Nerve

[kn1ghtblade]

few things to consider.

 

1) carbs 350 or 500

2) tires hoosier or American racer

3) rear ends open or locked.

 

 

I'm sure we could go on. The carb issue and locked rear end are easy. It's going to be the tires that will cause the biggest headache. Now this is only my opinion....

 

From I have looked at this is true, the tires are the biggest headaches for someone wanting to run at Kyle on their off nights from SAS or vise versus... The other items he listed are doable to an extent....

[HoosierDaddy]

If the schedules were right next year, we plan on running both tracks as much as possible. Of course thats only if the schedules line up right, and with the way things are around here, I highly doubt it. Still we'll run THR as much as possible though...

[jracer98]

I beg your pardon, gentle board members. My inference from reading the thread was that there was an actual car count/rules problem. Even though dirt tracks are beating our brains in on every measurable category, there may not be anything of value to learn from observing them.

Imitating ostriches and keeping our heads in our own little track's "sand" may be the best thing to do.

 

Jay

[kn1ghtblade]

LoL good point Jracer.... I too plan to run both tracks as much as possible even though with my RR being a metric car I am kinda in limbo when it comes to THR... My car is probably going to be at a disadvantage witht he THR SS's , but in a way I just want to get as much seat time as I can being a rookie and all, and hopefully my car holds up and I dont tear it up that bad....

[Crazyhorse]

i was one of those racers trying to run both longhorn and THR............it was rough . get home late fri night , start changing gears and fixing damage that night or very early sat. morning , and they were both local tracks (no travel).....i ran a 75 lap feature @ longhorn one night and broke an axle , launching the car tore the hell out of it..................and i was in a points battle with leland waddell at THR ,so the following day i had to borrow my grandads car while he was leading in points at longhorn...............it was very stressful.

so after that i stuck to THR my grandad stuck to longhorn , we tried to support both.

[wkr77]

i was one of those racers trying to run both longhorn and THR............it was rough . get home late fri night , start changing gears and fixing damage that night or very early sat. morning , and they were both local tracks (no travel).....i ran a 75 lap feature @ longhorn one night and broke an axle , launching the car tore the hell out of it..................and i was in a points battle with leland waddell at THR ,so the following day i had to borrow my grandads car while he was leading in points at longhorn...............it was very stressful.

so after that i stuck to THR my grandad stuck to longhorn , we tried to support both.

I remember that trick axel...so does my brother and so does "The Catfish".

 

Sorry... I forgot this was a serious thread... "What nerve!"

[Truck99]

I beg your pardon, gentle board members. My inference from reading the thread was that there was an actual car count/rules problem. Even though dirt tracks are beating our brains in on every measurable category, there may not be anything of value to learn from observing them.

Imitating ostriches and keeping our heads in our own little track's "sand" may be the best thing to do.

 

Jay

 

One would have to believe that rules are the only, if not the major, contributing factor to our low car counts to consider this option. I personally do not believe that the rules packages in the lower classes at SAS and THR are the reason for the low car counts. I agree that many dirt tracks are doing something right to bring in the cars, but I don't point the finger at the rules. I don't think an IMCA stock car costs any less than a THR SS or SAS Sportsman to build.

 

Perhaps we should look into what the dirt tracks are doing in other areas before we consider switching to a rules package that would render obsolete the vast majority of the cars currently racing here.

 

I've never been a dirt guy, but I hear those guys show up much later in the afternoon than we do, practice very little (maybe 1 hot laps session), put on the show, and go home. They don't spend all day at the track like we do. This is just one possible benefit the dirt tracks may have over us.

 

Any dirt guys out there who can add to this?

 

One other thing, and I've said this before. Maybe the owner at each track, and not a representative, should call all of the racers they know to have garaged cars not being raced and ask the questions; "Why did you quit?" and "What would entice you to come back?" Then be prepared to act on what is learned.

[jracer98]

A very reasonable suggestion.

 

And, to be fair, a fellow from USRA/SAS called us earlier in the year to ask why we weren't racing with them.

 

Jay

[poorboy]

One reason dirt tracks do well in the lower classes is the cost of tires. I know of people who are consistent winners that only buy about 8 tires a year. That won't happen on the asphalt.

[HiTech]

Do i get that new set of plugs and that new shock i need or that valve cover gasket .nah have to buy that $100 plus tire . if i want to run that particular race or track and run good .My Choice . tires are one of the most talked aboult exspences at all tracks .and all classes have in common ,so aslong as we as racers want to go faster . speed cost money . that will be a major problem . cc runs the thunder class with a mixture of low dallor .low horse power and high horse power cars .some of these cars have $7000 or more in thier motors and chassie.s but the street tires .kinda makes it alittle more even plus it can and does give the have.s the money cars that is .a place to play if they dont want to go out of town .the only thing i saw was dot tire rule and not a dot raceing tire .well that too is getting to be a problem .so of the so called non raceing dot tires are in fact a high grip tire aslong as you could afford 65 to 100 dallors per dot tire .and thats also getting out of hand with all the choices out there . what the teams and tracks need is to find a cheaper tire to run on .they are out there . could maybe find out from out of state tracks what tires they run on .i know a slower tire will hurt speed and times . but will also in time cut the cost of power parts there fore save money and add cars to the classes ........ and now i must wake up out of my dream and join the real world .

