For what it's worth, a "non-conventional" midget has never won the Chili Bowl...

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Bondio's car are conventional. I don't think they are legal to run anywhere but the Chili Bowl. I myself am all for someone trying new things. If it works it works, come up with a better idea and beat them. By the way I say pics of Sammies car and it ugly but I always say we don't race paint and we don't race trailers. If it ugly and fast who cares.

The only Bondio cars to win were with the "normal" wheels and body panels...

BTW, I heard today that Sammy's car weighs in the 600 lb range...

600lb that's crazy no wonder it's fast. Hate to know how much they spent to make it that light.

600 pounds?Is there no weight limit at the chili bowl?I know sammy cant weigh more than 150 or so.

The only rules at the Chili Bowl are USAC body panels and you have to run the fuel sold at the track. Oh and I almost forgot.... You can't run a ski in place of the left front tire.

Wonder if there weren't EPA concerns, if the fuel would be open fuel as well?

Are there any tire soaking rules?

I don't want to step on my dick here, but 600 pounds sounds a little far-fetched to me.

I'm just not sure there are enough things you can eliminate, or parts that weigh that much less than what everybody else is running, to drop that much weight. Seems to me that the days of reinventing the wheel, i.e. what Wolfgang and Trostle did with that car in the mid-70s, are for the most part over.

600 lbs for a Bondio or Sammy Swindell seems about right. If you have looked
at one of these car up close you would be amazed at how much everything has
been lightened. And that is looking at the stuff you can see.

I'm sure if you thought about it just a little bit and thought about all the parts
on a midget that could be lighted, you might be able to see where wt could be saved. Lighter tubes, lighter gears, lighter tires and axels and drive shafts.

The car only has to make it through this one race. In fact, I wouldn't be surprized if Sammy's Fuel tank is 20-25 lbs lighter than a convention bladder shell system.
One he don't even have a shell on this car. Two if you made it of materials
that are extremely light. Like heck the fuel tank on a motocross motorcycle is only
made of plastic. How much fuel do you need? How big does it really need to be?
What's the lightest container you could make to hold, lets say 12 gallons?

Sincerely,

Larry Otani and God Bless you all.

it's a spike with an esslinger... like 90% of the competiton. It does not get much more conventional than that!!

The funny thing is that if it was joe blow, or the car was running in the rear.. you wouldn't be blabbin on it. But that it's sammy and he hasn't lost a race this week... he seems to be cheatin!

Keep guessin on the gallon size of the fuel cell!!

later
chuck