Where has the “STOCK” gone in NASCAR racing? I’ve looked hard at the body and the odd shapes between all the makes. Nope, I can’t say there is anything resembling “STOCK,” there. Heck, they all look pretty much the same to me. I’ve looked under the hood of today’s NASCAR stockcar. Nope it isn’t there either. The only engine that is close to a currently running “STOCK,” engine is in the Chevrolet. I’ve looked underneath the cars. What did I find fellow fans? I found no “STOCK,” looking parts anywhere under there either. So where did the “STOCK,” go?

If we look at the body that covers today’s stockcar, we find a thin sheet metal skin so thin a common blowout will rip it apart. So what is “STOCK,” on a NASCAR stockcar? The car only has a few pieces of sheet metal in common with a factor vehicle. The last car before the COT used the following pieces, roof, trunk-lid, and hood skins. The new car as far as I can tell, doesn’t use these pieces anymore. All parts of the car built use the same tin foil thin metal used for the rest of the car. The hood and fender contours simulated by the use of decals only resemble a factory body. In fact, the next evolution will be a molded plastic body for all manufacturers. Thus, your Chevy body will be your Dodge will be your Ford or Toyota body. In the quest for parity, all bodies will be the same. I don’t know how you see this, but in my mind, it sucks big time.

Now I will speak of the complete fallacy of the engines in NASCAR. Gone are the days where the engine is required to meet a certain production number to be legal in stockcar racing. I will discuss each engine and show why I have a problem with this way of doing things. The only engine that even closely resembles a current production engine is the new Chevrolet RO7 race engine designed from the current LS7 engine that is in the new Corvette and a derivative of the LS1 and LS2 engines that are currently in the trucks. Completely redesigned using today’s technology already built into the engine to enhance high performance. I could fill a page talking about this wonderful piece of machinery, but we are talking about why we don’t use a “STOCK,” type engine in these racecars. Dodge is currently using the R3 block and W9 head combination. This engine based loosely on the LA Magnum series truck engine is no longer representing a production engine. The new engines currently in the street version are the new model “HEMI.” This a very different engine than is being raced today. So nope, Dodge is not a “STOCK,” style engine. Ford is using an engine/head package based on the old Cleveland design used during the seventies. The current factory vehicle all use an Overhead Cam (OHC) design not allowed in NASCAR. A rule designed to stop the vaunted SOHC 427 Fords of the sixties includes the new engines as well. The OHC rule is completely out of date as are many of the rules geared toward parity. The Toyota is a direct knock-off of the Chevrolet engine. Many rumors as to how and why there are similarities between the Chevy and Toyota engines, but that will be in another blog. Toyota is like Ford in that all of its production engines are OHC and there is NO similarity between the race and the “STOCK,” engines. Therefore, we can say, “There are VERY few similarities between a factory “STOCK,” engine and the current race engines.” That is unless you count the cylinders.

Therefore, the part that’s “STOCK,” has to be in the suspension system. Well, actually no, as all-current NASCAR racecars are tube chassis and non-stock suspension systems. Of course, it’s hard to have front wheel drive (FWD) cars in NASCAR so they had to move the drive wheels where they belong. To do this requires major surgery so the tube chassis is mandatory. Currently only Dodge has a car in NASCAR that’s actually rear wheel drive. So is the Dodge “STOCK?” No, the Dodge runs a tube chassis also. No parts found in the suspension are “STOCK.” So where are the factory parts?

In the “Good Old Days,” a car built to such standards was loosely considered a “MODIFIED,” and not classified as “STOCK.” NASCAR should go back to language school as they are speaking some sort of foreign words with different meanings than English. I WANT TO SEE STOCKCARS, not a Modified posing as one. The safety issues can be addressed within the confines of a “STOCK,” interior and exterior. Factory engines can be built to produce decent horsepower. I would allow the tube chassis for two tears until the manufacturers build RWD vehicles to compete. The problem with NASCAR today is they decide what we want. So, should there be the word “STOCK,” in any aspect of NASCAR? I say NOT!