I'd put most of the blame on the manufacturers. I was around at the beginning of the class, and as you mentioned it was heaven for a street rat to once and for all see which engines had the most potential - and the factories were serious about proving they had the best engineers and products.
But the world changed. I'm not sure if it was always that way but when I was heavily involved in the class all the factory budgets were funded by the ad/promotion groups of a given make and model. They had been budgeted money to promote a car model and occasionally would see drag racing as a good investment for part of that money. It's exactly why an Olds Cutlass became the focus of GM's efforts and how Pro Stock Trucks came to be (in this case with a LOT of lobbying/pressure from chassis builders). But soon after, the bottom line mentality changed everything.
They always wanted to present their cars in the best possible light. But that had morphed into pushing rule changes if you were getting your doors blown off instead of funding more R&D from your engineers. Add in new cores being built with foundry costs and there was no comparison in what it might cost to be able to catch up to the competition. It's been many years since I participated but even back then the factory reps were openly stating that if they couldn't win with their current parts they weren't going to play.
So that door was opened and as my hero Asher wrote, the Harley deal was the next step. The Factory Stock fiasco followed. And now we have gas powered funny cars with doors that open and a rear suspension.
Of course, this is simply my opinion of how we got to where we are, but it's been formed by many off the record conversations with the people in a position of power.
But the world changed. I'm not sure if it was always that way but when I was heavily involved in the class all the factory budgets were funded by the ad/promotion groups of a given make and model. They had been budgeted money to promote a car model and occasionally would see drag racing as a good investment for part of that money. It's exactly why an Olds Cutlass became the focus of GM's efforts and how Pro Stock Trucks came to be (in this case with a LOT of lobbying/pressure from chassis builders). But soon after, the bottom line mentality changed everything.
They always wanted to present their cars in the best possible light. But that had morphed into pushing rule changes if you were getting your doors blown off instead of funding more R&D from your engineers. Add in new cores being built with foundry costs and there was no comparison in what it might cost to be able to catch up to the competition. It's been many years since I participated but even back then the factory reps were openly stating that if they couldn't win with their current parts they weren't going to play.
So that door was opened and as my hero Asher wrote, the Harley deal was the next step. The Factory Stock fiasco followed. And now we have gas powered funny cars with doors that open and a rear suspension.
Of course, this is simply my opinion of how we got to where we are, but it's been formed by many off the record conversations with the people in a position of power.
