INDIANAPOLIS — NHRA officials announced that hood scoops will return to Pro Stock bodies beginning in the 2027 season, along with removing the single forward-facing throttle body and replacing it with two top-mounted 4-barrel style throttle bodies.
This comes from the NHRA Technical Department’s continued effort to add more parity, continue to increase participation and reduce overall long-term costs for teams.
This announcement comes a decade after the Pro Stock category transitioned from two carburetors and hood scoops to electronic fuel injection (EFI) and flat hoods in 2016.
EFI will remain for 2027, but hood scoops will return to the popular category, which has seen strong participation in recent seasons. After extensive discussion with teams, racers, engine builders and crew chiefs, the strong majority were in favor of adding a hood scoop air entry back to Pro Stock cars, starting next season.
By adding the hood scoop back, along with the new dual throttle body EFI setup, the consensus is it will provide a more beneficial and efficient way to tune the cars, with less variation from car to car.
“The general feeling among competitors and stakeholders is the current low/front air-entry setup makes the engines more difficult to tune and creates more variation from car to car than it should,” NHRA Director of Engineering Clinton Snead said. “By adding the hood scoop and top-mounted/dual throttle bodies, it should eliminate those issues, which should help all teams, but especially the smaller and lower-budget teams.
“We’re excited about the return of hood scoops and the addition of dual throttle bodies in Pro Stock. There was considerable momentum from teams, racers and engine builders to make this move, and we believe this should draw added interest from fans as well, returning to more of the classic look fans have associated with the category.
“The class is in a strong place as far as overall participation, and we’re confident this move will only continue to add to the depth and interest in Pro Stock.”
Along with the strong visual element of hood scoops, the addition was made with an eye on increased E.T. performance.
Hood scoops will only be required to meet a limited number of measurement rules, similar to previous guidelines. The 2027 rules package for Pro Stock will also include loosened rules on throttle bodies, manifolds and air inlets.
The new top-mounted dual throttle body rules will be based on dimensional requirements, allowing teams to build their own units or work with outside companies. The manifold rules will also be opened up to allow for increased innovation and performance.
