2008 Cobra Jets belong in Stock

[Rusty Gillis]

I have read a lot of post with a lot of complaints about the new Cobra Jets and the cars belong in Stock. The problem is NHRA needs to change the factors for stock and start at 6.00 like Super Stock. If you can go to a dealer and buy a new car Ford, Chevy, or Dodge with 500 HP it should have a place to race in NHRA. As far as Stock being stock cars that went out a long time ago. I tried racing in Stock 10 years ago and I wasn't competitive because I didn't want to spent $3500 to have my heads acid ported and that didn't include the intake. Stockers that race today are far more advanced than the Super Stocker I raced in the 70's. Robert Pond went 9.76 with his AA/S 67 Fairlane which is faster than the Pro Stockers were running in 1970. NHRA needs to get with the times and change the Stock HP to weight factors.

[bill dedman]

I agree. The times have changed, but the NHRA rulebook hasn't kept pace. The move to AA/S and AA/SA was a long-overdue addition to the rules, but it didn't go far enough, I think.

You can (if you have the bucks) go to a Chevy dealer and buy a bone-stock ZR-1 Corvette right off the showroom floor with 638 advertised horsepower in a 3,200-pound package (5.02 pounds per hp); a 600 hp Viper SRT-10 in at about 3,350 pounds (5.6 pounds per hp), or several different permutations of blown Ford Mustangs with horsepowers ranging anywhere from 425 to 700+ (depending on whom you choose to believe). The new Nissan GTR is a mid-11-second ride off the showroom floor (AWD), and you're going to be seeing a LOT of those cars around... why not race 'em??? Isn't drag racing traditionally where people go to see the FAST cars???

There are no "STOCK ELIMINATOR" classes for these showroom-stock vehicles.

Why the Hell not? They're American cars (well, all but the GTR) that are readily available, would be REALLY exciting to watch run down the drag strip, and probably would be relatively easy to gain sponsorship for, since they represent the cream of the crop of new cars, so far.

I think NHRA is really dragging their heels on this deal... and, missing an opportunity to showcase the best of the best by not including these babies into the Classification Guide.

The question is: WHY?

Inertia??? I know that NHRA Tech is eaten up with it... "Don't do today, what you can put off until tomorrow.... or, next year."

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by bill dedman

I agree. The times have changed, but the NHRA rulebook hasn't kept pace. The move to AA/S and AA/SA was a long-overdue addition to the rules, but it didn't go far enough, I think.

You can (if you have the bucks) go to a Chevy dealer and buy a bone-stock ZR-1 Corvette right off the showroom floor with 638 advertised horsepower in a 3,200-pound package (5.02 pounds per hp); a 600 hp Viper SRT-10 in at about 3,350 pounds (5.6 pounds per hp), or several different permutations of blown Ford Mustangs with horsepowers ranging anywhere from 425 to 700+ (depending on whom you choose to believe). The new Nissan GTR is a mid-11-second ride off the showroom floor (AWD), and you're going to be seeing a LOT of those cars around... why not race 'em??? Isn't drag racing traditionally where people go to see the FAST cars???

There are no "STOCK ELIMINATOR" classes for these showroom-stock vehicles.

Why the Hell not? They're American cars (well, all but the GTR) that are readily available, would be REALLY exciting to watch run down the drag strip, and probably would be relatively easy to gain sponsorship for, since they represent the cream of the crop of new cars, so far.

I think NHRA is really dragging their heels on this deal... and, missing an opportunity to showcase the best of the best by not including these babies into the Classification Guide.

The question is: WHY?

Inertia??? I know that NHRA Tech is eaten up with it... "Don't do today, what you can put off until tomorrow.... or, next year."

Bill, as far as I recall when the Nopi Tuner sponsorship ended the NHRA Sports Compact series last season, I remember reading that those classes were going to be merged into our Competition & Super Stock Eliminator categories!? I've been looking forward to this season to see which of those cars were going to come out and play with the American Iron in either category, and I've been waiting since 1991 for any of those Japanese/Japanese-American cars to make their way into Stock Eliminator...If nothing else, the late great Wally Parks rolled out the welcome mat for those cars too, but you don't see many of them listed in the Stock Car classification guide, because no-one's chosen to campaign one of them---I'm chomping at the bit to line-up my Chevy Cavalier next to one of those (ballyhooed by the warped-minded, import-loving car magazine dip-stick) import cars in a Stock Eliminator type race (epecially a handicapped one where rt's and consistency determine the winner)!!! OOOHHH boy, get me fired up to race an import, and I don't care who's driving it, because I'll be thinking of all of the American workers who lost their jobs due to our governments embracing of this warped-minded global economy!!! They better hope I'm not feeling well when they race me, either , because I'll be out to put another thousandts package on them like I've been blessed to do against Tony Hernandez (.006 package in Rnd 3 at the '06 Mile Highs), or the nearly similar packages placed on Wes McCann, and Mike Graham in a 2007 Stock/Super Stock combo race (where I ran right on my dial nearly to the thou both times!), that has Mike wanting a rematch with me, and was my rematch with Wes for my -.013 red-bulb against him in the quarters at the '07 Div. VII race #2 where I ran right on my dial-in (to the thou), in my fwd Z24---thus, I'm still waiting to see some imports run consistent like that.

