Joe Newbie, 20 Builds a "Stocker"' in 2023

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by GUMP

Mark,

As a point of reference, how much did you earn 50 years ago? Also, how much of that went to racing?

Daren, It's really hard to say about the earnings. I would work out of town (Virginia, Maryland and Delaware), for 3 weeks at a time. Then I'd alternate with the married guys. When I was back home, I'd go racing for a few weeks..Gainesville, Pomona, Columbus and so on.
I was fortunate to win some local eliminators that might buy you a new pair of slicks , or get you to the next race.

By 1975 , S/S was already getting out of hand, with the broken valve springs, and then re-honing all the time.
Stockers got back their headers and slicks back, so I went that way. Those cars were basically, .030 over cast OEM pistons, and a Stocker cam that had to check at lift, duration, overlap, and valve spring pressure .Those engines would last several years, with minor maintenance.. All the goodies we have now, were added ,bit by bit, every year, since. I do believe it was cheaper to race back then , in today's dollar.

As far as how much I spent? You know the answer...All of it!

[Billy Nees]

Realistically, NHRA in all of it's Eliminators has left the average person behind. There is no longer any Eliminator which could be called "Entry Level" and that includes Jr. Dragster.

[doglover44]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

Realistically, NHRA in all of it's Eliminators has left the average person behind. There is no longer any Eliminator which could be called "Entry Level" and that includes Jr. Dragster.

Thought Super Street was supposed to be a entry level class

[L.Fite]

I was watching Super Street on one of the broadcasts...
It's definitely not what it was in the 80s/90s...
More like Super Gas Lite...

[1347]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

Realistically, NHRA in all of it's Eliminators has left the average person behind. There is no longer any Eliminator which could be called "Entry Level" and that includes Jr. Dragster.

I really don't know how we can blame NHRA for letting all these costs get out of hand. This has happened in every motorsport except for maybe the 24 hours of Lemons. No one ever said you had to spend as much on a super street engine as a stocker engine. If you look at the " Evolution " of all these classes, it all comes down to someone trying to get ahead of the curve to get a competitive advantage.
Short of having a claimer rule, you will never stop someone from spending their money to go faster or win more rounds.
Racers buy 15k engines for street stocks to win 300 dollars at the local short track, and there are a whole bunch of racers and ex racers that feel that form of racing is ruined too.
Ya just gotta roll with it and keep going. Hopefully the roller lifter effort doesn't win too fast lol

[bigshow2966]

Originally Posted by L.Fite

I was watching Super Street on one of the broadcasts...
It's definitely not what it was in the 80s/90s...
More like Super Gas Lite...

I was at a Divisional at Tri-State in Iowa a few years ago and was watching the Super classes run. They called up S/Street and here comes a Top Sportsman Mustang with a 715 ci motor throttle stopped to 10:90. It also appeared most of the cars could run at least low 9's. So much for "entry level".

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by 1347

I really don't know how we can blame NHRA for letting all these costs get out of hand.

Duane, Racers will always PUSH the "rules" to their limit! It is the people that MAKE the "rules" responsibility to make sure that the Racers ADHERE to the rules! When the Racers DON'T ADHERE to the "rules",they are supposed to be PUNISHED! That is no longer the case because the people that MAKE the "rules" are no longer in control because of a lack of qualified people to ENFORCE them and a fear of legal action against them.
As Racers, it is our responsibility to PUSH the "rules" to their limit while we still, at the same time ADHERE to them. The NHRA are the people that MAKE the "rules" and it is their (supposed) responsibility to ENFORCE them. When Racers DON'T ADHERE to the "rules" and aren't PUNISHED, whose fault is it? It's not the Racers! They're doing what Racers are supposed to do.
EVOLUTION is what happens when the "rules" can't or aren't being enforced.

[Stan Weiss]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

Duane, Racers will always PUSH the "rules" to their limit! It is the people that MAKE the "rules" responsibility to make sure that the Racers ADHERE to the rules! When the Racers DON'T ADHERE to the "rules",they are supposed to be PUNISHED! That is no longer the case because the people that MAKE the "rules" are no longer in control because of a lack of qualified people to ENFORCE them and a fear of legal action against them.
As Racers, it is our responsibility to PUSH the "rules" to their limit while we still, at the same time ADHERE to them. The NHRA are the people that MAKE the "rules" and it is their (supposed) responsibility to ENFORCE them. When Racers DON'T ADHERE to the "rules" and aren't PUNISHED, whose fault is it? It's not the Racers! They're doing what Racers are supposed to do.
EVOLUTION is what happens when the "rules" can't or aren't being enforced.

Billy,
I may not remember this correctly. Didn't sometime ago NHRA tell some people their heads were illegal because of how much the intake side had been milled to get the port volume correct. Those people said lawsuit and the issue was drop.


Stan

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by 1347

I really don't know how we can blame NHRA for letting all these costs get out of hand. This has happened in every motorsport except for maybe the 24 hours of Lemons. No one ever said you had to spend as much on a super street engine as a stocker engine. If you look at the " Evolution " of all these classes, it all comes down to someone trying to get ahead of the curve to get a competitive advantage.
Short of having a claimer rule, you will never stop someone from spending their money to go faster or win more rounds.
Racers buy 15k engines for street stocks to win 300 dollars at the local short track, and there are a whole bunch of racers and ex racers that feel that form of racing is ruined too.
Ya just gotta roll with it and keep going. Hopefully the roller lifter effort doesn't win too fast lol

Oh good. I get to bash a different eliminator for a change LOL

NHRA is the rule making body, correct?
They had a few restrictions in the beginning of S/ST, but then they let them slide,..to get them to chase points, I assume.

Problem is, they never see anything coming ahead of time.
When S/ST started, they could have said ..NO timed throttle stops. Back half-ed cars only , (No weighted down S/G cars). 130 mph max, or you lose. (No need for a cubic inch limit then.) No delay box to slow reaction times.
People might even stay in the stands to watch a few of them, if they did wheelies.
Maybe a few retired Stock racers might have tried it.
But no. By not adding a few simple rules, they let S/ST become something other than somewhat inexpensive and entry level.
No real surprise ...

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Stan Weiss

Billy,
I may not remember this correctly. Didn't sometime ago NHRA tell some people their heads were illegal because of how much the intake side had been milled to get the port volume correct. Those people said lawsuit and the issue was drop.


Stan

I don't honestly know if the lawsuit was dropped. There WAS a lawsuit initiated.