We’ve got a strong opinion on this one, as does just about everyone else who cares about Hot Rod Drag Week, but we’re going to let you guys answer first and then I’ll let you know in a Chadmouth editorial Wednesday morning. Suffice it to say, the days of Carl Scott winning with a Nova with a bunch of bolt on fiberglass parts is gone. It takes a serious piece to win Hot Rod’s Drag Week, and Larry Larson’s 5 time winning Chevy II Nova is one serious piece. It’s all steel except for the hood though, has factory glass, and is a heavy beast. Some people think that is what makes a street car. Others believe that if it is licensed and registered, anything goes. What do you think? And do you think the Pro Mod style cars will ruin Hot Rod’s Drag Week?
We want to hear what you have to say.
if it can make the trip, legally registered, RUN IT
I think Freiburger’s got a good point on this. Let the road decide. If someone can make a CF/Fibreglass-bodied Pro-Mod car run the times and get to the end of the week then fair play to them. If not then it’s going to be cars like Larry Larson’s Chevy II or Jeff Lutz’s Bel Air that win. Larry Larson will always be the first guy to run 200 mph, the first guy to run 6 seconds and the only one to win 5 Drag Weeks back-to-back, I can understand his point of view regarding race cars for the road but it was an inevitability of the rules that someone would build a road-legal race car and run it on Drag Week.
I think Larry Larson said it in his interview with Brian, “It’s in your garage, you’ve got to the one that’s happy with it.” If you’re happy running a race car on the road then have at it hoss! Whether it makes it to the end is another matter. I daresay guys like Jeff Lutz and Joe Barry will be having a far nicer time in their steel street cars on a pockmarked backroad than Tom Bailey or Dave Ahokas in their tube-framed pro-mod cars.
…..how many miles with a full-race ‘strut’ front suspension??!
Not a real fan of the pro-mod cars in this but it’s legal sssooooo………….and i give credit to anyone that can make that week till the end……….
don’t like it. It will keep others from entering that class to give it a shot. Anyone can find somebody to license and inspect anything. Doesn’t mean it’s really street legal. Hell, in PA my stuff gets failed if the windshield washer doesn’t squirt.
I think allowing the pro-mod style cars, kinda takes the “everyman” attitude out of it. When you see a car like Larry’s, Jeff’s, Joe’s etc. You think, hey, maybe i could build something and make it run really fast. On the other hand, when you see cars like Ahokas’ car, it puts of the feeling of today’s NHRA top fuel – you have to be a true professional, with massive amounts of $$ to even get in to play the game.
While the devil is in the details with Larson’s car, it still looks (and he drives it like) it was built to go to the local ice cream shop – just really fast. Ahokas’ car looks like it was built by a top fuel team….just my .02
If it can make the trip, it’s fine. Unlimited means Unlimited, right? My suggestion: make two Unlimited classes: Factory Unlimited and Unlimited.
I’m really old fashioned, I guess. To me, as soon as a funnycar cage goes into it, it stops being a street car. Can you run to the store in it? How about several stores? Would you drive it, or a regular car? To me, if it’s not the thing you WANT to drive for anything, its not a street car. FAST cars, “Factory-Appearing-Stock Tires”…those are the true fastest street cars.
Let the Pro-Mod stuff run as long as it’s legal. I fully agree with above comments that the rode will sort out the posers from the real thing. If you can make your 2500 lb Pro Mod survive 5 days / 1500 miles… and … run the numbers then you have my full respect. I was blown away by the 6.80 and then the 6.70 runs yesterday but it was only Day 1. Let’s see if they are still there on Day 5.
My biggest fear is this will turn into yet another fiasco like the World Street finals did. NOTHING street about those cars. So… rather than worrying about the big picture, make sure the Unlimited class (and others) stay legal… you know … DOT tires, working horn, wipers, turn signals… you know – legal
Hot Rod screwed up. All cars entered should have started with a VIN number.
THE CAR HAS TO BE REGISTERED AND INSURED, AND THAT REQUIRES A VIN SO THESE CARS HAD ONE
I would rather see full steel body with bumpers, grill, lights, factory glass and wipes. Not just appears the way it rolled off the showroom floor but the way it did roll out of the show room, externally at least.
Its sad that no one could build a real car to dethrone LL, they had to take a full on race car and make it “street legal” to beat him…
Lame!
Even the Pro Mod cars can’t touch Larry. Lutz is the closest competition he has and lives start to finish. These are street cars. Goes like stink, but they are street. Larry doesn’t even use a trailer. The supposed fast cars crap out within 3 races.
