What is the proper procedure for checking tire hardness. We got DQ'd once for a soft RR, the tec guy stuck his durometer right in the middle of the tire that had only 8 PSI of air in it at the time and promptly DQ'd us . Not until I We dismounted the tire checked the hardness on both outside and inside edges and placed a supporting finger under the center portion of the tire with my finger did the tire check out OK.
He being a open wheel modified tec I wrote it of to inexperience. I think them skiny 8" tires run with a lot more pressure. With a big old slick and low tire pres the center flexes enough to check low.
The tire "sniffers" are just Hydrocarbon detectors that are nowhere near accurate. The only real full proof way is to send a tire in for chemical analysis from a lab. Very costly for any track/sanction to do.
My personal opinion is to make soaking legal. It's cheaper for a low dollar team to soak a tire and get more life out of it than it is to go buy a new tire. I don't think making it legal in Sprint Car racing would be the way to go with the mandatory right rears, but in other sanctions like Modifieds & Late Models where there are multiple compound choices, it should be something just given up on teching.
At least they are checking tires could be like another track that has track tire that no one checks to see if you are running it or not. Telling car owner he cant run there is one thing but dont understand why driver cant race there. jmo
Maybe the right thing to do is just open it up to other alternatives. There wouldn't be a need for soaking and costs could be driven back down to where they should be. The money it takes for the tracks to police it and the money it takes to soak them properly is getting outrageous. Open tire rules would eliminate the need for tire prep and policing altogether. I personally find it hard to believe that lower budget teams can afford to condition tires properly and save money. By next year we will probably be paying $230 plus for a tire before any conditioning. Something needs to change for sure. Thanks - Travis Welpott Owner/Driver
Jeff " the juice" walker. As far as tire soaking all the cool kids are doing it. Its like anything else in life it's not cheating until you get caught. Maybe people will think twice before soaking and running btown.
Sorry about stating Feger got busted by Lucas Oil LM Series when it was UMP. The relevant point is that he got busted and had to pay a big penalty for cheating.
durometer the whole starting field before they go out for the feature......BUT that would only tell if a tire had been softened. there are so many more ways to "prep" a tire that the duro cant find.....but at least everyone would think they are on an even playing field.
just like TC and fuel....for every tech guy that thinks they can find it, there are 100 guys that know more and can hide it.
It's interesting that some of you "know" this guy or that guy who is cheating. Generally, the guys who really are cheating are the one's getting their butts kicked by hard work and raw talent. I have no clue, nor do I care, if Walker/Windom were cheating. The Bloomington Speedway Fans will serve the real penalty in this scenario.
