[Alan Roehrich]

I don't think anyone raised the question, or the evil specter, of FWD cars competing with RWD cars at the same weight class. You ASSUMED they were.

Jim, you claimed you can't buy the parts. The Chrysler 2.5 liter 4 cylinder is not that hard to get parts for, people race them, and Chrysler supports them. Further, you seem to be inferring that Stock Eliminator parts for a small block Chevy, (or Ford, or Chrysler for that matter), are just commonly available at your local speed shop or parts store. No, they are not. You have to special order ALL of them. Pistons are custom made to order, you don't call Jeg's or Summit. Same with camshafts, same with rings, and all the other parts YOU claimed WE have that are "trick", and YOU claim are not available to YOU. I went down YOUR list, and told you what you could do, if you WANTED to, just like the rest of us do. I also agreed you couldn't get the drivetrain parts we can.

Further, you admit that you don't have the blueprinted Stock parts we have, and yet you can run so much farther under the index AND the record that AT LEAST as far as qualifying goes that there is NO COMPARISON. Then you claim you can't compete. But since you haven't bought the parts like the rest of us, you cannot back up that claim. You don't know what the engine CAN do, because you claim you can't get the parts. And yes, I've seen the FWD sport compact racing.

You plainly state you picked your car up almost FIVE SECONDS, and do it WITHOUT all of those engine parts, and told me I couldn't do that with mine (and you are right). And then you go on to tell everyone how far under the index and the record you can run without those parts, 1.35 under the index, and .37 under the current record. Well, I can tell you that a 69 Camaro 255HP 350 4 speed car will run around a mid 15 second quarter on street tires. The RECORD in G/S is 10.98, so that's 4 1/2 seconds, and to do it, you have to have all those trick parts you claim you can't get. That's 1.22 under the index. So, you've picked your car up more than I could pick mine up by the current standards, run farther under the index, AND can reset the record, by almost 4 TENTHS. Further, you did it without al those "trick parts". And you want to tell me because your slicks are on the other end of the car, you have it so much harder than guys like me?

You're right Jim, I don't work on FWD stockers. I worked on FWD cars for a living for years, and do not want to again. Yes, actually I have driven FWD cars at the track, and no, I much care for them. But that does not mean I don't have any idea how they work. And you came right out and told all of us they don't need parts to go fast (comparatively speaking).

Not only that, but the last race I was at, there were THREE cars I had to race for class (I got stomped, I've only run 7 tenths under, I'll go faster next time). So there are cars out there to keep guys like me honest, and make us actually run hard. When is the last time you faced three cars in your class at a small race like a SportsNational Open? You don't have to worry too much about anyone getting you HP, either.

To be in the same position as the guys racing G/S with the same combination as I am, or similar combinations, you'd have to have an index of 14.80, and you'd hold the record with your 13.60. AND you'd have to run a 13.80 to win class, most places you went, and face 2-4 cars. And that's BEFORE you'd have to buy all those parts you don't already have. And then you'd have to buy all those parts, because the other guys would, and NHRA would refactor you, just like they have us.

Your performance numbers, without the trick parts, put you on par with T/SA. They run at 19 pounds, you run at 16. So, what happens if NHRA says "okay, we're going to merge the FWD cars with the rest, and the handicap is that the FWD cars run 3.0 pounds per HP lighter than RWD"? I'm not saying it could, or should be done. But since you compared your numbers to a RWD class at the same weight, and you claim a severe disadvantage, I compared them to a much heavier RWD class.

So Jim, we've been honest, no name calling, and we've only stated FACTS. We disagree, and I can respect the fact that you race a FWD stocker, and you like it. But you say you can't discuss it anymore without getting mad? That's a shame. You assume we all want FWD cars kicked out. That's not true. The vast majority of us are fine with FWD cars, or slow RWD cars. But just don't try to tell us all how far the table is tilted for us and against you when the parts bill, the qualifying sheets, and the performance gains prove otherwise. And I still like you, I still respect you, I still want you to have a class to race your car, and I can still disagree with you and not get nasty.