Force Funny Cars (2 Viewers)

[mike]

Speaking of Brittany, I wonder if this is the first time at a non-match race someone defeated the same driver (Antron) three times at the same event?

that 4-wide race is just plain odd...

 

[Demon]

Complain all you want... the bodies are not going to change. Nor are the Pro Stock bodies.

 

[T.Smith]

Mustaro.

 

[my friends call me Zappy]

To my friends that are yearning for the "OLD" style F/C's, may I suggest going to Salem Ohio, for the Quaker City huge nostalgia show.
24+ Alky F/C's some blown some injected, all in bodies that you'll recognize. Half track burnouts - and dry hops. ( yes remember them ? )
Also Bunny Burkett in a match race. And Fed's. Memorial weekend Sat & Sun. Worth a road trip.

 

[cephus]

Complain all you want... the bodies are not going to change. Nor are the Pro Stock bodies.

and they suc a big one !!!!! outta be called fuel bubble car class

 

[Butch]

[QUOI'm planning on being there. E="Paul Sapienza, post: 354819, member: 4014"]To my friends that are yearning for the "OLD" style F/C's, may I suggest going to Salem Ohio, for the Quaker City huge nostalgia show.
24+ Alky F/C's some blown some injected, all in bodies that you'll recognize. Half track burnouts - and dry hops. ( yes remember them ? )
Also Bunny Burkett in a match race. And Fed's. Memorial weekend Sat & Sun. Worth a road trip.[/QUOTE]
And I

 

[SundayNiagara]

Special announcement May 17, in Brownsburg.

 

[Pete]

There's a new rule about maximum width of the headers, a few of the teams were literally an inch or two wide, so instead of reworking them or tossing them, they trimmed them. That's all, nothing to see here, move along...... LoL
Alan

Hi Alan,

Is the rule directed towards the maximum width of the car itself? I heard an interview, on WFO, from Cruz who said something about maximum width of 79 or 79.5"

 

[none]

Just curious, is there an estimated time that Force will debut an actual Camaro funny car body? . . .

This weekend at Topeka.

 

[TooTall999]

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/motor-camaro-2016-funny-car-john-force-nhra-051716

 

[Marchboom]

Now there's a FC body that resembles......NOTHING! These bodies are nothing more than wedges going down the track.

 

[TooTall999]

Now there's a FC body that resembles......NOTHING! These bodies are nothing more than wedges going down the track.

No worse than any of the others. That's the price of going 300+ mph unfortunately. And now the nostalgia guys are trying to sneak in more aero. I find it interesting that there are two consistent complaints on here: 1) The lack of innovation allowed in the fuel classes and 2) The "bubble car" look of today's race cars. With the restrictions placed on the engine/ driveline side, the only place left for innovation is in aerodynamics. Sadly, the bubble cars are here to stay. Stock appearing bodies would be unsafe with the speeds being run today.

 

[DG]

Here you go!
For Release: Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 11 a.m. EDT

John Force Debuts 2016 Camaro SS Funny Car

Aero-optimized body developed for downforce, stability


INDIANAPOLIS – Today Chevrolet and 16-time NHRA champion John Force introduced the all-new 2016 Camaro SS Funny Car that he’ll race this weekend at the NHRA Kansas Nationals, in Topeka, Kan.

The new Funny Car body is the first based on the sixth-generation Camaro SS. Force’s teammates Courtney Force and Robert Hight will introduce new Camaro SS Funny Cars later this season.

“I started my career in a Chevrolet and I couldn’t be more excited to put this new Camaro SS Funny Car on the track,” said Force. “With all the assistance from Chevrolet, it not only looks great, it’s designed to perform better than anything we’ve had before, with a shape that should help us get down the track quicker and with greater stability.”

The team conducted computational analysis and scale-model wind tunnel testing to help give the new body the airflow management qualities necessary to deliver the downforce required by the 10,000-horsepower supercharged race car, as it accelerates from 0 to 330 mph in less than 4 seconds – and in a mere 1,000 feet.

Among the unique aerodynamic elements is a new, integrated front splitter that helps direct more air over the body to increase downforce. The design also incorporates new, dual blow-out – or “burst” – panels, safety devices that relieve underbody pressure to help keep the body on the chassis in the event of an engine failure.

Additionally, the new body, which is lighter than John Force Racing’s previous Camaro Funny Car bodies, carries the distinctive styling signatures of the 2016 Camaro SS’s front- and rear-end designs.

