Fines - Disqualification in NHRA Factory Stock Showdown and Factory X Classes At the Recent US Nationals
‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ is a phrase that’s been used to tie together racing and car sales, and the promotion has worked well over several decades.
Included in that idea are the big three and the use of drag racing ‘stock-appearing’ rides to sell their showroom counterparts. That idea has been enjoying its latest wave with National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Factory Stock Showdown and Factory X class, but recent rules infractions have the rumor mill swirling on future participation in the class.
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Originally created in 2012, the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown class was designed to highlight the Chevrolet Camaro COPO (Central Office Production Order), the Dodge Challenger Drag-Pack, and the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet models.
Running on a 9-inch-wide rear tire with numerous limitations on engine and car configurations, most Factory Stock Showdown rides weigh in the 3500-pound range and clock 7.6-7.8 second times.
The first four years of the class saw a slow increase in the number of events, and participation continued to grow as more and more Camaro COPO, Challenger Drag-Pack, and Mustang Cobra Jet models were either purchased, or clones were built, and campaigned.
The first class championship was won by the Chevrolet of David Barton, but Mopar answered one year later with Top Fuel runner Leah Pruett wheeling a Challenger to the class championship in 2018. Drew Skillman rounded out the Ford side when he clinched the class title in 2019.
Since then, it’s been the Chevrolet models with the most success, with a clean sweep of the class championships as well. Aaron Stanfield, who also competes in NHRA Pro Stock, scored the only back-to-back championship in class history in 2020 and 2021. Barton snagged his second championship trophy in 2022, but Stanfield came right back to receive his third title in 2023.
The Factory X class, designed to bridge the gap between the Factory Stock Showdown class and the Pro Stock class, utilizes the modern supercharged powerplants from the Factory Stock Showdown cars.
The main differences when stepping up to Factory X is a full-tube chassis, about 800-900 pounds less weight, and a 5-speed manual transmission.
Geoff Turk gave the community a look at Factory X when he debuted his ‘Blackbird X’ Challenger car at the 2022 Performance Racing Industry show at the NHRA booth.
After a year of exhibition and time for competitors to build rides in 2023, the Factory X class will crown its first class championship in 2024.
At the recent NHRA US Nationals in Indianapolis, both the Factory Stock Showdown and Factory X classes were contested. But rumors began swirling that some teams were using illegal parts, and the focus seemed to be Chevrolet participants. For the first time since 2022, a Ford Mustang would claim victory, as Kevin Skinner picked up his first win in the class.
On September 6th, the NHRA posted initial penalties and fines to six different drivers on the NHRARacer.com website.
In the Factory Stock Showdown class, Tony Scott was found to have violated the rules on his supercharger. The wording on NHRARacer.com is:
“The following action has been taken against Tony Scott for violating the rules pertaining to the Factory Stock Showdown supercharger overdrive during a routine technical inspection at the Toyota NHRA US Nationals. Scott was Disqualified from the event, and will receive 0 Championship Points. This infraction also carries a fine of $2500. The fine will be dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of the Safety Safari and is appealable.”
Stephen Bell, Lee Hartman and Doug Hamp also violated rules in the Factory Stock Showdown class, but for a different reason according to NHRARacer.com:
“The following action has been taken against (Stephen Bell-Lee Hartman-Doug Hamp) for violating the rules pertaining to the Factory Stock Showdown supercharger pulley during a routine technical inspection at the Toyota NHRA US Nationals. Bell was required to correct the issue and will be docked 100 Championship Points. This infraction also carries a fine of $2500. The fine will be dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of the Safety Safari and is appealable.”
Two drivers were deemed illegal in the Factory X class for class infractions per NHRARacer.com:
“The following action has been taken against (Greg Stanfield-Aaron Stanfield) for violating the rules pertaining to the Factory X supercharger pulley during a routine technical inspection at the Toyota NHRA US Nationals. Stanfield was required to correct the issue and will be docked 100 Championship Points. This infraction also carries a fine of $2500. The fine will be dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of the Safety Safari and is appealable.”
On the same day, NHRARacer.com posted a parity adjustment change to the Factory Stock Showdown class:
“Based on the FLEXJET NHRA Factory Stock Showdown performance numbers from the Toyota NHRA US Nationals in Indianapolis, IN, the NHRA Technical Department is increasing the supercharger overdrive by changing the supercharger rear jack shaft pulley and rear cog pulley for the 2019-2023 Chevrolet COPO 350 from 32 teeth to 34 teeth on the jack shaft pulley and from 34 teeth to 32 teeth on the supercharger pulley. This rule change will go into effect immediately. NHRA reserves the right in the future to make additional rule changes to control performance and maintain parity in the category.”
With Ford qualifying on top at the last two NHRA events in the Factory Stock Showdown class, do you think the adjustment was necessary?
Do you feel the punishment and fines were enough against the competitors that were illegal?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and NMCA.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com