National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

New Website;;; http://nationallightningsprintsaustralia.com/

Facebook Site : https://www.facebook.com/nationallig...rintsaustralia

EXCITING TIMES AHEAD AS LIGHTNING SPRINTS GO NATIONAL

As the new season is about to kick off, we are extremely happy to announce that after years of hard work and persistence, the division of lightning sprints is officially a national category under Speedway Australia. With the Queensland Lightning Sprints, NSW litre sprints, Victorian Mini Sprints and the Tasmanian Lightning Sprints joining forces to run under the one banner of the National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia. This history making situation has now created a fantastic future and direction for this awesome division of open wheel winged speedway racing country wide . The inaugural meeting of the association was held on the 25th of September 2014 ,the delegates of each state were present for the meeting to select the office bearers for the association, they are as follows - President Jim Kennedy QLD, Vice - President Peter Hale TAS, Secretary Richard Meyers NSW, Treasurer Kev Bomford VIC.
In the coming months information will start to flow through on a regular basis, this will be achieved through the state delegates, a new national website and face book page which will be hyper linked with the Speedway Australia sites plus being hyper linked to all the state sites. This will allow easy access for existing and perspective members plus our fans and sponsors to keep up to date with the division’s progress and direction.
The first port of call for the national committee was to book in our Australian Title, and after receiving tenders for the perspective speedways we are happy to announce the 2014/15 National Lightning Sprint Australian Title will be held at the Nowra Speedway, Nowra NSW on the 14th February 2015 . On speaking with Nowra promoter Warren Watt, his is very excited to be working with the Lightning Sprints for our National Title and is looking forward to the event. The full information on the title will be released very shortly. We woud like to thank the promoters of both Parramatta and Gilgandra Speedways for their consideration for our title. We would also like to pass a special thankyou to Richard Meyers and Darren and Judy Salmon of NSW for all their help in talking with the promoters. Our state titles have also been set for QLD on the 2nd May 2015 at Archerfield Speedway, NSW on the 24/25th Jan. 2015 at Lismore Speedway, VIC on the 7th Feb.2015 at Nyora Speedway, TAS will release their title date very shortly.
Foremost the national committee would like to acknowledge and very much thank each and every individual member across the four clubs for their support and backing of this great division and we all look forward to a fantastic future and the season ahead. If you have any question please feel free to contact myself or your state delegates.
Stay tuned everyone there will be more information to follow shortly

Sincerely
Jim Kennedy
President - National Lightning Sprint Association of Australia

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

Hey Jim

I read your post several times. I see you guys are in the process of setting national rules. Do you all race under the Umbrella of Speed car? Does the government and Insurance people play a major role in Your decision making?

I see you guys are also in the middle of an identity crisis, I kinda of like the name "Litre Sprint" (we spell it different up here) over "lightning". However it is a shame that no one in either Hemisphere have chosen to describe our race cars by the type of chassis and running gear that our race cars are based on and use the type of motor as an "adjective".

In the Northern Hemisphere we are so politically correct that we are afraid we might offend someone by calling them God Forbid "Midgets". What would be the reasoning down South be?

I have also read about the guys in "Lightning Sprints SA". Are they just an outlaw group? The V6 Interest me but I had a different Motor choice in Mind.

Good Luck in you new season, I think we will go into hibernation for a few months. Keep us posted>>> and how about maybe some more useful "Links".

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

DAD, I will sure be glad when you get a race car you can identify and be happy with it

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

Ron

"SPRINT" or "LIGHTNING" OR "MINI">>>Those names just don't feel right for our "BODY's" >>> We need to all come out and admit that we are in deed "MIDGETS" given the wrong name at BIRTH>>;)

I think you were probably racing Midgets back in those days?

It takes more than a "WING" to make a "MIDGET" a "Sprint CAR"!!

Honest Dad himself:6::6:
AKA "Don Quixote"

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

DAD

Isn't it sad that you have to try to be PC.

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

Bn

OK what's a "PC"?

>>Never Mind>>>After extensive research with Mr Google, One thing I am not is "PC"!!:D:14::15::16:17::deadhorse:

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Personal computer :D

A wing doesn't necessarily make a race car a sprint car, but to make that race car a midget, it requires a torque tube and rear end gear.

Embrace the distinct race car you have. Be proud of what you have. By trying to pass it off as something it isn't, takes away from the unique things it is. :6:

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

Local you need to go look at history. Midgets were chain drive and used motorcycle engines long before they had torque tubes and geared rear ends. I will go look in my history files so I can post a picture.

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

Bailey

Good to have you "On Board"

Seems to me USAC made chain drive and rear engine Midgets illegal sometime in the mid-60's. It would be interesting as to what would have happened if they would have done the same thing for "Indy Cars" and "Champ Cars" of the day. I think the UMRA did away with chain drive also just a little latter because they had some young guy with a fishing boat motor whipping up on their conventional race cars with that drive combination. Those older guys liked to race and were much more accepting of "innovation" back then >> but then MONEY reared it's ugly head and the "HAVES" more or less said "Back Yard Race Mechanics" are no longer accepted to race with us and it's been down hill ever since then.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

Local

Thanks to guys like Harold Hunter up in Montpelier that allow chain drive "MIDGETS" to race with the shaft drives "MIDGETS" have made racing "MIDGETS" a lot of fun. And I bet the crowd can't tell one car from another.

Our race car is built with the following components:

Winters aluminum rear axle
FSC Midget chassis
ARS Midget shocks
FSC Midget Hood
Fuel Safe Midget 19 Gallon Tail tank and Bladder
Sanders 13" Midget Wheels
Hoosier Midget tires
Willwood Midget Brakes
Kirkey universal seat (could also be used in a Sprint Car)
Simpson Belts (could be used in a Sprint Car)
Kawasaki 1000cc ZX10R motor (Unique to our race car)
Final Drive by a "530" roller race chain and sprocket system.

We have a Full Midget powered by a motorcycle engine and using chain as a final drive. Nothing on that thing is unique to a "SPRINT CAR".

When our cars were conceived back in the early 80's the guys took an old Midget frame and running gear took the rear end out and made a solid steal rear axle and put a sprocket on it and drove it with a chain from a then modern day Motorcycle engine. Back then they did not have quick change sprockets and it wasn't unusual for a driver to shift gears going down the straits. They were in such a big hurry to get racing, probably most of them were former Micro racers they chose the name of the hottest racing group of the day the "OUTLAW SPRINTS" and put "MINI" in front of it and a class of race car was born.

Had they thought about it a little more I am confident that Midget would have been used in the name.

I like the Term "Sportsman Midget" , Leave any other qualifiers off of the name, set some general guidelines and let the racers have at it. Something like Montpelier has done. The Badger series started out this way but also lost their way with time.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: National Lightning Sprints Association of Australia Inc
 

http://midgetcarpanorama.proboards.c...0/midget-racer

http://winfield.50megs.com/stearns_files/13Jul1941.htm It says in this article tha D.A. Clem broke a drive chain and could not compete for the night. He did have a pretty neat car>

From judging the relationship of their elbows to the top of the rear wheels it would appear that 3 or 4 of the cars were chain drive because they set too low in the car to allow for a drive shaft.

Honest Dad himself:6::6: