Ford and Pro Stock

[Jimi B]

The blocks and heads are already developed. Hopefuly they all can do r&d on their own. Mark Wolfe today said he is planning on running Pro Stock stll next year.

[Jeff Lee]

I think Ford gets more press, which is name recognition, which turns into sales with the CJ's than anything they could EVER get with a P/S team. Those CJ sales are turning some into GT500 sales and Boss 302 sales.
I'd LOVE to have a new Boss 302.
See the 2013 Mustang line released today? GT500 with standard 5.8L and 650 HP and 200 MPH top end speed? Can you say "bye, bye ZL-1"!
And Ford racers, the GT500 now comes with a carbon fiber driveshaft. Sounds like a superseded part in the making!

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lee

...And Ford racers, the GT500 now comes with a carbon fiber driveshaft. Sounds like a superseded part in the making!

That's a great point which clicked on a light bulb in my brain.

In the early 50s, Zora Arkus Duntov wrote a letter to the big wigs at Chevrolet. He strongly made the case that the key to making the brand a performance icon (remember, at this time all they made were six cylinders) was to make inexpensive parts which would allow anyone to hop up their small block.

We got Duntov cams, big valve heads, intakes, and more. That was a stroke of genius, and the rest is history.

Why do we see so many Camaros in Stock and Super Stock? Because they follow Duntov's premise: fairly cheap (at least at one time), good performance, and easily available parts.

So here it is in 2011 and we have the same concept, of a manufacturer providing hard core racing parts to the masses. Except this time it's Ford.
They are the only OEM that cares about drag racing and it shows.

Keeping with the spirit of the thread, in my mind a carbon fiber driveshaft sold to anyone is much more significant than a hand-built Pro Stock car or two.

Unless one of the other manufacturers decides to compete, I would wager big money that the Mustangs will be the dominant cars 10 or 20 years from now and appear in the big numbers that Camaros do now.

[Ed Wright]

Great post, Dan.

[Pvt Parts]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lee

And Ford racers, the GT500 now comes with a carbon fiber driveshaft. Sounds like a superseded part in the making!

Gee I wonder what took em so long. As far as I know, I was the first drag racer to run a carbon fiber driveshaft. That was in 1990 !!!

[blkjack]

Let's get real here. The Pontiac body is still the one to beat in the wind tunnel. I don't think the new Camaro is as good as the old GXP.Legally, I think you can run that body to 2015.