Factory X

[GUMP]

Originally Posted by 1347

A Factory Stock Shootout car is close to 3500 with driver. I believe they also have to retain the factory taillights and taillight panel, headlights grill and bumper cover. The car will have to meet some kind if a factory template. How close does rhe current Pro Stock meet a factory template.

If you can bring half the 10.5 outlaw fans and street outlaw fans to watch an NHRA race I think it will be a success if you think thats their goal.

I would love an N/A class, but you just nailed the reality!!

[FireSale]

Originally Posted by 1347

Could this new class replace Pro Stock? Pro stock fans have been bitching that the Pro Stock class has become not very relevant, especially when they went to the rule you can run a Chevrolet engine in any manufacturer body. Many people I know who are Ford fans wrote the class off after that. Many were hoping that Factory stock shootout cars would replace Pro Stock. Maybe after a year of exhibition, they will put the remaining Pro Stock cars into Pro Mod and we will go back to a time when Pro Stock had all 3 brands with recognizable bodies and engines that are more aligned with something available from the manufacturer. Even with the price of these cars, I think they will still be cheaper than a current Pro Stock car.
I am hoping thats where this is going. I wasnt old enough to remember home built pro stocks, but by the time I became a fan in the late 70s, it was sort of where Factory X will be.

Current PS is limited to 500 cid efi motors, while PM racers can run injection, turbos or blowers with different cid and weight limits for each combo. And some pretty wild transmissions like automatics with clutches. Put those power and drive train options in a PS car running 212 and it could easily pick up the pace to run with Ricky Smith and Stevie Fast.

[427FE]

Outlaw 10.5 is dead. Radial racing is all the rage now, with cars in the 3s in the 1/8 on a radial. If you wanted to raise eyebrows from this crowd, it should be on a radial.

[1347]

Originally Posted by 427FE

Outlaw 10.5 is dead. Radial racing is all the rage now, with cars in the 3s in the 1/8 on a radial. If you wanted to raise eyebrows from this crowd, it should be on a radial.

I belive this class will be on a radial. The Shootout cars are on a 9" radial, I would have to believe Goodyear/M/T are probably working on one as we speak.

[Stan Weiss]

So then why not pick a common size like 275 or 310 which there are many different manufactures making?


Stan

[Ben Holt]

The spec tire will be 33 x 10.5w x 16 and on a 16 x 16 beadlock style wheel. Currently MT and Hoosier make the tire, with the MT being a little more common. Now that Goodyear owns MT we may see a third offering as well. The w tire is pretty big. Nothing like the "true" 10.5 stuff some of the outlaw stuff runs. And as far as the radials going 3's. Sure, anybody can go as quick as they want on just about any tire when you talk about unlimited HP and running on tracks that are practically disneyland. Plus, on tracks like those the slick tired machines can't go but about 2 feet because they are just too sticky. So there's no way NHRA would prep a track like that for one class and make it impossible for TF and FC to go down.
And as far as spectators. Everyone wants to say NHRA is dead. I went to 2 national events this year. Gators, Indy. And several customers of mine went to many more. It was unbelievable how many people were in the stands. Looking on TV can be deceiving. And I have been to several NPK races. SUre, the crowd is decent, but it's one day. NHRA maintains their spectator count across 3 sometimes 4 days.
I think this class is great idea. Getting the cars to weight will be no problem, and the teams that are coming out with cars will come out swinging abd be fast.

[Troy Henderson]

With no Camaro after 2024 and Dodge changing the Challenger to an electric platform this seems like it's a little late to me?

