I do not think third gens where made for anything but road race why do you think they called it a iroc . no offense but threr are not enough road racers on here.

 

Our cars are made for low end torque. Which is pretty good for drag racing huh? You know since you only go 1/4 a mile. Sorry we arent as fast as your VTEC. We'll try to upgrade and get on your level, but give us a break, we're doing the best we can with our little 350's.

 

No factory, mass produced, production car is "made" for racing. Some are just better at fitting in racing styles than others. How well a car performs at the style of racing you chose is up to you.

In an unmodified vehicle, the third gen will perform well in road course racing while a mustang works well in drag racing. With performance modifications, both can become roughly equal.

That's the nice thing about drag racing. You don't see cookie cutter cars that all look and perform the same. Anything that has 4 wheels can and will be raced. Locally we have a turbo charged V6 Chevette that comes out every race. Lots of pickup trucks, lots of older f-bodies and fox bodies. Just about anything you can think of can be seen at the drag strip. Since it's all bracket racing, speed means nothing and everyone has an equal chance of winning.

Most people will take their street cars to the drag strip because it's the safest way to see how much performance you have. Any type of competition oval or road course racing means your car is likely to get bumped or scraped while racing around the track with the other cars. Not too many people are willing to do that with a street car. Autocross is something a little different. It's like a road course but you're making a solo run against a clock so there's very little chance of damaging your car.

 

The 3rd gen may have been designed for the twisties, but that's a better description of what the body itself did.

Practically every week, there's a picture in National Dragster of a 3rd gen that has finished high in a regional or national event. Several have made the cover in recent years. They do very well in the Stock and Super Stock classes.

If you want to road race yours, go for it. Like Stephen says, it's up to you. Regardless of the venue you choose, it's going to cost you pretty good money to be competitive, unless you go for standard bracket drag racing. I haven't spent a lot of time investigating it, but the typical road racing/autocross rules I've heard of are very restrictive with regard to modifications, or you're back to the money thing.

If you want a dual purpose car (street/race), bracket racing makes a lot more sense than getting banged around a track, also as Stephen says. Autocross may be less damage-likely, but competing against the clock vs. another car/person directly - I just don't get there.

To each his own. Find your niche and go for it.