NASCAR WC Engine

[Mopar Man]

Can anyone confirm the TNN reports about NASCAR nixing Chrysler's submission for a Winston Cup engine? Will this put a slowdown on any WC return plans?

[Christopher]

The engine in question was the aluminum engine currently in use with the WoO series,with the canted valve heads.NASCAR said no to the engine because it was too advanced compared to what ford and gm has.Plus it's a aluminum block and that's illegal.Nascar want's Mopar's efforts toward what they run as a engine in the truck series.

[jcd302]

I'm not a big Chrysler fan, but would love to see Mopar back in WC. Sick of seeing just Ford & GM. I wish NASCAR would let all makers submit cars...as long as they conform to the current specs (minus of course the USA origin) Wouldn't the Honda Accord qualify since it is made in Ohio?

I think the Intrepid already looks like it would compete well without alot of mods like they had to do to the Taurus.

[Dave]

That's pretty bad if it is true about the canted valve head being nixed. Oh how selective those NASCAR rules guys are. Exactly what was the reasoning behind the approval of the SB2 head for Chevy then. The SB2 is in no way like any other SB Chev head.Oh well.

[sanborn]

NASCAR engine eligibility rules do allow some latitude but at the same time can be very strict. The case in point is the SB2 head. This cylinder head features valves that are not "canted" but are not in line like a standard head. The valves are offset in each cylinder allowing for larger valve sizes. In other words, the four intakes are in line on the head and the exhausts are in line but they have two different lines. Actually, this valve configuration does exist on some Corvette engines. The production head doesn't look anything like the race head but the valve configuration and angles are the same. Once the basic configuration is approved, Nascar allows significant variation from standard. Also, the basic configuration of the W8 is the same as production but the race head varys significantly from standard; IE, valve angles, port angles, port heights, valley covers, etc.