Hood scoops are back in Pro Stock! (12 Viewers)

[twostep]

The only OEM I could see coming back is Dodge, they are spending quite a bit of money in racing this year and are looking to grow in NASCAR. Ford is too cheap.

Ford went road racing. Dodge is considering a 2027 return to NASCAR with a new engine platform and some sort of body (that's currently in testing) based on the defunct Challenger. But I doubt we'll see Dodge actively involved in PS racing anytime soon. Why not? Simple. Not enough ROI.

But let's say they (and Ford) decided to return to PS along with factory support. A full-on factory commitment. Would fans come out in big numbers just to support the parity that would bring a Mustang or a Dodge-whatever back into the mix just because it was powered by a competitive brand-name engine? Would a return to 11,500rpm for all that might allow a .05/2mph performance gain get fans excited again? Better stock up on valve train components.

NHRA had a 6.80/200mph class for such cars, Factory X, and nobody - and I mean NOBODY - paid any attention to them. 4-car fields were the norm, not the exception. Cars that much more closely resembled their OEM counterparts. Big 3 participation. 1500hp factory based supercharged engines in cars available OEM with similar supercharged engines. Everything we'd like to see in Pro Stock. And the fans yawned and headed for the pits and not because they were 3 tenths slower, either. Half the fans head for the hot dogs when they fire 5-second Pro Mods or the Top Alcohol cars.

I hate to be a downer but it's become obvious to me that NHRA Pro Stock, once a premier part of any national event, has devolved into a niche class that only racers and hardcore dedicated fans pay any attention to. It's a 55-year old class that's approaching its expiration date, so to speak. And I honestly don't know what it would take to get that excitement back. Don't count on 500 extra rpm, upward-facing throttle bodies and hood scoops to make much of a difference. The only possible scenario I see is not to run them at the same event or on the same day as the fan-favorite nitro cars and I don't see that happening. A shame, too; I love Pro Stock competition.

So I dunno. Maybe make PS an all-female class and require drivers to prove they're an actual female. If you don't look like Maddie Gordon or Ida Zetterstrom tech will bounce you. Why not. If you're gonna revamp the class, might as well think big and color outside of the lines...

 

[twostep]

I've heard these stories but would like to know more, not just the apocryphal aspect many seem to have. I'm sure others here would too.

"Apocryphal aspect"? Look out....

 

[twostep]

The engines may make more power, but you have to consider that they will be pushing that big lump of a hood scoop through the air at 200mph. I have heard an experienced voice say that the scoop takes 80hp to push through the air. It sounds like it may be no net gain in e.t.

Warren Johnson has discussed that subject quite a few times and he's adamant that the gain from the 1-2 PSI supercharging effect at 200+ from the scoop is negated by the decrease in aero, resulting in an effective push. Lot of people simply prefer the look and of course there was no getting around scoops when they were running Dominators. I like 'em myself; always (bracket) raced with one although looking around them can be a left-lane pain.

 

[ironpony]

Warren Johnson has discussed that subject quite a few times and he's adamant that the gain from the 1-2 PSI supercharging effect at 200+ from the scoop is negated by the decrease in aero, resulting in an effective push. Lot of people simply prefer the look and of course there was no getting around scoops when they were running Dominators. I like 'em myself; always (bracket) raced with one although looking around them can be a left-lane pain.

It is more like .5 to 1 PSI.........the hood scoop was a negative and the only reason to keep them was cover the carbs.

 

[ironpony]

Ford went road racing. Dodge is considering a 2027 return to NASCAR with a new engine platform and some sort of body (that's currently in testing) based on the defunct Challenger. But I doubt we'll see Dodge actively involved in PS racing anytime soon. Why not? Simple. Not enough ROI.

But let's say they (and Ford) decided to return to PS along with factory support. A full-on factory commitment. Would fans come out in big numbers just to support the parity that would bring a Mustang or a Dodge-whatever back into the mix just because it was powered by a competitive brand-name engine? Would a return to 11,500rpm for all that might allow a .05/2mph performance gain get fans excited again? Better stock up on valve train components.

NHRA had a 6.80/200mph class for such cars, Factory X, and nobody - and I mean NOBODY - paid any attention to them. 4-car fields were the norm, not the exception. Cars that much more closely resembled their OEM counterparts. Big 3 participation. 1500hp factory based supercharged engines in cars available OEM with similar supercharged engines. Everything we'd like to see in Pro Stock. And the fans yawned and headed for the pits and not because they were 3 tenths slower, either. Half the fans head for the hot dogs when they fire 5-second Pro Mods or the Top Alcohol cars.

I hate to be a downer but it's become obvious to me that NHRA Pro Stock, once a premier part of any national event, has devolved into a niche class that only racers and hardcore dedicated fans pay any attention to. It's a 55-year old class that's approaching its expiration date, so to speak. And I honestly don't know what it would take to get that excitement back. Don't count on 500 extra rpm, upward-facing throttle bodies and hood scoops to make much of a difference. The only possible scenario I see is not to run them at the same event or on the same day as the fan-favorite nitro cars and I don't see that happening. A shame, too; I love Pro Stock competition.

So I dunno. Maybe make PS an all-female class and require drivers to prove they're an actual female. If you don't look like Maddie Gordon or Ida Zetterstrom tech will bounce you. Why not. If you're gonna revamp the class, might as well think big and color outside of the lines...

So, IMO, based on the past Ford and Mopar fans have wrote off PS in general. The creation of the new class was a poor try to lure them back into the fold too little too late. Also after the PS debacle if either other brand was to start winning they would be handicapped as had happened in the past. Dodge had 50 lbs added every time they won. They had so much weight added that they could not certify the chassis anymore.
For me it was not even about the brand winning, just be out there and be able to compete. All Camaros owned and powered by two major players is the absolute worst case scenario there could be.

 

[drag racer]

So I dunno. Maybe make PS an all-female class and require drivers to prove they're an actual female. If you don't look like Maddie Gordon or Ida Zetterstrom tech will bounce you. Why not. If you're gonna revamp the class, might as well think big and color outside of the lines...

Now that is some funny stuff right there! LMAO

 

[twostep]

Now that is some funny stuff right there! LMAO

Well, a little offbeat satire never hurts, right?

I gotta ask - you had a negative opinion about my WJ/scoop comments and I did misstate the PSI gain a little. Indeed, it's slightly less than 1 PSI @ 200mph, not 1-2. It's been 20 years since I read any of his discussions and I've forgotten a lot in the last 20 years. Sometimes I don't remember things that happened 20 hours ago.

Anything else?

 

[drag racer]

Nope, my bad. Was incorrectly recalling my notes from WJs class years ago. Just found it...at the time, the scoops were adding .75 psi intake manifold pressure rise @200 mph, equating to ~56 hp increase, but a good chunk is given back as drag. Funny, he mentions smaller scoops and EFI as better options