Race #5 Results from Cotton Bowl Speedway

[Danielsen Motorsports]

South Texas Street Stock Shootout

Cotton Bowl Speedway

Paige, TX

August 9, 2014

2014 Race No. 5

Results

Heat 1

1. 149 Stephen Danielsen

2. 66 Jim Asher, Sr.

3. 36f Frank Okruhlik

4. 19 Jarrett Barber

5. 17 Aaron Leddy

5. 31 Jeff Hendricks (Black Flagged - No Gloves)

Heat 2

1. 22M Anthony Gordon

2. 1 Joey Heinaman

3. 22H Gary Harris

4. 36 Lucky Gilbert

5. 3D Robby Minten

6. 35s J.T. Sullivan (Blacked Flagged - No Gloves)

DQ 48r Rob Slott (Failed Tech)

Heat 3

1. 49R Ryan Slott

2. 35 Tony Blankenship

3. 41 Wade Jones

4. 2H Heath Stewart

5. 40 Mike Lyon

6. 9 Brain Morris

7. 82 Dwayne Markgraf (Blacked Flagged - No Gloves)

Heat 4

1. 4T Mike Trigg

2. 9M Marcos Mikulencak

3. 2$ Johnny Torres

4. 11 Shawn Kline

5. 09 Gerald Johnson

6. 5 Brad Hayes

7. 122 Harvey Gruss

8. T9 Steven Doty (DNS - No Gloves)

Fast Times

1. 149 Stephan Danielsen 21.40

2. 4T Mike Trigg 21.69

3. 49r Ryan Slott 23.46

4. 48r Rob Slott (Failed Tech)

B- Main

1. T9 Steven Doty

2. 09 Gerald Johnson

3. 17 Aaron Leddy

4. 9 Brian Morris

5. 35s JT Sullivan

6. 5 Brad Hayes

7. 40 Mike Lyon

8. 31 Jeff Hendricks

9. 36 Lucky Gilbert

10. 82 Dwayne Markgraf

11. 3D Robby Minten

DNS 122 Harvey Gruss

Feature

1. 35 Tony Blankenship - Big Dawg #1

2. 41 Wade Jones - Big Dawg #2

3. 49r Ryan Slott - Big Dawg #3

4. 36f Frank Okruhlik

5. 4t Mike Trigg

6. 22M Anthony Gordon - Hard Charger of the Race

7. T9 Steven Doty

8. 66 Jim Asher, Sr.

9. 19 Jarrett Barber

10. 2$ Johnny Torres

11. 1 Joey Heinaman

12. 149 Stephan Danielsen - Fast Time Challenge

13. 11 Shawn Kline

14. 9 Brain Morris

15. 17 Aaron Leddy

16. 40 Mike Lyon

17. 2H Heath Stewart

18. 22H Gary harris

19. 09 Gerald Johnson

20. 35s JT Sullivan

21. 5 Brad Hayes

22. 9M Marcos Mikulencak

DNS 31 Jeff Hendricks

DQ 48r Rob Slott (Failed Tech)

Did Not Qualify

36 Lucky Gilbert

122 Harvey Gruss

82 Dwayne Markgraf

3D Robby Minten

Lineup after Drop to Backs

11

35

19

36f

49r

22H

4T

149

41

48r

66

9m

2$

1

T9

17

9

5

2H

22M

09

35s

40

31 DNS

[Danielsen Motorsports]

With the 3rd place car being dq'ed the cars 4th - 7th will receive an additional $25 due to moving up one position. After 7th the purse is the same and doesnt change.

[JohnnyT66]

What was the dq for?

[Danielsen Motorsports]

Cylinder Head infraction. No other details will be released.

[slidejob]

Cylinder Head infraction. No other details will be released.

 

First off, I love the series and applaud the effort that goes into running these events. I know it must be a time consuming and difficult task. However, I honestly feel your rules are vague in many critical areas. I have been around circle track racing since I was a child and I have seen a lot of rules packages over the years. The STXSSS rules have a lot of GRAY areas. The competitor in me (and probably most of us) wants to take advantage of the GRAY, but I don't want to build a car that I think is "within the rules" as I understand them...just to get DQ'ed for my interpretation.

 

So, my question is this:

 

Why is there a lack of transparency to rules violations?

The last two races I have seen: "Illegal Carburetor" and "Cylinder Head Infraction"...neither tell me much...and both are very important.

 

I think we all need to know what the Tech Officials found that they didn't like! Was it a blatant violation...or potentially a "gray area"? Why not tell us if you found "porting/polishing", or "gasket matching", or "too small of chamber", etc. What is the harm in letting competitors and potential competitors know? Also, I don't see how it would negatively effect the person with the violation. I don't think driver's, teams, or spectator will think any differently of the competitor if you stated "Cylinder Head Infraction"...or "Chamber 68cc" (as an example).

 

Honestly, It almost seems as if you want to keep the actual violation(s) secret...so you can catch the next guy with the same infraction...rather than provide further clarification.

 

Currently I do help a team that is running the series. Also, I have sent a handful of Private Messages asking for rule clarifications...as I really want to run a car next season and I want to start buying parts now. So, I do have a real vested interest in clarity of the rules.

 

An example of a GRAY area:

 

1) Per your rules for Package B, It simply says "roller rockers" allowed. So, I see nothing to tell me I can't run JESEL or T&D shaft mount rockers. Per the letter of rules, it seems to be absolutely legal. But somehow I think you guys might not appreciate that setup. So, is a shaft mount system acceptable?

 

2) Per your allowances. I can take a 50lb weight penatly and use "ANY HIGH RISE ALUMINUM INTAKE". Based on this wording I can use a custom fabricated aluminum sheetmetal intake. Also, obviously I can port the intake I choose as there is no mention that porting the intake is in violation of the rules.

