[Jesse Kershaw]

I believe the Quick 8 is the fastest from X and XX combined. Not 8 from each class.

I have significant investment in the success of the naturally aspirated class both professionally and personally. I agree that under these rules an NA car making the quick 8 is unlikely but the cars are still stock legal and if I understand correctly they can still run all-out with no penalty. FS/X will be more like a standard Class elimination assuming none of the cars make the top-8.

It is a positive sign that NHRA is trying something and bringing a new sponsor into a class. For the top 8 cars there will be much higher visibility, which ultimately will give higher visibility to all Stock cars. Why they didn't announce payouts is unclear to me but my understanding is that the reason for a sponsor was to bring payouts for the racers.

I encourage everyone who planned to run FS/X to still do so for the time being. It will give you a voice to request change. Possibly there will be a way to either elevate that class in another way or equalize the combinations such that the NA cars have a shot at the final 8.

Ford is posting $2500 for the winner of X and XX at the Factory Showdown events this year. In this way the FS/X class has a higher value than other Class wins. We are retaining the $2500 that was for the overall winner from the X vs. XX run-off, now for the winner of the top-8 run-off. We will continue to showcase all the Factory Showdown cars as best as possible through Ford's media outlets.

The format announced is not what I have discussed with many of you and was not my recommendation to NHRA, but I do see positives in their announcement and I will focus my energy on getting the most out of it for the sport and encouraging beneficial updates when I can.

There are legitimate concerns being raised and it's important to stay constructive in our criticism and positive about the good things. Change can happen as evidenced by the very existence of the Factory Showdown.

I'll see you in Gainesville!