There isn’t a compelling reason to do away with combustion engines for racing. Plenty of carbon fuels (to produce methanol) for the foreseeable future. I doubt electric vehicles are the long term answer anyway, it’s likely a better alternative engine type comes along. My Dad used to call electric vehicles coal burners since a significant portion of electricity in parts of the US is coal generated. Having said all that, it would be interesting to see if gearheads/race fans would accept sprint cars without engine noise and methanol fragrance in the air.

Deleted

Thankfully the push for electric cars took a turn a good half a year ago...consumers were already speaking some before that...(yes, a fair amount are selling, even this year, but not at the growth rate some desire...).

It's been a couple decades now but I seen a Sprint Car tested with some California Tracks new Mufflers that would satisfy a new area Decible mandate. This was one Was done on old Lawrenceburg and at least two or three years before he New Track was built. I wanna say 2003. The car hit the track with these big Oblong Oval shaped muffelers that were the size of what were under 70s V8s with even more baffles in them.

The Sprint car was quieter than most non hotrod street cars were. Cars totally on it out of two. All the way down the backstretch. Only time Could hear it was on the front stretch and it was more like street car goiing by you at 70mph on the highway. BORING, No feeling, sound, vibration on my body and grandstand that very same car gave me with just headers a half hour before hat test was done.

I used to pay close attention at Eldora of how car sounded Down that backstretch and going into three during single car qualifying you could tell who had the thumper motors with people like Kinser or Stevie Smith or Joe Gearte in the 3g all had motors still pulling strong. Others their motors groaned to keep accellerating. It was easy if you closed your eyes or looked away to tell where that car was on the track at all times. You could go to the concession line that except for the two windows in it track side. You could tell where the car was. If the throttle burped was let off for biking or another problem. Go silent far before it should have or Reved uncontrolably due to flipping.

I've been watching reduced Decible racing mostly now over 20 years. Not nearly what that test was. It still shakes the ground, vibrates the stands and you feel it in your body when 10-20 are out there. still awesome. But there's still a big difference than say a Eldora and some other tracks that still allow no muffler racing. Those tracks the sound and vibration are so strong. Your body i actually a little tired from those vibrations for two or three hours. Of course your hearing its getting damaged more.

There's still Youtube Video of Casey Shuman running a electric midget. He ran it dozens of laps. Not sure who built it. It was fast. threw rooster tails. wouldn't pull the front wheels due o weight but ran close to midget lap speeds.

MEH.

Other life examples . GO out and look for Stars on a cloudy night. MEH. Clear sky even near a big city You could point out Orions Belt. Big Dipper. Maybe Venus at sunset or half hour pror o sunrise clearly. It's neet. But nothing compared to say being in the high planes out west with not a city within a hundred miles or more. MILLONS OF STARS Surround you. The Milky way. Almost like your at the end of space and it opened up for you to see.. A Storm 200 miles to the west and and another 150 miles to the south. You see the sky flashing from the lightning associate it. Maybe there 70-80 thousand feet in the air cloud tops flickerng but you can see em clear as a bell well over a hundred miles away. The Rockies visible for two hours before you get there while traveling west still a hundred or more miles away from you You think they are clouds on the horizon at first. It's really the snow caps on the mountain. Still in JUNE. The difference in seeing say Clifty Falls in Madison IN In he spring, within days of some good rain tens of thousands of gallons going over them. A mist in the plunge pool. A Thunderous sound from the water. SAME FALLS Mid August. If there's bathtub faucet of water going over em. Your lucky to see that. But no sound, No Mist. It's a sink faucet compared to powerful waterfal.


The post was never about ELECTRIC or battery racing. Im sure it either can or will match the speed very soon.

He Post was full up sprint car performance at Half the Cost of todays 80k Thumper motors tha need rebuilt every 4 races.winged. You go down in the pits on a Kings Royal Weekend. The top guys carry these plastic crates. After the races they're putting a motor in it, It gets either put in the back of someones truck or back in the hauler to be dropped at DHL. Who then flies the motor to Ca Shaver. Or PA. Ott or where ever the motors re-builder. That motor is then shipped either to a Shipping place thats on the route of the team to pick up or back to the teams shop who someone there will bring inside. Not only is a motor 80k. THey carry 4-5 with em. One in both cars plus three for backup or rotaton. One's comng back, one's going out every week just normally. Not counting one or more going POOF during that week of 5 races. Some of the top teams will have 10 or more motors. 800k in engines? HOLY. That don't count 10k plus to rebuild em three or four times a season.

This sports barely able to be run on family teams anymore. As you said, They'll always be a few who will have the $$ to do so. Fewer and fewer every year though and unless it's running for the Big Money, You don't see Gravel at some 2K to win show ever. Rarely run for 7k and it's part of a prelim for a 20k race that event has on Saturday.

Injected or Carbed thumper sprint car racing. Half the cost motors. Maybe even longer lasting. EQUAL Performance. ?????????????????

I know someone who bought a tesla, Loved it. drove it 150 miles round trip to work everyday other trips on the weekend Out to Paragon, Up to Circle City from Cincy. Loved the car. Then we get a week of 0 or sub zero. weather. His garage is 20 degrees. He take the car out for work. Gets 15 miles, notices gauge is already half what it would be normal weather at 70 miles. has to go home and get the chevy Gas car. He'd never make it home. No charger at work. He has a 8hr charger at home. That charger now takes 14hrs to put it at full charge at 20 degrees vs 40 plus degrees It's slower than the ones that can put it from dead to full in 4hrs. But a proper battery for a car is 12hrs and two hours cooling. That's the Cycle you need every day to make em last 5years or more. A lot of quick 45minute to hour 80% charges reduce that life span significantly. He still has and drives the tesla. But after that winter stint is glad he stll has the gas cars he has.

Reminds me of that F150 test vs F150E that some mag did a test on a trip pulling a camper 1000 miles each way. Gas Truck was Six tanks total round trip that took 5minutes each for stops. Electric was four stops each way. at 50 minutes to a hour each to get 80% charges Total of 9 at reuturn time to leave enough charge to make any even small trips after. The difference in time over the 2000 miles alone was 9hours 20 minutes. The cost at 22 dollars a charge was still less by far than four full tanks. But 99.5hrs?

Doubtful a electric sprint could do a whole night one battery pack. So you got two 18k batteries for one night. You'll never get that car back on track 10 minutes later for a consi and then 8 minutes after that for a feature. NEVER unless you can swap out.
Chuck

Exactly! Electric is better suited for a race car because: A. They travel a known distance. & B. They don't race in sub-freezing temperatures.

We're on the same page, batteries will have to be easily swapped out. Any kid who's ever raced RC cars knows about battery pack cycling.

I picture how heavy the tracks will stay without exhaust heat drying them out and how many unnecessary laps ICE require. No need for engine heat. Any caution over a lap or two becomes a red. The cars will be able to stop and go at will.

Don't think it will take that long to catch on. I was riding dirtbikes during the four-stroke MX bike revolution of the late 90s/early 2000s. Didn't take but a minute for the guys who wanted to win to ditch their two-stroke.

Id race a electric race car. Like I enjoyed RC racing.
won' go watch em. Just like I don't go watch RC racing.
No SOUND. whirr, whirr, whirr.......

If you really want the sport to survive for future generations you're going to have to accept some changes and be willing to compromise Charles.