Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Interesting article, nothing really surprising but if Morgan and others (McGaha hasn't exactly had a great year with Edwards operation, Jeggie itching to do something else? Just how long is Roy Johnson willing to keep doing this or Ken Black keep footing a big part of the Summit team?) bail and you start having 10 car fields then something has to change. There were 29 Pro Mod cars attempting to qualify at St Louis and they are getting more and more ink. The FSS cars are getting a lot of support...surely the end of PS is near. Dang shame NHRA hasn't kept the rules such that it remained viable.

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-...-pro-stock-too

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I'd like to see Pro Stock run with Pro Mod. Maybe a naturally aspirated ProMod class with any size engine, same make as body, working doors? Erica Enders head to head with Ricky Smith?

The only competition in Pro Stock anymore is between the big money Camaro teams and that 's not fun to watch. Leaving PS is the best way Larry Morgan can field a competitive Ford. Maybe run something in Super Stock a .90 class or Comp Elim.

Dale

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

If they truly did away with pro stock, the last 2 or 3 multi millionaire teams would own NHRA. Remember pro stock truck? It will have to completely die on its own.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Ricky Smith tried to run Pro Stock. Didn't set the world on fire.
McGaha bought Mike's stuff, then proceeded to "fix" everything. Even said, in an interview, they "threw Edward's log books in the trash barrel."
He might want to find that trash barrel. LOL

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Goes back to the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it." Ya, I figured he'd been more of a factor this year. Was hoping he would.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

That's what the NHRA is trying to do. They are doing nothing to try and help the class. Poor TV coverage. They want it to die so they're can't be a law suit.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

That happens alot. That's what the clowns did with my "old" Olds Cutlass, an Ex Larry Kopp car. I won 3 of the last 5 races I ran with that car.... then they "fixed" all the things that were wrong with it.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

pro stock unlimited cubic inch

pro mod replace"s top fuel

take the body's off the funny cars and call it unlimited altered

late model SS ultra / stock

etc................

just my 2 cents (oh i for got dump top fuel)

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

you mean they took the thermal wrap off the headers?:D

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

[QUOTE=600ci;447866]pro stock unlimited cubic inch [QUOTE]

I doubt you'll see it, but I think this would bring in more competitors and level the playing field.Pro Stock is a cool deal,I'd hate to see it go away.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Nothing personal against Larry, but he has always done less with the resources he's had than almost anyone else in the class. He also has the knack for blaming everyone but the face in the mirror. The only tike he's been a player in the last 20 years was when Glidden was helping him, and he screwed the pooch then too.

Running a top tier heads up class is incredibly expensive no matter what. The NHRA has done a reasonable job of attempting to rein in expenses, but when there are guys in the class with bigger budgets than you, they are gonna find ways to spend it. Crying because you can't afford it accomplishes nothing.

Maybe Larry should have talked to Glidden before jumping on the Ford bandwagon.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Our combination at the time liked that wrap, on the dyno and at the track. They bought it as a roller and the last time I saw it they couldn't qualify.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Eventually Pro Stock needed a completely different approach , or it would / should die a slow death. The big block / carbs thing is way outdated and should have been replaced by small engines and fuel injection / turbos...... years ago.
1975 was 39 years ago.
Pro Mod for its totally outrageous nature is much more appealing and is the way of the future.
I used to love Pro Stock..............but the love has waned.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Raise the Wheelie Bars to 12" minimum. Talk about excitement. I think you will see several guys in the FS stuff.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Who gets the bill for the bent Christmas trees?

After watching some of the ProMod rounds from the last race on ESPN, I'd still like to see PS blended with PM. They would be competitive and fun to watch. Was I stoned or did I see an Edsel in ProMod?

Dale

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

You are wrong about Larry's lack of resources over the years. Larry had big Money when he first started Bob Panella's and Don Beverley's $$$$$, the Mopar $$$$ for the 2 car team, the very good leasing program for V Gaines and Johnny Gray and several others! But you are right about blaming others, never my fault sorta like WJ and Bob never my fault! So if he does move on only time will tell. Ricky was never a serious threat in NHRA Pro Stock, maybe Pro Mod is easier.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Please explain how nhra has put a rein on expenses in Pro Stock?

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Rotating assembly weight limits and exotic material bans

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

The lightweight parts might let the engine live longer which could end up saving money.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Wait, wait, wait.....your telling me guys with tractor trailer loads of cash can't make it in a heads up class?? That somebody else that has MORE cash is winning?? Who'd a thunk it? And the interest is dying out too because the same cars are winning over and over?

But, but, that's not possible, heads up is the only "real" racing! EVERYBODY loves heads up and nobody likes shoe polish....


I think we need more heads up classes...


Ok, I'll turn off the sarcasm button. LOL!!!!!

Let's start a few heads up threads, maybe that will convince people? lol

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

It would be kinda neat to see PS a EFI V-8 class based on current production engine families.

