The future of Factory Stock Showdown

[Jeff Teuton]

Nicely said, David. I have a simple solution. All run, there is no one to go to Stock Eliminator. Fast Loser comes back; hence only the first run fast qualifier gets a bye on an odd number of entries.. Time Trials and Eliminations in front of the crowd. Get FS out of Stock. Simple

[Larry Hill]

Change the order that the FS cars qualify. For those cars to go A to B they have to be "glued" to the track. The best time for a fresh glued track is just before Top Fuel. This will help in a few ways, it should help with the problem of blowing the tires off on the 1/2 change, fans will be in the stands to see the show, this will make the big three happy, and this will give the race teams some turnaround time to evaluate and adjust.

Some racers and fans would like to see the FS/X cars in the program.

I like how the announcers talk about the bump spot and that number is always changing on the scoreboard, just like the pros.

[Rob Wright]

Everything I'm saying here is being said with a liking and a respect for everyone on all sides, and I happen to hold personal opinions that favor a lot of what the article says.

if the article is stating there are problems, I think the problems should be clearly identified and measured before there are any suggested fixes. Otherwise there will be lots of fixes for things that are not broken.

So here goes............


"What is the future of the Factory Stock Showdown. Well, without real support from NHRA, who knows. Its hard to understand why a class that has GM, Ford and Chrysler committed to building and supporting these cars gets very little promotion from NHRA."

Factories are involved because the FS cars are products that the factories produce and sell at a benefit for their respective Companies. Some make money, some say they do not...Either way there is a benefit to the OEM's. Otherwise they would definitely not do it.

At a minimum, OEM participation in FS is good for product image and credibility, and it gives buying customers something to reference when they decide to buy a CJ, DP, or COPO. Keep in mind, over 75% of these are bought by fans & enthusiasts who are not likely to participate in regular sanctioned drag racing.

"In fact, if it was not for Sam Tech (School of Automotive Machinists & Technology) they class may not exit today."

Having a title sponsor to fund the class is not a bad idea, plus it creates piggy-back media opportunities for the class and for the sponsor.

Otherwise funding would have to come from the existing pot, and none of us know what the actual impacts would be if money was redirected towards FS from somewhere else. We also do not know (with certainty) whether the series sponsor(s) have any say-so in it or if they would agree with it.

It's great that SAM Tech signed on and they are truly some of the nicest-greatest people out there. Still, at the end of the day nobody can really say with certainty that nobody else would have signed on to be the title sponsor for the FS class.

"NHRA does promote its 4 professionally classes as it should to bring the best possible show for the fans."

I'm sure we can all agree on this point

"They seem to have missed an opportunity to increased their fan base with this new class. Knowing that most fans come to see the fuel cars, these fans are also very in tune with what the big three produce when it comes to factory performance cars."

"And although there is a excitement in the NHRA sportsman ranks about the Factory Stock Showdown cars, there seems to be very little excitement from NHRA."

What is the measure to gauge current fan interest in FS, and what is the extent of fan interest? As an example (and not basing everything on a sample set of only one event), what did fan interest look like during the FS events in 2017? Did it grow, shrink, or stay the same compared to 2016?

If the thing that would make all the difference in the world is NHRA promotion, there would absolutely have to be some indications of fan interest by now since the class has been ran at several events during more than one racing season. Does anyone have any data or meaningful observations, even if they are subjective?

["Most of the NHRA top brass has probably never walked the sportsman pits to look at the race operations of these teams and the investment they have.

Does this statement say that NHRA should reward racers because some of them chose to make significant investments? Another way to ask the same question - if payout and contingencies offered $5.00, should those incentives be raised if someone shows up with a $1M setup to compete?

"Many sportsman races are always talking to the tech officials and asking why?

If they are asking tech officials, doesn't it seem that they are asking the wrong people? Even so, what are the tech official's responses?

Why doesn’t NHRA want to promote this class, and why don’t they promote the sportsman class as a whole. Its one of the best car shows you can go to. What other motorsport has so much diversity and accessibility. With today’s business climate, why would you not treat the sportsman as an asset instead of a liability.

Same questions as above regarding fan interest......What do observations and other measures show for fan interest (causual and die-hards) in NHRA sportsman categories during the recent seasons up to today?

If there is a tremendous opportunity lurking, there would absolutely positively have to be some serious indications that can be quantified & spoken to.

[Superfan1]

It seems that most agree that the FS/XX index needs to be adjusted. At events where the Factory Stock Showdown is not contested, the FS/XX cars run in FS/AA with a 9.40 index, or FS/A with a 9.70 index. Why not just split the difference between the 2 indexes (9.40 and 9.70) and make the FS/XX index 9.55. That would be a reduction of .35 which, in general, is about what most have suggested.

[RonP]

Any thoughts on placing FS/XX non-qualifiers in Comp eliminator?? This category has trouble filling a full field, no break out class, and cars are towed to the staging area. Most of the Comp cars are on the smallest tire they can tolerate.
Would just need a reasonable index (which would be an item of contention).
Thanks, Ron.

[Mike Pearson]

Realistically the future for Factory stock is not all that good. If NHRA does not promote the class then the factories will get bored with the whole program and stop producing the cars and parts for them. The cars will become museum pieces juat as the older COPO and Cobra jet cars from the 60's and 70's NHRA does not seem very interested in the health of any of the sportsman classes. The numbers are down in all of the sportsman classes in the past 10 years or so. NHRA does not seem to have any particular direction that they are heading. With them running bracket cars and 10.5 cars at some nationals this year it seems they are searching for something. They already have a good show with the sportsman classes they just don't have any idea how to promote it to the fans out there. The TV coverage is poor at best and does not give a spectator any idea of what it is actually like at the race in person. Its sad to see NHRA in a decline where the fields are not full in the pro classes.

I think factory stock is very cool and if I could afford one I would be in the mix. All of the purpose built cars from the factories are really awesome.

[Hacksaw]

Originally Posted by RonP

Any thoughts on placing FS/XX non-qualifiers in Comp eliminator?? This category has trouble filling a full field, no break out class, and cars are towed to the staging area. Most of the Comp cars are on the smallest tire they can tolerate.
Would just need a reasonable index (which would be an item of contention).
Thanks, Ron.

Don't think a non qualified FS/XX any body is going to Comp. Even if the index was 9.55, you need to go at least better than .500 under to have a chance. 90% or more often he did run well enough and doesn't want his head handed back to him.

[Ed Carpenter]

The real question is does nhra care enough to promote the class. Everyone knows the answer. Unless Force or Schumacher get involved in Factory Stock cars nhra doesn't care. We need racers in Glendora...

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by ed carpenter

we need racers in glendora...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^bingo bingo bingo^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[GUMP]

Originally Posted by Ed Carpenter

The real question is does nhra care enough to promote the class. Everyone knows the answer. Unless Force or Schumacher get involved in Factory Stock cars nhra doesn't care. We need racers in Glendora...

I would think that it is more a matter of priorities. If they didn't care, why does the class even exist?

Maybe as a group we could do ourselves a favor by being less negative about everything?