Hemi Head Ruling

[Dan Bernay]

I've read all the posts and I don't claim to know a damn thing about hemi heads, just want to ask where do you guys go from here?
Even if you can come up with a solution everyone can live with, 5 minutes from then someone will be trying to get around the new rule( nature of the beast).
Pandoras' box has been opened, I don't envy you guys.
Hope something good comes out of this because as a fan I really enjoy watching you guys race!

[David Barton]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

If the two most prominent S/S/AH HEMI engine builders and racers don't like the ruling, why didn't the N.H.R.A. consult them before adopting it?

NHRA did consult with my Dad and Westcott and this is how they came to a ruling. My Dad has been on them for months about putting a rule in writing because its clear that our competitors are taking it way too far.

NHRA made this new ruling because they know CW shouldn't have passed at Indy. He keeps making it like I'm spinning the story but he is full of smoke and mirrors.

[jaythorne]

pictures of your latest greatest david?

[Frank Castros]

The simple solution would have been to move forward, and state the rule will be enforced as originally written to benefit the class and no one competitor or engine builder.
The integrity of the Super Stock Class is being questioned by this decision.

[David Barton]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

The simple solution would have been to move forward, and state the rule will be enforced as originally written to benefit the class and no one competitor or engine builder.
The integrity of the Super Stock Class is being questioned by this decision.

I couldn't agree more. The rules were fine the way they were. But like other past experiences we've had, they make a rule change to accommodate guys like CW. I don't know where all the love is coming from, but he has something on them. Or maybe in them.

Here is a perfect example. If you ask NHRA if you can run a raised cam in Super Stock they will tell you no. There are several SS/AH guys that have raised cams. My Dad asked if we can protest anyone with a raised cam and NHRA told him, "Well, that's not something we really check." Why not?

So now NHRA is considering grandfathering the raised cam rule because apparently some guys have been running them for quite some time now. Yeah, that seems fair. Instead of enforcing the rule, lets change it for the cheaters.

Same thing happened at Indy a few years back. We got word that CW's guys were running funky lifter angles. We asked Bruce from NHRA at the Keystone's if he would check anyone if they were protested. He said, "I would, but I don't have the equipment". So we asked if we supplied him with the right tools if he would check anyone and he assured us it wouldn't be a problem.

Guess what, we get to Indy, and Danny Gracia and Bruce denied the protest. The one time we actually said "F*** it, enough is enough, lets protest this bastard", we were turned down. The following week we received a phone call from NHRA along with an e-mail confirming we had a personal invitation to relocate our lifter bores anywhere we want in both Stock and Super Stock. It was never published in the rule book, but I have a copy.

We never asked for any favoritism. Just enforce the stinking rules!

[jmantle]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

The simple solution would have been to move forward, and state the rule will be enforced as originally written to benefit the class and no one competitor or engine builder.
The integrity of the Super Stock Class is being questioned by this decision.

I fully agree, couldn't have been simpler.

Jim Mantle V/SA 6632

[SSDA Hemi]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

The simple solution would have been to move forward, and state the rule will be enforced as originally written to benefit the class and no one competitor or engine builder.
The integrity of the Super Stock Class is being questioned by this decision.

Frank, The problem with doing this is that probably 80% or more of the Hemi heads in Super Stock would be illegal. They tried doing the AH racers a favor by legalizing what they are all running right now, but in the process passed this rule to all non-SS/AH Hemi Super Stock racers! So all the racers that have been running old SS/AH heads are now in need of new head castings! $$$

As was said in the previous thread, the Hemi head is unique as to the angle of the valve cover bolt to the face of the intake flange. Most heads have been milled through the bolt which was illegal the way the rule was written.

The simple solution would have been to legalize cutting back to/ into the valve cover bolt legalizing heavily modded SS heads out there. Making ALL SS hemi racers heads useable and allowing AH heads to filter down into the lower SS classes legally.

The Cuda and Darts came from the factory as pure Super Stock cars, no more, no less. They should have to follow the same rules as all super stock cars and not be given preferential treatment. Moving valve cover bolts to trim an inch off the intake flange is not in line with traditional Super Stock rules!

Comp eliminator already has "half a hemi". There is no room for "Half a Hemi head" in Super Stock!

The two major Hemi engine builders/ competitors both agreed they do not want this. This is a very expensive "trick of the week" for AH cars and in a class where money seems to be no object, the list of contestants is shrinking rapidly. Sad to see RMRE will no longer be in the SS Hemi wars, along with others. And back to the drawing board for Bucky.
Not good for the class. Let an AH car cross the seven second barrier with traditional rules not $$$...

[Gary Smith]

Even though I'm nowhere near the class of an AH racer, the same problem affected me as well as all other NHRA racers, and that's the persuasive power money has towards the sanctioning body, starting from the top down. Just like governmental politics it appeared the creation of the AH class, and the convoluted rules would make Mopar the ultimate benefactor in selling parts to ALL the engine builders. Nothing against Charlie or Ray, but I saw the writing on the wall several years ago when Mopar stepped up to support the class, knowing full well how their dollars would influence NHRA rules, while the spirit and legacy of these cars eventually started to fade. After many years around various forms of motorsports, I can't help but notice how honest "non-profit" sanctioning bodies waiver very little in terms of guidelines through unbiased governance, a trait NHRA lost decades ago.

I may be wrong, but it's just my $.02

[Bucky Hess]

Man, you all are gonna ruin the class before i get back out......Except,Except. why should we be excepted from ss.