Crate Motor Class

[PozQB14]

Originally Posted by Rory McNeil

Really?! You think NHRA Stock Eliminator will die without allowing crate motor classes in to muddy the waters?
According to my most recent Nitro Joe Stats book (July 2017 edition), IHRA Stock total car count for 1/8th mile events was 116 cars, of which 37 were crate engine classes. For 1/4 mile events, there was a total of 54 cars in Stock (all classes), with TWO crate motor cars! (by the way, at 1/8th mile events, there was a whopping FIVE Pure Stockers and in 1/4 mile ONE Pure Stocker.
By comparision, the same time period showed a total of 1081 Stockers were entered in NHRA events. Maybe a bit lower than in past years, but hardly withering on the vine, even without Create Motor, Pure Stock, Stock GT, or seperate FI classes.
Also, saying that a Crate motor is exactly the same as NHRA Stocker engine is ridiculous. Although NHRA has allowed SOME combinations to use approved aftermarket cylinder heads, or similar configuration carburators, and in a few cases intake manifolds, it is hardly the same as IHRA Crate engines which can be mostly built from aftermarket pieces right out of the Summit or Jegs catalog.

10 years ago the 350/330 was using a vortec head that you can literally find on Craigslist for a couple hundred bucks. 10 year from today, the 350/330 will be using the same head. As a current CM racer, I can promise I'll never ask IHRA or "maybe" nhra to approve a bogus aluminum cylinder head even though there is the 350/385 that runs one but the specs of the engine are much different. Only aftermarket stuff you really need is maybe a block which is very unnecessary (mine is a stock 350 .060 4 bolt main, nothing special) Actually bought it off Craigslist for $250 then had it decked and honed. Got lucky it was a decent piece. most use a victor jr and a holley 750. Some guys might get crazy with the trick ring package, not me. Way to expensive and not worth it. These are not fancy or special engines. At farmington this past wknd I literally rolled off the trailer, put gas in and went to staging cause I was in a hurry (barely had time to check tire pressure which was a little low) to make a pass and still went low 6.60's.
It's a low maintenance engine that can go 100's of runs before a freshen up, as is the 350/385 with aluminum heads with a larger cam ect...

It's very simple, guys that have 25-30k in there rockets can't handle getting put on the trailer by a low budget CM. It's a pride thing. But really, when the light turns green, are you not going to go because the other guy has a crate motor?

Funny thing is, the best sportsman racer in the history of drag racing has no problem mixing it up with IHRA guys as well as numerous other guys that were even at Indy this year in stock, some who were even class winners. Simply put, if you're a racer then strap up and race regardless of your opoonents combo. If you build a car for the prestige, go to Barret Jackson.