True Class War: Pros, Cons, and Why

[Dwight Southerland]

For me, the inconsistency of NHRA's application of the "50 unit" rule is what was evidence of preferential treatment and their arguments sometimes hurts my head. The argument against the '67 L88 Corvette was that the L88 was only available in the Corvette, so the fact that less than 50 were manufactured disqualifies it, whereas other rare combinations often had engines that were available and sold in greater quantities in other bodies. The '70 and '71 Barracuda Hemi convertibles are examples of that. There were only two documented '70 Hemi convertibles built and the collectors are very adamant and proud of that fact. But, since more than 50 Hemi Barracudas were produced, NHRA argues that combination is legal. Same for Dick Simon's '67 Fairlane 427 convertible that he raced for years.
On the other hand, the rule always stated that the car had to be available and in the hands of the general public, which the '67 L88 Corvette was. It was available to anyone who wanted to buy one; it's just that Chevrolet did not advertise it and thus few people ordered one. As opposed to special production vehicles that were produced in quantities greater than 50, but you had to be specially qualified through relationship to purchase one.
Then you have the ZL1 '69 Corvette, where more than 50 ZL1 Camaros were built and are legal, though the Corvette is not. Or the '70 Yenko Chevy II which was produced in the hundreds by an outside firm, sold through Chevrolet dealers, used production parts and is still not legal, though the Shelby Mustangs are.

You get my drift.