Not many things surprise National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock veteran Greg Anderson. But something definitely was amiss last month when the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS rolled to the stage beams for the first time during testing in Bradenton, Florida.
 
“I said to myself, ‘Did they move the ‘Christmas Tree’ back 20 feet at the track? Is somebody playing a joke on me?’ Then it hit me that I wasn’t looking around the hood scoop.’’
 
Removal of the iconic hood scoop on the Pro Stock is among multiple rule changes instituted by NHRA officials for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series season, which begins this weekend with the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.
 
Other key changes to the rules package include electronically-controlled throttle body fuel injection systems replacing carburetors, an NHRA-controlled 10,500 RPM rev limiter, a front-mounted air inlet, and shortened wheelie bars.
 
The changes are designed to increase spectator appeal, make the class more relevant both visually to the production Chevrolet Camaro SS as well as from a technology standpoint, and reduce and control costs for race teams.
 
Removal of the hood scoop will significantly improve driver visibility.
 
“It’s a completely different viewpoint,” said Anderson, who has five Pro Stock career victories at Pomona. “Now we have to make sure we don’t see too much and it becomes a negative. You’ll have to train yourself to not be distracted.”
 
While that shouldn’t be an issue for long, other rules changes will present a steeper learning curve and continued work. In testing this week at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix, Anderson said drivability initially will be the biggest challenge.
 
“It’s tricky to operate the throttle,” he said. “It’s really difficult to get them at that low, staging rpm. A lot of that will fall on the driver to get his car staged properly and do a proper burnout. If you can’t get the car to stage properly, it’s not going to matter what it runs like down the track. There probably will be a few drivers who going to look a little silly for a while. It could hurt the ego of some of these drivers.”
 
Chevrolet Racing NHRA Program Manager Roger Allen said the rules modifications will make “for an interesting year.” Chevrolet, which has extensive EFI experience in other racing programs, has been a technical partner during off-season engine development and dyno testing.
 
“It gives us that opportunity to do better job with the new rules package than the competition and gain an advantage,” said Allen, who saw Chevrolet drivers win 22 of the 24 Mello Yellow Racing Series Pro Stock events in 2015. “Pro Stock has had pretty much the same rules since the mid-80s, so from Chevrolet’s perspective we’re excited about the new rules package.
“For the teams, it’s a good learning exercise. Eventually, everything will be fuel injected much like Chevrolet’s production vehicles.”
 
Anderson, who won four events and placed second in the 2015 Pro Stock standings, believes he and teammate Jason Line again will contend for a spot in the Countdown to the Championship. Line won the opener at Pomona last February.
 
“The bottom line is somebody is going to gain an advantage with this changeover,” Anderson said. “There are a lot of things you can do, and I believe that I have a very deep team here that can respond quicker than some of the other teams and gain an advantage. That has been our goal the entire winter, and we’ve worked extremely hard with the hope that we could gain an advantage at least to start the season.
 
“When we get to Pomona, the class isn’t going to be as tight as last year with all these rule changes. Somebody is going to be out ahead of the group, and that needs to be us. The cars are not going to be as fast as the end of last year to start the season, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all relative to how everyone else is doing. If you’re quicker than everyone else, it’s a win-win deal.
 
“As the season goes along, everyone will learn a lot more and we’ll have to maintain that advantage as long as you can.”

The act of cutting and pasting articles from this publication to a message board is a clear copyright violation as is pulling photos to post on social media sites. All articles and photography published in CompetitionPlus.com are protected by United States of America and International copyright laws unless mentioned otherwise. The content on this website is intended for the private use of the reader and may not be published or reposted in any form without the prior written consent of CompetitionPlus.com.