" processes and procedures. Not everyone has be privy to historical moves and decisions.

There are 223 engines referenced in the Tech Bulletins-Class Guides with no engine specifications. Most are listed as "ESI" (Engine Specifications Incomplete) or "NES" (No Engine Specifications). Some are shown in the Class Guide but have no corresponding information in the Technical Bulletin for that manufacturer (ex. 1960 Ford 312-205hp in the Mercury which has power-to-weight factors but no engine specs). Maybe it would be nice for the manufacturers to provide that information, though I doubt there would be many that would become race cars (like about 90+% of the combinations currently in the books!). In my opinion, I wish the "less than performance engines" of the current muscle car era were in the books because the sport cannot maintain on 40+year old combinations.