The street-legal drag racing wars are finally in full swing, but one thing stands out like Dean Skuza in women's formal wear--the cars are too fast. It's a bummer that Pro Street and Super Street are now nothing but Pro Modified racers with headlights. What we will talk about here is a class that will get racers out to the track in bigger numbers. We need entry-level, heads-up drag racing.
I'd be willing to bet most of you have rides that'll barely get into the 12s. That's a cool thing, as running at any speed over 100 mph through the traps is darn exciting. With the right parts tuned correctly, you know your basic combination could run into the 11-second zone, and that's your goal. If we all agree that the hot rodding hobby is dominated with cars that fit this description, then why aren't we all racing each other? The racing organizations and local dragstrip operators often complain that the car counts aren't what they should be, so why not open a lane for PHR street cars and have a race every Friday night? Though I haven't studied it too hard, the following are some parameters that could create a class that might change the way we look at street machines and racing.
Small-blocks only: I know the big-block market has never been better, but, they're still quite expensive and out of reach for most enthusiasts. They also don't package as easily and based on these "rules," the power-to-weight equation would probably have a big-block car losing every time.
Require a radial tire: The drag radials that BFG and Nitto are building work great and are built in almost any size you could want. The reliability is a big bonus. To be honest, I'm on the fence with this one because the M/T Street ET tire works great. Maybe the guy should own two sets of wheels and tires since he can still get home on the DOT slicks.
Don't cut up your car: Bolt-on traction devices make a giant improvement over stock, make your car more valuable in the long run, and can be tuned easily. I'm sure we could figure something out for you Mustang racers.
Pick a power adder: Whether it's a turbo, blower, or nitrous, they'll all get you to the same place. Remember that the tire is going to be the limit here. Maybe we could give that M/T ET Street tire to the guys who don't want to run a power adder?
Require pump gas: Checking fuel is easy these days thanks to some clever devices on the market. Compression, boost, and all of that stuff that gets out of hand so easily is kept in check by detonation. Draining fuel so you run what they sell at the track is truly a pain but testing for common pump fuel shouldn't be that difficult. Plus, fuel checks would be random or on protest.
Specifically ban exotic valvetrains: Though companies like Jesel and T&D are building systems that boost reliability (in terms of valve lash, spring life, etc.), these expensive systems are for the serious players. It's easy to tech, as all you have to do is pull off the valvecovers, and nearly every exotic cylinder head on the market--stuff that shouldn't be in an entry- level category--requires offset rockers. If you ban the rockers, the heads are automatically out of the mix.
Create a heavy weight limit: I'd say the magic number is about 3,250 pounds, but I haven't run the numbers that carefully. Saving weight costs money, and the money you'll spend to get down to this reasonable limit is mostly in labor. You're already buying wheels, brakes, and aluminum heads, it seems, and that's a giant weight savings right there.
In this configuration a late-model Mustang with EFI could run against a '70 Nova with a carburetor? The goal is a common rules template from coast to coast, regardless of sanctioning body. Moreover, if we don't put up big purses (or just hand out mail-order gift certificates), these events won't get out of control. We don't want anything out of the deal except for you to remember it was PHR who showed you all this--renew your subscription! Enjoy the issue.