I can't take it anymore. I commend the racers for the 3 HP per cubic inch these engines make but the bodies (sic) are really bad. There isn't much to pick from in the class but, watching identical cars race is boring me to death. I remember Jenkins running the first 9.98 and it changed everything. It was exciting as hell. Pontiacs, Thunderbirds, Fairmonts, Camaros, Vegas, Dusters, Challengers and the cheating was awesome! No one knew what was going to happen next. It was fantastic. NHRA needs to get back to FACTORY bodies and end the PRO CAMARO class asap.
Nitromater
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Pro Camaro is extremely boring. (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Harry
- Start date
Agreed. I have been saying for many years now that Pro Stock should go back to using stock bodies. If any modifications are required, the mods should be no more than 10% off the stock profile.
z28
Nitro Member
Pro SUV
Then why keep pretending with the word "Stock" in the class name?
Does anyone really go to a Toyota showroom to buy a new car after seeing a Funny Car Supra run? Or a Pro Stock Camaro?
I've long thought the idea that people buy cars based on what they see on the drag strip (or any race track) is a myth. It may have been true in the 1960s and early 1970s, but it has not been true in years.
I agree with this. "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" worked really well for a few decades, but that ship sailed many years ago.
The car manufacturers seem to once again be dropping hot rod cars from their line-up. We are seeing much fewer sedan-type cars that could possibly be used for drag racing or NASCAR.
How about letting old models back into Pro Stock? Much like we do in Stock and Super Stock? But don't let them morph into Pro Mod or Top Sportsman (which look too much alike anyway). Make them adhere to stock dimensions. What's the point of only allowing late models into Pro Stock at this point anyway? Especially when it is all Camaro, all the time?
yoda
Nitro Member
Maybe the Red Writer can chime in on this thought: P/S is the class that engineers from Comp can step into a recognized Pro class, and many of them are pretty financially comfortable. Not often do they get edicts handed down from on high, so the class has- for the most part- become something of a "Millionaire's Mosh Pit", with not a lot of input/interference from NHRA.
IF this is the case, and the lunatics are running the asylum
, maybe for parity the agreement to be in the "club" is that the one equalizer is the body style; what's under the skin can be left to the mad scientists to do what they will, but to keep it all about who makes the best motor or suspension system, the internal agreement is that they are all clad in the same skin.
The Mustang thing? To appease the shouting from the peanut gallery (us), they put on a skin that may OR may not be similar in aero as the agreed-upon Camaro, and said "500 inches, snorkel, VP gas and GO!" as the only requirement to play in one of 3.5 "professional catagories"?
That ALL these smart guys that made everything from Vegas to Thunderbirds be competitive, and now they all have ONE body (with Hundos taped to the dashboard)- yeah; seems to me that the class is more about rich guys/gals having engineering bragging rights. But that's just my take; Alan will probably ask me if I'm stoned...
IF this is the case, and the lunatics are running the asylum
, maybe for parity the agreement to be in the "club" is that the one equalizer is the body style; what's under the skin can be left to the mad scientists to do what they will, but to keep it all about who makes the best motor or suspension system, the internal agreement is that they are all clad in the same skin.The Mustang thing? To appease the shouting from the peanut gallery (us), they put on a skin that may OR may not be similar in aero as the agreed-upon Camaro, and said "500 inches, snorkel, VP gas and GO!" as the only requirement to play in one of 3.5 "professional catagories"?
That ALL these smart guys that made everything from Vegas to Thunderbirds be competitive, and now they all have ONE body (with Hundos taped to the dashboard)- yeah; seems to me that the class is more about rich guys/gals having engineering bragging rights. But that's just my take; Alan will probably ask me if I'm stoned...
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
Pro Stock Truck was going to be the future, just as NASCAR had done, but that failed big time. Pro Mod is much more interesting with Corvettes competing with Superbirds or even a red 57 Fury for those old enough to remember.
yoda
Nitro Member
PST glommed on to the NASCAR success of their truck series; getting Craftsman on board was a giant help, and then watching those guys bang into each other like O/W Sprints, the crowd is hooked hard. PST became a 2-Team horserace, and got dull quick.
Chili
Nitro Member
I used to love pro stock when you had 30+ cars showing up and there was 25 different race teams. While the racing is closer now, it is ran by two teams. Top Dragster, Top Sportsman and Comp eliminator are more entertaining to watch. For the most part the cars are quicker and you get a variety of power plants.
Litefoot
Nitro Member
It could be because they were billed as factory hot rods, back then the announcers would really make a big deal about ford versus Chevy versus dodge versus AMC, getting the stands cheering for there pic to win, it was allot of fun
stitcherbob
Nitro Member
By that measure, then Mountain Motor Pro Stock is the top class. Bring on the 800ci monsters, carbs and huge hood scoops
I could go for a "nostalgia pro-stock" class.
I get the OP about the cars looking alike - but so do Funny Car.
"Diversity" was never a dirty word, to me, for racing- it was what stimulated my little interest in IMSA at one point, and I miss it in Pro-Stock too. Would have been nice to see BMW, Mercedes, Honda, and any other so-called foreign car have a pro-stocker but there was never interest by those manufacturers apparently (even though they were in IMSA). Or maybe NHRA management didn't consider trying to draw more interest; hard to say, and I don't know.
And alas, with Olds, Plymouth, Mercury, etc being history, and with what happened with pro-stock truck, and with domestic sedans (and coupes) disappearing, will the future be, as Ken noted, "Pro SUV"? Or Pro-Crossover? Egads, I dread the thought.
I get the OP about the cars looking alike - but so do Funny Car.
"Diversity" was never a dirty word, to me, for racing- it was what stimulated my little interest in IMSA at one point, and I miss it in Pro-Stock too. Would have been nice to see BMW, Mercedes, Honda, and any other so-called foreign car have a pro-stocker but there was never interest by those manufacturers apparently (even though they were in IMSA). Or maybe NHRA management didn't consider trying to draw more interest; hard to say, and I don't know.
And alas, with Olds, Plymouth, Mercury, etc being history, and with what happened with pro-stock truck, and with domestic sedans (and coupes) disappearing, will the future be, as Ken noted, "Pro SUV"? Or Pro-Crossover? Egads, I dread the thought.
