Since 2008, the same year that both the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak and the Cobra Jet Ford Mustang were revealed to the world, the drag racing community has been clamoring for a true heads-up eliminator amongst the factory-built race cars, just like the old days. When the COPO Camaro was introduced in 2011, marking the undeniable second-coming of the factory drag racing wars, the pleading only became more prevalent. While the NHRA’s Factory Stock Showdown and the defunct ADRL’s SuperCar Showdown have filled the void to an extent, at no point has a single eliminator existed for these kings of Detroit to wage war in a true points series. That is, until now.

On Wednesday, the National Muscle Car Association revealed the latest in a series of major additions to their program, with an all new category, known as Factory Super Cars, that will debut at the series’ season opener in Bradenton, Florida and compete at all six events in 2016.

“When we re-introduced the COPO for the 2012 racing season, we knew it would just be a matter of time until we had the chance to race the Cobra Jets and Drag Paks in a heads up race,” said Curt Collins, COPO Marketing Manager. “NMCA is bringing this to the track not only for the manufacturers, but for racers and fans. This new class is going to crown the ‘King of the Quarter Mile’.”

Jesse Kershaw, Ford Performance Drag Racing Parts and Competition Manager, echoed that competitive sentiment: “Ford racers are highly competitive among themselves, but nothing brings out their highest performance like racing against our cross-town competitors. It will be the first time all three brands are mixed up for an all-out fight to get to the finish line first.”

“Heads up racing is always exciting, and when paired with Mopar Challenger Drag Paks it becomes special. We look forward to following this new race series and wish the series and racers a great 2016 inaugural season,” said Dale Aldo, Mopar Motorsports Marketing Manager.

The Factory Super Cars class will bring together both supercharged and naturally aspirated cars, with significant weight breaks given to the N/A combinations to maintain competitive parity. The traditional supercharged cars most prevalent in the NHRA heads-up series will be represented, including the new 2.9 liter Whipple combinations in the COPO and Cobra Jet. All available combinations in the 2008-present factory-built cars (clones are also permitted to compete, so long as they retain all factory options), including Ford’s 5.0, 5.4 and 7.0, GM’s 5.3, 5.7, 6.5, and 7.0s (N/A and N/A single barrel throttle body), and Chrysler’s 5.7, 7.0, and V10.

“We’ve had several Cobra Jet Showdowns in both NMCA and NMRA events and we’ve seen plenty of COPO Camaros and Drag Pak Challengers enter some of the Index classes in NMCA,” said Rollie Miller, NMCA General Manager. “To have all these specialty race cars in one class and to do it heads up for the first time is going to be a whole lot of fun for racers and spectators alike.”

The Factory Super Cars class will compete for a points championship like the rest of the NMCA’s lineup, with contingencies available to the winner and runner-up at all six events.