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Dodge's Drag Pak has ushered an ocean of tears from Chevrolet and Ford Performance divisions because they can't keep up.
Competition among the big three has historically been that of honest engineering know-how which has filled automotive history books with astronomical feats of speed and design. Dodge's supercharged Hemi, beginning in 2015, pushed horsepower numbers past anything our ancestors could fathom. 700 horsepower in an air-conditioned monster seemed unbeatable until 840 horsepower ripped those wheels right off the road.
Ford and GM are close on the street, but it's the track that's recently blown the proverbial whistle. As reported in Hot Rod Network, Dodge Drag Pak Challengers walked away from COPO and Cobra Jet competitors in a classic "Vulgar Display of Power" move. Because this occurred during the NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S Nationals, papa sponsor brand didn't appreciate being humiliated by a ''lesser" group.
Chevy and Ford's inability to adapt and overcome has led to buckling by the rules committee, allowing COPO and Cobra Jet camps to remove some poundage from their racers while the HEMI-hooning bunch must bulk up. Like Toyota in NASCAR, Dodge in NHRA competition has fallen victim to a resistant bunch who'd rather point and whine when raw brains could provide the fix. It's all, "Those guys have something we don't!" and "Check them out! They must be cheating!" Maybe it's not so much blatant cheating, but a cleaver re-working within what tolerance current rules allow. Just ask Smokey Yunick about that.
If you've been beat in a street fight you hit the weights, if you get a D- you hit the books, if you lose a heads-up race you pop the hood and dissect with the intention to study and tweak. There's a solution to most problems that don't require years of theory-spitting or hot debate. Chevrolet and Ford lost a fight, got a D-, lost the heads-up race, so they've got work ahead. All the weeping has done is spur a quick concession that's avoided a straight up boycott. It's not a solution, just a child's effort to get out of a chore.
As a life-long Chevy fan and driver this really has me stirred. Here's a solution: Make something exciting and justifiable to your peers because that's why you chose the performance division. Sacrilegious as it may be, Chevrolet and Ford need to take on a common effort aimed at the same goal. They already share the 10-speed automatic on the street. How about we build something and work the problem. In Tom Hoover's day this was the order of business. I fear that this very thing, business, has compromised engineering freedom and cooled the incredible heat of pure competition. Make your own ride instead of tearing theirs apart. Maybe they found where you always wanted to be.
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Comments (7)
Great article, good read! Thanks!xx
Thanks for reading. At least one new post per day.
Jerky evolution. Long periods of time with small change followed by short periods of very large rapid change. This sort of thing happens all the time in Motorsport. An existing powerhouse wants to buy the race season through rule manipulation. While some other interest blows their doors off with old fashion innovation. At least we know who wins in the end. Might I note we didn't have nearly as much of the fiddling when tobacco alcohol and fire arms ran the budgets. They didn't care who won. We have a much higher level of collusion now but the money has to come from somewhere. Follow the money.
Especially when NASCAR dropped Winston after '03, the downfall was already being etched. Sure their product may not have been the best for you, but if outside pressures adopted the "to each their own" philosophy, we could be watching a...
Read moreI agree 100%! Instead of penalizing Kevin Harvick in NASCAR earlier this year, they should have let him continue doing whatever it was he was doing. Maybe one weekend someone would have figured it out and the competition could have started all over again. In trying to guarantee a "competitive" "level" field most major auto racing sanctioning bodies in the US are killing what is supposed to make motorsports interesting and fun. It's a weird thing!
Exactly. It's about appeasing those involved because the cost of operation has grown so much that what few sponsors remain have to get their revenue somehow so sanctioning bodies will do anything to keep the money coming in. Imagine if...
Read moreIt's frustrating knowing one team is essentially wearing ankle weights in the 50 yard dash. I want a REAL level playing field! Dodge or not, it isn't right.