 

I honestly don't think most people desire to blatantly cheat...but I think all of us will grab hold of the gray areas and exploit them. We need to know where to draw the line!

 

My only interest is to obtain further clarity of the rules...for me and anyone else who is interested.

 

Regards

[Danielsen Motorsports]

See if I can answer all of these. Fyi not all of the answers we be what your expecting but I respect you for asking them and any further questions please dont hessitate.

 

You have sent me (2) questions through pm. Carb question which I answered back within 3 hours. That was easy and I knew the answer to that one.

 

Next question was Vortex heads which I did answer. Sorry that one took a while as I was starring at a race coming up and you had multiple part #'s you were asking about. I am not up top speed on vortex part #'s so that took longer before getting back a direct Yes and No for those two heads you asked about.

 

As far a vague set of rules. Well lets see how far we have come. 5 years ago we had 4 race tracks with 3 sets of rules. Nobody raced but their home track. Now a 5th track has opened and 2 have closed. Prior the closing at one point all the tracks supported our series three of which adopted a unified set of rules that we created and the 4 is about 99% the same. Drivers can go pretty much anywhere to race now. That has taken almost 5 years to accomplish. You say vague I say 100% better then it was and getting better. Do we have vague rules in some areas absolutely. No doubt. However we will never have a nascar rule book and there is always areas drivers think about testing the waters no matter the rules. If you have an issue with interpreting something then continue asking questions so your in the clear and comfortable. We have over 60 drivers this year some have had questions and we were happy to help. We have also had some gray areas get revised and reposted to the public. As far as 2015 rules we are close to releasing them and some gray areas have been addressed. I am sure they are not all gone and never will be.

 

We are excited to have more and more drivers coming onboard (3) new experienced drivers this past week alone. The series has grown every year and I can already tell you next year will be yet another growth. Sometimes the growth we talk about may not be in numbers but rather the quality of driver now coming into the shootout. I am proud to say there is nothing else in this area that compares to our 4 1/2 years of success, NOTHING asphalt or dirt! We want to set the standards for this area and I feel we are doing it now. With that being said we are not yet close to where I want the shootout to be. Its a work in progress as a whole and that includes the rules.

 

As far as the Dq's and not providing details. That's easy, I am not going to! The area of disqualification was announced nothing more is needed. Thats all I am announcing publicly. If a head is illegal then it will say " illegal head". If its a illegal body then I will say "illegal body". If we feel someone was illegal or questionable over something that is a gray area then we will announce it like we did early in the year. Folks we have a gray area and this is what it was and we are doing this about it. You will be informed with the info neccessary. Someone elses details on a clear cut rule infractions is nobodies business. The second we discussed the disqualification with the teams it was behind us and them both. We are now working with them in an effort to return them to competition. Nobody likes to be dqed nor do we like doing it. Has nothing to do with being secret but everything to do with respect to the team in question. If the details are that important then go ask em. Maybe they will tell everyone maybe they wont. Sorry that is simply the stance we will take.

 

As far as vested interest. I respect that and will help you and others in anyway possible. My techman Mickey Helms is available to answer any questions as well. From a racing standpoint I have our flagman Randy, comp. director Steve and assist. Corey. All very approachable and want to see the guys do well and have fun!

 

And again thanks for the questions and asking. I know you care because your asking and thats a great sign. I always worry about those that dont talk or have no questions.

[slidejob]

Danielson, thanks for the prompt reply. I have no issue with the timeliness of the PM replies. You don't always answer as completely as I would like, but you do always reply.

 

I do appreciate the very brief set of rules. I mainly see a need for more detailed information regarding the heads and the carburetor. Personaly, I would like to see actual dimensions where feasible...so it is 100% BLACK and WHITE.

 

Regarding questions... Since you are a competitor in the series as well as an organizer in the series, I do have great hesitation to ask many of the questions I have. In short, I don't want to reveal what I may think is an advantage to my direct competitor. In other words, how can I out-smart you if I have to run everything by you first to check legality? Is there a more discreet way to get the answer without everything going through you? In other words, are you always going to be part of the decision making process?

 

Anyway, I hope you can see there is a bit of a dilemna in asking some questions.

 

That being said, I will ask a question publicly that I have been wondering for a while. How far can you cut into the "bowl" area of the heads before it is considered "porting"? In other words, if you use a SERDI (or similar) valve seat cutting machine it is common practice to cut well past the seat and into the bowl area to remove any "ridges" below the valve seat. See examples.

 

 

Can you provide a dimension on how far you can legally cut below the seat?

 

Kind Regards

[top_shelf_12]

May I make a suggestion? Direct your technical questions to Mickey Helms the Tech man who is a racer but as far as I know, not in Street Stocks that way your "secrets" are safe and you get a legal vs illegal answer. Danielsen has always been stand up type of guy though even though I'm just a fan of the series with little interest on the driver side, at least for now.

[Danielsen Motorsports]

Yes in the case where you think I would run w your secrets definitely mickey is the man to contact. Also again we are close to releasing next year's rules and some of your questions are addressed in them.

[justramit]

They keep there place from previous races in point standings when it is obvious heads were illegal for those races too?

[ks2290]

How is it obvious when he just got a new car done do u know when the header came off at shady oaks it didnt hurt something and they changed engines , unless u share a shop with them or spy on them nothing is obvious, just like me running two cars with the same engine is that obvious

[Danielsen Motorsports]

No its not obvious and you dont dq or take away anything unless you know 110% for sure.

[justramit]

Guess your right, not like that was an uh oh I didn't know. Just figured purposely disguised heads that have had as much work done to them as those would carry bigger penalty.