“The 2016 Camaro has been a great success in the showroom and Chevrolet is proud to contribute to its debut in NHRA’s Funny Car class,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “It joins the 2016 COPO Camaro in the Sportsman classes, strengthening Chevrolet’s presence in drag racing, which dates back nearly 60 years.”

Camaro at the drag strip

Camaro’s legacy in drag racing dates back to 1967, when longtime Chevy racers such as Dave Strickler and Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, pushed the new pony car up through the Super Stock ranks. Jenkins would go on to pioneer the new Pro Stock class, giving the Camaro its first win there in 1970.

Enterprising racers and dealers used Chevrolet’s COPO (Central Office Production Order) special order system to create high-performance Camaro models intended for one thing only: winning on the drag strip. That included the legendary 1969 Camaro ZL-1, powered by an all-aluminum 427 originally developed for the Can-Am road racing series.

Camaro Funny Cars also began appearing on strips shortly after the car’s introduction, shaking up the burgeoning class with Chevy power. Bruce Larson and Dick Harrell were leaders, pushing their blown fuel “floppers” into the 7-second range.

Texan Lee Shepherd lead Camaro into the 1980s, with four consecutive Pro Stock titles, his performance enabled by the groundbreaking Big Block engines developed by his partners David Reher and Charles “Buddy” Morrison.

More recently, Camaro has become a fixture of the Pro and Sportsman ranks. Behind the Pro tree, John Force Racing has returned Camaro to the Funny Car class, while Camaro drivers have dominated the Pro Stock field – including consecutive championships in 2014 and 2015.

The Sportsman classes are driven by the COPO Camaro, Chevrolet’s factory-built race car that uses a production body and specially developed Chevrolet racing engines. New 2016 COPO Camaro models are hitting the strip this season, advancing the COPO legacy and pushing Chevrolet drivers farther and faster.

“Racing improves the breed and that’s why Chevrolet races,” said Campbell. “The wins we record on the track help us design better cars customers will buy in the showroom.”

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

# # #



CONTACT:

Randy Fox

Chevrolet Communications

313-378-5872

[email protected]

 

[Just Paul]

It looks fast just sitting still, I like it.

 

[Nunz]

I think it's badass. And I don't buy into people wanting FCs to look like the cars they drive. That's the cool thing about drag racing, we have tons of those too, in SS and Stock Eliminators. But as others have stated, cars that are going 280 by the 1/8 mile are not going to have bodies like the Barry Setzer Vega from 1971. Can't have it both ways. Indy cars and F1 cars are very popular, and they look like...race cars.

 

[Ice Bucket]

It could be my rose colored glasses, but I feel like the cars in this pic semi resemble the production model while looking badass?

 

[Huge]

If I want to see a car that I could buy at the dealership I will go to a dealership...but, if I want to see a fast car I will go to a drag race.

 

[Nunz]

Richard you are right, those cars were badass as well. I'm just saying I'm OK with 330MPH FCs not resembling a street car. These cars are a different animal than the cars in your pic, and those cars were a lot different than the FCs of the '70s. If you think about it, from a pure car lover standpoint, what a great time to go to the races. If you want otherworldly fast, there's the fuel cars. If you want cars that fly but look like cars you can buy/build, there are the new breed of factory muscle cars, like 7 & 8 second wheelstanding Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers. And for pure variety and unpredictability, there's Pro Mod. Definitely no shortage of badass at the races these days.

 

[mick]

the pic richard posted is the last era FC bodies resembled production cars......the side glass and post were still on same plane
with the side of the body.....they actually looked like the sedan or coupe they were meant to resemble.
what we have today IMO does NOT resemble anything production and to imply that they do is ridiculous. yes, i get it, the body lines
on the mopars are different than wilk's stang are different than the toyotas; barely. it appears now that the new force camaro body
mite have the smallest 'bubble' yet......wow!, i'm impressed.....not. i understand how everything has evolved to what is essentially
a wedge, but i wish the nhra hadn't allowed the canopies to morph as they have away from basic body/roof lines.

 

[Mike_in_Toney]

Why do people like funny car? I think he exaggerated lines make them what they are. These things have developed over the last 50 years into what they are today, fire breathing monsters that I personally think wouldn't be half as much fun if they weren't so wild. As for Force's car I'd like to see what they're doing with the double burst panels. I think that will be a huge safety factor. Just look at Hale's explosion this weekend. We haven't seen anything like that for a while and hopefully Force's design will help preserve future bodies and costs. Also I'm diggin that front splitter. I think this is gonna do good.