If you want to race without specific rules and guidelines about specific items that outline the basic make-up of your car, they have a place for that. It's called bracket racing.
If you want to participate in a class with defined, specific rules, it's up to you to make your car fit the class. It's supposed to be harder, a challenge to test your skills and knowledge.
No one is saying it's supposed to be easy, and the rules will by nature, exclude a lot of people from participating. That's just how it is.
In the northeast, one of the classes with the highest car count at NHRA events is Stock eliminator. It's also one of the most restricted. If you want to play in that class, you can't just show up in some gutted, tubbed, lexan windowed bracket car and whine to the officials.
You have to build a car to fit the rules and restrictions.
Very well said and very true. I have much respect for people who build class cars as I know its not cheap and you have to be good at what you do to be a winner and stay in the rules in cars built for certain classes. I wish I had the time , health and money to build my 63 as a NHRA or FAST Max Wedge car but my health and money situation makes it something I just cant do. And thats the good thing about bracket racing and that is that I can build my car as mild street car like I did in the 70's and not worry about being all legal within the rules since I can just bracket race it when I go to the track. Myself I like to go to Test & Tunes with my buddies and have a few grudge races for fun. But I do love the thrill of racing neck to neck against another car in the traps trying to beat them. And now that many NSS classes are more or less just bracket racing I love the fact that my car fits in some of their classes as then I can race with the cars I love the most. And it seems whenever their are certain rules some cars need to be built by to race in there is always a track favorite or two who seem to get away with bending the rules more then others. Ron
