2019 Cobra Jet program in jeopardy ?

[Ralph A Powell]

Originally Posted by Jeff Teuton

Ditto Mack. Ditto, ditto. Mopar Performance , which does not exist any more, has no future. Dale was our last hope. You guys at Ford should praise the green earth for as much as you got. Between the manufacturers and NHRA, that class don't have a chance. Beer time.

Joe
Will it be a slow Death like Pro Stock Truck was as Factory interest go away?

[lstanford]

I think I saw Mike Delahanty at the train station yesterday. He got out of a Chariot shuttle bus and jumped on his Ford scooter. What a guy, all Ford, all the way.

[chris ok]

Factory stock seems the perfect ego driven class for the big 3.
I don’t understand what is happening.
When mentioned in this thread previous is that drag racing had the smallest budget in 1969.
Well part of that is knowing the obsession Drag racers have to spend their own hard earned money to get where they want to go in respect to their cars performance.
It is still happening now obviously as I get to watch you all in my favorite classes as well as participate locally in classes I fit in.
Factory stock heads up racing is the best thing to happen to Nhra in a looong time.
I hope they give you the support you need so you can run with it and keep up a great show for us fans.
Come on Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler.
This is the very best racing available to highlight your super cars.
Chris.

[BillyCarroll]

I don't want to hijack the thread and get it off topic, but I wanted to clarify the "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" comment I made in the earlier post in this thread. I do think the Factory Showdown Cars will prompt sales on Monday, but I wasn't referring to the sale of more Showdown Cars. That program was never designed to sell a high volume of showdown cars, but more as a way of selling performance cars, parts and accessories. You could argue if an in house factory race team or a factory support program works out better in the long run as far as engineering and product development, but without the guys relaying the information back and forth it becomes a non issue.

My main point is that people can look at these factory efforts in racing and pick them apart, but let's not devalue the importance of the manufacturer's human links that have a real interest in what is going on in the pits and try to improve the product across the board.

Aside from if you think the program sells cars or not, if it gets people interested in paying attention to the sportsman classes either as a spectator or a potential new racer I'd say it's a win/win. I often hear people say younger people need to get involved in racing. It's a lot easier if it is something that they can identify with and the correlation between a fuel car and a Camry is lost on me.

[B.D.D.2]

Originally Posted by FECARMAN

I think I saw Mike Delahanty at the train station yesterday. He got out of a Chariot shuttle bus and jumped on his Ford scooter. What a guy, all Ford, all the way.

Thats why he races a MOPAR!! LOL

[troublemaker427]

I bought a 2018 Mustang GT in May of 2018 and one of the reasons behind that choice was because of my interest in the FS/XX class. So to say this class does not help sell cars is just plain wrong.


The cars in this class are light-years more identifiable to the buying public than the carbon fiber decal cars in NASCAR, Pro Stock or Funny Car.


Some of the comments in this thread by those that have absolutely nothing to do with the class are amusing to say the least.

[Ken Miele]

Jody,

Its the nature of forums, it seems negativity is more popular than positive discussion. My original post was looking for suggestions to help make the program better in the future. I do agree with you about the Cobra Jets having a positive effect on new cars sales. Its kind of the same marketing scheme that Dodge uses with the Demon, not many will buy a Demon, but they will buy something that looks the same.

The Challenger outsold the Camaro last year, and I think its because of the heavy marking campaigns they have. I wish Ford would do more with the Cobra Jet and Chevy with the COPO. Its definitely a plus to see factory cars racing instead of the cookie cutter professional drag cars.

[FS Fan]

Originally Posted by Superfan1

Was Mike Delahanty fired or did he resign?

I'm not sure it affects the program if he was or wasn';t but I had a card from last years CJ event to one of their engineers so I called to ask him and surprise he answered. He said "officially" Mike retired. I asked if there wasa retirement party or luncheon? Nope. Was there a goodbye email sent out from Mike about retiring with a new contact listed? No. I doubt we'll ever know for sure but that doesn't sound like retirement to me. THis guy sounded unsure about what to say. As for Mike's replacement he had no idea.

The timing is a bummer. Ford started this season strong after a disapointing couple years. Will that continue wihtout a Ford rep?

[ken robinson]

Dose anybody know what the length of the factory stock showdown sam tech sponcer ship contract is ? Is it a year by year renewal or a multi year deal ( if so when dose it exp ) ? On the surface it looks like a good deal/match for both parties but I don't know how much return sam tech is getting on there dollar ? Hopefully enough to go for years .

[Tom P]

Originally Posted by ALMACK

Please Ford....bring back Jesse.

He was not only good for the Cobra Jet program, but he was also responsible for getting other non FS combos into the classification guide.

I liked Jesse, he seemed to know his stuff and was receptive to ideas.