During the Thunder Valley Nationals, Erica Enders had her fourth qualifying run disqualified due to a rule infraction that involved the rear wheels on her Camaro. The reason given was the wheels failed to meet NHRA’s approved specifications for Pro Stock. This incurred a 100-point deduction, a $5,000 fine, and kicked off a firestorm on social media.

After the event, the NHRA released the following revised statement to add clarity to the situation from its perspective:

Things get interesting when Richard Freeman, owner of Elite Motorsports, dropped his response in the comments section of the NHRA’s post on Facebook:

Where this starts to get sticky is the fact that the NHRA does have the final say on how rules are interpreted. Pro Stock is a brutally competitive class, so successful teams like Elite Motorsports are going to look at the rulebook and try to find ways to improve their program; that’s what top-tier teams do. The problem is, the NHRA feels like this conflicts with how the rules are written.

We will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they develop.