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Top Stock Takes Class Racing Back To The Future
Norwalk, OH - The Beach Boys never imagined this when they sang of a "fuel injected Stingray and a 413", but their spirit of powerful, pristine musclecars running side by side is captured in the brainchild of Terry Bell and Michael Keener. Keener, a long time Stock Eliminator competitor and team owner of a stable of cars, and Bell, an IHRA Tech Inspector, developed a way for many of fastest cars in Stock to race each other in a heads-up, no breakout format. "Top Stock" is the moniker for this revolutionary Sportsman class, pitting primarily A, B and C class Stockers against each other on a .500 Pro Tree, with no class indexes – just pure power and driving skill to see who can reach the finish line first. The class immediately caught the attention of class racers everywhere. While Stock Eliminator is primarily a handicapped start, breakout rules class, when two cars running in the same class subdivision face off, the shoe polish is thrown out the window, and all that remains is a heads-up race to the finish, with the winner determined by horsepower and ingenuity. It is not uncommon for cars in a heads-up matchup to pick up one or even two tenths of a second, as the drivers use every trick they know to squeeze the most performance out of their machines. Great drivers are well respected in the sport, but no one denies that "Class Winners" represent the pinnacle of this performance-oriented class. By adding some weight to the "A" class cars, and allowing "C" and lower class cars to remove weight such that all entries are running 8.25 pounds per factored horsepower to equalize performance, Top Stock creates a possibly huge field of cars all in the hunt for the biggest ego trip of all. Pre-race bench racing has gone on for months, as supporters of the different car makes predict who will come out on top. Chevrolets, Ford, Mopars, Pontiacs and others are all represented in Top Stock, and bragging rights in this historic event are worth more than any Mastercard moment. Manufacturers have shown their support, and added a little intrigue to the event, as Holley Performance Products announced $4,000 worth of contingency postings. Half of that amount was posted for Holley fuel injection systems. Holley made it no secret that at least four newer-model fuel-injected Firebirds would be competing in Top Stock, and it sounds like they are intent upon stealing the show from the "old iron" of Camaros, Mustangs, Max Wedge cars, and the like. Racers and spectators from all over the country will make their way to Norwalk Raceway Park for the Mopar Parts World Nationals, where some have predicted a field of over 50 cars in Top Stock. While speculation is part of who all of the entrants will be, there have been a great number of verbal commitments from some of the biggest names in high-powered Stock Eliminator racing.
Tom Skjonsberg of Red Deer, Alberta lays claim to the fastest documented Stocker this season, driving his A/SA ’70 Barracuda 426 HEMI to a 10.18 elasped time at Mission Raceway in British Columbia. The Canadians favor Skjonsberg to be the first Stocker to break into the 9-second zone… could he appear at Norwalk and take out all the stops for such a heroic feat? White Lake, MI resident Paul Mercure has run as quick as a 10.21 in qualifying this year, and his drag-the-bumper 10.29 blast this Saturday in the quarter-finals at the CARQUEST Northern Nationals served notice to Top Stock racers that not only does his A/S ’68 Camaro 396 have the power, but he is a driver as well. Unfortunately, Mecure could not return for the semi-finals at Michigan. What broke, and can he fix it in time for Norwalk? A pair of contenders from New York must be considered, the A/SA Fairlane of Richard Todd, and the A/S Camaro of Todd Baird. These two drivers lay claim to the quickest side-by-side pass in Stock Eliminator history, running a 10.12 and a 10.13 respectively. Holding down the fort for the Mopar contingent is Laurel, MD’s Joe Aluise and his A/SA ’63 Plymouth 426. Aluise shows a 10.31 as his best qualifying pass of 2000, but is he showing his full hand? The rumor mill has it that he has been testing in private sessions, tuning for the extra weight that the "A" class cars must carry, and practicing on the unfamiliar .500 Pro Tree for better reaction times.
World class contender and former Winston Champion Chuck Rayburn is tops when it comes to the "B" class cars. His stout 440 Challenger is feared from coast to coast, and it has powered to a wheelstanding10.47 already this season. Rayburn is not only meticulous in his preparation of each component that goes into his big block Mopar, but his many championships on the west coast indicate that his driving skill could take him into the late rounds of Top Stock as well. It’s easy to point out the fastest "A" and "B" cars, but the lower classes cannot be counted out, given the rules allowing weight to be moved or removed from the heavier or lower horsepower cars in "C" and "D". Fellow Stock racers are quick to point out Tom Russell’s killer C/S Firebird, the fastest of the fuel-injected entries. Russell, from East Sparta, OH has a 10.52 to his credit, without having taken weight out of the car! John Foxbower’s Franklin, OH based ’68 Mustang 428 trails Russell’s season-best by a mere .003 seconds. Other new fuel-injected cars may also be a factor, led by the charge of Woodro Josey. Although performance predictions have stayed in the 10.40 to 10.50 second range, onlookers are extremely optimistic that there will be some dark horses in the pack, or hot drivers that have been holding back their best runs just for this event. Reports are running rampant that some cars have gone as fast as 10-ohs and 10-teens. The sky is the limit, and the possibility of a 9-second run has been acknowledged by Schubek Lifters, who is posting $1,000 for the first 9.999 or quicker run in Top Stock. Sponsorship money and contingency postings for Top Stock, put together independently by Bell and Keener for this event, totals $11,825, in addition to a Norwalk "bucket o’ beer" and a pound of ice cream awarded to the slowest qualifier as a consolation prize. Look for many surprises, many upsets, bumper-dragging wheelstands, and heads-up, gear-jammin’ action, just like the roots of Stock Eliminator racing of the ‘60s and ‘70s! It could very well be the future of heads-up Sportsman racing. Stock/SuperStock racer and announcing veteran Brian Olson will call the shots as we take you back to yesteryear. In the immortal words of drag racing announcers of old… "BE THERE!" Top Stock Rules / Contingency Postings / Mopar Parts World Nationals
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