[onefarmer]

Originally Posted by Ben Holt

The spec tire will be 33 x 10.5w x 16 and on a 16 x 16 beadlock style wheel. Currently MT and Hoosier make the tire, with the MT being a little more common. Now that Goodyear owns MT we may see a third offering as well. The w tire is pretty big. Nothing like the "true" 10.5 stuff some of the outlaw stuff runs. And as far as the radials going 3's. Sure, anybody can go as quick as they want on just about any tire when you talk about unlimited HP and running on tracks that are practically disneyland. Plus, on tracks like those the slick tired machines can't go but about 2 feet because they are just too sticky. So there's no way NHRA would prep a track like that for one class and make it impossible for TF and FC to go down.
And as far as spectators. Everyone wants to say NHRA is dead. I went to 2 national events this year. Gators, Indy. And several customers of mine went to many more. It was unbelievable how many people were in the stands. Looking on TV can be deceiving. And I have been to several NPK races. SUre, the crowd is decent, but it's one day. NHRA maintains their spectator count across 3 sometimes 4 days.
I think this class is great idea. Getting the cars to weight will be no problem, and the teams that are coming out with cars will come out swinging abd be fast.

Agree with you, I attended 6 national events and 1 NMCA at Norwalk This year, the attendance at NHRA was surprisingly well attended. The NMCA race which was my first to attend in, which I personally think they had a great racing program full of awesome racing but the stands were empty, very sad when compared to the array of racing going on. Apparently people want to see the Pro Nitro classes. The stands just seem to clean out when there done. Pro stock and FSS gets little attention at races and I think FSS is great racing and much better than prostock but thats my opinon. I know of atleast a dozen new FX cars being built at 3 different chassis shops but they will be late next year till any of them will be completed. I hope no factory support people or anyone that wants to be a sponsor does not scroll past some of these threads. So many nanny nahsayers here complaining about the rules and NHRA its kinda sad. Everyone knows what arena they are gonna be stepping into when they decide to go racing and should not be surprised when the rules get changed since that has been going on for decades. I understand brand loyalty but I gave that up my self when the manufactures gave up on customer loyalty. I will now buy and race what ever I think is gonna be the best use-full or best competitive for me at the time of making the purchase. I dont care for some of the rules of the new FX class and how there is no public explanation and reasoning of how they come up with the paraity adjustments in FSS but it is what it is.

[doglover44]

Hope this class has a lot of cars not just 4 or 5

[SS/GSI]

Originally Posted by onefarmer

Agree with you, I attended 6 national events and 1 NMCA at Norwalk This year, the attendance at NHRA was surprisingly well attended. The NMCA race which was my first to attend in, which I personally think they had a great racing program full of awesome racing but the stands were empty, very sad when compared to the array of racing going on. Apparently people want to see the Pro Nitro classes. The stands just seem to clean out when there done. Pro stock and FSS gets little attention at races and I think FSS is great racing and much better than prostock but thats my opinon. I know of atleast a dozen new FX cars being built at 3 different chassis shops but they will be late next year till any of them will be completed. I hope no factory support people or anyone that wants to be a sponsor does not scroll past some of these threads. So many nanny nahsayers here complaining about the rules and NHRA its kinda sad. Everyone knows what arena they are gonna be stepping into when they decide to go racing and should not be surprised when the rules get changed since that has been going on for decades. I understand brand loyalty but I gave that up my self when the manufactures gave up on customer loyalty. I will now buy and race what ever I think is gonna be the best use-full or best competitive for me at the time of making the purchase. I dont care for some of the rules of the new FX class and how there is no public explanation and reasoning of how they come up with the paraity adjustments in FSS but it is what it is.

Although NHRA may be attended more than its counterparts, its attendance is dismal and embarrassing....my problem is I was a fan way before my brother and I began racing...I was at Englishtown, Maple Grove, Indianapolis, etc...when my dad and us use to buy an extra seat just to get 4" more of bench each! I remember Fridays at E-town where it was 10 deep at the fence for Friday night qualifying. I remember having to book my hotel and buy tickets the day the schedule came out for the next season! So while some may be satisfied or even impressed with the attendance...I say its sad. Did the aging population of fans simply dwindle the numbers via attrition or did Live TV kill the Fans in the Stands??? Maybe a combination of both. Regardless, my point was that I know how hard the teams will work to get involved into this class. The $$$ they will spend as well as the commitment I'm sure they have made to NHRA, seeing that NHRA wouldn't come up with this class without support already behind it from teams. All I am hoping for is that the cars don't become jelly beans(ie. PS) and that politics and/or personal/manufacturer based agendas are not accommodated by NHRA via bogus parity rules. Hard work should prevail...not be punished. IMHO