Perhaps, And it's a huge stretch, someone could run with the Factory boys back in the day but, quoting Bob Dylan, things've changed. Going back 40+ years for a moment let's remember that SBK racing was very tertiary to Factories racing. Ergo 'Ol Blue. It's a pipe dream, I saw Kenny Augustine's bare R-90S heads many times @ the old Cross County Cycles in Emerson, NJ thanks to my friendship with Dave Braunstien the proprietor, to think Joe Schmoe's gonna flow a head like Kenny (Dick Mann's quote is "There's Kenny and then there's everyone else.") not to mention his custom cam designs. Smokey Yunick is one of my all time guys but even he couldn't surpass the Factory teams in NASpeCAR. The proof is the existence of Factory Teams. If they could be beaten they'd never exist. The outlier, Erraldo for instance, can compete & win but they're co-opted if they do so. They become Factory. It's romantic to think otherwise though in the dream state anything is possible. Phil/NJ Sent from my iPhone