Jason Posted February 17, 2003 Report Share Posted February 17, 2003 Here's a good one. My pick is a tuff one. Either Donnie Wilson, Doug Hooks, or Brandon Bendele. However, I think Doug Hooks will have a break out year. Look for Eddy Wallace to do well again along with the usuals. Brandon will be a championship contender but I think Doug Hooks will get it in the long run. Brandon will need to overcome the mechanical problems that plagued him last season. Will be an interesting year. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SASPEEDRACER24 Posted February 17, 2003 Report Share Posted February 17, 2003 I'll have to say Brandon this year... He had alot of bad breaks but qualified well almost nightly... You can't count out Donnie Wilson or Greg Davidson if he is running tho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ups88john Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Im gonna pick Brandon Bendele. He had several problems that took him out of contention last year. Hopefully they got those problems figured out for this year. Donnie Wilson will be a contender again, if he runs the series. Doug Hooks is my dark horse, usually fast everywhere, just needs to put it all together. I think we will see 9 or 10 different winners again this year, should be a great season. Big John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierDaddy Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Im going with Brandon. I look for Doug Hooks and Doug Lege to run strong too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Now that traction control is legal in ROMCO, it's gonna have to be someone who is already familiar with TC devices. After all, anybody with experience in running them has a leg up on the competition. LOL.. Not too sure how many competitors ran them last year, but I think the Davidson's have studied (notice I didn't say "ran" -- I said "studied") such devices for some time. And I think Doug Lege has figured out why he was running a stiffer RR spring, so I count him among the favorites for the 2003 ROMCO crown too. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poorboy Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 As far as I'm concerned if they are going to be running traction control then who cares who is champion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romco??? Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 I'm with poorboy who really cares who is SITTING! in the romco car to win the championship. Big step in the WRONG direction for the series. Seems like romco management (has made a mistake). -- Original comment edited by Nick Holt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 I would have to agree that it was a major mistake to allow traction control. The e-mail that was sent out said that drivers were polled, but I was never asked. I guess my vote does not count. We have decided not to run it at the begining of the season for two reasons: 1- we just don't have the money and 2nd- we plan on running some out of state races that don't allow it so I don't want to learn to use it as a crutch. I don't think it will make that much differance, we'll find out the first race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 I think the teams who have experience with it will shine the first couple of races. Very unfortunate that they allow it. Ofcoarse last year the restrictor plates for TMS were suppsedly made by a romco engine builder whos cars got 1st and 2nd so who knows... DLege was forced to take off a legal carb because he was too fast. ROMCO is a great racing series and hopefully will realize that tc was a bad decision and ban it. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 It's too bad that TC is now legal, but it may be the easiest solution for ROMCO tech inspection. You can take the car, strip it down to the last bolt, and still not find it. Units are now so small that it can be closed up in a roll bar with a pick-up wire that's so thin you can bury it under a coat of paint. If the racer wants it, he will find a way to hide it, and looking for it at the ROMCO level won't be very practical due to time and manpower. I hate to see TC become part of the equation, but ROMCO isn't the only series that chose this route, I think the Southern All-Star Series legalized TC this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 Eddie (Bandit), Now you know why so many of the front-runners were using that very-soft-front-springs, huge-sway-bar, stiff- RR- spring set-up that got them into the turns so well. You would have thought that set up would burn off the RR tire. And it would have unless you were able to keep the RR from spinning coming off the turn by using a TC device. It's just a shame that TC is being allowed in any racing series. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 Here is an email I got from someone regarding my views of.......well everything. Not a member of your site dont want to be! Just so you know the restrictor plates used at TMS were not made by Westside Performance and had nothing to do with the outcome at TMS. The restrictor plates were bought by ROMCO from a outside sourcethat had nothing to do with Westside or the Davidsons. Maybe you should give some credit to a great engine program and the thinking and hard work of a couple of great racers. and quit degrading them and discarding therehard work. There is no doubt that the Davidsons and Westside work hard to make their cars fast. Last year, it was going around that Sid was making the restrictor plates. I think he is the Davidson's engine guy so thats how I came to my conclusion. Maybe I was misinformed? Here is my reply. I am curious. Are you with Westside Performance or Davidson Motorsports? I know I shouldn't be replying to this until I ask around and find out who you are. You started your email with basically a "putdown" towards me. So with that, I don't debate over the email. Thats what I set up my site to do. Regardless if you become a member or not, I have my views of the Davidsons that were damaged severly by watching them race here in CC. Greg is a good racer and I have respect for him. If you choose to register keep it clean. Thanks, Jason His reply back. Sorry if you thought it was a put down that I dont want to be a member of your site didnt mean it as a put down, just my opinion, but I think it is a put down the way you and people on your site keep reffering to Westside and the Davidsons about TMS. I think you should have your facts in order before you speak badly of anyone. The restrictor plates were bought by Romco from an outside company completely not involved with either. Chris lol so my first hate mail in a long time So was the information about the restrictor plates being bought from Westside Performance not true? Did they design them? I bet if Johnny is reading this he can give us some info. Hopefully this years TMS ROMCO race is good. I should be there. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildRacer5 Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 My reply to Chris would have been the following. He may not have wanted to become a memeber of this site, but being a memeber can have its advantages. Look at what it did for San Antonio Speedway track manager Mr. Sepich when he got to defend his racetrack. If Chris was a member he could the defend the use or the lack thereof of TC. He could let everyone know his side of the story. An Outsider viewing all the post about traction control and the Davidsons would seem kinda funny if he read this months circle track with all the pics and stuff on ROMCO and the Davidsons. I'm not trying to insult Chris or Greg in any way. I've met them both and both are very enjoyable. The only thing that I have to say about the use of the TC is if Romco stated that TC was illegal and it was being use by the Davidsons then they were infact Cheating. Now if had a little wiggle room with no clear definate rule on TC then they just used the rules to their advantage. Now would be first - a racer reading between the lines in a rule book. They are not the first and I'm betting a million dollars that they will not be the last. The TMS thing with the restrictor plates does not matter. I think what helped them the most is the fact that they did all the on tract test at TMS for ROMCO. They had more tract time up there than anyone else and used it to thier advantage. I hope that more people will join this great site. Everyone on here understands that they may upset someone because people including racecar drivers and fans will tend to disagree on everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 It's a shame Chris is not a member, he is one of the more knowledgeable racers in Texas, having been around it his entire life. I did not go to TMS last year, but it sounds to me like the Davidsons just out-smarted everyone else, starting with qualifying. If they let multiple cars on the track to qualify and Chris and Greg took advantage of the draft and ran together, then they took advantage of an opportunity that the rest of the racers either didn't think of, or didn't take advantage of. Greg has a ton of experience on all sizes of tracks in several series, and together they have forgotten more about racing than a lot of current racers know. You don't have to like them, but you gotta be pretty good to out-run or out-smart them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 This wasnt Chris Davidson... I didn't post his last name. Opps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 I'm goin to have to go pick up this months circle track tonite. Glad ROMCO is being recognized nationally now Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted February 20, 2003 Report Share Posted February 20, 2003 It is always easy to accuse somenone of cheating just because they are fast. Alot of people accused the Davidsons of cheating becuase they built special cars for TMS. I would have done the same thing if I had the resources, this year may be a differant story. By the way, you can run the soft spring big bar setup without TC, you just need to run alot of cross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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