Factory Showdown Cars and Indy 2014

[Larry Hill]

Lets start with the premise that it is the sanctioning body responsibility to make and enforce rules that are fair and applied equally to everyone. If fair for one it is fair for all.

With that being said, it has been unfair to the rest of us trying to qualify at the biggest race of the year to allow the Factory Shoot Out to be exempt from the AHFS rules.

First off I like the Shootout races. The "Big Three" involvement back in drag racing is good for the sport. It is always a great race within a race. It gives them a chance to win on Sunday and sell on Monday.

So lets look at the elephants in the room. NHRA: it is their rules and venue and NHRA is always trying to generate an income stream from some one or some thing, nothing personal just business. Corporate America: trying to sway the sanctioning body to give them the advantage over the other players; an example supplying NHRA official this or that. The AHFS: the system used to bring an out of line combination in line and to keep the masses happy, some times not so much.

So what do we do? There should be a common sense solution to the problem of Factory Shoot Out Cars being exempt from AHFS at Indy.
Common sense in abundance is genius!

My thoughts are these: NHRA a race within a race no problem, its a great show. When the Factory Shoot Out cars are placed on the qualifying sheet, then the rest of us trying to be #128 or above, then it becomes a big problem. My solution is this: If the Factory Shoot Out cars want to run in the eliminator, the fastest time ran during qualifying or eliminations would be the time used to place them on the final qualifying sheet. The final qualifying sheet would be including in the AHFS "Q" data with all the rights, privileges, and enhancements the rest of us get to enjoy. If a Factory Shoot Out competitor chooses not to run in the eliminator then the AHFS will not apply. Once the decision is made to get on the qualifying sheet it can not be reversed. The reason I think the fastest run should count for the Factory Shoot Out cars, is to stop the 1000' "dump" during qualifying. Fans pay to see a good show. Give them value for the dollar spent.

What is your idea?

[Jack McCarthy]

makes perfect sense... so NHRA wouldnt dream of anything like that

captain

[Ed Wright]

Makes zero sense AHFS does not apply there. The submitted hp for the new cars is just nuts. My wife could read the specs and know better.

[442OLDS]

Originally Posted by Larry Hill

Lets start with the premise that it is the sanctioning body responsibility to make and enforce rules that are fair and applied equally to everyone. If fair for one it is fair for all.


What is your idea?

It will probably never happen,because if you can't qualify at Indy,you are supposed to "work" on your car.

However,the best idea to me is to have an ALL RUN field.

As noted from last year,there were some pretty good running cars that did NOT get to race,and I highly doubt that there is much more in performance to qualify in 2014 with an even tougher bump,most likely.

