RELATED STORY - THE INJECTED NITRO FUNNY CAR COMBINATION HAS RICH HISTORY

After years of flirting with the idea, NHRA's technical department announced that in 2023, the injected-nitro combination will now be accepted in its Top Alcohol Funny Car division.

The move was something NHRA had considered as a means to inspire participation in the class, which had been struggling for some time to fill fields.

"We're really excited to introduce the A/Fuel engine program to Top Alcohol Funny Car in 2023," NHRA Technical Services/ Top Alcohol Rules Committee Chairman Josh Hamming said. "This is something we've been working on for several years and it's all about building new excitement and a sustainable business model for the category. We believe there is going to be strong interest right off the bat, will reduce costs for interested teams and we're eager to see this class continue to grow.

"The rules committee came up with a rule set that allows racers to enter the class and be competitive, but not dominate. We will evaluate performance from the start and will make adjustments as needed."

The NHRA's tech department had approached teams over the last seasons about including the often-used combination in the class. The move is to create a better pathway to the nitro classes.

"We wanted to come up with an option that will be more efficient for teams," NHRA Vice President of Competition Ned Walliser said. "We're confident there will be significant savings over the course of a full season running the A/Fuel program. The ruleset will also allow teams to purchase bodies, chassis, engine parts and other items from nitro teams, allowing for a significant reduction in costs.

"It's also going to provide a better stepping-stone for drivers, crew chiefs, crew members if their goal is to race in nitro Funny Car. That is a big development and we're excited about that. Our goal is to continue to build participation at every level and this addition to Top Alcohol Funny Car should only help that."

The topic came front and center earlier this season when injected-nitro icon Randy Meyer purchased a Funny Car and put his combination in it to race at the Funny Car Chaos event in Dallas, Texas.

"I think it's going to be a good thing for our class, and it's a step in the right direction to help increase participation," said 2020 Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion Doug Gordon. "We needed to step out of our comfort zones and come up with some new ideas to add more cars to the class. I'm looking forward to it. I want 16-car fields, and I want to have to fight for the win against a full field.

"By bringing in the A/Fuel program, I think it will help someone jump in one of these cars and be competitive right away, and that will bring more people to the class. I think it's going to be good addition."

The injected nitro Funny Car combination is nothing new and was allowed in NHRA competition from 1969 through 1973 as part of Competition Eliminator and then from 1974 through 1980 as part of Pro Comp eliminator. The combination was removed from the NHRA rulebook but continued in the smaller series.

The debate was revived in 1998 when the IHRA allowed Scott Weiss and the Cavalieri Brothers to race theirs in IHRA. The protests against the combination prevented it from making a run at NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car and eventually was outlawed in IHRA after one successful season.