Classes changed or dropped

L

latemod

Member
With the end of the year right around the corner is there any tracks considering dropping classes or making changes for the 2012 season? Some of the classes were reel thin this year i.e. the highland sportsman for one i have also noticed that some tracks the late models were thin a lot of nights. a few years ago i 55 were getting 35 modifies on a saturday nights now it is in the 20's. Is there two many tracks running the same classes?
 
I know i would like to see B MODS added to any schedule I would start building tomorrow and how many A mod guys do you think would consider dropping down to be able to be competitive again jmo
 
dukman7 said:
I know i would like to see B MODS added to any schedule I would start building tomorrow a
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I agree. There are a lot of used mod chassis around here that are to be had for a good price. IMO car counts would be good, and the racing even better.
 
I know i cant honestly put together a motor to even come close to running with the a mods but i know i could put together a competitive b mod for little more than street stock and maybe the same as a sportsman and would still fill the place of support class
 
The sportsman at Highland have been low all year . Up till July they only had enough cars most of the time for one heat race . They are getting enough now to squeeze out two races but their was many nights that they were only getting 8 or 9 cars . Thats not good .
 
the crate class has not had full fields but has been steader than the sportsman but it costs 4 times the amount to run
 
As far as changed, im curious on what everyone thinks about the SS possibly running at Pevely next year. I think they put on a good race, plus its kinda nostalgic to see the full fendered cars racing around the high banks. I think local racing needs that grassroots racing atmosphere.
 
FIREBALL said:
the crate class has not had full fields but has been steader than the sportsman but it costs 4 times the amount to run
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I don't want to start a fight here, but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with this statement. Last year, I ran mid-pack in the Highland Sportsman class. This year I am running mid-pack in the Crate class at Highland. I was slightly under-horsed in both classes. I had an Allied legal 358 in my sportsman and I have a 602 in my crate car. I have quite a bit less invested in my crate car than I had in my sportsman, it costs me less per week to race considering I can buy my fuel at the local Shell station and tires are not much more (no UMP cut added onto the WRS 55's), and my payout checks are about twice as much now. To consider the guys running farther forward than mid-pack, I will guarantee that there were more crate features won with a $5300 engine than sportsman features won with an engine that inexpensive.
I realize that some crash replacement parts cost more for a late model (mainly wheels, spindles, and hubs), but the cheaper fuel, way cheaper rear end gears (if you would like to run other tracks) and the difference in payout more than offset this cost difference, unless you're crashing the thing every week of course.
And this is all ignoring what happens when you are ready to sell your race car. There isn't a whole lot of demand for used sportsman cars right now, I know first-hand. And if you do find someone to buy it, chances are you are going to have to take a huge loss on it if you it had any kind of quality parts or a good motor. There is no doubt in my mind that I could get almost all of my money out of my crate car fairly quickly if I wanted to sell it. (I dont)
Don't get me wrong, I love the sportsman class. I just feel that with the escalating costs and the uncertain future of the class at certain tracks, if someone is trying to make an educated choice between the two classes, they should have accurate information.
 
I agree with matt on this one, late models are getting cheaper by the year and you dont need a expensive motor to run them either. You could take your crate late model and go to a super late model race and make 100 bucks just to start the feature. Whenever i get some money saved up I think I am going to do the same.
 
If Crates are cheaper to run than Sportsman,that should be a wake-up call to anyone with a heartbeat, Just saying.....
 
