[mgarblik]

If your really going to go way outside the box and design a SOHC or DOHC V-8 "Pontiac" engine for a class, aside from all the technical challenges and the huge investment, there could be another big issue. If your running a particular organization or sanctioning body, one stroke of a pen by a rules committee or tech department could make your entire engine package illegal for competition. Then you are left with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pretty shiny engine parts and no legal competitive place to race them. Generally, the organization will let you spend your fortune in development because it stirs interest in the class and brings in some additional fans to watch you struggle. If by some miracle you begin to get into the qualifying ladder and God forbid win the class, then you go under the microscope. One sentence could end all your efforts. "New rule effective immediately", "American V-8 engines of cam in block design only". Now what do you do?

Has anything like that happened? You better believe it. NHRA simply eliminated the Pro Stock Truck class out of thin air. Dozens of teams who had invested millions of dollars in engine development and hardware were just left out in the cold. Most sold out for pennies on the dollar. BTW, the teams unsuccessfully sued the NHRA for some financial relief. They were effectively told "You pay your money and you take your chances".