[kingmod5]

What does everyone think about this? Would this even work? I don't have alot of experience with sprints but I think this could be a great class if it were possible. With the engine cost today this would be a great alternative. I would put a wing on them and run them in the same show as 410 non-wing. I bet the fans would love that. Let's hear your thoughts.

[hoosierhillbilly]

For some reason I thought there was someone running one at WAynesfield last year but I could be wrong.

I've always thought a sprint car class with some very restrictive rules would be a good feeder class for the usual 410 non-wing sprints in Indiana. Something that goes like this: Traditional sprint cars with an all steel, 355 maximum c.i. engine. No fuel injection. No adjustable shocks or weight jackers. No sway bars.
I think it would really allow the guy who wants to run sprints but can't afford it the opportunity to. Or it would at least be a good alternative to the feeder classes we're seeing today.

[kingmod5]

I agree that would be good for both the drivers and the fans. Just trying to get a feel for what is going on now. This may be something to get going for next year at several tracks. Everyone let me know what you think.

I was involved with a JASPER crate sprint (winged) program at Bridgeport Speedway in NJ a few years back. At the height of popularity we had an average of 28 cars showing up each week to compete. It was an organized club with officers, bylaws, etc. The JASPER powerplants were sealed 350's, all you needed to do was bolt on injection, pumps and race. The engine would turn in the neighborhood of 7500 rpm's and lasted the entire year before they were sent back for refreshing if you were good with maintenance and didn't twist them too much. We got minimal support from the speedway, it was predominantly a modified track, and the club basically fell apart in 5 to 6 years. In my experience, I would say that the #1 priority in a crate class is technical inspection of the powerplants. We all know how racers like to push the rules.............keep the playing field level and your car count will remain high. A racer will come to the track each and every week if he thinks he has a chance to finish well or win.

[tjtomthumb]

Dustin Trost did run a non-wing car at Waynesfield Motorsports Park's 1/3 mile dirt oval last season with a crate motor in it against the 410's. He made almost every A-Main with it and was a competitive 4th to 8th place car with it. Cub Burden, who does the track prep there at Waynesfield and was one of the promoter's there last season, was the car owner. He wanted to start a class with them but got no interest from the other owners.

There are a lot of 305 and 360 cars close to that area, that usually run wings at the tracks a little farther north that would show up now and then, and the crate motor was as fast or faster. If you didn't know it was a crate motor, it would seem like it was just another 360 car.

I wish someone would start a class of the crate motor cars and run them as a support class to the 410's. With the amount of money many of the Super Stock and Modified owners and drivers have in their equipment those that are interested in running a sprinter would be able to and not have the expense of the aluminum 410's.

It would be a good starting point for many drivers wanting to move up into an open wheel class and much cheaper than running a midget also. I would also like to see them run these in a non-wing class, no wings.

[LEADERS EDGE]

What do the crate engines cost? If they cost more than $3,500, then I don't think it will work. Maybe $5,000, but it would be a tough sell.

The promotors probably aren't going to pay more than $500-$750 to win and maybe $75-$100 to start. With those numbers I would think that guys who already run micros and minis would stay where they are. Plus, when you crash you tear up a top wing and they are pricey even for the cheap ones.

I could be completely wrong on all of this, but there are already about 4 or 5 open wheel feeder series around here that have a tough time getting dates.(Kenyons,Focus,Micros, and Minis come to mind)

You could probably do a used car from $3,000-$5,000 pretty easy, but I just think it will be a hard sell unless you have some sort of purse package you can bring with the cars to make it more interesting to promotors.

I see where the potential may be there, although Indiana seems to be a tough sell for winged cars and there are plenty of good cars with motors for around $15,000. I would believe that the cars with a used chassis and parts would have to come in around $10,000 race ready to make it work.
It will have to be sold as being extremely cost effective in terms of tires and fuel and being no frills when it comes to L/W parts and shocks. Maybe they could even have bump style on board starters where you have a battery,starter and flywheel without a clutch. Most crate motors don't have enough compression to tear up rear ends, so that would work. I know other clubs do that.

If you try it, good luck.

[Dwight Clock]

Those interested in such a class would do well to use the PA Super Sportsman class as a model. The only part of their program that wouldn't work in Indiana is the chassis. They require square tubing in the cockpit area while you would need a basic sprint car chassis here in the Hoosier state. Other than that their rules are exactly what you are looking for. 355 engines with flat top pistons and many other restrictive rules to keep the costs down. The class has been around for decades and has always put on excellent racing. At their former home track in Carlisle, PA (Silver Spring Speedway - now closed) they averaged over 50 cars every Saturday for years. Contact Alan Kreitzer at Williams Grove Speedway for more details.

The JASPER powerplants that we ran were $4000.00

[Charles Nungester]

Originally Posted by kingmod5 What does everyone think about this? Would this even work? I don't have alot of experience with sprints but I think this could be a great class if it were possible. With the engine cost today this would be a great alternative. I would put a wing on them and run them in the same show as 410 non-wing. I bet the fans would love that. Let's hear your thoughts.

Just my opinion but the wing would make this much duller than non as cars would not have the power to overtake the additional problem of air or lack there off.

I do think it could work non wing, I've seen a couple limited non wing races that were excellent. The limited classes with a wing, I can't say I've seen any that were anything less than follow the leader.

Chuck, who'd much rather see a crate class than 305-360-385 which depletes fields and limits the tracks they can run at and actually controls motor cost vs 360's that cost nearly as much as a 410.

PS. Id also love to see a open class with no rules other than safety.