Spy shots - Don Garlits Challenger

[Larry Hill]

Let them all RACE, just to keep the field leval.

[Smitty]

Ok, one car has yet to face an older one in the same class in competion yet and the other hasn't even seen the track and you guys are bitching. Damn, the fastest car doesn't always win. If stock eliminator consisted of all AA/SA(S) and A/SA(S) cars I might see the problem here but they don't so the guys will have to put a number on the window and run the dial in and hit the tree period!
Are you gonna bitch everytime someone brings a new combo to the table? Look over in SS, Bobby Dennis is the master of finding the odd ball GM engines and making them dominate. He is vey fast but against his index he's killer and a threat to qualify number one anywhere, yet he isn;t winning all the races. He did a real good job last year and thats because he works hard at it.
I really need to know what's the big deal? Chrysler built the Hemi back in the 60's as a purpose built SS car and you couldn't drive it on the street. There were to versions, the street and race just like Ford.
Quit your whining and race, it's not the end of the world.

[Smitty]

Oh, I know why everyone is upset, it's because Chevrolet didn't build and come out with a purpose built race car and Ford and Chrysler did. The worlds coming to an end because someone beat GM to the punch. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

All GM guys can hope for is the LS9 package ending up in the Camaro. IMHO, Ford did it's homework. Mopar could have had better input and GM just choked.

[Chris Cogan]

I think GM will have the last laugh before this is all said and done. Let's face it, all it takes is someone with deep enough pockets to build a ZR-1 and the game is over right now. I mean, if there is someone out there who can afford to build four cobra jet cars, then I'm sure there is someone out there who can afford to build one or two ZR-1's. And don't forget about the LS7 vette either.

If the Camaro gets either engine as an option, the GM boyz will be fine.

[bill dedman]

Smitty said, "Chrysler built the Hemi back in the 60's as a purpose built SS car and you couldn't drive it on the street. There were to versions, the street and race just like Ford."

But, you never saw a '68 Hemi Barracuda/Dart or a Thunderbolt in Stock Eliminator, did you?

No... NHRA put them in Super Stock, where they belonged, and where these new cars belong.

If these new entries had been classified into Super Stock, where they belong, nobody would be complaining.

Supercharged cars that can't even be licensed don't belong in Stock Eliminator. That flys in the face of fifty+ years of tradition.


Don't agree? That's your right, but show me a precedent.

[Alan Roehrich]

That looks a lot like an MSD 1000cfm throttle body. Impressive, to say the least.

Do not look for GM to field a Stock Camaro. GM has nearly completely killed off all of the groups that would produce such a car, and those that have not been killed off are just waiting to hear from the executioner. There is no Zora Arkus Duntov to write another memo to put Chevrolet and GM back in the game this time. And even if there were, it isn't likely anyone would read the memo.

[Mike Carr]

The weight breaks are different, hence no T-Bolts, AMX's and '68 Hemis in Stock. AA/S is the same weight break as SS/D (7.5). If the weight breaks were the same, those other cars would be in Stock Eliminator. Actually, when the '68 Hemis came out, they ran SS/B and SS/A was an empty class (nothing fit). The AMX's were SS/F when they debuted. Not sure what the T-Bolts fit. The Hemis were rated 425 from the factory (hmmm). I don't know exactly when, but soon after NHRA rated the Hemis at 500, where they still stand today for the stick cars (507 for the automatics). I guess if we had the old school regime at NHRA now, instead of the bean counters, they would have laughed at the absurdity of the 425 rating of the 2008 CJ's and assigned them a more realistic factor? Who knows. It would be neat if Stock ran on the same weight break as S/S (starting at 6 pounds for AA, 6.5 for A/S, 7 for B/S, etc). Could have made for some even more interesting matches in the higher classes. Oh well, it's a moot point. With the evolution of racing and factory stuff, things change. Thirty years from now, there might be something come down the line that is a half-second faster than the '08 CJ's, and those racers will be complaining, same as the modern-day '08 CJ bashers are. Same as the Stocker racers did when the LT-1/LS-1's came out and began to dominate. These new Mustangs are far the first cars to come down under-rated and dominate, and sure won't be the last. I doubt they will last the whole year at their current rating. They will get hit, and may be relegated to AA, or even out of Stock, before too long. Who knows.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by bill dedman

Smitty said, "Chrysler built the Hemi back in the 60's as a purpose built SS car and you couldn't drive it on the street. There were to versions, the street and race just like Ford."

But, you never saw a '68 Hemi Barracuda/Dart or a Thunderbolt in Stock Eliminator, did you?

No... NHRA put them in Super Stock, where they belonged, and where these new cars belong.

If these new entries had been classified into Super Stock, where they belong, nobody would be complaining.

Supercharged cars that can't even be licensed don't belong in Stock Eliminator. That flys in the face of fifty+ years of tradition.


Don't agree? That's your right, but show me a precedent.

I want disagree with you on that one sir, I have never seen where either car was in Stock Eliminator but that but doesn't change the fact that these cars haven't shown that have an overwhelming advantage in the class. Didn't a Q/SA car win today at the Gators? there were several fast AA/SA thru C/SA cars there and they didn't win so what is the issue?

[treessavoy]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Ok, one car has yet to face an older one in the same class in competion yet and the other hasn't even seen the track and you guys are bitching. Damn, the fastest car doesn't always win. If stock eliminator consisted of all AA/SA(S) and A/SA(S) cars I might see the problem here but they don't so the guys will have to put a number on the window and run the dial in and hit the tree period!
Are you gonna bitch everytime someone brings a new combo to the table? Look over in SS, Bobby Dennis is the master of finding the odd ball GM engines and making them dominate. He is vey fast but against his index he's killer and a threat to qualify number one anywhere, yet he isn;t winning all the races. He did a real good job last year and thats because he works hard at it.
I really need to know what's the big deal? Chrysler built the Hemi back in the 60's as a purpose built SS car and you couldn't drive it on the street. There were to versions, the street and race just like Ford.
Quit your whining and race, it's not the end of the world.

Excuse me but the 1964 and 1965 Hemi cars were built with complete street equipment and could and were street driven, the 1964 427 fairlanes were the same. The 1968 Hemi cars were NOT streetable and thus went into SS, not Stock.