JamesHigdon
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Posts posted by JamesHigdon
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Just an interesting point to bring up, I’ll be doing some research on it.
The speedway property is still zoned BP, Business Park. In order for a gas station to be built there it would need to be C-2. I was down there 2 weeks ago, unless signs have been posted since then the property hasn’t been assigned a date for re-zoning.To clarify, I’m not at all saying Nick is wrong (I don’t doubt it sold) just that this may not be as final as it could be.
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I’ve got two nephews that are all about sprint cars, once we get our quarter midget schedule figured out we’re going to start planning sprint car shows.
Between the quarter midgets, sprint cars, I37 in between and HMP when we can I’m REALLY looking forward to the racing season!
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Started the same journey in April of this year with my son. We've had a lot of fun with it, I think helping him race is more fun than any of what I've done. It's also been great for our family, should hopefully make Tulsa a few times next year!
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We're seeing expense issues in Quarter Midget Rookie classes...RED ROOKIE QUARTER MIDGETS!
The "crate" GX120 from Honda is $500...to be competitive you need a $11-1200 built motor from a builder that's had the cam advanced, the ignition timing advanced, had a heavy flywheel fitted, the special hones run through the bores, etc. You can buy AFCO shocks for $4-500 but good shocks are $1,800 and $250 per on rebuilds. State of the art chassis? $5k. Titanium rear axle? $1,800. Fresh tires every race? $260.
We're running an older loaner car from the club that I'm rebuilding, solid car with a little older motor, shocks, etc. We've run hundreds of laps of practice dialing in the car and my son has gotten really confident but the next step is a current gen motor and better shocks.
USAC could solve a lot of this...close down the engine specs, rookie classes can only run scrub tires, limit to basic shocks...but it's racing so you do what you have to.
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On 7/5/2023 at 6:30 PM, arob said:
Looks like the Greenville Tx track had a great opening with 101 cars in 5 classes on July 1 and 172 in 6 classes on July3. GREAT start!
Good to hear more and more of these stories!
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On 7/5/2023 at 5:48 PM, rebelracewriter said:
My take, yes more people watched....But how many watched; 1) hoping to see a real clusterflop/train wreck, 2)as new(as in never watched racing before), 3)the old timers just checking back in to the latest gimmick, 4)regulars who will watch any motorsports.....If you could show me a break down of those, that's be great.
#imasolid4
There's a 5th category. I was at SAS at 3 weeks old, I think I fit into the old-timer category even at 37 but NASCAR had gotten monotonous and boring so I stopped watching. What brought me back really was the trucks on dirt...then the road courses...then Cup on dirt and on and on. Now I try to watch most every race again (as long as RaceonTexas doesn't have something). I watched Chicago and enjoyed it thoroughly. The 5th category is old-timers actually interested in what NASCAR is doing now.
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On 7/6/2023 at 10:34 AM, RodneyRodriguez said:
I was waiting to hear "well the race got shortened" lol. That would have been if the 23 won lololololol
🤣
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On 7/6/2023 at 10:28 AM, 24nomo said:
Subscribe to my Utube channel and I will have the breakdowns for you
What's the channel?
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Stuck at home working on the Quarter Midget but good lord that was some amazing racing!
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People bitched ENDLESSLY about this race, certainly one of the best Cup races I’ve ever seen and probably a top ten of any race I’ve ever watched. Competitive international drivers (F1 and SuperCar Champs like back in the Golden Era of international racing), numerous competitive cars (including ones that can’t keep up on the cookie cutter tracks), rain racing, new track…unbelievably good race and an unbelievably good call on NASCAR’s part.
A lot of people are going to disagree with this but I think NASCAR is in another golden era.
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3 hours ago, DriverX said:
Here is your rules for an entry level RWD class. Pretty much every asphalt track in Florida has adopted this class and rule book and 5 flags speedway has double digit car count in less than 3 nights. Thunderhill had a class very similar to this and it was popular.
In my opinion the issue there is it’s another spec class. Why would the person running that class not run any of the other spec classes?
