There’s nothing in all of motorsports quite like heads-up drag racing: there is no caution flag, no next lap, no additional opportunity to bump into the feature race. When eliminations start, it’s win or go home, and you’ve got one shot to get it right. The problem is that most heads-up classes cost big money to get into, and even bigger money if you want to be competitive. To help combat that cubic-dollars issue, the team at ProMedia introduced the Coyote Stock class in the NMRA in 2011, and later added the Chevrolet Performance Stock (CP Stock) class in the NMCA. These two crate motor categories are making heads-up racing more affordable and fun for anybody who wants to give them a try.

The basic idea of crate motor racing is to take one of the most expensive parts of heads-up racing and make it even and fair for all. When you remove the nuclear arms race for power that goes into those types of classes, the costs begin to come down. Make no mistake, it’s still not dirt cheap, but you know each and every time you pull to the line you have the same chance as everyone else. Racers must learn how to extract every last ounce of potential out of the limited combination since they can’t use horsepower to drive around their competition.

This more level playing field leads to some of the closest and most exciting racing you’ll ever see. Racers who have grown tired of chasing rules for a specific class, or those who can’t afford to race big time heads-up categories have flocked to Coyote Stock and Chevrolet Performance Stock. This infusion of fresh racers is helping to drive the crate motor racing craze in the NMCA and NMRA.

How The Crate Motor Craze Began

If you look at the rules for a majority of the heads-up classes in drag racing, there’s a massive amount of information to process, and often some wide grey areas to play with. For many of those trying to get into the “entry level” heads-up classes, it can be a daunting task due to these rules and the knowledge gap they might have. As such, there was a need for a simple class that would let racers of any level get in and enjoy heads-up racing without continually pouring money into their operation to stay ahead of (or with) the pack.

How this need was filled, according to ProMedia’s Rollie Miller, is simple. Racers got tired of throwing money at rules. “The Coyote Stock class was actually an idea brought to the NMRA by a couple of longtime racers, Ken Bjonnes and Steve Gifford. Their rationale for a sealed engine was to eliminate the weight breaks and weight penalties imposed in Pure Street and Factory Stock at the time, so racers didn’t play the game of chasing an advantage. By putting all racers in the field at the same weight with theoretically the same power, it would come down to car preparation and driving skills.”

So with a plan in place that would help keep the racing of pocket books to a minimum, the Coyote Stock class was born. The first season of the eliminator was held in 2012, and the class was a big hit with both racers and fans right out of the gate. It was a heads-up class that was closer to being affordable for many, and had a fairly simple ruleset.

The Coyote Stock class took off in such a way that it grabbed the attention of the GM faithful and even the top brass at Chevrolet Performance. That attention soon led to the idea of another new class, Chevrolet Performance Stock. “Coyote Stock really inspired CP Stock because the GM guys saw how much fun the Ford racers were having and its simplicity. The CP Stock category slid right into the NMCA series with the same concept,” Miller says.

The fact that only two manufacturers are represented in the crate motor racing world at ProMedia isn’t something that was done on purpose. Dodge wasn’t left out by any means; it’s been racer demand that’s driven the creation and planning of the classes, according to Miller. “Obviously, the Ford side of it is in the NMRA where it’s exclusive to that brand, and it was first to get the class before it was an even a thought for NMCA competition. Once the Ford series was up and running, the Chevy enthusiasts proclaimed, in so many words, ‘Hey, that’s cool. What about one for Chevy crate engines?’ The folks from Chevrolet Performance and Scoggin’ Dickey Performance Center were onboard. So to say Dodge was included or excluded really didn’t come into the picture.”

To really push these classes to where they needed to be, there had to be factory support from the manufacturers. Both Ford and Chevrolet have deep roots in the racing world that span decades, and getting them behind the classes was the catalyst that helped ignite the chain reactions to bring them to life.

This level of support is something that isn’t lost on Miller and ProMedia. “The two manufacturers are what made this happen. Without Ford Performance or Chevrolet Performance, these classes don’t exist. The crate engines are a perfect fit for the racing, while the factory-sealed process is tamper proof, so racers can purchase an engine with confidence. Without the continued support of Ford Performance and Chevrolet Performance, we couldn’t offer either category.”

The Classes: Coyote Stock and Chevrolet Performance Stock

The general idea of each class is to provide racers with a place to race heads-up in naturally aspirated cars that have the same engines and ECMs that are sealed from the factory. Each car must meet the safety requirements for the elapsed times they’ll run, and meet other items in the rules. Additionally, all who race in Coyote Stock and CP Stock are required to read and sign a racer’s contract that outlines that they are forbidden to tamper with the crate engine or its tune.

Racers find it fairly easy to retro-fit the Ford mill into their Coyote Stock cars.

The only transmissions allowed in Coyote Stock are certain Tremec, Ford Getrag, G-Force, or Liberty transmissions with specific gear ratios. According to Miller, the rules for the Coyote Stock transmissions were opened up for a good reason. “Midway through 2016, the Technical Committee addressed some transmission durability concerns in the field, and opened the rules to race-oriented, four-speed manual transmissions.”

When it comes to the chassis, the NMRA based the rules around their other entry-level heads-up classes where one must utilize a true stock-style suspension with bolt-on parts. The base weight for the class at current is 3,000 pounds.

The Coyote Stock class will experience its first major change for the engine this year, something that wasn’t anticipated when the class was started. “The one major hiccup we’ve encountered is that the first generation Coyote 5.0 liter, which the class was founded on, has gone away, and has been replaced by the new version of the platform. This year will be a transition year to phase in the new engine. There are two weights for the first time in the history of the class for 2017, and in 2018 it will go back to a single weight. The older engine will still be legal, but it won’t get a weight break for the lower horsepower rating in 2018,” according to Miller.

