13's, 14's vs. 9's , 10's

[GTX JOHN]

As I recall you could run a 12 inch Street tread tire or
a smaller Slick.

I am finally after 10 years freshening up the Wagon a bit.......
I would like to see the Old Gal back into the 11's again!

[Dwight Southerland]

M&H made an L60-15 that had 10" tread and an M50-15 that had 12" tread and available in a stick-shift and automatic compounds. Both were DOT stamped to meet the rules. These were the predecessors to today's DOT race tires. The 9" slicks were not legal under 1975.

[GTX JOHN]

Did we have a 7 Inch Slick back then?

My memory is not what it used to be now!

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by GTX JOHN

Did we have a 7 Inch Slick back then?

My memory is not what it used to be now!

No. The popular 7" Firestones kinda went away with Junior Stock. Once slicks came back in 1975 , some of us went back to Stock.
Some of the East Coast guys like W.A. Lee, found some 7 inchers in a warehouse, and ran them on the heavier wagons. Of course, they were faster than the 9's,...at about 30 psi !

[MR DERBY CITY]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

No. The popular 7" Firestones kinda went away with Junior Stock. Once slicks came back in 1975 , some of us went back to Stock.
Some of the East Coast guys like W.A. Lee, found some 7 inchers in a warehouse, and ran them on the heavier wagons. Of course, they were faster than the 9's,...at about 30 psi !

Uh, don’t forget the ever popular 7” JC Penny slicks. At least one pair found its way to Lousville, Ky......

[GTX JOHN]

Penny foremost Slicks

I think I paid $42 pr.

They worked great with my stock converter!

Their Auto Center was two block from my house!

[Bob Bender]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Interesting.
Do you think you could hit the tree better and more consistently with the light, stick car, as compared to say, what you have now?

Yes sir

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

I can't help but notice how well a bunch of "lower class" Stockers did back then. What happened?

I was hoping YOU were going to tell us.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

(personal opinion to follow)

I've been holding my breath waiting for YOU!

[Mark Yacavone]

Okay..Story time, boys and girls

Let's start with the Jr. Stock era. 13 to 16 second cars were quite popular then. Car Craft and other mags did many articles on them . The average working guy ,who couldn't afford a new muscle car, could get together with his buddies and build a lower class car in his driveway.
Some of these guys did quite well at the national events too. Names like Boertman, Hedworth, Barkley, Ripes, Neja, and Dilcher come to mind.

Starting in 1972 , NHRA threw a monkey wrench into the works. Jr Stockers were pushed into Super Stock. New indexes were created, which were to become new national records.
Still , if your lower class car got a decent break, you could do alright in eliminations.
At the 72 Summernationals, the last three remaining SS cars were Larry Nelson, winner (SS/T), Anthony Cieri , runner up (SS/Q) , and yours truly, (SS/PA) Not a traditional, fast SS car in sight.

Next, we come to the flat out era of 1975-76. With no breakout in effect, we saw lots of "index beaters" of the slower persuasion

Sometime later on, NHRA started handing out a bunch of free tech goodies. The indexes were not lowered, correspondingly . Eventually, the whole field could run under and just dial it in. I'll call this the "ET racing" era.
A few guys with 10 second cars began to do quite well, in leave second, come from behind mode. It became an unwritten rule that you had to be a chaser in this style of racing. More and more 9 and 10 second cars appeared on the scene.

It is my opinion that , if a guy can afford to go to 7-8 divisionals, that many nationals, and chase points, he can probably afford a fast car too. Why not? It's more fun, plus we know now, you can't win anything with those slow things..Right, Billy?