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Originally Posted by openwheel44
I think most knowledgeable racers agree.........on small slick tracks, the motor is not as important compared to driver skills and setup. That was all well and good when most of our tracks were 1/6th miles and small quarters that slicked off big time. Don't know about other areas but in my area......tracks are much bigger that we are running on. Big quarters up to 3/8's. Plus the promoters are tending to keep them a little wetter simply to try to keep the dust down and OFF the spectators. Hmmmmm......guess what? That's when the "built" motors started becoming apparent. Racers realized they could definitely use more horsepower. Most of us are now racing on tracks that can suck the HP right out of your car. That extra 10-20 HP started to show up more and more. then the HP war started for some. Hard tire or not..........tacky or even just big tracks let the built motors breathe. Plus on the bigger and faster tracks, there is no short supply of drivers willing to "mat it" the entire race using all the available HP. Hence....... our dilemma started. No.......we can't outlaw the really good drivers, we probably can't dictate the track size we get to run on but we sure as hell can try to get the new guy and the seasoned veteran on a level playing field motor wise.
When I raced full midgets and they went to a tire rule..........all I saw was a lot of "fresh, green" rubber going on the right rear about everytime the front runners hit the track other than practice. Tire bills started to climb dramatically. Plus.....some had "figured" out a way to run tires that were "mis-stamped." The next problem and evidently one still on going.............tire soaking. Something that is extremely hard to tech at the track. The Go Kart guys are light years ahead of us on this one. I don't know what the answer is to the tire situation. That is why I am anxious to hear what others think from each of the Midwest groups. There is a solution....we just need to find it. And find one that doesn't cost the racer more in the long run.
I'm not fighting a weight rule. I just think you need to come up with one that doesn't take you to the point of diminishing returns. Like I said........seems most of the involved groups have arrived at a minimum weight they are comfortable with. One that has kept their area racing competitive. I don't see any of them over 1000# unless you are running a motor bigger than 1000cc. We just need to find that compromise all parties can live with. Right now.......they don't appear to be that far apart.
I see a dwarf car class formulating a rules package that is debating implementing a motor rule of no motor newer than 08. Not sure this is the answer due to availability but it shows others are having the same concerns. But as new motors become available, at whatever rate, the demand for the older motors will subside. Again.........probably not the answer but it is an interesting way to approach the issue of the high horsepowered newer motors. Before you start "flaming" on me.......I didn't say I support this approach.
Don't know about the UMP Modified you are referring to but I think they are similar to our A Mods back here. If they are like our class with the same "skinny" tire.........they are killing themselves off with run away motor prices. Seems the racers are out smarting that "skinny" tire with elaborate suspension systems and driveline tricks. The more HP they can make....the closer to the front they get. To Hell with that "skinny" tire. Now.......we have the B Mod class that has stricter motor rules. It is flourishing by comparison. Go figure?
We can debate and yack on and on. I just hope the smart people we have invited to this meeting can come up with a few basic rules that are track techable on this first attempt to unify this class. If we can come up with a rules package that can be used on "National" style events.........it's still a success. We have to start somewhere.
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I think that U.M.P. modifieds might be the national group that other modified groups like A & B mods base their rules off of and change around to meet their needs.
Nothing worse than going to a race meeting and listening to every body tell you why there idea is the best. If one looks into their thinking about a particular rule a little more one often finds the reason they like the rule is it gives them a perceived advantage over the other racers. The rule that no one likes is probably the best rule to have. We all race to the rules and some rules do favor one racer over another. Talk about a horsepower track think of the big "E" the only problem is they let it slick up by the time of the main events. Is it because they just don't have the bucks for more water, or they don't give a darned about the fans in the bleacher, or "IS THERE ANOTHER UNSPOKEN REASON".
We really don't belong on tracks bigger than a Quarter mile. If possible the race promoters should keep this in mind. Sidewinders work better on tracks smaller than a Quarter mile and they have developed many such tracks just for themselves.
It is very hard for a big motor to overcome a tire that is too small or too hard. That does put the job of racing back into the drivers hands. We do race with a trick chassis however and it does help overcome weight and horsepower problems that we have. (In the back of my mind that might be why I would be in favor of a hard 10" RR tire rule.)
If you come into racing mini sprints, and think money and horsepower will do it all for you and make you an instant winner you got another think coming.
I remember USAC shows running out and changing right rear tire at every red flag, that was very expensive, but if you wanted to win that is what you had to do. A few simple rules could have stopped all of that. Tire companys have the technology today "bar coded serial #'s", and racing groups have the technology "smart phones" to control the out of control use of tires. Now the doping of tires we are still working on that one in another post on IOW.
Look at Montpelier, what are they doing right? They continue to build their car counts each year. Invite Brian to your meeting.
As far as finding the magic bullet. People have been looking for it for years in racing and they just can't seem to find it. I think that would be a human thing>>> for every rule you make I or somebody like me is going to look for a way to capitalize on it, and win, it's only human.
You mentioned A mods and B mods do they race by national rules or did they adopt national rules for their purposes.
If the tire is not big enough to handle the horsepower available it is the drivers job to use every ounce of power that the tire will handle and nothing more. We have enough horsepower to buzz the right rear on almost any race night, If you like wet tacky tracks you would love pavement racing. Pavement tracks require a whole lot of horsepower. It is a whole lot harder to buzz that tire, but with enough horsepower like 800+ it can be done.
Honest Dad himself
