Deconstructing Stock

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

I was having this discussion with another forum member the other day. He was telling me about a couple, well in their 60's and now retired, that are wanting to dabble in Stock Eliminator after being away for over 30 years!

Lately, with the advent of the factory ringers (for this discussion, let's call them Supercars), we are seeing some new faces and some returning faces, but not necessarily many young faces.

We see a bunch of second gen. racers and kids rising up from the Jr.'s, but those efforts are mostly parent backed and sponsored , at least in the beginning..

So ,what will it take to attract the average ,young gearhead to NHRA style racing?
Stock, in it's current form is just too cost prohibitive for the youth to jump into.
I won't even mention entry fees, membership fees, permanent number fees,$12 gas, and so on, in this discussion, but they are part of the equation too.

Bring back Pure Stock?

Sealed crate motors ?

Split off Junior Stock again?

Index classes..(not overly successful in Div 2)

As my buddy from The Bay Area would say Come on NHRA, what's the plan? Do they even have one? Are they making it up as they go along?


Thoughts please...and let's keep it reasonable. We may be the ones who save our sport that we helped build.

Well Mark, I know you didn't want to mention the big four, but reducing them would be a big start (let's say 2/3's of it)! Those younger racers mainly drive imports, and they have their own series (that I was able to win the bracket portion of this past January in Tucson...it's called "Import Face-Off"), that allowed domestic fwd's like mine to race against front & rwd imports. I believe my entry fee was $25 bucks, and I won $150! Granted that pales big time to what NHRA pays, but there was no membership dues to pay, no competition number to pay, and definitely no $305 dollar entry fees (even for their fastest class...which had cars in it that would've given the dp's and the cj's a run for their money)!!! Furthermore, many of those cars were able to run pump gas, and even the price of premium unleaded was just over 1/3 the cost of VP race fuel (and it's gone down a lot lately...when is VP, Sunoco, and the others going to drop their prices on our race fuels?)!

NHRA shot theirselves in the foot also by lowering our indexes, and changing the altitude correction factors from the former Stock/Super Stock standards, to what the .90 classes use!

Btw, the "Import Face Off" challenge is much like "Super Chevy Show", and other racing series like that. They had quite a good turnout for that event, and although there were more show cars than race cars this year, they had a good turnout, and the event was a success for them. I think that NHRA could help theirselves grandly by lowering their fees for all of their races to mid-90's level prices, and re-instate the performance standards from then as well. The other ideas you mentioned could help too, but I think these ideas of mine will help more....AND FASTER!!!

That's my .02

[Mark Yacavone]

Thanks,Gary...I agree on the fees, but I'm looking for ideas on restructuring the class, or building off it .
If there was an affordable place for the newcomers to go, with a different pay structure, maybe NHRA would see the light....I know...fat chance.

[Notch1320]

Most of what has been stated above is my reasoning for seriously considering moving away from Stock Eliminator and the NHRA all together. Unless something changes, I will be going either Heads Up racing, or just doing "True Street" style events and Hot Rod's Drag Week.

[doglover44]

you dont too spend a fourtune to race stock you can get a slower stocker and still kick ***

[Andys dad]

I am almost afraid to say this but in the early 60s we did almost all of our racing on the streets in Indianapolis - to be old enough to remember that you would be 18 (in 64) + 48 you would now be 66

Racing has become more civilized

We earn more and can afford more for our hobbies and toys and our forms of entertainment - technology is a fact not a mirage

I do not think trying to time warp us back to 1965 is realistic - those are historic by gone days

I prefer to be where my kids have gone with progress and growth - nothing stands still

I know I will be attacked for saying this but I also am entitled to my opinion

Ron