In a puzzling development this week, Sam Stockon announced he was eliminating the "steel block only" rule of the SCORA sprint car series and allowing aluminum block motors to compete. This rule was more than a rule, it was the foundation upon which the series was formed.

Another core component of the series was the Drivers and Owners Committee which was designed to allow the competitors and car owners to decide the direction in which the series took by allowing them to vote on any rule changes. Had the 36 drivers who have competed with the series this season been poled and the majority of them decided to open the series up to allow aluminum blocks to complete, this decision would not have been so troubling to so many. That didn't happen.

This series has been dubbed by Sam as the "working man's series" for a very good reason. These are budget restricted racers who in many cases are the car owner, driver and mechanic all wrapped in one. They work all week and race on the weekend footing the majority of the expenses out of their own back pocket. This series had created a more level playing field for those racers to compete. I understand that not every racer can be at every race due to work schedules and budget restrictions. In the seven races so far this season there have been seven different winners. The racing has been outstanding.

A good question to ask any of the drivers who have competed with SCORA this season is, "How many race tracks did you pass to get to a SCORA race this season?" Most will tell you they could have stopped at one, two or three different race tracks with a larger purse along the way, but chose to support the SCORA series instead. They chose to support a "steel block only" series because they had a more level playing field on which to compete and wanted to see this series succeed. A good question to ask those same drivers now is, "Why would you continue to pass up those tracks with the series being opened to aluminum block motors?" You can now get the same thing at the tracks you were passing up without the additional travel expenses and time.

The inaugural season was expected to be a building season with the intent of garnering the attention of other budget racers who wanted to move into sprint cars but didn't have the funds to compete with the high dollar teams. This series would allow modified drivers to put their motor in a sprint car chassis and be competitive eliminating the need for buying a new motor. The series seemed to be heading in the right direction with three of the seven races having a full field. The last two races had the largest car counts to date. This leads us to the question, "Why the abrupt change in direction?" This question has left several supporters of this series confused and questioning the motives.

Being within the organization from the beginning and having been described in Sam's early press releases as his "partner" in this series, I am privy to information that is not public knowledge. My loyalty has been and always will be with the drivers who have been supporting this program. As many of the drivers are, I am troubled by the sudden change in direction and the motivation behind it. I stand in support of those drivers and car owners who feel they have been sold out. A guarantee of the top ten in points being allowed to start the A-main does not give them any better opportunity to compete against the lighter, usually faster, aluminum motors that will now be allowed to race with no concessions whatsoever. The level playing field is no longer level for these budget racers. This program is now just like any other that is available across the Midwest with the exception that is pays a smaller purse.

I would like to personally thank those drivers who towed the extra miles to be part of the series to support a steel block only program. My only regrets are for those drivers and teams that believed in this program and supported it. I just returned from vacation and had numerous phone calls and emails from racers who are opposed to this change and were not contacted at all. When I spoke to Sam last Sunday, all was normal and I had put together a crew to cover the Chandler race in lieu of Sam being unsure if he were going to be able to attend because of Rosie’s hospitalization. I was unaware of this pending change and was never contacted by Sam. I am personally taking a stand on this issue with a clear conscious and based on my principles and fairness to those drivers and teams in regards to this change and other issues. I will let each of those people speak for themselves with their voice or actions.

As of today, I will no longer be involved with the SCORA sprint car series as the web master, the series race director or providing the push trucks that have been traveling with the series. Our push truck group was also serving as officials for the series and those individuals will no longer be part of the program as well. My decision is based on several issues that have arisen and was not made without a great deal of thought. This change in format and the way it was done has dissolved the vary foundation upon which this program was based.


Joe Chambers
Official Push Trucks
(former SCORA Race Director)