FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NMRA/NMCA Preliminary Street Outlaw Rules Release
Santa Ana, Ca. – 27-July, 2012
Thank You for your interest in this new category as we look to move into a new realm of True 10.5/275 style drag racing. It is safe to say this class will go 7.20-7.30s with the front runners solidly in the 7.20s. Could it go high 7-teens? The resilience and determination of hardcore racers never ceases to amaze us.
The past many months we have been pouring over data from several categories in NMRA-Keystone and NMCA-Flowmaster competition from the last 5 years of events as well as popular races around the country. These are the Preliminary rules and we welcome constructive feedback as technology and racer ingenuity has created an evolution that makes a balanced set of rules a very difficult process.
Right off the bat, the data in the field can be contradicting as many variables come into play like 1/8 vs. ¼ mile setups, track conditions, weather conditions, and dozens of other variables. Despite those challenges, we think we are close here based on data we’ve compiled. It is no easy task and we don’t doubt there will need to be some tweaking. Collecting more useful data from the community will help bring a better and more stable set of rules. We will be working hard between the next few events to have a set of Final rules out in early September.
Here are some points we wanted to explain.
Simplicity—there are essentially 6 combinations with a few breaks here and there for some different parts and pieces. 1. Small-Block Nitrous 2. Big-Block Nitrous 3. Small-Block Supercharged 4. Small-Block Turbocharged 5. Small-Block Naturally Aspirated and 6. Big-Block Naturally Aspirated. Those are the basics that make up the popular 275 category, Super Street Outlaw, and are a part of Outlaw 275. We weighed the options of twin turbochargers and some larger big-block combinations with unconventional heads but it comes back to managing the class long-term. Keeping a handle on all of those combinations becomes extremely complicated. Another point we learned through experience is that introducing an unknown entity creates more equality issues. Some can point to certain big money races early in the season and later in the season but the problem we’ve noticed over the years is when a combination isn’t flogged week-in and week-out, then the data is inconsistent. The 6 combinations listed above have consistent data throughout the year in NMRA and NMCA competition as well as monthly races around the country.
Tires: Throw on 28×10.5 inch slicks or 275/60-15 DOT radials and come have some fun. We are also not restricting the rear suspension to stock style or slapping weight on to ladder bars or four-link racing suspensions. Bring your car on stock-suspension, ladder bars, or a racing style four-link and race it. Stock frame rails front-to-back are required to help keep the cars sitting equal. After hearing some suggestions we had considered back-half and other chassis modifications. We feel that if all the cars had a ride height restricted to the stock frame-rails along with stock style front suspension then it was equal. Otherwise, once a back-half car went faster then it would escalate from there. In regards to the rear-suspension, the tires/engine/power management tend to be the ultimate equalizers. Shock/strut technology, torque converters, tire advancements, and power management have made the rear suspension type almost irrelevant. Prove us wrong if you have the data.
Small-Block Nitrous: The prelim rules place the small-block at 2,650 pounds and we looked hard at the NMRA for the data. The limits on that engine combination were pretty wide open. The Street Outlaw rules are opened up more to allow billet heads. We hate to single out any particular racer out by name but let’s not beat around the bush. Sam Vincent is the standard and his Mustang is the only consistent and super-fast data we have on ¼-mile small-block nitrous combinations in this type of racing. Vincent ran a 7.14 once at 2,600 pounds and he has run bottom 7.20s at 190 or so mph a few other times. There have been some 1/8 mile SBX nitrous combinations that have gone quicker to the 1/8 than Sam has run but, again, the ¼ is different. He is a great racer so we are confident using him as the base is a great starting point. The extra 50 is in there because some of the better cylinder head options.
Big-Block Nitrous: The limit is 588ci and conventional heads, which goes back to the statement of dealing with the known commodity. We watched a lot of results through the spring months and took detailed notes on the fast 1/8-mile times from certain players. We also used data from the successful runs by NMCA racers as of late to help mold some big-block rules. Everyone knows running a nitrous engine on the ¼-mile can be challenging but certainly not impossible. We wanted to give the big-block racers a little extra help in terms of power management as well as reliability. Street Outlaw will permit 2-stages of nitrous and a sheetmetal intake with 2 carburetors/throttle bodies. The base weight is also 3,150 pounds, 100 lighter than what we’ve allowed in NMCA and NMRA competition and other popular small-tire/radial categories. For those with a current combination in 275 that consists of a single 4-barrel/cast intake, simply remove 50 pounds from the base weight and add a second stage of nitrous. Come have fun and let it stretch out on the long track. Please note that the 10.2-deck adder has been eliminated but also be warned that a P&G pump is standard equipment in the NMRA/NMCA tech equipment.
We are looking into water injection, for Nitrous combinations only, as some racers have requested this. The NMRA, NMCA, and NMCA West cannot make a decision that would permit it to be allowed at this time. It is currently under review.
As a sanctioning body, we want to again say that we are committed to keeping NMRA, NMCA, and NMCA West drag racing as ¼-mile events.
Small-Block Supercharged and Turbocharged: Let the controversy begin. We’ve gone back and forth, lost sleep, and we might have even kicked the dog once in frustration. Throwing it out there: we can make an argument for either combination going quicker than the other. It is that controversial and complicated. The frustration comes down to the lack of one thing—quantifiable data. There is no actual hard data to say this went this fast and that went this fast and both were raced hard in the ¼-mile.
The two power adders will be a 94mm turbocharger and a supercharger not to exceed 4.20-inch inducer and 11-inch housing (Vortech XB-105 and ProCharger F1X). The only data we have on file for a 94mm combination is from Super Street Outlaw when the likes of Tuten and Kolivas ran quickly around 2-3 years ago. The data, however, is before the popular torque converter technology and some turbocharger upgrades. That puts us on to the speculation of what it can do at a higher weight. On the supercharger front, Bruder’s amazing 4.59 performance has raised a lot of eyebrows. Yes, it was an 1/8-mile performance but then again it was accomplished at 3,400 pounds. How do you make rules on the unknown and speculation? The forced induction small-block will be 94mm and 4.20-inches (105mm). We have thrown something out there and we know there will be some tweaking to do, so don’t get out the flamethrower.
There are provisions for Modular engines in the preliminary rules since those combinations unfortunately rely on OEM cylinder heads and don’t have the wide variety of bore/stroke combinations like the small-block combos.
We’ve also made 2 moves with the current NMRA/NMCA Drag Radial racers and X275 competitors in mind. There are provisions for a reduced weight for engines below 365ci and 88mm turbochargers (any frame size). We want to make the class open enough so if a NMRA/NMCA event is going down in your region you can come in and let it ride on the ¼-mile.
There are also other opened up areas to bring NMRA/NMCA rules back to the mainstream. For example, radiator core supports, one piece front ends, lexan windows, and such. The rulebook got thick and a few areas were outdated in Drag Radial and Super Street Outlaw. We hope this new category has rectified that and helps bring fair and equal competition in 2013.
Please notify us at StreetOutlaw@ProMediaPub.com, please do not just write a simple one sentence statement like you guys suck or you are idiots. Forum banter, phone conversations, etc. are not accepted as submitted rules request. Please respond with data we can use to help mold this into a new and exciting category.
Click to view the Preliminary Street Outlaw Rules: http://promediapub.com/docs/2013_Street_Outlaw.pdf
