In our excitement to see all of the new Pro Stock cars and how they are displayed in the pits as per the new NHRA rules, we have noticed some interesting things. First, the times are going to be down given everything being equal (which it isn't) from last year strictly from air intake now coming from low on the front of the car. Air that close to the track is on average 40-degrees warmer than at the cowl, and with every 10-degrees of heat equating to 20-plus horsepower decrease, we're talking a differential of around 80-plus horsepower. The Pro Stock teams are not happy about that.

But there were other observations we'll pass along:

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For the most part the Pro Stock teams are not used to spectator eyes on their operations, and so when you get close they seem to look like they want you to leave. Like, right now.

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The new rules state you must not cover up the engine and face the car towards the spectator end of the pits. Some are following those explicit rules, and some, not so much. We'll let you be the judge for which teams prefer to expose or hide their stuff based on the gallery of Pro Stock pits here.

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For those covering up their stuff, when asked what was under the towel, most all answered "An engine." Great! When asked if we could see what's under the towel, only Vincent Noble's Mountain View Racing team said "No!" OK, then. So we'll call them out on it and hope the NHRA reads this post. As of Friday qualifying they were on the bubble. Ray Skillman's crew lifted the towel for us, exposing an ice pack on the air box. Nothing wrong with that from a rules perspective, and in the 90-plus Pomona heat it's negligible how much that will help as they sit in the staging lanes. But as we mentioned, the hot air coming into the engine from the lower fascia of the cars is a distinct disadvantage over previous years.

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Here's the times as of end of qualifying on Friday:

1. Bo Butner, Chevy Camaro, 6.606, 209.75

2. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.618, 209.95

3. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.641, 208.62

4. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Dart, 6.645, 208.55

5. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.647, 209.43

6. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.651, 208.68

7. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.653, 208.33

8. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.660, 208.68

9. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.669, 208.62

10. Joey Grose, Camaro, 6.684, 207.88

11. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.684, 207.59

12. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.686, 207.75.

Not Qualified:

13. V. Gaines, 6.689, 207.11

14. Matt Hartford, 6.702, 206.61

15. Aaron Strong, 6.721, 206.29

16. Vincent Nobile, 16.748, 51.88