Stripe Catcher/Pecker Extender

[Floyd Staggs]

1320racer (Ed) is just an instigator that will ague about anything while he's sitting in his re liner.

[CMcAllister]

Originally Posted by JP1738

I know this thread kinda turned ugly over a year ago, but is now a good time to bring it back up? CGL, what are your thoughts on the opening posts of this thread? It seems I was looking into this in the same vane as you are now. I would love some clarification from an actual rules official. Maybe Someone here or I could send the head of tech in Glendora an email for some clarification.

Also I was not in Vegas and have not seen the stripe catcher that is being talked about. I would really appreciate CGL posting a picture so we east coast racers can get some kind of frame of reference for what is being discussed. I'm neither for nor against the stripe catcher, but it'd be nice to know definitively what is and isn't legal to avoid any additional hoopla in the future.

No in Stock, Super Stock, maybe a few other classes. Maximum front overhang on anything is 45", with or without the extender. Unless, I believe, it has OE front end on it.

[Cglrcng]

Just saw this thread repost for the first time JP...was too busy the first time it was posted in Jan 2024 doing what Billy suggested..."more wrenching, less typing" and attempting to get car to DF/S natural class wt. and updating the shifter Winter of 2023/24. Totally missed it, did not read it, did not see it until tonight.

I think you have now seen pics. I have seen you made 1 recently in a half hr. Mine is currently on the garage floor next to the car near 2 jackstands. Still currently legal according to the experts that matter. What the future holds who knows.

General Regulations applies to all of the classes unless exceptions are permitted or not permitted by specific class rules, and that G.R. 4.5 has a pre-exception listed, followed by a comma, followed by more data and info pertinent to all other classes (except those in which it is permitted in front of the bumper or furthest forward part of the body). Commas mean something in the English language when used. They are almost as powerful as periods...But, not quite the same meaning.

I tested the rule, I won the battle, in some minds I surely lost the P.R. war, in some ways that was fully intentional after my personal investigation of many other cars. A lot of supposition was tested, and I can attest based on clear time slip evidence there is no real performance advantage at all (much less than expected based on guesses, far less that the math showed should be expected at 75mph max over 17 plus seconds and less than 4 thou, or less than you can physically dial a car to in a race...to the hundredth). Has that even been tested in reality....can one post up a dial in that reads 17.326 on the window? Has anyone ever tried it?

Personally it does not matter what others think or opine...only what the NHRA Tech officials decided based on the existing ruleset. Looking back hard at a deep dive I never cut such decent lights (not in any way connected to that item), and also broke out in doing so by taking away last move options at the stripe as those tests were with the item in question attached. (A direct cause of the installed item in most cases it appears by most of the data I have available). The further under larger breakouts were due completely to another much larger change since March 10th. (The completion of the Holley Terminator X ECU replacing the Stock 1984 ECM/PM. (It is different by far...It is learning/ I am learning and it is a work in progress). The car is flat different than it used to be...Brackets or Stock Elim.

It is not a lot faster yet, but creeping slowly up on it. Only been 3 races so far I have actually been shifting any gears by hand after the last couple of years in Drive. Finding out all over again what it wants and needs takes time. And that is this .430/.430 little cam. I have others, but a couple more improves first need to be accomplished to use them.

As far as a beam breaker...others much faster than I can worry about that, (plenty of em out there with some variation of it, and a very vocal few without a clue that they have been in use for a long time, others that have known all along too), as my current experiment is over for now. I will carry it, if the rule stays the same I may use it, I may not. As far as Bracket races. I won with it more rounds than I lost with it just knowing the track was pretty much the same length unless I was on the brakes quite a bit and dipped the nose into the beam 4" sooner. It will free me up again to use both feet and both pedals and less time looking out over the hood tip I cannot see from inside the car.

Simply go back to my 6 points of possible reference. Learning how high to actually stall the car (in November when dual class seat time and 41 passes and 22 round wins in 5 days), was worth more than 5 beam breakers ever could be. It might be a consistency factor, but it was no performance enhancer. It was definitely a choice reducer. And it was deemed legal by the rule writers and decides. I just tested what was written in black on white pages.Use at your own risk.

And if you do decide to...follow those rules explicitly or run afoul of some others. The body of the car was never altered...period. It complied to G.R. 5.4 explicitly. I will admit, keeping it up in the 3-1/4" Zone when parking in the lanes or on any slope was not easy as the car still has parking brakes I use at all times on the rear (normal stop is neutral or in gear, brakes, set parking brake and it locks it down in sprung position closer to the ground. On the racing surface it is different...dry hop, struts to full extension, light brakes, wait for competitive partner, light rolling and creeping forward to courtesy stage...(hitting the brakes early could dip it into the danger zone of an upper blue rainbow wink...I was warned twice in total since August.The hilarious dual surprising one w/ another racer (wink, wink), wasn't warned at all...we staged up on command and went. Like I said, I am far from alone in using one...in brackets or Stock.

If it wasn't right there in the book, and so many using some variation of them upon inspection, I would have asked first. And if it was the 1st one you have seen, you have not looked very hard...or at all. Glad you noticed.

They do not enhance, they take away choices. Choices I think I like more in retrospect and hindsight, but it was a good test. Hey, I was giving people a known target to shoot for, that is gone now...I control the moving target again now, just like you do yours.

I think JP you need to try yours, while it has been determined legal before it gets changed, and you can judge for yourself. Just watch out for the PR nightmare that could follow from a few. Do it brackets first. Then look around really hard, you will find all kinds of variations. Those are the current silent minority. Some though admitting they have been in use forever though.

[Jeff Stout]

Originally Posted by 1320racer

you talk like making a pass in stock eliminator is some huge accomplishment, it's not! I've been offered rides to compete in stock and super stock over the years. Going backwards at this point in my racing program, running in the 10s or even high 9s is of little interest to me not when my Chevelle ran in the 9s, 17 years ago and my firebird has been running in the 8s for the past 15 years!


because they don't have their ride height and /or suspension setup correctly. I don't have a strip taker and NEVER in thousands of passes have ever tripped the beams with the nose when braking hard.

How about chin spoiler. It's been done to me a couple times especially when it's arched more in the middle to trip beam sooner.

[dragracerray]

Originally Posted by JP1738

Sorry everyone, if you've been following along in other threads you'll know that I am new to STK. Gotta ask a dumb question. Are you allowed to put a strip catcher on a stocker? I wouldn't mind having an extra foot (or two) before I trip the finish line with the tires. I've never seen a stocker with a stripe catcher but I didn't see anything in the rulebook forbidding one. Please advise.

It looks like NHRA made it clear. I heard this from our crack Division1 rep Marty Rinehart Jr. Thanks Marty!

https://www.nhraracer.com/content/ge...206&zoneid=132

[Dyno]

SECTION 11A: STOCK CARS, FRAME: 4, GROUND CLEARANCE (Page 10)
(05/12/2025)
Minimum 3 inches from front of car to 12 inches behind centerline of front axle; 2 inches
for remainder of car, except oil pan and exhaust headers. Any component added to the
vehicle other than OEM components that could be considered a performance related
device such as a beam breaker is prohibited. See General Regulations 4:5.

[427FE]

• Section 11A, Stock Cars, Frame, Ground Clearance, Page 10 ? Components added other than OEM such as beam breakers prohibited
• Section 12A, Super Stock, Frame, Ground Clearance, Page 7 ? Components added other than OEM such as beam breakers prohibited