With big shots of drugs, glass bodies, and concrete blocks, even 5500 lb trucks will need parachutes by the end of the year which is 150mph. They will not be allowed to run at all tracks if they are 4x4 as some NHRA tracks limit 4x4's to 10.00.
By upping the ante to 8.50 safety equipment, removing any rule that requires the trucks to be streetable, they are going to keep the number of entries low, and by allowing drugs and concrete/ether engines, they will guarantee high mortality rates, so lots of BYE runs.
Something you must understand is that the truck drivers voted for the index to keep the mortality level in check. I was not allowed to vote in 2006, and both Kat and I did not vote in 2007. The same folk who are crying to remove the index today are the same that cried FOR PUTTING IN THE INDEX a year earlier because they could not keep up with Stuckey. Now that they can, they berate anyone who sided with them last year.
Basically you have a group that wants to be guaranteed winning before the season even starts by getting rules targetted to help their trucks specifically, and if that does not work, they have special rules made for their trucks at the track to give them an advantage.
Watch for more special rules to crop up during to season to assist certain trucks, and more special rules made up to ban others during the year.
I believe they are going to allow computerized launch control for certain drivers who do not want to learn to launch a turbo diesel.
I think they could save alot of money just playing video games in a hotel room, and keep hitting reset until they win, but that's just me.