[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by FS Fan

Without the package cars how could a late model car ever be competitive?

Proper HP factoring. There is a difference between Advertised HP and NHRA Factored HP. It may take a dash of common sense, and then let the AHFS work to do the rest.

Do you care if the factories are involved? Factories get involved when its marketable.

Yes, certainly. And of course they want to be both marketable and competitive. "Competitive" does not mean willfully legislated to be dominant right out of the box. No one has asked that the factory cars carry a 200HP 'penalty' to start with, but nor should they have an immediate 50HP advantage, either. The AHFS took 10 years to bring the underfactored LS cars into line. All people have asked is that common sense be used when introducing new cars.

There's NO doubt that the factory race cars are very cool and very impressive cars in and of themselves -- regardless of indexes or HP factors. They can stand on their own without needing a crutch and would still receive well-deserved attention, fanfare, and accolades.

Regarding the disparity in MPH between cars what if NHRA decided to put slow cars out rather than move fast cars to Super Stock?

Then slow cars would cease to compete in Stock, and the financial barrier to entry into Stock would rise. Is this a desired outcome? Alternatively, there is a precedent for cars that do not fit into the Stock classification and spirit of the rules to instead run Super Stock.

It is the National HOTROD Association, and if the slowest modern version of a hot rod can run 11's modified to race is that the new bar?

"Fast" is relative to the performance potential of the engine/vehicle combination. The 'bar' is the class Index.

Is it important to bring new and/or young people into the sport?

Yes, certainly. However, I would argue that $100,000+ factory race cars are not the likely avenue for young people to become involved in Class Racing. More than likely, new young blood will come first via bracket racing before finding their way into Class Racing.

Is everyone ok with the same people racing the same cars for the foreseeable future? A 16 year old kid who might get bit by the racing bug has only seen LS based Chevies, Modular Fords, and Gen 3 Hemi's.

I think people would welcome showroom-available late model cars, just as they have for years. That would require such cars being available in the Classification Guide.

On a separate note, there are plenty of young people involved in drag racing. Most of them I see are bracket racing carbureted small block cars, ranging widely from musclecars to S-10's, Malibus, and fox-bodied Mustangs.