George,
ABSOLUTELY! Of course adding new products is a rule change. If racers had been aware of this 4" single exhaust exemption in Cordova, they may have opted for it a long time ago. Though I don't fully understand it, certainly, there was some reasoning behind Bob's exhaust change so late in the season.
I think this case was the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of us. We don't have any hard feelings towards Bob. The hard feelings are that when we come up to you and ask about a mod that is blatantly against the rule, and you tell us it is all of a sudden allowed, we feel that we have been left out in the cold.
So now, in your rule changes for 2000, you say it must be 3" tubing regardless of single or duel. So in essesnce, Bob's exhaust was legal for one race?!?! Geez, that seems NUTS! It certainly seems unfair to the other S/R participants at Cordova.
Heck, I almost feel sorry for Bob too. That seems to have been a big waste of time, effort, and money.
Adding the Speed Brain to the approved computers list confuses me as well. Why not keep it simple and straightforward? i.e. "A Ford EEC must be the primary processor with piggy back systems allowed....stand alone's not permitted." That seems simple enough.
I completely understand that the aftermarket is evolving and that the S/R class is going to experience growing pains, no matter what. For these reasons, perhaps instead of a list of approved components, I think it makes more sense to have a list of approved FUNCTIONS.
That way the racer/consumer knows what he can build and then does not have bitter feelings when a specific part that he did not buy (because it wasn't legal) is now approved.
Just trying to help.
Matt Eggleton, S/R 14, S/O 124
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