Bobby

I think if you allowed Novas, eight or ten inch tires, any non-quick change rear end, and headers, and reduced the allowable cam to what is in the Factories, the classes would combine.

I've been curious (and skeptical) on how the life of 10" pulloffs would compare to new 8" tires so I queried a team that's run Factory Stocks and other metric cars on dirt and at HMP. The initial response was positive, that the pulloffs would definitely be a cost savings. I invited them to this thread, so I'll not say any more for the moment, but I thought it relevant to this point in the conversation.

I think Texas Tom and Nick will attest that it used to be used at Pan American every night.

Exactly! And if you are willing to do that to attract classes from other forms of racing, why not for the ones already established? The governing and economic factors are no different. If you keep bringing the same logic to bear, you will get the same results. And in addition to the suspension changes, there are probably gearing issues too...

Good to know! Thanks.

On those cheap tires - at a dirt track for a typical local purse, no one checks to see if you are running on second-hand asphalt tires, because it doesn't make much of a difference. But in the context of an asphalt track, what defines a "pulloff" and how do you tech for it? Because if you can't do both, there goes a major part of your justification for the class, as opposed to others. And if you disregard the tire cost angle, the argument for one class vs another just reduces to how much purse do you have to pay to draw each class, as it always has been. I don't think $5K as paid for big Factory Stock races is going to happen in the local asphalt world, at least not in the near future.

"I'm not trying to be mean here to Scotty9 and MetroRacer but didn't they give the super stocks a chance and not enough showed up? " Was this you ?????? And the broader point, which I was trying to make in the bracket race discussion, is when you just add and delete classes willy-nilly, with no consideration of how you are effecting other classes, you drive racers away, often permanently. People can't afford to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours just to throw it away because the promoter changes. One of the participants in this thread has been hit once by that, and may be hit again.

Nathan - It shouldn't be an either/or, there is room for both, if things are handled correctly (emphasis on correctly). I can tell by your statement there is plenty of HMP history on Pro Stocks and Super Stocks you aren't aware of. Very obviously there is a large pool of Factory Stocks out there, which should be clear to anyone who has gone to a dirt race in the last few years. What is not so obvious is what should happen with the pool of Pro Stocks sitting around from the Mandalback days, and the Super Stock class which more recent management has tried to get going, with mixed success. The most obvious issue, which has effected Super Stocks, Pro Stocks, and will effect Factory Stocks too, is the tire cost vs purse issue. If you pay Factory Stocks enough to offset the tire bill, yes, they will come. But the same could be said for Supers and Pro's (and I think accommodations should be made in the rules for Pro's, it wouldn't be that hard). But even the Factorys aren't going to come for Ecostock purses, which is pretty much the situation you've had recently. And if the purse could be reasonable for Factories, why not the other stock bodied classes? Tires vs purses for the stock bodied form factor *is* the issue. Previous management decided they weren't real race cars and didn't pay accordingly. And for $5K to win, as you mentioned, cars will turn out for ANY class.... And if you want a place for all of those cars, irrespective of tires, keep the bracket race idea in mind...

It's an incredibly serious problem. That said, wishing you the best! If you had to get it, a place where the docs know about it is clearly the best, and, as your doc, said, early diagnosis is the key. I went four years with no answers because "it doesn't happen around here".

If you need a Lyme-literate MD, there is one in Houston, possibly one in Austin. I'm very surprised you found anyone in S.A. that even knew what that was. Been there, done that. Since you got diagnosed early, the conventional 2-4 weeks of antibiotics might kill it. You are extremely (!!) fortunate, many, if not most Lyme patients don't get diagnosed early and would kill for only a few weeks of treatment. Feel free to PM if you come to need more info.

Mary Ann and Gina have very similar mindsets. Both are working to enlarge the total size of the racing pie, rather than than enlarge their parts at the expense of others. I hope they are successful. They both represent beautiful tracks which would be a shame to have go dormant.

I would doubly recommend that. Speedzone has been the hub of the wheel of social media, before there were even any spokes. Facebook pages come and go, there needs to be a central point of reference, not to mention that it is device-independent, so everyone has access. And I hope Gina hasn't been holding back for fear of monopolizing the content here. HMP is the Big Daddy track in the state, and it's fortunes affect everyone else's, so it has a right to prominent placement.

Thank you, HiTech. I couldn't agree more! The more show you can see in a shorter time, the more people will come, from a wider area. It isn't rocket science... This is supposed to be about entertainment, not endurance.

Nice people, too.

When I googled IMCA modified rules, I saw a max width of 78". Couldn't find anything for sprint cars, oddly enough.