Well…. it is called DRAG WEEK… not “factory built and somewhat modified car” week!
Personally, I don’t like the idea, so……. I’m not going to build a pro-mod for drag week. Larson and Lutz are still the ones I look up to…. they survive with practical solutions and innovation… not a huge checkbook and unlimited funds.
But why try to keep someone from running their junk and trying to make the week long trek? Even if their junk costs a kabillion dollars! I do have to say… those cars sure were impressive going down the track at Bowling Green.
I do agree that there should be another unlimited class added for cars that start with a VIN…. don’t keep anyone out… but don’t make real cars run against purpose built tube chassis cars.
It is interesting how closely this conundrum mirrors the issues that NASCAR and the NHRA are facing…. it is just hard for the average Joe to connect high dollar tube chassis cars to something that might ever grace the floor of our own garage.
just my $.02
Kix
if it makes the trip, it counts!
some people don’t want to see the pro mod style, some people don’t want to even see back half cars… you can’t make everyone happy.
this argument is premature. I’m all for “unlimited’, so if somebody somehow got a Fuel Altered to pass a vehicle inspection and get license plates, great, but it’s the road that will decide the winner more than the racetrack. If, and it’s a big IF, the promods actually survive the road without using up themselves or the occupants in the process, THEN we can argue if it’s still a real street car. Fact is, NONE of the “race cars with license plates” have survived the road yet, and I’m betting this year will be no different. My money is on Lutz.
I’m not a hardcore purist when it comes to unlimited drag racing classes, but I do agree with Larson and think they should all start as real cars with a VIN number.
If the body is kept to stock specs, whats underneath doesn’t matter.
This is the best description yet. Concise, anyhow.
I think the bigger problem is to what is “street legal” varies drastically state to state. Some states are very relaxed about registering scratch built cars, others are very strict.
I have thought of this too Scott. The series is to the point where you need to specify the state that the car must be “street legal” in. The race starts and finishes in Tennessee, so that’s that state I’d pick. Get out the Tennessee DMV rule book and check each car over for minimum required equipment. No more of this “But I promise it is legal in my home state. See, I have Mississippi plates on it”… (swiped off my wife’s DD).
obviously,if you a driven a car pass 200mph ..you would know driving a “brick” is no easy task.
no carbon fiber. vin number required, real car that you would drive on the street. i’m tired of cubic money in racing.
Where the hell do you draw the line. This is the kinda stuff that kills all classes and drives the average competitor out of it. Keep this up and you’ll have two 2 to 4 cars in that class in the near future. JMT.
I am a huge Larry Larson fan, but I don’t see why the pro mod style cars shouldn’t be allowed to compete in an unlimited class. Maybe they need to make another class for cars with mostly stock steel bodies. I don’t know. But I do know that I enjoy seeing the cars go quicker each year. Let the road decide. If someone can manage to get their funny car licensed and can make the whole road trip then I don’t see a problem. Unlimited should be just that. Unlimited.
I like the idea of unlimited being unlimited, as long as you can drive it the whole route. It might be time to create a different class for cars that are like Larry’s and less like a Pro Mod if the really over the top stuff comes to dominate the class. If somebody could get a plate on a funny car and get it to survive Drag Week, it would be awesome. Incredibly fast production based cars are a different sort of awesome. Give both a place to play.
Put them on radials then show me a 200+ pass but please quit trying to pass off a bias ply tire as street legal
Bias ply tires are legal in every state that I know of. Who cares if the tire is a radial or bias ply?
I don’t see the point.
It has happened to every single racing association and event I’ve observed over the years. What may start out with good intentions of being inclusive of the “man on the street” that can’t afford to race “professionally” or in NHRA sanctioned high speed cars always ends up pushing these same guys out when money starts to count for more than good ol’ boy, daily driver capable, street car racing. Wheelie bars? Parachutes? Support teams? Really? SMDH
A street car is a car that is driven on the street and these guys are driving them on the street. Pro Mod or not, that is a feat. There are many “street” cars that only run 12s or slower or faster that would not survive Drag Week. Hot Rod has been clear with their rules – the cars are tagged and they must FINISH, to be called a street car. Let’s see who finishes – that will define the Pro Mod track cars from the street cars.
Not only that – tracks have safety rules for ET – they have to build them to meet the rules of the track, not the street. I’m wiling to bet if you started with a Pro Mod car and a “Street” Car, both aiming to run 6s and be street driven – you’d end up with similar looking cars by the end due to safety regulations and street requirements.
It is not street legal unless it has VIN plate and your granny could drive it to shop.
