Another bogus hp rating.

[Tim Kish]

The trick Bruce is they are not making 800+HP. The advantage they have is a flat torque curve. In a 3400+lb car, torque is king and a boosted engine will outperform a NA engine at the same peak HP every time. So who do you fault for the factoring on that? It's a variable that wasn't in the equation previously at the mainstream level but each year going forward your going to see more boosted engines in the OEM's and NHRA is going to have to find a way to deal with them and adding classes isn't the answer, that dilutes a category that already struggles. They need to find an improved analytical calculator that accounts for the full power/torque curves and then employ someone with the engine development know-how to be able to dissect an OEM engine and identify its race prepped power potential and resultant 1/4 mile performance. There are softwares like GT Power that can do it, now who's going to pay for this level of analysis.

Let's be pessimistic - NHRA enters overfactored combos into the database, no one ever builds one and nothing ever happens. NHRA let's in underfactored combos, as many people build them as there are people who are chased away by them. The OEM's get great PR, same number of race cars show up at the track so NHRA isn't out anything but they've gained OEM favor. The sport actually benefits. Welcome to business. We should all be thankful that the OEM support isn't stronger and another wave of model year limits have never been enforced - Just think if Stock was 1980-newer only. It happened once.