I went to a wennie roast at my Knoxville driver's shop tonight and we had a good time discussing the proposed rule changes announced for the 2008 season. With all of the recent talk here about cost savings in sprint car racing, I think that many of you will be happy with some of the proposed rules, as several IOW posters have made similar suggestions. So, I thought that I would share them with you all, and seek the thoughts and opinions of the peanut gallery.

All of the proposed rule changes can be found here :
Major rule changes for 2008

Items of note:
1. No cockpit adjustable shocks or bar stops...
"The only cockpit adjustable device allowed in 2008 will be a wing slider for the purpose of moving the top wing forward and backward only."

2. Harder tires...
"For the 410 class the right rear will be the sc 15 Hoosier or harder. On three pre-selected nights we will run the sc 25 on the right rear. The left rear will be the D 12 or harder. No RD 12s allowed. Other left rears from different manufactures are allowed with prior approval."

3. Limitation on the size of injector stacks...
"2009 proprosed rules will include a maximum 2 5/8" injector size restriction for the 410 class."

So, what do you think? Are these steps in the right direction?

:angry-smiley-007:

When ever they say cost savings,it cost the little guy just that much more

If they are indeed "proposed" rules, I assume they will be seeking input from the teams that race there before they are implemented. Thats a good thing as opposed to just saying, "Here you go, these are your rules, like it or not."

I like the idea of limiting what a driver can adjust as the race unfolds. In fact, I'm not too sure that getting rid of the wing sliders wouldn't be a good idea as well....definitely makes the cost of a new wing less! I think the harder tires, & limiting cockpit adjustable devices are a step in the right direction, as winged cars are locked down too much as it is.

Tony Johnson

Amen brother!

Never in the history of auto racing has a new "cost saving" rule helped the budget racer, in fact, it usually hurts or kills them.

I can see the cockpit adjustment elimination, BUT LEAVE THE MOTORS ALONE!

All you have to do is look to NASCRAP (yuk) to see just how well restrictor plates have helped the small teams there, and whoever thought "OUTLAW" racers would have restrictor tubes, please raise your hand.

This just proves to me the Apocalypse is near! :thumbsdown:

Still missed the boat. Cut the tire width in half and that will control engine costs.

Lynn

rules suck.

Bingo! It doesn't matter what you have in the engine if you can't get the hp to the ground.

#3= Restricter plate sprint car racing :thumbsdown: Thats called 358/360's in MOST area's.

What's the answer? In some cases, you just can't do nothing. You have to try but, in most cases you naysayers are right about how cost saving rules wind up costing more because, whenever you restrict something, it causes big bucks to go into research, development and testing to make the restricted part perform better. It's much cheaper to buy something with a bigger hole in it (i.e. injectors or cylinder bore) than it is to try and make something with a smaller hole in it perform as well as the part with the bigger hole. case in point is the IRL N/A motor formula. They started at 4.0 litre then had to drop to 3.5L and finally down to 3.0L because the HP kept climbing. They did eventually go back to the 3.5L because of adding the road courses (barf!!! puke!!!). I do believe that unhooking the cars is a better and cheaper route to take than trying to restrict motors. However, when it comes right down to it, it's tough to beat money no matter what the rules are. Fresh tires and equipment beats Worn almost everytime.