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A few ideas/suggestions.
1) Weight penalties (big ones) when cars start winning/dominating so there's no incentive to push the rules.
2) Run it like a bracket race. If you break out you now run with the Bootleggers.
3) Assuming cars show up run it like a Pro/Am event. All cars on the track at the same time running 2 different races. The "Am" bracket is over a certain time limit with less experience and the "Pro" bracket is the faster cars.
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On 5/29/2023 at 8:25 AM, NickHolt said:
I'm glad folks are serious about coming up with ideas about how to save asphalt racing.
A couple of points I'd like to make, if you don't mind.
1) Rules. The rules have to be very specific and very thorough for whatever class is being proposed. I mean every possible detail has to be spelled out with no room for creative rule-bending. The idea that rules should be minimal hoping to attract a wide range of cars is crazy and a recipe for failure. Racers want to win and are very inventive and willing to make their own rules unless they are clearly spelled and strictly enforced all the time.
A couple of notes about rules here:
A. Coming up with a comprehensive set of rules is extremely difficult. Input from a wide variety of experienced racers is mandatory. Rules made by one person end up being revised over and over as oversights and errors are needed. And rules that change frequently are not conducive to the stability of the class.
B. The rules must be strictly enforced with no exceptions. And the class/track management must back the tech officials every time.
2) Low-cost classes is the key to the future success of asphalt racing - as many have pointed out. But getting these low-tech cars to handle is a major challenge for racers to overcome and racers are very inventive when it comes to getting an advantage over their fellow racers. Very strict rules about shocks, springs, suspension components and tires are a must. As soon as someone "innocently" re-mounts a suspension component to alter a roll center or gain a bump steer advantage, the class will be history. Shocks should be issued by the track and dynoed to detect any re-valving efforts. Springs should be pulled, measured and rated randomly.
I've been down the rules making/enforcing road many times in the past and the above is not theory.
I’ve been thinning a lot of about this. My input would be.
1) You have to allow air spring conversions (a lot of the cars talked about are offered with rear air suspension) BUT they’d have to be approved beforehand AND from a supplier selling OE style parts. This was an issue for us at CTS.
2) My thinking is the rule book actually needs to be VERY short. OE style components in OE locations mounted from OE mounts unless otherwise specified. What is OE style? Use “the RockAuto rule”, if it doesn’t come from the “Economy” or “Standard” section at RockAuto it doesn’t go on your car. Spell out VERY simply what is allowed. Straight pipes past the factory manifolds, adjust the alignment within factory specs (allow OE style camber kits if you’d like), gut it, knock out the glass, cage, that’s IT. If it doesn’t say it there isn’t illegal. If the car gets wrecked and your adjustments appear to add performance it’s illegal. If you tune the computer you get tarred and feathered on the front stretch before you can race again.
And to that end, make the penalties very LeMons like. Fining a guy $500 if he’s willing to spend $1,000 cheating in a eco class doesn’t matter but making him wear a chicken suit and sit in the stands for a race maybe would? Make it fun…that’s REALLY what’s missing.
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4 hours ago, TBone said:
Just a quick aside: The Safer Barrier research was started by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then initially funded by IRL. NASCAR got in on it a little later. It was first installed at IMS by IndyCar.
As for the race, I don't think it was a conspiracy for a Penske driver. I think they didn't want a repeat winner under the yellow flag
Yea, the Penske thing seems like a stretch but why wouldn’t they want the biggest race of the year to end up under green?
The issue isn’t with them ending it under green or even a change to make that happen just the weird way they reached that end today.
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8 minutes ago, rails said:
Makes you wonder if Penske and Foyt cars weren’t running 2nd and 3rd do they throw that last red flag?
Yea I didn’t think about that angle but it’s certainly a valid point. I’ve never seen any track go from red flag to green in less than 1 lap, it was just a really odd choice.
If they knew they were gonna do that then why the extra lap under yellow? If the new policy is the race ends under green no matter what then just make it green - white - checkered.