[1-Crew]

Time will tell but the gauge to how much the cost is a factor will come from watching the grand stock class. From the TPS perspective, they used to run DOT but with no limit to what DOT tire you ran. At one point we were running Hoosier 245/55/13 tires @ $145 each and they didn't last any longer than the current Hoosier slick at $100 each. Changing to the slick was a cost savings, at least for anyone running in the top 10..

 

If you just want car count and all it takes is affordable cars, the Grand stock (THR) class should prove to be a real winner. Stock everything and DOT tires.. If the class doesn't overtake every other class running in car count then maybe it is more than just the cost of the car each week.

 

Racers are racers and they will not be satisfied with not having a class to move up to. From the fans perspective it doesn't matter what is under the hood as long as there is close racing.

 

By the very nature of asphalt VS dirt, the asphalt rules are going to mean a lot more to even competition. That makes it even more tricky to balance rules between different tracks to insure an even playing field. Short tracks like CC, THR and HMP are going to have to look close at chassis rules and tires. SA will be more interested in engine rules.

 

I believe strongly that at the very least, some common chassis design rules are needed so that if I build a car to a specific track, I have at least some chance of running at a different track(without major changes) or selling the car to someone that will.

[toyman85]

OK Chase, I'm by all means not a "dirt guy" anymore but boy howdy did I have fun with the 05 Nova on dirt this last year at Kileen! And that statement alone may be enough said! I truly had fun again even though I hadn't raced on dirt in several years. I didn't have a 1st place car and I didn't have a 1st place motor. There is something about racing on dirt that is just fun. Maybe it's the "turning right to go left" theory.

 

Here are my thoughts on a few points that have been suggested: 1) Racing is racing - dirt or asphalt - doesn't matter. Either is going to cost you the farm! 2) Perfect example of "fan base" - Dodge City (Kansas) built a beautiful 3/8 mile asphalt track 6 maybe 7 years ago. With 4 classes of cars, they struggled to put butts in the bleachers although car counts in all the classes were pretty good. (aka THR & SAS) The city councel voted (who at that time owned the track) and they dug up the asphalt and put down dirt after only 3 years of paved racing. And instantly it was standing room only!! Why, don't have the magic answer. Same people running the track, same flagman, same tech guy, same promoter - well kinda on that one. But why noone knows?? 3) Many dirt tracks have only 1 practice session which means less fuel, less tire wear, less motor wear, etc. which means you don't spend all day at the track because it only takes 1 hour of practice for all the classes and it's race time. Pit gates open at 4pm and races start at 6pm. Sounds good to me! Sure there are some draw backs to that, but the benefit is more guys show up for the open practices when available.

 

For what it's worth, I agree the car counts are low. But have been for several years now. I think the fact remains the same - racing is an expensive sport. Most can't afford it and the priviledged few should do all we can to support the local tracks to make sure we can continue to do it. D.

[kn1ghtblade]

If you just want car count and all it takes is affordable cars, the Grand stock (THR) class should prove to be a real winner. Stock everything and DOT tires.. If the class doesn't overtake every other class running in car count then maybe it is more than just the cost of the car each week.

 

And just to throw some more gas on this fire, this is the only class that the rules from SAS and THR are virtually the exact same in with only some very minimumal minor differences!!!!!!! I know the THR cars ran at SAS and the SAS at THR when they could in this class and it made for much much better shows!!!!! JMO

 

But if that doesnt show a really good need for common rules I dont know what will!!!!!!! JMO

[Racer Duck]

Did I miss something? I don't remember there being a touring series for Street Stocks or Bombers or any of the other "local" classes. Isn't that what the "Common Rules" are about? Not so much about being a touring set of rules as making allowances for folks who want to to race at a nearby track.

 

I also remember racing Super Stocks in Austin on Friday nites and San Antonio on Saturdays. Blew the engine in Austin one time - got back to SA at 1AM, tore it down by 2AM and had a new one built and running by 3PM. And I think we finished in the top 3 that nite. That engine was the best we ever had .. just goes to prove what you can do when you want to instead of sleeping.

[dancer52]

Perhaps we should look into what the dirt tracks are doing in other areas before we consider switching to a rules package that would render obsolete the vast majority of the cars currently racing here.

 

I've never been a dirt guy, but I hear those guys show up much later in the afternoon than we do, practice very little (maybe 1 hot laps session), put on the show, and go home. They don't spend all day at the track like we do. This is just one possible benefit the dirt tracks may have over us.

 

Any dirt guys out there who can add to this?

 

 

Racing takes up a lot of time for anyone (dirt or asphalt). However, dirt racers do not spend all day at the track practicing on race day. At 99% of the tracks I have been to, we receive one hot lap session per class. These sessions are usually not more than 10 laps.

 

Also, most grandstand prices at the dirt tracks are $10 to get in per adult. This is cheaper than Kyle's grandstand prices this past season. When they have a special event, the grandstand prices may range from $15 to $20 (and that's usually for WoO sprint cars or SUPR Late Model type shows).

 

If part of the family wants to sit in the grandstands, the entire family can usually still ride together because there is not a lot of down time before the races start.