NHRA News: Team Force cautiously circling the wagons (12/14/2001)

Team Force cautiously circling the wagons

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
12/14/2001

"One really good thing about the rule is that if you have a great idea that really works, no one else can copy it for at least a year."
-- Tim Gibson

The pressure is mounting as a huge throng of hopefuls prepare for a crowded Funny Car race in 2002. The frontrunner is still 11-time series champion John Force and his streamlined Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. But Force, who has a lock on the Mustang design per his agreement with Ford, will have more than the usually bevy of Pontiac Firebirds to contend with next season.

Team Force aerodynamicist and accomplished Top Fuel driver Tim Gibson, who joined the group a year ago after helping General Motors for several seasons, isn't just haunted by his former Firebird creations any more. It's the visions of new Dodge Stratus R/Ts and Toyota Celicas dancing through his head that have made this Christmas break anything but jolly for the studious rocket scientist.

"We at Team Force are pretty excited about the coming year," Gibson said. "Excited in a nervous kind of way, I mean. We've always said that more manufacturers taking an active role in the sport is a good thing because competition always makes you better. But when it actually shows up it makes everybody a little edgy."

'Import'ant developments are hard to 'Dodge'
Like most people involved in the sport, particularly the Funny Car category, Gibson has heard the numerous reports of at least one high-profile, championship-caliber team making the switch to Toyota Celicas.

"I've heard the Toyota bodies are being built as we speak," he said. "From a technical standpoint, I'm anxious to see them. I worked indirectly for Toyota when I worked for Dan Gurney's multi-championship winning GTP Toyota team and I know if Toyota is serious about this they will be tough to beat."

It's been almost 20 years since an import body first showed up at a national event in the Funny Car class. Current Force teammate Gary Densham, legend Chuck Etchells, John Collins, and Tim Grose all campaigned Datsun 280Zs in the early 1980s. Several one-off designs of Saabs, Acuras, and Mercedes Benzs have also surfaced in the Alcohol Funny Car ranks, some as recently as this year.

At some point in the near future fans also can expect to see veteran Mopar maniac Dean Skuza, and perhaps others, in new Dodge Stratus R/Ts. Skuza has been angling for his new car since mid-season. With a handful of low qualifier and top speed honors by his name this year, perhaps Skuza's new car will help move him to the front of the class for good.

"I know the guys at Roush Racing are designing and building the Dodge so you know it's going to be good," Gibson said. "We used to work hand-in-hand with those guys and I can tell you there isn't a more professional or competent group in the country.

"The truth is there's no big model change for the Ford Mustang. It's still a hugely popular car and a big seller. The people at Ford tell us all the time that our success on the race track helps them sell a lot of Mustangs. So we won't be changing too much. They love the way we've kept so many features of the consumer version of the Mustang in the race car."

Excerpts from NHRA Rulebook

Beginning with the start of the 2002 racing season, all bodies run in competition must be run as they come from NHRA approved molds. Modifications for header clearance will be permitted if authorized in advance by the NHRA Technical Services Department. Bodies will be clean of bumper roll pans or any other component(s) which are in NHRA's determination unnecessary to the normal mounting tubing, firewall and driver enclosure. No underbody streamlining will be permitted. Ground effects of any description prohibited. Ground effects include but are not limited to rocker skirts, belly pans, sheetmetal work under the body that produces a "tunnel" for the passage of air, etc. Final determination on all body modifications rests with NHRA Technical Services Department.
Any new body designs or concepts must receive final approval from NHRA prior to December 31 of the preceding year. Plans, drawings, pictures, etc., must be submitted to the NHRA Technical Department for approval.

New rule making everyone nervous
One of the main things that has Gibson and others in his profession feeling uneasy is a new NHRA rule stipulating that each team must have one specific body design approved by Dec. 31. After the design is approved (and, in a three-step approval process, the buck and then the first body out of the mold), the team must stick to it for at least that year until they can get a new one approved in the following off-season. In other words, no mid-season changes are allowed.

"The fear is the new rule the NHRA has installed regarding having one body mold locked in for a year could really hurt you if you don't have your body optimized before you get it approved," Gibson said. "If you don't do enough R&D [research and development] and you're stuck with it for a year and if at the same time Pontiac, Toyota, or Dodge make big gains, you could be in for a long, miserable season.

"Now, one really good thing about the rule is that if you have a great idea that really works, no one else can copy it for at least a year. So it's a double-bladed sword. I personally think it will hurt the little guys the most because without significant time in the wind tunnel and the budget that sort of activity requires, they'll always be a year behind.

"At the same time, I've only had one of John's cars in the wind tunnel once this year, last April, so I'm a little nervous myself. Maybe the fear of Toyota, Dodge, and Pontiac will emphasize the need for R&D.

"The bottom line right now is that I can't go too far out on a limb with any design changes. There are subtle things we're doing off the limited race data we collected this year but without any wind tunnel time a big risk isn't worth the reward at the moment. This is where the newcomers could gain a lot of ground on us. They're starting with a new design and we're basically working with a body that was designed for the 2000 season."

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