New cars, old cars and horsepower ratings.

Is it possible that NHRA purposely wants guys with the older cars to just go away? Maybe the factory showdown will be the way of the new Stock Eleminator. The manufactures will sell new cars with the new race cars out. Old cars or the guys who race em mean nothing in today's sell now world.
I wish they would just tell us the truth. Give us a years notice or something.Then I could stop spending money, and get on with my life. I'd hate to buy or build a 100k plus race car, that could be obsolete if our class falls by the wayside.

[Lew Silverman]

Originally Posted by Todd Hoven

Is it possible that NHRA purposely wants guys with the older cars to just go away? Maybe the factory showdown will be the way of the new Stock Eliminator. The manufactures will sell new cars with the new race cars out. Old cars or the guys who race em mean nothing in today's sell now world.
I wish they would just tell us the truth. Give us a years notice or something.Then I could stop spending money, and get on with my life. I'd hate to buy or build a 100k plus race car, that could be obsolete if our class falls by the wayside.

The NHRA "gave" the New Cars their own class, and then didn't require them to race in it! What was the point of the FS/S class at Indy anyway?

I don't believe that creating more classes in Stock Eliminator is the answer. Fairly regulating the combinations that are already on the books is. I think the New Cars are great, but I also think that only having New Cars in Stock Eliminator would be boring. But to the Manufacturers and the NHRA, it seems that having the New Cars beat up on the old cars isn't as much fun as having them beat up on each other. And until they get a handle on the horsepower factoring we're just twisting in the wind.

[442OLDS]

Originally Posted by Greg Hill

I truly thought about going to Indy this year for the first time since 2008, but I opened up the entries list and there was a new mustang and a new challenger in my class and that made my mind up not to go. Even though I have a pretty fast E/SA car I would be a half second behind these two new cars. Now if I would of had a fast burn crate motor it could of been a pretty good race.

I will see you at the Sportsnationals in a few days and if we race in class,I will be a half second behind you.

You would have qualified at Indy (must be nice) and you might have won at Indy had you entered.

Isn't that more important than being the winner of E/SA?

[Jeff Lee]

Want more participation at NHRA events with the "older / traditional" Stock Eliminator cars?

Want to see a qualifying sheet that is not top heavy with late model factory drag cars that leave you with no desire to participate?

Don't want the expense of having a new "crate Engine" class and making your old 350 / 255 Chevy obsolete and having to buy a 383 Vortec engine trying to keep up with the new factory Super Cars?

Do you want to give the new cars a run for their money?

Drum roll.......reduce the HP of ALL 1992 and OLDER vehicles in the class guide BY FIVE PERCENT! No index changes, just an across the board 5%
reduction in HP. For EVERYBODY. This is not complicated. Take 5% off.

Why 1992? Because the LT1 started in 1993. They had their gift already.

I don't care if your combo just had 20 HP taken off last month for whatever reason. Bam! Take another 5% off the weight. Index stays the same.
I don't care that you built your car with the heaviest parts you could find and you can't make the new minimum. You have 3 classes you can run in. Pick one.

AHFS trigger? I don't know. I'm thinking it should remain the same. But I'd sure like the trigger to be based on the 1/8th mile ET.

Thank you. Let the arrows fly.

[cutta]

Originally Posted by jeff lee

want more participation at nhra events with the "older / traditional" stock eliminator cars?

Want to see a qualifying sheet that is not top heavy with late model factory drag cars that leave you with no desire to participate?

Don't want the expense of having a new "crate engine" class and making your old 350 / 255 chevy obsolete and having to buy a 383 vortec engine trying to keep up with the new factory super cars?

Do you want to give the new cars a run for their money?

Drum roll.......reduce the hp of all 1992 and older vehicles in the class guide by five percent! No index changes, just an across the board 5%
reduction in hp. For everybody. This is not complicated. Take 5% off.

Why 1992? Because the lt1 started in 1993. They had their gift already.

I don't care if your combo just had 20 hp taken off last month for whatever reason. Bam! Take another 5% off the weight. Index stays the same.
I don't care that you built your car with the heaviest parts you could find and you can't make the new minimum. You have 3 classes you can run in. Pick one.