-------- Not Qualified ------------

129 209 A/SA Larry Smith, Davenport FL, '10 Challenger 10.238 11.00 -0.762
130 3910 CC/SA Todd Frantz, Louisville KY, '10 Challenger 9.840 10.60 -0.760
131 3602 A/S Jason McCormack, Columbiaville MI, '66 Be 10.192 10.95 -0.758
132 3154 F/S Gary Russell, E. Sparta OH, '67 Camaro 11.043 11.80 -0.757
133 3339 C/SA Travis Sturgell, Paris IL, '70 Chevelle 10.645 11.40 -0.755
134 1783 C/SA Allison Smyth, Uxbridge MA, '98 Firebird 10.646 11.40 -0.754
135 3664 B/SA Bryan Merkle, Johnstown OH, '00 Firebird 10.497 11.25 -0.753
136 3990 F/SA Tim Gillespie, Xenia OH, '68 GTO 11.099 11.85 -0.751
137 7474 A/SA Justin Lamb, Henderson NV, '99 Firebird 10.250 11.00 -0.750
138 393 B/SA BJ Johns, Louisville KY, '00 Firebird 10.508 11.25 -0.742
139 1778 D/SA Joe Santangelo, Marlborough CT, '95 Camaro10.812 11.55 -0.738
140 3933 I/SA Bo Fowler, Mooresville IN, '78 Volare 11.563 12.30 -0.737
141 3219 G/SA Jeff McKinney, Carroll OH, '90 Corvette 11.264 12.00 -0.736
142 3023 G/SA Chuck Belanger, Taylorsville KY, '69 Nova 11.265 12.00 -0.735
143 3218 D/SA Paul Boster, Pataskala OH, '03 Corvette 10.817 11.55 -0.733
144 7616 K/SA Ryan Mangus, Rialto CA, '66 Chevy II 11.920 12.65 -0.730
145 3261 E/SA Kevin Zaskowski, Grand Rapids MI, '68 Cam 10.976 11.70 -0.724
146 4649 M/SA Sammy LaPorte, New Iberia LA, '87 Firebird12.127 12.85 -0.723
147 5335 I/SA Dic Geary, Broomfield CO, '72 Camaro 11.578 12.30 -0.722
148 1375 BB/SA Mike Letellier, Biddeford ME, '12 Camaro 9.580 10.30 -0.720
149 1233 F/SA Carl Massafra, Shelton CT, '69 Camaro 11.131 11.85 -0.719
150 4222 AAA/SA Fred Henson, Madisonville TX, '13 Mustang 8.981 9.70 -0.719
151 1192 FS/AC Bob Hochrun, Colenia NJ, '13 Camaro 9.784 10.50 -0.716
152 46 A/SA David Latino, Donaldsonville LA, '02 Fire 10.290 11.00 -0.710
153 4992 FS/AC Brian Massingill, Houston TX, '12 Camaro 9.793 10.50 -0.707
154 1781 K/SA Dan Fletcher, Churchville NY, '69 Chevell 11.946 12.65 -0.704
155 2217 D/S Brian Rogers, Franklin TN, '69 Camaro 10.803 11.50 -0.697
156 3569 M/SA Patrick Downing, Britton MI, '83 Malibu W 12.155 12.85 -0.695
157 2920 B/SA Edmond Richardson, Greenbrier TN, '99 Cam 10.557 11.25 -0.693
158 2032 B/SA Jack Zimmerman, Clemmons NC, '71 Challeng 10.562 11.25 -0.688
159 19 F/SA Lenny Williams, Poughkeepsie NY, '71 Gran 11.172 11.85 -0.678
160 3199 E/SA Bob Schmalz, Poland OH, '69 Camaro 11.042 11.70 -0.658
161 3338 H/SA Allen Hollingsworth, Marshall IL, '72 GTO 11.499 12.15 -0.651
162 1779 A/SA Bob Letellier, Biddeford ME, '98 Firebird 10.349 11.00 -0.651
163 4145 A/SA Floyd Russo, Gonzales LA, '01 Trans Am 10.352 11.00 -0.648
164 3343 N/SA Don Turk, Lebanon IN, '74 Grand Am 12.357 13.00 -0.643
165 2046 H/SA Perry Simpkins, Murfreesboro TN, '69 Cama 11.864 12.15 -0.286
166 5502 K/SA Paul Anderson, Lewiston MN, '80 Malibu 12.420 12.65 -0.230
167 2132 H/SA Dennis Patterson, Milton TN, '69 Nova 12.002 12.15 -0.148
168 3297 V/SA Jim Tool, Roadhouse IL, '80 Mustang 15.454 15.50 -0.046
169 248H F/S Casey Miles, Boca Raton FL, '69 Camaro 11.801 11.80 0.001

[james schaechter]

Parity is key for sure. It is a great show when you have the new cars actually show their muscle. When everyone is protecting their combo, no one can tell who is the quickest. There are always going to be racers that have a quicker car than all the others for various reasons. Indy should be the place to prove it!

I would say that Larry has a great idea! Why give the soft combo players a hallpass on AHFS? If they are going to do that, just take them out of the stock eliminator. i would say also that NHRA could give them a choice. If they enter the shootout, no AHFS, but they cannot also be in Stock or SS. If they don't enter the shootout, they can enter the stock or SS race. If they enter Stock or SS, they are then subject to AHFS.

Indy was a tough qualifying field for sure. We have two engine combos that were good, not great. We even changed engine, and rear gear and weight class the sunday before the race because we knew the other engine would not be as good in hot conditions.

We are not a big buck team, but we really try hard when it comes to tuning and testing. We were glad to make it in (just barely). I felt bad until I saw all the really good cars that didn't make it in. Indy is tough. The weather can be very different, the car doesn't always cooperate, etc.
There is always something to improve on your car. We have a list a mile long every year. We only pick the stuff we have time for and can afford. The improvements we plan won't keep us on pace with some of the new cars, but we know if it helps our car. There is satisfaction in that for us. It is not very exciting to me to run a car that is so soft, even an ugly run is "quick".
We don't have the money to buy a copo, but we will have a new engine this year that will help.

I don't want Indy to be dumbed down so performance is left out. I think it is NHRA to provide parity with performance. If that is done, then the best of every division will come to Indy and see how they measure up. Indy is really the only Performance based National Event left. I would rather work hard to keep up, than to get in by just showing up.

[GUMP]

Unless the whole structure of the classes in Factory Stock is changed the AHFS should not apply. The real issue is the indexes. The NHRA has enough data from this year to fix that without screwing up the shootout.

[james schaechter]

Screwing it up how?

[Mickey Whaley]

are the scales open?

[GUMP]

Originally Posted by james schaechter

Screwing it up how?

The showdown is meant to be a flat out factory class not a 1000' race.

[james schaechter]

I agree. I didn't see anything pushing it that way in the thread.
I hope NHRA re-evaluates how their process impacts others.

I think Larry addressed it pretty well.

The only thing that even scratched the surface of hp reality are a few that actually push these cars to run hard for the entire 1320.