The chassis for the CP Stock cars falls within the same rules as the Coyote Stock class, where racers must use stock-style suspension, and can’t make any modifications to alter suspension mounting points. The base weight for the CP Stock class is slightly more than Coyote Stock at 3,200 pounds.

When the CP Stock class first came out, racers were limited to using only automatic transmissions like the TH200, 350, and 400, and they had to use a weld-up style torque converter with a steel case housing. After looking at what’s best for the class and what racers wanted, the NMCA is making changes for this season to the transmission rules. “The first two years saw it as an automatic transmission-only category, but that’s changed for 2017, as a stick-shift style transmission is now legal,” Miller says.

Is Crate Motor Racing Affordable?

When you start throwing words around like “affordable” and “cost effective” in drag racing, let alone heads-up racing, people will all agree those terms are relative. Crate motor classes, like Coyote Stock and CP Stock, can fill in the gap. “Compared to other categories, these classes are cost effective for racers. The cost is somewhat fixed because there’s no maintenance on the engine, no research and development cost to find more power or refine the engine combination— you change the oil, add new spark plugs, and maybe clean the air filter before you head out to the track after the winter,” Miller says about the money involved.

On the Coyote Stock side of things, a racer can expect to pay around $6,000 to $7,000 for their sealed engine, and $1,400 for the engine control pack. For the transmission and clutch, depending on the choice, somewhere around $6,000 can be expected for a stick-shift setup. Besides these items, a car that meets the safety requirements is all that’s needed, which many of the racers already bring to the class.

For the CP Stock racers, their mandated DR525 engine will set them back to the tune of $8,500, plus the $1,500 control pack they must run. The transmission costs for the CP Stock class are about the same as Coyote Stock, depending on the choice the racer makes. The overall costs of these engine packages for either class is far less than what the typical heads-up racer will spend on their engine program. Plus, racers in Coyote Stock and CP Stock don’t have to deal with costly off-season engine refreshes that can run into the thousands of dollars for your typical heads-up racer.

Most racers in these two classes will have well less than $40,000 wrapped up in their entire car during the build process. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to most of the quicker heads-up classes out there. These racers also save on maintenance costs since there isn’t much to the cars. The biggest cost can be the time invested into sorting out their car and making it as efficent as possible.

If you talk with the racers, they agree with Miller that this form of heads-up racing is more affordable than others. Coyote Stock champion, Drew Lyons, started out racing in Pure Street, but made the switch due to the money involved. “There’s no such thing as cost effective when it comes to heads-up racing, but this is about as close as you can get. It still gives guys who want to put something together and have fun a chance to go rounds while being halfway competitive,” Lyons says.

Current CP Stock class champion Glenn Pushis agrees with Lyons when it comes to the costs of this racing. “From a cost effectiveness perspective, this class is great for heads-up racing. The amount of money you have wrapped up in the entire car, including the motor and transmission, is still less than what other heads-up classes have in just their engine program.”

For the racers, these classes allow them to have fun in heads-up racing because they’re all on the same playing field — something that former Factory Stock champion, Carlos Sobrino, can appreciate. “It’s fun because you know the guy in the lane next to you has the exact same amount of horsepower as you do. It’s fun to know that you always have a chance to win because of that. If you put your effort in and work at it, you can be as competitive as anybody at the track.”

Coyote Stock racer, Jacob Lamb, has an interesting take on what the class is like. “It’s like a mini Pro Stock class, and everybody is so even. We all qualify within a few hundredths of each other, so there’s not much room for error. It’s an extremely competitive class, for sure. If you look beyond the times, and just see all the past NMRA class champions that run with us, that should tell you right there how tough it is. They know it’s a good class, and it comes down to who has the most skill in the seat. It has to be one of the toughest heads-up classes out there because everybody is so even on power.”

What’s In The Future For Crate Motor Racing?

When you look at both classes from a high level, the future is very bright for crate motor racing in the NMRA and NMCA. Car counts continue to grow, as does fan interest in these very competitive eliminators. “The future is the present; great drag racing as racers fine-tune their driving skills and racecars is what these classes are bringing,” Miller says.

CP Stock racing veteran Kevin Lumsden thinks the future of the classes is bright. “I think the class will continue to grow because of how it’s a drivers and tuners class. Adding the manual transmission in CP Stock should help the class grow and attract more racers.” Haley Rounsavall who also competes in CP Stock agrees with Lumsden, sharing “as a racer, I see nothing but positive things coming for this class in the future. Last year alone it doubled in size, and with the addition of stick shift cars, I think there will be even more in the next year.”

Miller believes that both of these classes could help play a pivotal role in the future of grassroots drag racing. “These categories have a very large place in sportsman and grassroots-style drag racing’s future, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for other types of classes with custom racing engines and tiered weight standards. There are many enthusiasts who like to tinker, and find a thrill in searching for more power. Coyote Stock and CP Stock are great enhancements to the class line-ups in both NMRA and NMCA.”

As you can see, crate motor racing has made a big splash in the NMRA and NMCA. Racers love the fact that they’re evenly matched in the power department and must rely on their driving skills to get the win. With responsible stewardship of each class, ProMedia is helping to cultivate a way for racers to enjoy heads-up racing at a reasonable cost. No matter how you look at it, the future for crate motor racing is bright in drag racing!