Are COPO's, CJ's and Drag Packs good for our sport?

[Tim Kish]

With about 20 "new" cars in Super Stock and almost 50 in Stock - not factoring anything other than the initial investment in the cars themselves - that's over $7 million in new race cars in the classes we love (Cars like the Driller are way over $100k to build so this number is low). Now I know I for one can't afford one but many others can and we should be happy to have people that committed to these classes. Now when you pull out the ones that ran in the FS classes, the ones running their real classes were spread throughout the field with several DNQ's, not gross domination as many of these combos have been taken several HP hits the last couple seasons. There are enough of these cars now, enough money spent and enough ego's, without a security blanket like the FS class, these combos will continue to get HP. I do disagree the FS class should be run without HP penalty and allow to bump others out of a field like Indy as that situation will not correct itself via AHFS.

[Dan Fahey]

Now NHRA has to classify all the other American cars they left out over the years..

ie..Cadillac SCLS3, All GM, Food, Chrysler V6 entries

[Charley Downing]

We had $100,000 stockers long before 2008.

[Mike Fuller]

They are probably good for the sport, they just need to be designated Factory Experimental. They could race in Stock Eliminator and have correct index's and have the AHFS applied equally. I think this classification would help the factory make them more sought after.

[Frank Castros]

Yes, they are great for class racing.
But, running FS without penalty is wrong.
All the 1,000' qualifying and class runs need to be resolved, either by lowering the indexes, a more effective means of AHFS and factoring.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Charley Downing

We had $100,000 stockers long before 2008.

Yes, we did Charlie Bob. Pass the beans.

[Eric Merryfield]

Originally Posted by SStockDart

I, for one, believe that they are good for drag racing....You have all heard the reasons....Especially, "Win on Sunday" sell on Monday. As an old timer, and in my case, really, how many 1968 Dodge Darts or 1969 Roadrunners drag cars are going to help sales for the dealerships? At best, the spectator will say, "wow, they really had some cool cars 45 years ago"....but realistically, the new cars can generate sales/profits for the manufacturer and dealers.....Maybe that will create additional financial interest in our sport.

I believe that once the horsepower deals get worked out.....the new cars will help our sport....Your comments are welcomed.

Yes they are good for the sport, especially the additional $ that they require to be track ready. That $ and new methods learned by the engine, tranny, clutch, electronics, chasis shops is all benefitial to the sport......that said, I would have also liked/would like to see the big 3 submit their street cars to the guide just like in the past. More innovation and creativity would follow......think Nees with a rental 2013 6 banger challenger entered into stock eliminator.driven to and from the track like it used to be done.....I'd do it too....I don't need to go 130+ to have fun! Drama free fun, is pretty additive too. The Copo's, CJ's and Drag Paks are all nice pieces that look great in a garage parked next to their older fathers....But what do you think is a bigger fan draw? A 09 Dragpak, or a 77 Gremlin....the Gremlin hands down.....yes the new cars are good for the sport, but more new cars than just the super cars would be even better at least in my eyes.


Eric

[Rich Biebel]

I was parked next to a 2012 Mustang CobraJet SS car at E-Town....

I met the owner and his crew and also worked on the car a little on Sunday when they had some trouble.

The owner is a very accomplished and successful business man and those business's were all aftermarket automotive products most any car guy has bought and used. We could hardly have raced without most of them. The man has quite a life story and he shared some of it with me and I was very impressed.....and he also is and was always a huge supporter of the Sportsman racers in general..

This was my first hands on experience with one of these cars and trust me when I say they are pretty awesome in looks and build quality and the performance out on the racetrack. I have also seen a COPO up close and personal and up on a lift.......Nice...

The Mustang drew a lot of attention is all I can say and a lot of people took pictures and really seemed to be attracted to it especially on Sunday......

Although I lost early in S/C on Saturday.......... overall I enjoyed the heck out of meeting the owner and working on his car a little and the race was a great one to me because of it....

It definitely is a good thing that these cars are out there for the added shot of enthusiasm they bring.

I love '69 Camaro's......Always have....always will....but we need to see something new and adjust as needed to make it work....

[Ed Wright]

Just fix the bogus HP ratings and they will still be awesome. Just won't be raping older cars in heads ups. Indy shoot out qualifying should tell you how far off they are.

[david ring]

I like Eric M's point about more than just the super cars in the guide-I don't know if ithey are, but I'd love to see someone bring out a new Camaro v-6 or a mustang v-6 etc. I'm for any cars with less than eight cylinders.