IndianaOpenWheel.com Sprint Car & Midget Racing Forum





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drew6869 (Offline)
  #1 12/12/13 7:13 PM
Thinking of buying a 600 mini. Can someone tell me what all tracks host them around central indiana. I know linton has them on fridays but what other tracks have any special nights for them? Thanks
Gibson863 (Offline)
  #2 12/13/13 12:42 AM
US 24 speedway (Logansport, IN) and Miami County (Peru)
lucky13 (Offline)
  #3 12/13/13 1:15 AM
Like said above US 24 Speedway (Logansport, Indiana), Miami County Speedway (Peru, Indiana), and Plymouth Speedway (Plymouth, Indiana) all run 600cc winged, non-winged, and restricted cars on Saturday nights.
jjones752 (Offline)
  #4 12/13/13 6:51 AM
Are you looking at buying an upright ("true" mini sprint) or a sidewinder? The tracks listed above run strictly sidewinders, with US24 running special upright (1000cc) non-wing shows a couple times a year. It seems as though Bakersfield (Linton) is the only track running 600 uprights on a regular basis. MMSA allows 600's to run aginst the 1000cc cars with a weight break, but almost every association and non-sanctioned track running uprights in the area have gone to 1000cc.
It's not a hopeless situation though; I've seen a 600 upright from Bakersfield beat a field of 1000's and 1200's in an open non-wing show at US24.

Jim Jones
Midwest Thunder Speed2 Midget #97
drew6869 (Offline)
  #5 12/13/13 9:22 AM
New to this, did not know there was a difference. Sidewinder to upright. The car Im looking at is a mid 2000's stallard. (the best we can tell, not 100% on the builder)
cmiracingvids (Offline)
  #6 12/13/13 11:52 AM
Stallard makes sidewinder sprints. (600cc). I call them "micro" sprints.
jjones752 (Offline)
  #7 12/13/13 5:47 PM
Originally Posted by drew6869:
New to this, did not know there was a difference. Sidewinder to upright. The car Im looking at is a mid 2000's stallard. (the best we can tell, not 100% on the builder)
Trust me, it can get confusing in a hurry; in a Mini Sprint, or "upright", the motor sits in front of the driver, and can't be offset more than six inches from the centerline of the frame. Thus, the driver sits "upright" exactly as he would in a Midget or Sprint Car. They also generally run 13" diameter wheels.
A Micro Sprint (or Micro Midget, either term is used), or "sidewinder", has the motor set drastically to the left; so much so that the seat is set almost on the floorpan and the drivers legs and feet stretch out alongside the motor, in more of a Go Kart seating position. Sidwinders typically use 10" diameter rolling stock.
Sidewinders are often referred to as Mini Sprints but upright "purists" cringe when they hear them described as such.
If you're looking at a Micro/sidewinder the tracks mentioned earlier are the places to run. Uprights and Sidewinders rarely run in the same class, as it's felt the lower center of gravity gives the the sidewinder a distinct advantage. Also, because of the drastic differences in chassis dynamics mixing the two can potentially cause some hazardous situations due to the different racing lines (sidewinders are a lot more "twitchy", in my opinion).
Hope this helps. Good luck in your car shopping, and have fun wherever you run!

Jim Jones
Midwest Thunder Speed2 Midget #97
drew6869 (Offline)
  #8 12/13/13 6:58 PM
Thanks Jim. The car Im looking at then is a sidewinder. So i should be good to run linton or the other mentioned tracks? Do most ppl run uprights or sidewinders and will a motor from a upright also work in a sidewinder. Say so many Q's. Thanks again
cmiracingvids (Offline)
  #9 12/13/13 9:38 PM
If you're running a sidewinder Linton, Logansport or Peru are your options.

If you want to do upright racing, the Midwest Mini Sprint Association runs at tracks in south central Indiana. They run on the same tracks as sprint cars, modifieds, late models...etc. Check them out at www.midwestminisprints.com

As far as engine, they're all essentially motorcycle engines. Sidewinders use 600cc engines while uprights go up to 1000cc. You can put a 600cc in an upright, but no tracks in Indiana run 1000cc sidewinders.
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