The National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) has just announced that it will pit the Big Three’s drag-spec muscle cars against each other in a brand-new racing class. Factory Super Cars revives the rivalry from the ‘60s, pitting the Ford Cobra Jet against the Chevrolet COPO Camaro and Mopar Challenger Drag Pak in 2016. Pro Stock-style, heads-up drag racing among the three nameplates will be held at all six NMCA events for the first time. The full rules can be found on the NMCA’s website, and include both the supercharged and naturally aspirated combinations – the latter of which receive a significant weight break. Both combinations are expected to exceed 160mph in the quarter-mile.
“To have all these specialty race cars in one class and to do it heads up for the first time is going to be a whole lot of fun for racers and spectators alike,” said Rollie Miller, NMCA General Manager. Rollie stated that between the Cobra Jet Showdowns and Index classes, they’ve had their share of all three at various NMCA and NMRA events. No doubt this went a long way to convincing the NMCA that there was a need for this class. Starting at the March 10-13 race at Bradenton Motorsports Park (Bradenton, FL), racers and fans will have the opportunity to see all three cars square off. The class winner will be named at the NMCA Awards Ceremony at the end of the year, and both the winner and runner-up of each event receive trophies, payouts and inclusion in the NMCA Pro Contingency program.
If you are not familiar with the Cobra Jet (2008-present), COPO (2012-present) and Drag Pak (2010-present), all three are factory-built racecars built to compete in various drag racing classes. The NMCA is the latest to give the three a home, but specifically the late model variants. “NMCA is bringing this to the track not only for the manufacturers, but for racers and fans. This new class is going to crown the 'King of the Quarter Mile,'” said Curt Collins, COPO Marketing Manager. "Ford racers are highly competitive among themselves, but nothing brings out their highest performance like racing against our cross-town competitors," said Jesse Kershaw, Ford Performance Drag Racing Parts and Competition Manager. Dale Aldo, Mopar Motorsports Marketing Manager concluded, "We look forward to following this new race series and wish the series and racers a great 2016 inaugural season."
For the full schedule of events or more information, check out www.NMCAdigital.com.
