Just to preface, the commentary below is in no way a knock on Jeff Lutz. Lutz is without question one of the smartest racers in the business, and his accomplishments at Drag Week—including the overall title just a year ago—prove that. The Pennsylvania native, in order to compete with the all-out effort of Tom Bailey this year, reconfigured his Pro Modified Camaro for street duty, and made headlines when he pulled the wraps off of the now-murdered-out ’69 and revealed to the world his plans to decimate Drag Week records. But, alas, Drag Week has an uncanny way of bringing to the surface any flaws in a new combination, and that’s exactly what happened to Lutz.

If you haven’t already heard, Lutz was forced to abandon his Drag Week adventure this morning on the side of the interstate with an ignition issue. As has been proven, extreme combinations like his are plenty capable of overcoming the rigors of Drag Week; it’s simply a matter of refinement. And our bet is that next year, Lutz and company will have made those refinements and it won’t happen again. But the situation brings up an interesting question for our readers—one that we’ve proposed before, albeit in a different context: When is a street car really a street car?

On Day 1 of Drag Week in St. Louis, Lutzs’ Camaro cranked off a 6.05-second, 251 mph pass, which was instantly credited as the fastest pass ever by a street car, and the quickest and fastest run ever at Drag Week. But it did so without turning a single official mile (on Drag Week) on the highway. Sure, it’s got a license plate and registration, and it’s got street tires and pump gas in it. But is it a street car?

To provide some perspective here, it’s conceivable (although not realistic) that a Funny Car could be licensed, make a 300 mph pass on the first day of Drag Week, drive out the gate, pull over on the shoulder and shut off, and abandon the event….with credit for the first 300 mph run by a street car. But again, is it a street car?

So that’s the question for our readers. What would you consider the criteria for a vehicle being categorized as a street car? Should they be required to prove the car can cover X number of road miles, a distance well beyond what a run-of-the-mill race car would be capable of? Should there be a full day of driving at Drag Week before the drag strip portion begins, so that any record that’s established is rightfully given only to a legitimate street car? Beyond that, is Drag Week even the real gauge of street-worthiness and therefore street car records? After all, Englishman Andy Frost has hours upon hours of video of his 6-second Vauxhall driving around the streets and highways of England, proving that it is, in fact, a street car.

Let’s hear your thoughts on this always-intriguing topic!