Good to see so many people reply to this never ending debate.
Don’t you need a VIN to get plates? So doesn’t that end the starting with a VIN debate?
I like seeing all the cars compete. The quicker/faster the better.
No you don’t need a VIN to start with. Not in all states. Some states, like Texas, allow you to build a car that looks like a real make and model and then use the chassis serial number in place of a VIN. When I owned my shop there, we did just that with a ’23 Ford kit. It’s the same thing as building a pro mod ’69 Camaro and using the chassis serial number. It’s not allowed in all states, but it is in Texas. I’m not sure what years the car has to look like though. It used to be earlier than ’55 I think.
If you can complete the “test” of drag week, you’ve earned the right to call it a street car. When people stop showing up, it may be time for a change.
If it Road Worthy /Legal and Can Make the Trip Let them Run !! They have Different Classes and People Like 2 Drive / Build / and See Different Kinds of Cars !! Not Everybody is Into Pro Touring Just Sayin
Just because you can drive it on the street doesn’t make it a street car. Larry’s Chevy II is the definition of street car. If you start allowing $250K ProMods into drag week, then it becomes a battle of wallets, not skills. If you want to allow these kinds of mods, lets limit them. Like Pro Stock of not so long ago….must be OEM roof and quarter panels.
It’s hard to call to make everyone happy. I for one like the older street cars. The hemi’s the 427s and the like. Real street muscle. These Pro-Mods are some fast cars but how often do you roll down to the market for some shopping or go to the mall in it. I believe most even hard core drag racers would love one of those but simply can’t afford it. It’s like letting the Nascar Cup drivers compete in the nationwide races. They have a huge edge going in.
If you want to qualify it as a street car…. make the first leg starting at Huntington beach to Ventura 405 -101 starting at 4:00 PM ……
LOL So true Tony. So true.
Larry’s car will do that easy. Not sure about the others.
Everyone has valid points , I definitely miss the days of fastest street car in America in Memphis in the early to mid 90’s guys like Monty Berney , Rick Dyer, Danny Scott just to name a few back halved , all steel cars was where it was at but like everything else progression of the sport means bigger and badder dudes will show up every year. Lets face it if your in the the unlimited class you need really deep pockets ! So like Frieburger said let the road decide.
I personally don’t care for the Pro Mod style cars running in Drag Week, but I agree with Freiburger’s opinion, let the road decide on the fate of these Pro Mod style cars, good luck crossing the Popular Street Bridge and the Illinois highway construction on the way to Gateway Motorsports Park.
Onmaknoby will start running a street alb TF car next.
Once you go to unlimited, the gloves are off. To say it has to be a car with a vin, so it is more original seems pointless, once you have cars with funny car cages, headers out the front fenders and engines that are well beyond the finacial means for most guys.
A car with a vin number is irrelevant at this level.
Plates, title,steel body ins, after that I say two unlimited classes. Larry, Jeff and Joe B drive theirs anywhere. I passed Larry on rt22 in Pa . He was honkin down the road like he was in just any old Nova. GOOD LUCK TO ALL AT DRAG WEEK!!!!
As others have said. I don’t like it all but the Unlimited class is just that. It sucks that $$ has now ruined Drag Week just like every other form of motor racing. DW was about fun and bragging rights, so if someone wants to spend 6 figures to win a jacket so be it.
Tempest in a teapot.
Ruin dragweek, laughable.
Let’s see. 250 possible entries, 230 show. Of those, 12 are Unlimited. Of those 2 (?) are “Pro-Mods.”
So are the 2 “Pro-Mods” ruining dragweek for the 218 other-than-UL contestants? Or would they all show up if UL disappeared? Ah, yeah. And they might actually get some coverage. Which would probably be a good thing for the event.
Yeah the gaudy numbers are kinda cool, but the stories are all through the pack.
A bit of a pet peeve…Unlimited means…Unlimited. So if you require a factory VIN, as has been suggested frequently above, then its not unlimited.
Either let the road sort them out (my preference) or recognize that you aren’t providing for an unlimited class. Sometimes the winning is done before the racing, a little politicing, a little rule rewrite, and you can eliminate competition you don’t want to run against.
I personally prefer the Lutz and Larson cars, but if you want to run unlimited, then you need to accept the parameters of the class.
Requiring a VIN makes it NOT unlimited? Hmmmm I don’t think so Bob. In California and A LOT of other states, the car is registered based on the cowl and firewall. All other stuff can be changed. So building a bad ass Camaro or Mustang or whatever and starting with a real car is possible even if you ended up with what is mostly a Pro Mod car. It would cost more and be a pain, but it is possible.