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I think they hosed that up, one lap from pit-lane red to green/white flag? Basically ensures second place the win & seriously unsafe.
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My working 70 hour weeks caught up with me again and I’m at home sick. I figured “hell I pay for Floracing (mostly so I can watch the World Series from New Smyrna) I might as well see what’s on.”
People lamenting the death of racing need to open their eyes a little. Drag racing (cars or big rigs) or circle track? Circle track. Dirt (even from Australia) or Asphalt? Asphalt. Well, would you like Super Modifieds (350 or open and winged or not), Midgets, Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Latemodels or something else? Super Modifieds sound good, Lee Speedway or Oswego?
Im swapping back and forth between Lee, Oswego and now Riverhead. Also waiting for Jennerstown and Berlin to start. Have to catch some of the Little 500 from Anderson too. In a little bit I can swap over to RaceOnTexas to see what’s going on around here and then to finish off to Alaska for opening night there.
I haven’t watched traditional TV all day, haven’t needed to. There may be fewer tracks actually on the ground but watching car counts and variety racing isn’t doing as badly as you’d think.
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The momentum is right to start saving tracks, if people were ever willing to listen nows the time.
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8 hours ago, MikePeters95 said:
Haha, dude they are EVERYWHERE and they are CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAP. I think if this class gets green lit we will see a lot of them and more importantly, a lot of new racers and their friends now that racing is accessible to them in a way that they think is cool.
I think we'd see a lot of cheap old German stuff as well. There are just so many cheap cars that will run for forever but the interiors and other things on them are absolute garbage, and they'd be perfect stripped down on a race track with some numbers on the side, and someone very excited to have a race car.
I feel like the 24 Hours of Lemons / Chump car crossover between this class back and fourth would be a real thing as well. Cheap cars people can run on asphalt, dirt, and do cheap endurance road racing would be really popular in my opinion.I’ll share this again here.
I own a shop, when you started talking about this class I took aside my best tech (who is dying to race something; he owns a 5.0L Ford Swapped Miata, a LS1 swapped C3, is LS Swapping his GMT400 and his daily is an AWD C300) and asked him about this class.
His exact response was “so I could have an actual racecar with a VQ motor? Or wait would the rules allow a 2JZ in a Lexus GS? Or I guess you could run a 1UZ! OHH! A 330i would be sweet, you’d give up a little power but gain it back in weight savings.”
He’s never watched a NASCAR race and never been to a circle track but a 3 minute conversation had him interested in seeing what this class would look like.
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8 hours ago, RodneyRodriguez said:
But then you look at dirt, plenty of Mods, Sport Mods.. regular fan says they look alike. Plenty of I-Stocks, and Factory. Regular fan says they look alike lol. That is what I like about for example the Waco Outlaw SS and Mary Ann's Street Stocks, hybrid as shit and every lookin kind of car.
I am a huge fan of the Jr Lmtd concept especially if those kiddos which they all seem to, have aspirations to move up and race a sport mod. Waco has produced some bad ass drivers out of that class those kiddos are driving what they will be racing moving forward in a learning package, that's genius.
So explain stock car classes to the average person
Person 1) “We have Modifieds, Trucks, limited Latemodels, street stocks and pure stocks.”
Person 2) “Cool so all different kinds of chassis and motors?”
1) “Umm…no. They all pretty much run the same engines and frames. Stuff that’s at best 40 years old but it could be 70 years old.”
2) “Ohh, so they all race together?”
1) “Well…no, we spilt them into as many subgroups as possible then don’t have enough of any group to make an entertaining race.”
2) “Yea, but at least you can run them at any track right?”
1) “No, that’s the best part! Each track changes their rules just a little so their cars can’t run at other tracks!”
2) “Umm…ok?”
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Oh…and whoever reads this think about it then respond.
Weekly tracks should have 4 classes.
1) FWD/RWD 4 Cylinders limited to 2.5L. Cages, knock out the glass, gut them and nothing else.
2) 4 Door RWD Turbo 4 or NA I/V6 - V8 limited to 4.6L. Cages, knock out the glass, gut them and nothing else.