Ahfs trigger? I don't know. I'm thinking it should remain the same. But i'd sure like the trigger to be based on the 1/8th mile et.

Thank you. Let the arrows fly.

this!

[SS Engine Guy]

While we are throwing out ideas, catch this one: At the end of each race with all competitors available watching. Stock and Super Stock. Take four pieces of paper and on one, write 330 on another write 660, on another write 1000, and on the last write 1320. Put these four pieces of paper, folded up in a container and have a competitor from each eliminator pick a piece of paper out. Read it out loud to the crowd gathered, and that would be what the AHFS would base its statistics off of for that event.
Run data is easily aquired and a run can be completed by very simple math in almost all instances. Actually you could even include another slip of paper for MPH if it would help. All this "Playing the AHFS" has gotten dull and has caused alot of ill feelings. Its time to stop all the BS.
The two fastest cars left in class (providing that it is a well populated class) should be a few hundreths apart not a few tenths apart. And that difference should be how well a car works / tuning / driving / wrenching / etc.

[james schaechter]

Originally Posted by Todd Hoven

Is it possible that NHRA purposely wants guys with the older cars to just go away? Maybe the factory showdown will be the way of the new Stock Eleminator. The manufactures will sell new cars with the new race cars out. Old cars or the guys who race em mean nothing in today's sell now world.
I wish they would just tell us the truth. Give us a years notice or something.Then I could stop spending money, and get on with my life. I'd hate to buy or build a 100k plus race car, that could be obsolete if our class falls by the wayside.

I don't think NHRA has the vision necessary to help us survive. There are some great people at NHRA, but I do not feel like the people at the top making the decisions listen to them.
This type of discussion is good because it might just spark the right idea that is actionable.

I am with you on this Todd, but I think we have to work together to make our own luck. As far as racing, as long as there is desire, we can race each other. Look at the success of the many grass roots associations. These racing associations behave much more like NHRA should in many ways. I wouldn't sell that Bird just yet, if NHRA dumped us, it isn't the end, maybe an opportunity.

[Bruce Noland]

The new cars in stock is further proof that nhra is not operating as a true not for profit. nhra is currently in hot water for providing a service to its sponsors and pro racers and therefore not performing as a legit not for profit. nhra may be gone before we are. Then lots of new options would pop up and it would be up to the racers to build something new. Something that would be more like an honest to god racing association and sanctioning body; as opposed to what we have now.

To Greg's point: I think he has offered a starting point for racers to build something that will work for everyone in Class racing.

[Ed Wright]

Jeff, the LT1 first appeared in 1992, in the Corvette.

[Andrew Hill]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lee

Want more participation at NHRA events with the "older / traditional" Stock Eliminator cars?

Want to see a qualifying sheet that is not top heavy with late model factory drag cars that leave you with no desire to participate?

Don't want the expense of having a new "crate Engine" class and making your old 350 / 255 Chevy obsolete and having to buy a 383 Vortec engine trying to keep up with the new factory Super Cars?

Do you want to give the new cars a run for their money?

Drum roll.......reduce the HP of ALL 1992 and OLDER vehicles in the class guide BY FIVE PERCENT! No index changes, just an across the board 5%
reduction in HP. For EVERYBODY. This is not complicated. Take 5% off.

Why 1992? Because the LT1 started in 1993. They had their gift already.

I don't care if your combo just had 20 HP taken off last month for whatever reason. Bam! Take another 5% off the weight. Index stays the same.
I don't care that you built your car with the heaviest parts you could find and you can't make the new minimum. You have 3 classes you can run in. Pick one.

AHFS trigger? I don't know. I'm thinking it should remain the same. But I'd sure like the trigger to be based on the 1/8th mile ET.

Thank you. Let the arrows fly.

Well that makes sense, just get even more people playing the AHFS game! It would make 1000x more sense to add 5% to all post 1992 combinations, it accomplishes the same thing, but doesn't create a bunch of 1.30 under cars from 1.10 under cars.