I'M CALLING OUT ANY BODY WHO LOVES THOSE IMPORTS TO BUILD ONE AND BRING IT OUT TO ANY OF OUR STOCK ELIMINATOR RACES...ESPECIALLY AGAINST ME!!!!!!

Uh, hmm, now as for the 2008 Cobra Jets, I'm glad to see them out here, and I look forward to seeing the Challengers as well in Gainesville, and the Camaros (once Chevrolet decides to release them).

USA ALL THE WAY!!!!!

[Jeff Lee]

Anything that the OEM sells to the public, for public consumption on public roadways, should be allowed in Stock.
If the OEM builds it and can't pass DOT / EPA it should be Superstock only.

That should be the argument, not what the HP or class designation!

[Shawn Blair]

That's right Jeff, Alan Rinehart said something about them not being street legal over the loud speaker Sat. during first round.Then I said out loud "thats why they should be in super stock" but someone wanted to argue sayin "my stocker isn't street legal either" but I informed that it was when it came from the factory!

[Rory McNeil]

Shawn, did you go home, or are you still hanging around Pomona? Making for a long "vacation", eh? At least with all the rain, you shouldn`t be too homesick for the Northwest yet!

[bill dedman]

Shawn,

I think that's an excellent point you made RE: is it street legal? If not, then it's an S/S car. I never considered that, but I think it has a lot of validity to it. Getting the mfgr.-friendly NHRA Tech Department to agree might take some doing, unfortunately.

Gary, your comment "American workers who lost their jobs due to our governments embracing of this warped-minded global economy" made me wish I'd said it.... we are on exactly the same page in our thinking on "global economy." Nothing would suit me better than to see a 50% tariff on any car sold here that was not built on this continent. But, that's politics, and I am aware that this in not the place to discuss that.

Be that as it may, "foreign" cars are making inroads performance-wise, and need to be included in the Class.Guide, I think (if for no other reason than to allow you, Gary, to get some starting-line satisfaction racing them!)

When I say they are making inroads, what I mean is "getting faster all the time." If you look at the road test results (in mags like Car and Driver, Road and Track, and Motor Trend) of the Honda Accord V6's, Camry V6's, and Nissan Altima V6s, you'll see that some of them run very close to 100 in the quarter, and the 5-speed Altimas run well over 100mph in the quarter-mile, and in the low-to-mid 14s on stock rubber and do this in brand-new, showroom-stock trim. The slowest run right at 100mph... and will exceed that, when broken in... still showroom-stock, thru the cat's and mufflers. That's a little faster than a '64 GTO was, or a '68 383 Road Runner, which were considered "muscle cars" in their day. And, (except for the Altima) those are all automatics... Amazing, for a 3,400-pound car with a 3.5-liter (214 cubic inch) motor, normally-aspirated, in "grocery-getter" trim.

I think if NHRA gave them a place to race, they would come... and you could have "your day in court," Gary.

I think it's a shame that NHRA doesn't actively pursue the specs on those cars so they can be included in the mix; they're NOT "slow." Any car that can run 100mph in the quarter, showroom stock, is okay by me, regardless of its place of manufacture. Just factor them right, and away we go!!!!

Bill

[junior barns]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Anything that the OEM sells to the public, for public consumption on public roadways, should be allowed in Stock.
If the OEM builds it and can't pass DOT / EPA it should be Superstock only.

That should be the argument, not what the HP or class designation! "
__________________
Jeff Lee 7494 SS/H '70 AMX



I AGREE with this statement!!

[Rich Biebel]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gillis

I have read a lot of post with a lot of complaints about the new Cobra Jets and the cars belong in Stock. The problem is NHRA needs to change the factors for stock and start at 6.00 like Super Stock. If you can go to a dealer and buy a new car Ford, Chevy, or Dodge with 500 HP it should have a place to race in NHRA. As far as Stock being stock cars that went out a long time ago. I tried racing in Stock 10 years ago and I wasn't competitive because I didn't want to spent $3500 to have my heads acid ported and that didn't include the intake. Stockers that race today are far more advanced than the Super Stocker I raced in the 70's. Robert Pond went 9.76 with his AA/S 67 Fairlane which is faster than the Pro Stockers were running in 1970. NHRA needs to get with the times and change the Stock HP to weight factors.

Rusty.....you said Acid Porting was needed to be competetive 10 years ago......There seems to be a lot of people that will say you just needed to "work on your stuff more"...haha

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by Rich Biebel

Rusty.....you said Acid Porting was needed to be competetive 10 years ago......There seems to be a lot of people that will say you just needed to "work on your stuff more"...haha

Acid porting is a "misnomer". The "acid" and now today "Media blasting" just hides the port work being done. Its been more than 20 years since I first became aware of it and the "powers to be" just turned thier heads except for the S/S head rule change. Let the games begin.