Originally Posted by SP Motorsports:
As far as I-96 running a 3/8th instead of 1/2 normally, and I will state this is speculation...... motor. I know back in the day the 1/2 has a reputation of being hard on motor. Someone said some of the MTS guys might not run if it was on the 1/2. The first thing I thought of was the extra strain on the motor for the 1/2.
I speak from first hand experience as HMS and 96 were our home tracks for three years.Yeah, big tracks are hard on motor. But they're equally hard on the cars in many other respects. If you wreck it's rarely just cosmetic, you can junk a car in a hurry. Also, the added loads that are associated with the higher speeds increase the stress put on all components and the chassis itself.
One of the best things the Mouch family has done is build the 3/8ths @ 96. It's lent itself to some great racing as they've massaged it to the current configuration... The mods and sprints would have been just fine on the 3/8ths as it's a incredibly wide racing surface, but such is life and I certainly won't let it stop me from supporting the best traveling series' the Mitten has seen in a long time...