Quote:
Originally Posted by EldoraMark
When local drivers say that they can't compete against USAC it's a driver that doesn't want to improve his skills. Levi Jones said if he had that attitude that he wouldn't have been a seven time champion. Levi said he learned how to go faster by following those leaders. Learning how to navigated in traffic and how to drive in different track conditions.
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I suppose one could say that. One could also say that the cost and equipment to be competitive with USAC are far greater than when Levi started out. The USAC regulars have 2-4 $30k car; 3-5 $50k+ engines in rotation being freshened after 10 nights and 2 new $350 tires on every night. I have over $100k wrapped up in our small local team between a complete car, spare roller, add’l parts and trailer and trying to make a $35k engine last all year before a $15k refresh. It costs me no less than $1k each night to unload the car for a local race - probably closer to $1500, honestly I’ve quit counting so my common sense financially doesn’t force me to sell out. A USAC top guy told me last week he can’t race for under $5k to win because they’d be guaranteed to lose money. If you’d like to write me a $50k check for a 2nd engine and another $50k check for tires and travel cost I’ll be glad to commit to the USAC races within 300 miles of Indy. Also, I’ll need another $50-75k to hire someone to work on the car during the week as I work 50+ hours a week to cover my expense and to set it up at the track because I suck at setup decisions - ask my driver if you doubt me. We don’t go to USAC races not because we aren’t trying to get better, we don’t go because it’s a waste of what resources we do have.