Aftermarket blocks ok, but must be based on a production vehicle V-8.

The cu.in. might be the limiting factor, but a GM LS 6.?L, a Ford Coyote 6.?L, and a Mopar 6.?L V-8 deal.

I'm sure it will never happen, but maybe 20 years from now NHRA might consider using EFI....someday.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Really? Larry's work ethics are nothing short of "exhausting". Larry is anything but a crier, he is simply a straight shooter who is telling it like it is.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

The supercharged Super Stock or even the Stocker engines aren't far off from current Pro Stock power levels. Put em under the hood, keep the weight at 2350, then make the cars look like cars again and there you go, Pro Stock revived.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

X2. Amazing to see folks criticize hard working racers like Larry and Ricky Smith. They represent decades of contributions to Pro racing.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I'll make that a X3!!

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

A comp racer friend of mine once said that the reason that Pro Mods are so popular is that they go boom on occasion. I'm not sure that is the only appeal. I know this-they have fewer races in NHRA,so that must hold down costs and at their last two races, they have had huge fields and it was tough to qualify.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Not a big fan of any Pros or Pro Mod, but I think part of the Pro Mod appeal may be variety of body styles and paint jobs....PS too corporate and sterile.....characters as well, not corporate spokesmen

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Not to mention sportsman racing,also.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Excuse me , but what exactly did they "contribute"........I believe "participate" would be the correct term...............with the exception of the occasional innovation , its generally ( with most ) always "participation".

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Your friend is dead wrong.
this sums it up better:

", but I think part of the Pro Mod appeal may be variety of body styles and paint jobs....PS too corporate and sterile.....characters as well, not corporate spokesmen ".........
All the corp. crap adorning bodies is a big turn off.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Thanks for the correction. I will be more careful in the future !!

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I think Larry is looking at P/M, but I don't see it being any "cheaper", or easier...Take Jegs for example, I'm sure money isn't an issue there, and it's a 5-6 place qualifier most of the time..

The appeal of P/M I think is the diversity, different engine combo's, body styles, etc.

I see they will have their own TV coverage beginning this Sunday...

P/S is dead IMO, for many reasons, one of which is the upside down bath tub, spaceship looking things, also S/S, and and stock eliminator cars put on a much better show with huge wheelies, and real cars, to most fans they look like they are going much faster than a P/S car...

No, or at best crappy TV coverage with terrible ratings, and a poor economy isn't helping with sponsor money or fans either.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I like pro mods because you never know what gonna happen! Pro stock is very predictable.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

We need SS/PRO with factory cars/ factory wars and factory money.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Yeah, Pro Stocks both make to the finish line, in a close race, way too often. Not enough wall banging and blowing up. :-)

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Close racing is nice if you're at the finish line, in the car, or watching on TV. Otherwise, the fans can't tell how close it is and the average Joe Blow doesn't care anyway. They're at the track for the loud and the boom.

I do think, on a theoretical level anyway, that the Factory Stock class would hold much more appeal than the current PS cars do. The drag racing geek in me wants to see how fast the factory cars can be made to go...so long as they're not bastardized by rule changes.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I didn't say anything about blowing up or crashing. I'm saying their is always an unknown because they make so much power. All I'm saying.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I like it. Add bodies that look like the real thing, maybe add a couple of imports. No obsolete motors, all based on current production. Might have to adjust the minimum weights between brands so everyone is competitive (hopefully not).

Jim Mantle V/SA 6632

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

I'm a huge fan of Pro Stock, always have been. With that stated, I'll repeat what Bret Kepner said, and that is for any drag racing class to be exciting, it has to be unpredictable. And to the masses, which might not represent the S/SS community, cars that blow up, get sideways, and smoke the tires at half track are unpredictable and exciting. Is Pro Stock predictable? And I'm not talking about the outcome of a race. But the way the cars go down the track.

Second, since the cars don't generally blow up or shoot flames at night, they must have some form of appeal to the fans. In the case of Pro Stock, this SHOULD come from a connection to what people drive or are interested in driving. Sadly, the aeroteardrops racing today do not represent what the factories are selling, nor does any of the technology. Go to SEMA, you will not find very many Pro Stock parts on display. You will find a zillion bolt-on parts for modern and classic cars. Hot rodders and race fans are out there, but they want to relate to what they have.

The fact is, today's factory engines are capable of making 1,200-plus hp using factory blocks and heads so there is no reason, other than the cost, that NHRA shouldn't be making a move to factory stuff. As I see it, the writing is on the wall, and the cars already exist.

I'd love to see the COPO, Drag Pak and CJ Mustangs develop into a pro class. I believe it would have huge fan appeal, magazines would get behind it, and the manufacturers would jump in since it would most certainly sell cars. But it needs to be on TV to make it work.

Re: Larry Morgan quitting Pro Stock
 

Take off AH !!!!!

Don Anderson
5891 M/S