3) Same as above but with tuning, bolts on, suspension mods.
4) Coupe or Sedan - Turbo 4, Turbo 6, NA 8/10/12 ok with no displacement limit. Unlimited save for no chassis mods, 8” slick, 3,200 lbs. You want to run a ‘69 Chevelle, fine. You want to run a 4.6L STS, go for it. You want to run a 330i or S550 or whatever, make it safe. You have enough funding for a ‘23 Mustang? Bring it out.
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We spoke on FB but I’ll reiterate it here, I love this idea.
I can tune a carb and build a SBC but I’m in the extreme minority being able to do so; most mechanics now just can’t. They have zero interest in racing “classic” cars like G-Bodies and 2nd Gen Camaros.
A truly cheap class that allows 20 and 30 year olds to run cars they can relate to and work on should draw new blood into the sport.
A $1,000 Q45 or LS400/430 would be amazing to see on track and honestly they’re a lot closer related to “Stock Cars” from NASCAR’s early years than anything you’d see at most tracks today. They’re cheap, real transportation turned into racecars.
Tell me when to start looking for an ‘98-00 LS400…and don’t tell anyone else that’s the best car.
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1 hour ago, rebelracewriter said:
All the crying for years to have SAS reopen.....Someone comes up with an idea/plan and all you hear from circle trackers is negative bullshit....Y'all crack me up....No actually I'm TRULY disappointed in several people on here and fakebook.
Yes I know of all the hurdles and loop holes they'll need to jump through and I know a lot more about the whole ACM situation than most people or that I've publically shared during litigation(good and bad).....I also know between dome dirt and soil contamination that area would need a shit ton of remediation to become anything like a housing area.
Right now all they're asking for is some volunteer help....Funny thing, when Chris and Brian asked for help people showed up with weedeaters, chain saws and a freaking bulldozer....Then only a percentage of people crying for it to reopen even showed up....When you don't have it, you want it....When you have it, you don't support it....SMGDH....Seems the only ones excited are the drag racing people....If I was the group of people involved in this I'd say screw the circle track, lets just build the drag strip....FYI, Little River, Edinburg, Big Country, HMP are only 1/8 mile tracks, probably others I've not been to also.
In one their latest posts they've stated they have the funding in place, whether true or not I don't know, but they're NOT asking for money so this shouldn't turn into another James and Shelma deal.(Not you Higdon)
All that being said I'm skeptically optimistic, but give them the benefit of the doubt until I see otherwise.
This is a very good take & I support it. If there’s a 1% chance of it working I’ll support them…I’ll be cautious but I’ll support them.
San Antonio Speedway is my home, no matter what’s there it always will be.
Most importantly (to me) as the father of a 7 and 3 year old that are obsessed with cars and racing having a local drag strip and asphalt circle track is a huge thing for us. I37 is great, we spend a lot of time out there and nothing will change that but we grew up with asphalt racing. When I was a kid it was Fridays at Texas Dirt Speedway, Saturday’s at SAS, Sunday’s at AutoX’s, I’d love for my kids to have that.
From a business standpoint having a drag strip is important to my shop, it makes a lot of what I do a lot easier. The events the Stovall’s brought to ACM where great and again I’d love my boys to be around Nitro cars and the like.
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…we are debating about things that are irrelevant though. If the Stovall’s are for real they have this sorted out already. No-one with the kind of money and sense to pull this off would own the property without having these details sorted…
San Antonio Speedway property has officially been sold
in Texas Auto Racing
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I don't disagree with anything you're saying save for the zoning is not irrelevant. If any one around here had any fight left in them the zoning could be made an issue but we don't so we won't. I'm not at a point in my life where I'm going to give up on things, most people that remember SAS are and that is their privilege. If SAS is leveled in 6 months so be it, I'll support the next closest track and if it closes then the next one and so on.
I'm going to support I37, support all our other local tracks, keep subscribing to RaceOn and spend 2-3 days a week at the Quarter Midget tracks with my family.