How Many Cubes?

By James Morgan

Jon Kaase Shotgun Fords have put IHRA Pro Stock cars into the 6.50 zone behind MASSIVE cubic inches. Photo by James Morgan

Walking through the pits, I stop at one of the Pro Stock areas and nonchalantly ask, "How many cubes?" The crew chief slowly raises his head with one eye squinting like a gunslinger staring down his rival and says, "Eight hundred plus." He stares at me like I'm a foreign spy; I move on. 

Later during the first round of qualifying, two of these "Mountain Motored" monsters idle into stage. Each clears out the motor with a quick blip of the throttle, then they creep in to stage. Just as the second stage bulb is lit, up come the RPMs. In an instant, three hair pieces are sucked off the heads of bystanders, the fences and poles around the starting line lean towards the machines, and the clouds in the sky change direction and begin to converge over the commotion. The barometer drops as 1,600 plus cubic inches of motor suck all the surrounding air into the cavernous intakes. Then in an instant, they're gone! How many cubes ARE too much?

James Morgan
James@motorsportunderground.com
http://www.Motorsportunderground.com