[nowitsdark]

Reading over the bloomington thread I can understand the frustration of not having the the high line for the feature. I was at the race and JS thrilled us in his heat by passing everyone around the top. Ballou ran the high line in the feature and ended second to last.

During midget week at I69 they redid the track completely before the feature. The heats were boring and though the crowd was agitated from the 40 minute way the track was a lot better for the feature.

so ...

Does the fact that Bloomington is clay make it difficult to rework the track mid program? I can't remember the last time they reworked the track. Would having the heavier stocks or mods on the same program build up the cushion better than having the minis that never go up high?

I69 fiddles with the track all night and usually gets its right for the feature if there are issues. It is of course dirt and not clay.

For the record, understanding the conditions and running the best line is the essence of dirt racing. Even if the low line is best. There was lots of passing at bloomington last night and a lot of times the low line gets bound up and and you can pass high even under less than optimal conditions. Case in point Schuerenberg made a last turn pass to transfer from the heat because Sciscoe decided to catfish the last turn and got stuck behind a slow car.

[T&A Racing]

Originally Posted by nowitsdark Reading over the bloomington thread I can understand the frustration of not having the the high line for the feature. I was at the race and JS thrilled us in his heat by passing everyone around the top. Ballou ran the high line in the feature and ended second to last. During midget week at I69 they redid the track completely before the feature. The heats were boring and though the crowd was agitated from the 40 minute way the track was a lot better for the feature. so ... Does the fact that Bloomington is clay make it difficult to rework the track mid program? I can't remember the last time they reworked the track. Would having the heavier stocks or mods on the same program build up the cushion better than having the minis that never go up high? I69 fiddles with the track all night and usually gets its right for the feature if there are issues. It is of course dirt and not clay. For the record, understanding the conditions and running the best line is the essence of dirt racing. Even if the low line is best. There was lots of passing at bloomington last night and a lot of times the low line gets bound up and and you can pass high even under less than optimal conditions. Case in point Schuerenberg made a last turn pass to transfer from the heat because Sciscoe decided to catfish the last turn and got stuck behind a slow car.

I do remember one time Bloomington clay held up better than recent years and little or no reworks were done. I used to tell friends when Kokomo was flat that I wished they would get some of that red clay like Bloomington has and mix in a bunch to Kokomo's dirt.

[Jack Dupp]

I am NOT an expert.

I have built (a few) and set up race cars for almost 30 years. I have made more laps in a water truck than
some racers have made in a race car. Here are my observations:

Building and tuning a race track is as hard or harder than building and tuning a race car.

The tracks that have a consistently good racing surface are on par with the performance of Donny
Schatz and his crew chief (last few years) and the Steve and Karl Kinser combination.

Getting the correct mixture of dirts, organic matter and chemicals takes a wizard.

Guessing the temperature, humidity, amount of moisture in the track, if, when and how much of it will
come to the surface, how many cars will show up and how they will affect the track surface... well you
get the idea!

The folks that get it right deserve a big thumbs up. Have a bit of compassion when they miss the "set up"
a little. IT AIN'T EASY!

[Motormasher]

The bad thing about Bloomington is that there isn't a wall to catch the dirt as its thrown off the cars. Thats the main reason it doesn't build a cushion. Starting early while the sun is still beating down on the track dries it out too.

[Wallsracing]

Originally Posted by Motormasher The bad thing about Bloomington is that there isn't a wall to catch the dirt as its thrown off the cars. Thats the main reason it doesn't build a cushion. Starting early while the sun is still beating down on the track dries it out too.

IT USE TO HAVE A TACKY CURB ALL THE WAY AROUND IT...I DONT THINK THROWING THE DIRT OFF THE TRACK HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT...LOOK AT PVILLE BACK IN THE DAY WHEN MIKE FARRAR HAD IT ..WE HAD JDs CURB SERVICE ALWAYS HAD A NICE CURB...HE COULD TELL YOU AFTER HOT LAPS WHAT THE TRACK WAS GONNA DO AND BE

[sc96]

being in the excavating business for several years I can tell you getting the right amout of the right type of clay with the correct type of moisture is a very hard thing to do. I have worked on a couple of different race tracks in years past and one thing we did was to put a certain amout of a bio-degradable substance in the water to hold the dust down. Not sure what they use today if anything at all but the stuff we used was legal in California so it should be epa legal everywhere.