As you stated in an earlier post, Chad, not all states require a VIN. So by limiting it to cars with VINs, doesn’t that make it NOT unlimited.
in my mind a street car rolled off a production line in a factory and the got modified a lot by an owner that wanted it to go faster,steel panels,factory glass,tubbed and caged but essentialy a production body,anything with a fiberglass or carbon fiber body is a race car.
Set the route up where it goes thru any major city at rush hour and require it to be licensed and insured. That last part will weed out a bunch of replicars
All Drag Week competitors are required to show current registration, with no dealer plates allowed, and they must be insured.
As with every other form of racing including skiing, canoes, and aircraft, the participants will go to any length to win. The cars comply to the “letter of the rules” if not the “spirit”. Perhaps throw in a road course with street like features such as curbs, driveways, and “bumps” similar to what one would find in real life.
“Spirit of the rules” is a loser’s argument. As one tech inspector pounded into our head at an event “the rule starts with a capital and ends in a period.”
If they didn’t want that kind of car in the class, they just had to add some capitals and periods.
Some pretty good comments here, some irrelevant as well. Having a VIN means nothing. You can build your own hot rod, and apply for a VIN. Legit. No big deal. Your body could be one of those Dynacorn (or other) made ones and it wouldn’t have been factory produced back in the day. Adding a funny car cage is for safety as mandated by the rule makes, so I’m ok with it. Tube chassis is a safety thing as well, when you start looking over 160 mph, imho.
I think the premise of taking a Pro-Mod body and chassis, with no visual or dimensional cues to the car it is trying to represent is where the problems come up. I think the body should be mainly steel, dimensionally correct, with accepted add-ons like a scoop and wing. The former for performance, the latter for safety.
I am kinda in the middle with this one. I realize that the rule book says there is nothing wrong with the custom built cars,i feel that it takes some of the “feel” out of the event. I would rather drive Larson’s or Lutz’s cars than any of the pro mod based stuff. I am just afraid this natural progression will eventually ruin the event like the old fastest street car events met there fate.
The unlimited class isn’t ruining Drag Week, they are supposed to be unlimited, it’s the daily driver class ruining it. Those guys aren’t daily driving those cars except for maybe some of the late model stuff. Need a true daily driver class, not these high 10 sec cars that are just used on race night or taken to shows.
I wonder if I can find someone to license a FED?…
They just need a class for pm cars. Let those guys compete against themselves. If they built a car from no more than a vin tag or firewall, call it a promod.
Unlimited means without any qualification or exception; unconditional.
Anything less is not “unlimited”. This is the only unlimited class in drag racing today. I watched an unlimited drag race, any cubic inches, any tire or tires, any gear, any mag, fuel pump, blower, chassis etc. It was the March meet in 1963. 88 AAFD’s trying to get into a 32 car field. Jesus that was a drag race.
pretty good debate–hear from somebody with a horse in the race?
Ithink a pro mod style car is in now way shape or form a street car … Look at larry’s nova .. steel roof,quarters factory chrome bumpers exhaust all the way out the back of the car .. Lutz and berry and Fink the same on there cars THEY ARE STREET CARS … look at the Pro Mod cars in this “fastest STREETcar” drag week … Full glass body … fake headlights exhaust run out the side of the fenders .. they are by no means a street car .. I think they are turning drag week into a PSCA race where the unlimited cars are thrown in with all the pro mod cars without a sam hells chance in competing ….
The only beef I would have with this, is that someone like me, with a low 13 second car doesn’t even think it’s worth going to Drag Week anymore, let alone what class my car would fall into. The “Unlimited” cars are great for the publicity and attention, but at the same time, scare off people like me who think we don’t stand a snow ball’s chance in hell in any class, in any field, when all we want to do is just drive a few miles, race, drive some more, race, eat, sleep, repeat. I feel like if I pulled into the first day’s event, I’d be laughed and mocked for bringing a ‘slow’ car (13 seconds isn’t very fast, but it’s quick enough for me, for now).
I love all the different classes, styles, and visions of cars within the classes and their rules, but to be honest, I have a hard time even contemplating going, because I feel there wouldn’t be anything I’d be competitive against.
Saw in a post there are 230 or so cars that showed up for the first day. Great! Glad to see that kind of enthusiasm and participation. But how many are ‘scared’ away (like me) because they are afraid they won’t even be competitive in their class, let alone against anyone else at all?
