The NHRA has legalized a new chassis specification for the Top Fuel division and labeled it as SFI Spec 2.3N and it will become effective as of April 21, 2008. The gives all teams the opportunity to have new cars or existing ones brought into spec by the NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga.

The new spec will be one-and-a-half inch .095 chromoly tubing on the top and bottom rail with sleeves in each bend. The bend at the rear firewall, at top and bottom will require a sleeve. The bend at the front of the motor that goes up to the hoop will also require a sleeve in it too.

“It can be the same size tubing and wall thickness but the kicker is that it can be heat-treated or non-heat treated,” said chassis builder Brad Hadman. “That a legal thing for the NHRA. No one is going to build a heat-treated car because there’s no reason to.

The NHRA has legalized a new chassis specification for the Top Fuel division and labeled it as SFI Spec 2.3N and it will become effective as of April 21, 2008. The gives all teams the opportunity to have new cars or existing ones brought into spec by the NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga.

The new spec will be one-and-a-half inch .095 chromoly tubing on the top and bottom rail with sleeves in each bend. The bend at the rear firewall, at top and bottom will require a sleeve. The bend at the front of the motor that goes up to the hoop will also require a sleeve in it too.

“It can be the same size tubing and wall thickness but the kicker is that it can be heat-treated or non-heat treated,” said chassis builder Brad Hadman. “That a legal thing for the NHRA. No one is going to build a heat-treated car because there’s no reason to.

“It gets the NHRA out of any future or existing lawsuits because from a legal standpoint, they can say nothing is wrong with heat treated tubing and you can still use it. It’s the same thing they did with normalized the last time around. It was so bastardized that no one would do it, but there is a spec.”

The NHRA has yet to declare the new SFI Funny Car chassis spec, although a source tells Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com that it is coming soon and will be verbalized much the same as the new Top Fuel dragster spec.

Sources have indicated that Hadman has taken an order for a new Funny Car chassis for Kenny Bernstein’s. Hadman declined to comment.

Hadman did say that he’s yet to start on Gary Scelzi’s new chassis. The delay has been in waiting officially on the new spec.

“I don’t want to start one and down they road change it,” said Hadman. “I’d just as soon to wait a week or two and we’ll still get them their cars in time to test. We’ll just have to work harder. I just don’t trust them. There has been all of this argument that we need to put all of this bracing in the cars like Murf [McKinney] did in his. That’s where I draw the line. If he wants to do it that way, then let him do it. There’s more than one way to do this.”