Competition Plus DP and CJ article

[Andys dad]

Originally Posted by Bill Howell

I think I can make a comment from both sides of the fence.
42 years ago, long before bracket racing, after getting beat up every week heads up in my 57 T-Bird, I bought a new 4-speed 428 Cobra Jet Mustang. And at my local tracks, (Augusta, Blaney, Jackson, etc.), it went a whole year without getting beat in it's class. There was no break out and all class runs were heads up. You had to win class to race in the eliminator. Of course, all the old timers (that were not nearly as old as I am now) hated it. Then in 1969, I got another 428 Mustang that I still race and it was the same way for a while. Now, of course, it doesn't have much of a chance in a heads up race, but it did have it's time. I still have both cars and they have great memories with them.
40 years later, I get another new Cobra Jet Mustang that's hated by the modern old timers. It's time is now but history will repeat itself and something else will come along that's faster, which is the way it's always been.
Also, if anyone wants to qualify way faster under the index than any CJ or Drag Pack, I know of a cheap mini van for sale.

I will bet you or anyone else could have bought one at a dealership and drove it home. Hell I bet you even "banged" a few gears on the city (or country) streets from time to time - before you made it a full on race car. These cars are purpose built race cars and have no place in STOCK eliminator. End of discussion.

I realize change is inevitable - I just hoped it would be a little more graceful than this. However, after what happened to PS truck - we should know anything is possible with good old NHRA

[Michael Beard]

Respectfully, that's apples and oranges. The 428 wasn't factored at 220HP, and it wasn't running against a field of cars that had already been flogged on for 30 years. As usual -- nothing against the racers that bought them: the blame lies on the shoulders of NHRA. You can't even blame the manufacturer's for trying to slip one through, but NHRA just *couldn't* bring themselves to say, "Really? Sorry, don't think so. How about this?" Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I think the new cars are NEAT! Definitely cool. But that doesn't mean that the factors are not totally ridiculous, and that they shouldn't have gone straight into Super Stock since they were not street cars.

I would also argue that making mistakes in the past does not make it okay today. We're supposed to learn from history. 'Course if we did that then we would be following Calvin Coolidge instead of FDR... but I digress.

It *can* be argued, "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday" -- not selling the cars that were raced, but people *can* buy cars that *look* like the race cars. And oh, BTW, to someone else's point about what NASCAR has become: duly noted. I quit watching it after the first year of the COT.

And I think the mini van is cool!

[BlueOval Ralph]

This is a reson the race on Sunday sell on Monday does't much work any more!

It's in trouble because the youthful enthusiasm that fueled the sport for so long is dying off. The young auto enthusiasts who automatically watched the races, feverishly followed every last bit of news or detail about their favorite car or driver, and who eventually grew into professional careers and could actually afford to buy a car from their favorite manufacturers have been replaced by hordes of consumerist junkies with no affiliation to anything other than to have the latest bit of electronic technology in their possession, or the hottest communication device of the moment. Note that there's nothing in that scenario about desiring the latest sports car or high-performance vehicle.

And the world's auto manufacturers are worried. They're spending hundreds of billions of dollars on advanced technological development of alternative fuels and propulsion systems, forward-thinking fuel-saving and efficiency technologies, and countless other programs that will lay the foundation of our transportation of The Future, yet if people don't care or don't view automobiles as machines worth owning - and prefer their individual mobile communications devices instead, the whole damn thing could come unraveled

[Dgal]

GM got far more bang for their buck with the goofy "Transformers" movie than Ford and Chrysler did with their NHRA stunt.

Ok, I gotta admit, I kinda liked the movie. That girl was really.....transforming....

[Andys dad]

I will agree - she did generate some excitement (I mean interest)

Lol

:-)

[k.pascoe]

I think that folks are also overlooking the weight of the DP's. The real weight of a Challenger SRT with a 6.1 is 4200 lbs. a R/T w/a 5.7 is 4000 lbs. Have them race at their real shipping weight.

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by k.pascoe

I think that folks are also overlooking the weight of the DP's. The real weight of a Challenger SRT with a 6.1 is 4200 lbs. a R/T w/a 5.7 is 4000 lbs. Have them race at their real shipping weight.

That would probably put them at a 25/75 weight distribution and they could hook up on snow tires.....LOL.

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Bill Howell

I think I can make a comment from both sides of the fence.
42 years ago, long before bracket racing, after getting beat up every week heads up in my 57 T-Bird, I bought a new 4-speed 428 Cobra Jet Mustang. And at my local tracks, (Augusta, Blaney, Jackson, etc.), it went a whole year without getting beat in it's class. There was no break out and all class runs were heads up. You had to win class to race in the eliminator. Of course, all the old timers (that were not nearly as old as I am now) hated it. Then in 1969, I got another 428 Mustang that I still race and it was the same way for a while. Now, of course, it doesn't have much of a chance in a heads up race, but it did have it's time. I still have both cars and they have great memories with them.
40 years later, I get another new Cobra Jet Mustang that's hated by the modern old timers. It's time is now but history will repeat itself and something else will come along that's faster, which is the way it's always been.
Also, if anyone wants to qualify way faster under the index than any CJ or Drag Pack, I know of a cheap mini van for sale.

Then obviously you didn't work hard enough on that '57 bird.:>):>)
Seriously were the '57s still running in1968?

[Arnold Greene]

If nhra would allow me to go through the GMPP catalog and pick out the parts that I thought were competitive, AND get to choose my own horsepower rating, I think I could run the CJ's/DP's out of D, E, and F/S even with a 40 year old car. Then see how long it takes for an old 40 year old car to get to AA/S. I'm sure the factories would like that.

That makes as much sense as what they have allowed Ford and Chrysler to do.

[Chad Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Arnold Greene

If nhra would allow me to go through the GMPP catalog and pick out the parts that I thought were competitive, AND get to choose my own horsepower rating, I think I could run the CJ's/DP's out of D, E, and F/S even with a 40 year old car. Then see how long it takes for an old 40 year old car to get to AA/S. I'm sure the factories would like that.

That makes as much sense as what they have allowed Ford and Chrysler to do.

very good point Arnold