There were only 250 spots, that is the cut-off & it was sold out in 8 hrs. They have all the participation they can handle. I just wish the daily driver class was limited to a more realistic “daily driver” ET cut-off. I bet less than 10% of the daily driver cars are in fact daily drivers.
i’m one of those guys that think street cars should start as a car and made lighter to go quicker,fiberglass hoods trunks,bumbers that sot of thing,but i also think that if you can drive a promod 1200 miles and run 215mph you are a bad som bitch.Let the road decide!
After hearing the interview I can’t help but believe Larry will field or be part of fielding a Pro Mod in Drag Week next year. The fives will fall sooner or later.
If anybody thinks that Larson doesn’t have way over $100K in his car you are fooling yourself. Years ago he one upped the whole field and this year he got one upped. Get over it or build a car to compete and stop crying. There are plenty of other classes in drag week for the “average joe”. As usual the do nothing’s are doing all the crying. I bet Larson isn’t crying. He is figuring out a way to kick their ass.
Larry has WAY more than $100K in that car. I have no problems with Unlimited class as long its mechanical. When you start altering the body like a PM car, its just a big turn off for me IMHO.
Pro Mods should just stick to Pro Mod racing!
I’m mean look at Larry Larsen, Jeff Lutz, Joe Barry, the Sick Second Camaro, they look stock but are just PM underneath those bodies.
How do you legally register a pro-mod car? If it can be done legally, have at it.
Is it as impressive as Larson’s Nova? No, not really…
Would I rather see a VIN, and an original body as a starting point for these cars? Yes.
There are all sorts of ways to get a Pro Mod car legally registered. However, some of methods used to accomplish this may not be entirely legal.
I used to enjoy the old “Pro Street” races years ago with Danny Scott, Musi, Tony Christian, etc with back half cars, a lot of nitrous, a few blowers around.
Now look at the so called Pro Street class….All Pro Mod cars running in a class called “Pro Street”.
I think again cubic dollars will prevail and interest in this series will decrease.
And that sucks!
Pro mods are not what it’s about. Makes it not so cool. It started with real cars running in the 9’s.
let the road decide,theres no good or acceptible answer,the factorybodied cars are still much cooler imo…
If it can be issued a licence plate, it should be OK to compete. There are lots of cars driving around, in the big cities, that are borderline legal. Those who cannot afford the Pro Mod upgrades, or simply prefer not to, should be competitive in the lower classes.
The pro mod cars will not ruin DW. It’s only one class. The other classes have lot’s of great cars being punished to a inch of their life. Don’t let the big dogs keep you from entering a class. The unlimiteds help HR sell mags. What we need to do is stop bickering about who shows up for DW. Remember it’s suppose to be fun…
One problem is that having License and Insurance does’t grantee that it is Street Legal in it’s home state. There are all sorts of ways to bypass this rule.
In Texas, you can pull a VIN tag out of a junkyard, get a bonded title, renew the registration on the VIN tag (oops, I mean “car”), get new plates and buy insurance. AND as long as the donor VIN was previously registered in Texas and is more that 25 years old, you can do ALL of this without any person having to actually see the “car”. Now rivet that VIN tag on your Pro Mod and bingo, Licensed and Insured street car.
I would like to see all the cars driven from where the people claim as home base to the event with the same road rules they have now. I don’t know how it could be enforced but that sure would make sure all the cars in all the classes were truly street cars. This year you might be close and have an advatage but next year a person might have a 1500 mile drive to get there. I live in Ohio and I have seen dragsters with plates on them on the street. I could name a guy who used to drive one around a Big Boy here.
Hate to say it but it all boils down to one word………..Unlimited. How can you limit an unlimited class?
There are so many comments here, I’m sure this has been said already. Even though I don’t like the idea of the pro mod cars, the class is called “unlimited” so if they qualify to race… I guess I have to let ’em pass. However I think the spirit of the class will always be personified by Mr. Larson and his Epic-double-throw-down-bitchen nova.
I don’t think so … Isn’t it a , fit the class, & by the rules , run what ya brung deal …. ?
Do the race , do the drive , help out where you can . Every – body welcome ….
Pro-mod , pro-street , daily driver , everything fits . … hey , It’s all good . ” Gearhead-family ” fun … yes … ?
I keep seeing people talk about how they don’t want this to become a battle of wallets. It’s always bed. A battle of wallets. I don’t know how much Larson has in his car but I guarantee it’s a lot more than some of you think. His car is a steel body an a very similar chassis to this years leaders. They aren’t much different at all.
This has the same familiar ring as the fastest streetcar shootout series in the late 90s til now. That went from run watcha brung to big $$ backed pro teams. Give it time and it will be less n less about the average guy.