Maybe so Darren (I agree w/ you somewhat), but street outlaws resembles the normal guy building a car in his garage to go fast. Not multi million dollar corporate sponsored tube cars that have no character whatsoever.
NHRA prostock isn't, nor ever was there to relate to the average guy building in his garage. That class was on an up swing in money. and tech advances from the first pass ever made in the class.
I have to disagree, at least for the first 10-15 years. There WERE local Pro Stock racers being run out of people's personal shops without big sponsor deals. That's why a National event really did need qualifiers to whittle the field down to the final ladder.
Sure, the guys with the factory connections and more advanced R&D programs were still on top of the heap, but there was a much bigger heap to have to climb. Morgan & Clark's Pro Stock Camaro ran out of Joe Clark's auto repair shop that was next door to one of my best friend's body shop back in the '80s. When they parted ways, Jim Morgan's son Matt went on to be a hitter in the Top Stock events, before GM threw a sh!tload of $$$ at the sanctioning body(s) to make it into a crate motor showcase.
Jim Yates was another LOCAL Pro Stock racer long before he finally got connected w/ Dick Maskin & Joe Gibbs w/ the McD's sponsorship. Jim got into Pro Stock after Dyno Don befriended him (Jim was bracket racing a fast 4-speed 460 BBF Maverick and Dyno thought that was a pretty cool deal). It was Dyno Don who told him to give up a lifetime of Fords and go GM if he wanted to get anywhere in Pro Stock 'cuz there wasn't enough Ford to go around if your last name wasn't Nicholson or Glidden.
