There has been a natural progression in heads-up street car drag racing over the course of the last decade, as the classes we all know and love began with modest, grass roots intentions before competitors with deep pockets entered the fray and quickly maximized the possibilities of the given rules. This in turn hurt the car counts and subsequently the fan and sponsor interest.
A complete list of rules for Real Street can be viewed on the ORSCA forums.
The waning years of the big-tire Pro Street and Pro 5.0 era preceded the rise to prominence of Outlaw 10.5 racing all across the United States. We are now seeing the popularity and racer participation of Drag Radial reach new heights, along with the subsequent resurgence of True 10.5 racing.
The average racer has long wished for a place to call their own in which they could race their daily drivers heads-up afford-ably, and remain viable over the long term. This idea has not been lost on the folks at the Outlaw Racing Street Car Organization (ORSCA).
Recently, the series announced the inception of Real Street, a class aimed at the concept of true street car drag racing that will be contested on the full 2010 schedule of events. The essence of Real Street is maintaining a very stock-like appearance and function throughout to uphold the spirit of the class. Tight restrictions are set on engine specs, power adders, suspension, and interior and exterior modifications. The rulebook even goes so far as to state, “if you show up with a race car, you will be disappointed.”
Said ORSCA Promotional Manager Todd Berry, “We’re basically going to have a beginner level to bring in all of the test and tune guys from all of the tracks. You see all these guys running test and tune on Wednesday and Thursday nights, but they don’t have anywhere to race. We want to give those guys an opportunity to have a class to come to without spending a billion dollars to race.” Berry has high hopes for the class, with 40 to 50 cars entering at each event a very real possibility. In addition, the series is currently in talks with numerous sponsors interested in becoming involved with the grass roots nature of Real Street.
As with all street car classes, the tire will be the primary limiting factor in performance, with a small selection of drag radial and DOT radial tires being accepted. The BFGoodrich 275/50/15 drag radial looks to be the favored tire for many competitors thus far. Power adder options include nitrous oxide plate systems. single 76mm turbochargers, and a range of superchargers that aim to keep the cars around the 1000 horsepower mark. Despite the limitations, elapsed times in the mid 6-second range are expected from the cars over the eighth mile course. “We’re going to keep a tight leash on this class. We want this to be a budget class where anybody has a shot at winning. To sweeten the pot for the racers, the series plans to offer prizes and awards- such as sponsor gift certificates – to racers who finish out of the top four, experience parts breakage, and the like.