Originally Posted by nhramnl (Post 574590)

It does appear to be the end of an era, but I don't know if it's what I would call sad. Lots of things have come and gone in drag racing, and the sport just moved on. I don't think anyone would disagree that Pro Stock has lost its way, but I think the sport in general has become far less relevant to the average young American man or woman that it used to be. What's been lost is the history of drag racing, and from that, the ability to put the sport in context. None of the young people participating today have much of a sense of where the sport came from, so it exists in the present, rather than having any historical foundation. The average 60 year old vividly remembers the beginning years of Pro Stock, and that memory "connects" today to the past. When a Pro Stock race takes place today, the 60 year old is unconsciously thinking "Oh man, I remember when Grumpy raced Ronnie Sox, and this is still a lot like that", where the young person of today just sees two Pro Stock/Pro Mod/Top Sportsman/Everything Looks the Same cars fly down the track, oftentimes driven by young people who never actually even work on the car. In the hero days of Pro Stock, it was man against man, hero against hero, because each car literally represented the brains, creativity, hard work and driving skill of the owner. Those days are gone, never to return, and the guys that miss them most are the guys who remember how incredible Pro Stock was.

Originally Posted by Barry Polley (Post 574621)

Cannot forget that the trickle down affect of PRO STOCK ENGINE DEVELOPMENT is found in all the new FS cars as well as Comp, Superstock, Stock and every other class. .

Originally Posted by jmcarter (Post 574640)

Think nhramni nailed it. At 69 I fondly recall the beginning and watching first hand how hard WJ, Grumpy, Buddy Martin, Glidden etc shaped the class that was based on hard work more than $$$. Didn’t even mind the NHRA meddling (thought the four door Maverick was kinda cool but then one of my all time favorites is a 62 Dodge so that gives my perspective). The current Pro Stock Camaro Class is hard to watch, wouldn’t mind one bit seeing Jason Line, Bo and others concentrate on classes that we enjoy.