"..I can't spare the time and money for bracket racing. I am slowly getting a bracket car together that will "feel" the same as my stocker..."
No dog in the hunt.
But, I'm just curious how you can build a bracket car to race, if you "can't spare the time & money for bracket racing." ?
Also wondering about the idea that Stocker engines cost too much to run bracket races. I've read on this forum that the Stock purse is very low, at most races. But there are lots of bracket races around the country that pay $10,000 on up to $50k to win. And lots of 'em have 2 or 3 separate races on a weekend, with $10k or more to win, each day.
I understand that some guys prefer to spend big money to run a second under their index, at div & national events. But, the reason can't possibly be for the purse & contingency money. So, I assume it's mostly to be able do what most average guys cannot afford to do. Then for a few others, I assume it's because they have the know-how & mechanical skills to get a car under the index, which most bracket racers do not have.
This is not a put down, in any way. I love to keep up with the Stocker racing, tho I've never had the budget to do it, on a national level. This is merely an observation, from what I've seen, and from what I've read on this forum.
It's just my personal opinion that NHRA let the Stock rules get WAY out of hand. To me, just the cam/valve spring rule alone changed the game, quite a bit, and increased the cost of a competitive engine, in some classes, by many thousands of dollars. And, I assume that the inclusion of the light trans, like the TH200, also increased the price of buying and maintaining a super competitive trans, by quite a few bucks.
I'd be interested in hearing from some of you older guys, who have raced Stockers since back in the '70's, about how the major rules changes, such as the cam/valve spring rule & light trans rule, affected your racing costs. Thanks !