Those Were The Days....Pro Stock 1982 (1 Viewer)

[Bob K.]

I think you need to define the parameters. Best driver or best racer? For example Warren Johnson is not a "Great" driver and he will be the first one to tell you that. How many times has he said the only reason he drove was because when he started "Kurt was too young, Arlene didn't want to and the dog couldn't get a licence" But he is a hell of a racer! Many you have listed had a sizable performance advantage and didn't need to be a "Great" driver.
If the Erica Enders of today was driving the Warren Johnson car of the late 90s early 2000s and they would have won every race that the car didn't break.

Alan

SO TRUE!

 

[ironpony]

I counted Camaros at the 1981 Winston World Finals, IIRC(the vid is on YouTube), and there was something like 13 Camaros, 2 Fords, and 1 other car. I'd have to check the vid again to be 100% sure but this is pretty much correct.

So it was all Camaros back then, too. But nobody complained about that. Wonder why?

Very simple....no leased engines and very few hired drivers.....and those drivers worked on the cars too. Grumpy's, Lee Shephard's and Frank Iaconio's Camaros were all different. Today's rules and business models have made every car practically identical.....like IROC Camaros. It took drag racing from who is the best builder/team to who is the best driver.

It didn't hurt that despite the overwhelming number of Camaros in the field, the Ford was still dominant, and even when he wasn't, he was still a player. Shepherd reeled off several championships in a row of his own, but Glidden was always in the hunt despite losing those championships.

Sean D

I never said anything bout Camaro's, you assumed that.
The old PS cars looked like cars from the showroom, todays look like jelly beans.
three different engine builders, a few owners, multi car teams hardly exciting.

 

[mike]

I counted Camaros at the 1981 Winston World Finals, IIRC(the vid is on YouTube), and there was something like 13 Camaros, 2 Fords, and 1 other car. I'd have to check the vid again to be 100% sure but this is pretty much correct.

So it was all Camaros back then, too. But nobody complained about that. Wonder why?

Maybe because the non-Camaros still had a fighting chance of being competitive? Not to mention they actually looking like Camaros? (Plus there was no Internet back then for people to complain on. I recall having more than one conversation about the glut of Camarobirds in 80's Pro Stock, but I couldn't post about it on Facebook )