[james schaechter]

Originally Posted by Evan Smith

Gary, Joe,

I would like to voice an opinion from the other side of the fence: Over the last few years automatics have really benefited from the advent of the ProTrans (or similar), Radial tires (which don't work on a stick) and improved converter technology. This has amounted to gains in the neighborhood of .2-.3 tenths for the average racer, yet there has been no such advance in technology for stick racers. Clutches are better than they used to be, but not to the tune of .2 tenths.

I can't speak for Top Stock, but in Jr. Stock, Bruce, Ficacci Jr., Henry, Lowell and I all run close. Ficacci gets about a 100-lb. break with the stick (over his old combo) because the combo is factored softer than with the auto. Not a stick deal, more a factor deal. It's also hard to compare an entire class based on a handful of cars. Steve Ficacci Sr. has all but owned Top Stock, but his driving is amazing, as is the performance of his car.

There is no way that stick cars are .10-.20 quicker than their automatic counterparts on average, as the indexes would suggest. Of course this could be argued all day and night, but the numbers don't lie.

Evan

Evan, you know I am a stick guy, but holy crap! Does that mean you would go 1.60 under with an automatic in your car? All you Ford dudes ought to start building one....