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Depending
on which side of the fence you’re on, there’s
already excited hype or ominous warning that Outlaw 10.5
is the next Pro Mod. Some see it following Pro Mod to major
sanctioning body status, while others simply see an ever-more-expensive
class that will gradually force many current competitors
out from the grassroots level. To me, allowing the NDRA’s
version into Outlaw 10.5 without making then adhere to all
weight and tire requirements will only hasten the latter.
If concessions are granted to NDRA racers,
how long do you think it will take before some ORSCA racer
asks for (demands) his own weight break or permission to
run a wider tire? Please ORSCA, don’t introduce to
Outlaw 10.5 the same endless tweaking of combinations “in
order to level the playing field,” as is so often
recited in Pro Mod rules making. The beauty of the 10-wide
class is its simplicity: Heads-up, here’s your tire,
now go build yourself a motor and hope you built enough.
It’s drag racing at its finest, stripped down to the
basics, and that’s why it’s so popular with
racers and fans alike.
In fact, that popularity is what attracts
organizations like NDRA to the ORSCA series. Though its
top competitors are credible racers, NDRA’s Pro Outlaw
RWD races typically feature five- to seven-car fields with
only three or four entries making decent passes. And its
other professional classes fare no better, if not worse,
when it comes to car counts or performance. No wonder they
rely on Jell-O wrestling, foam pits, and bikini contests
to draw fans!
So it’s no surprise that NDRA would
like to hook up with ORSCA and its very healthy list of
entries at each venue visited this year. Sure, they’d
like to promote an Imports versus Domestics battle next
season, but does that really help ORSCA? Personally, I don’t
think so. Yes, NDRA through its NOPI affiliation has a significantly
wider reach both geographically and demographically than
ORSCA, but it doesn’t market to the same crowd. Keep
in mind that Number One Parts Inc. (NOPI) is a sport-compact
auto parts distributor and ORSCA’s primary backer
is Year One, a manufacturer and distributor of domestic
auto performance and restoration products.
NDRA has a lot more to gain from an alliance
than ORSCA does, or put another way, ORSCA has a lot more
to lose. There’s a lot more bragging rights for NDRA
in saying an Eclipse or Solara beat an ORSCA Camaro or Mustang,
rather than the other way around, especially when the Camaro
or Mustang are “supposed” to win. Having a Detroit
muscle car humbled by an import on the dragstrip won’t
really help Year One in the long run. And for all those
who say it just won’t happen, I’d just caution
you to think again. If nothing else, drag racing is an unpredictable
and humbling sport, and sooner or later your hero always
gets beaten by a surprising foe.
ORSCA has to be cautious in welcoming newcomers
to its fold. Not to the point of being unapproachable, of
course, but anyone arriving with plans to change the basic
premise of your marquee class must be treated if not with
suspicion, at least with a healthy dose of caution. The
ORSCA series is just starting to gather a little steam and
doesn’t need to be weighed down by trying to prop
up a rival series’ problem. 
