....And DOHC motors officially remain at - wait for it - 122 cubic inches! My God if pig poop were brains we get all the Nobel prizes!

So Mopar is still the major sponsor of the USAC National Midgets....... right? Bingo.

Talk around town is that C.Shuman might be leaning toward them green Battery powered cars. As soon as they can make a portable wind mill they can charge it back up with.

Honest Dad himself

The old Esslinger rule was 155 did not 146cid

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I guess a mopar block that was designed in the 2000 is 1962 technology ..... sounds like someone is a little jealous that they didn't come up with the better mousetrap first! It all comes down to how fast do you want t go and do you want to win races!

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The block may be 2000 Chrysler technology but I don't know of any Chrysler heads that look like that one. Looks to me like an Old school Pinto head stretched out to fit the Chrysler block. Bigger holes and shorter stroke makes for bigger valves and bigger valves make for more horse power>>> the Pinto block is doomed? Don't bet on it! We just started another 2 valve horsepower race.

If a guy would just put 2 of them camshafts and 4 little bitty valves in a cylinder head he would have much more power than either one of the older engines and it would cost less to keep up.

Even at just 2 liters a good four valve motor should be able to run off and hide from that big old 2 valve motor. Give them 500cc's more and the 2 valve motor would be dead.

Wish I had the money to back up my mouth.

Honest Dad himself

I wonder if we could get that price down to let's say $12,000.00 per new motor would there be more midgets racing?

Motor builders figure engine prices like the racers figure gear ratios. They can price them way low and turn out a bunch of motors and make so much money, or they can price them way high and turn out fewer motors and make so much money. The object is to hit that happy medium of volume of motors built to profit per motor to make the maximum profit, or in the racers case best lap time.

If they started out with a less expensive base motor they could bring the cost way down, But since "USAC" wants to have the "Formula One" of 2 valve motors, racers are stuck with very expensive old time motors.

Honest Dad himself

Which side of "logic", or "tradition" does this fit into, BS and BW, Bull$hit, and Bailing wire might bring the cost down, but if they build it, and one guy has the money, you can bet he'll have one, and then another, and another, and if it's hot, it won't be long till there'll be less and less National Midgets running, I would assume that's where they'll end up. JMHO Bob

"August 12, 2010

(Lebanon, IN) The United States Speed Association Midget Racing Engine Initiative will introduce new technologies and dramatic cost reductions to Midget Car Racing in the 2011 USSA Midget Racing Series.

With the USSA Midget Racing Engine Initiative, USSA introduces electronically managed fuel injection on Dual Overhead Cam 4 valve engines based on stock blocks and cylinder heads as well as the all new Esslinger Engineering EST engine. The electronically managed engines will feature 320 to 340 horsepower, self-starters and a USSA mandated maximum price of $22,000 USD. The maximum displacement for the DOHC engines is 2.5 liters and the Esslinger EST is 2.65 liters.

Racing engines based on stock blocks and cylinder heads have long been a cost effective substitute for purpose built short run racing engines. All the stock blocks and cylinder heads used in USSA must retain their un-modified OEM casting ID numbers and be readily available though each manufacturer’s parts distribution system. There are numerous racing parts available for the engines either through the manufacturer’s racing parts divisions or the aftermarket that are suitable for use in USSA Midgets. This will reduce the cost of purchasing a Midget Racing Engine by 20 to 60% over the current engine investment with a negligible reduction in performance on the short tracks USSA competes on.

In addition to making midget racing more accessible to competitors by drastically reducing the cost of engines, the USSA Midget Racing Engine Initiative opens up the field with 16 new base twin cam engines plus the Esslinger EST. Engine blocks and cylinder heads approved for competition include parts from traditional midget engine providers Chrysler, Ford, GM and Toyota plus engines from Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan."

We went down this road and the response from the midget communiity, inlcuding most of the comments on IOW was a resounding "thud." Sad to say that until midget racing opens up and wraps its arms around new technology, USSA's midget division will not be the only casualty.