Will, welcome to the party - some quick responses below...
WillM wrote:The kit car thing is always a challenge. Part of the reason why SP and P have worked for so long is that it is very easy to determine which sub-class you are in (by cylinder count), and the rules are fairly open, especially P where 'anything but nitrous goes'.
We have been working with some folks offline regarding alternate solutions for under-powered "super class" cars, including kit cars. Fear not, depending on the NHMS-4 results, we may roll out one of the potential options.
WillM wrote:but I'm not sold on the idea of requiring dyno plots and such
It is not our intent to require folks to submit dyno plots as part of classification. We specify in the Super Class rules that competitors must use "a. Wheel horsepower and torque of the vehicle, as attested to by the competitor" This means that no sheets must be submitted. The rules clarify, "a dyno sheet may be requested by the Chief Scrutineer at any time,
but is not otherwise required upon registration" [emphasis added]
The only time a Chief Scrutineer should request a sheet is if a competitor is obviously BS'ing, and 1) get protested, 2) is so obviously lying that Tom Cannon can't help himself but call that competitor out.
We also mention the possibility of using a data logger in these instances to estimate power; this could also be available to folks who do not know their power - more discussion on this, and some testing, would be helpful. However, folks who have data loggers with this functionality and dyno plots for their motors said the estimation was surprisingly accurate.