As long as this is a what would you like to see discussion,I would like to see Shepps take the Friday night slot,and leave Jacksonville to Sat. or Sun.There were to many non racing nights at Jacksonville this year. This would leave them to run a limited schedule.Some nights could not be helped,but with good weather and open dates along with fair week,I think another track within 10-15 miles should get the Primo Friday night slot.Not wanting to ruffle feathers,but Shepps caters more to the fellow racer without fair boards and fairs and rain dates ,football nights getting involved.....JMO
 
Well not everyone has the opinion that crates are cheaper than a sportsman. We have two sportman cars. Only got to race the one at Belleville, one night due to a crash and then because of other Friday night commitments. The other car was raced at Highland when time allowed. BUT if we wanted to run a crate the cost would be overwhelming to say the least. Starting with the engine for one. We have 2 perfectly good engines now, why would I want to buy another one? Then expense of finding a good frame and all the rest that it takes to put the latemodel on the track. Cost wise to start up a crate and to get it race ready is way more expensive than running a sportsman. So in my opinion the sportsman is cheaper. There are a few that are on their game and have the best money can buy in their sportsman, but so do a couple of crates and the same in the latemodel class!
Owning a Sportsman race car is like watching the stock market! Will it hold or crash!
The only one that really profits in the long run is the GM dealer. What about the local engine builders? How fair is that to them ? Plus Highland doesn't pull in nearly as many crates as TCS. Why is that?
The sportsman class has lost a few cars in the past years mainly due to track politics. I think if that gets worked out then it will be OK. Engine limits would help. If it is good enough for the crate class then it should be good enough for the other lower classes. Winning is great when you can, but do the fans in the stand really want to see the same car every weekend in the winners circle. It gets boring after a while to see the same driver week after week win, turns it into a one man show! If the engine rule is not addressed a Highland, that is what will do the sportsman class in.
 
PCRA - try it!! $1000 to win, $100 to start, with a good breakdown through the middle. It's affordable and we do tech our engines. We are racing at Quincy on Sept. 25th; Belleville - double features on October 8th. (Possible to win $3000); and Tri-City Speedway on October 14th.
 
I not gonna try to bash, but mite. Sportsman class and the Crate class is great classes when policed! A sportsman motor is not that expensive to be competitive! With the exception of few out there that some of you here about, not one of my motors ive ever ran have I spent more than $5,000 and been very competitve. I know bomber motors with almost that much in it. People need to start working more on there driving and making there car handle to keep momentum. In both the crates and Sportsman. Ive learned in a limited horsepower class that momentum is everything to keep from scrubbing speed. If you ever watch these two classes, the smoothest man wins! not the most HP. Why do you think Oller and Dauderman are winning. You could put 800 hp motors in both of these calsses to a crappy driver they still aint gonna win! I myself will stay with the sportsman cause i have everything bought already and it takes alot to go sell my stuff and go buy all Late model parts. As long as I finish top 5 for the night, I usually break even for the nite. If we wouldnt hammer so much beer we pry could settle for a 7th! JMO Jon Ripperda
 
Classes such as the sportsman class which rely on restricted induction to reduce engine speed(cost and horsepower) and restrict displacement(reduced horsepower) make a lot of sense BUT they REQUIRE a track to have competent protest and tech departments and that's an area that's woefully inadequate at most local racing facilities.

This job requires someone with real engine knowledge along with the willingness to just tech a few different areas each week so that the racer never knows where they are going to look and therefore tends to keep his or her car legal.

A rules bound class can work great but those who spend a lot will have some advantages. The trick is to keep the rules so that those advantages are small and not large.

I feel as posted earlier that the driver is the important part and if they are good at keeping up their momentum, taking advantage of passing opportunities and smooth even when the track is not they will probably be successful even with rather modest equipment.
 
Just to be clear, I did not say that everyone should scrap their sportsmans and buy crate cars. I sincerely apologize if it came across that way. I just hate the misconception that crate cars are more expensive to run than they really are. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work a bunch of overtime this winter so that I could afford to put a crate together without needing to sell my sportsman stuff first. If i hadn't worked the overtime, I would be running my sportsman now with my 602 in it and would be happy doing it. My point was that if someone is going to start from scratch, the cost is not as different as some would have you believe.
 
Posts 17 and 18 have got it right!!!! Darn barley and hops. Tracks used to tech the top 2 or 3 in every class after the Mid-Season Championships and at least once or twice in between.....H*LL,the Tech Man was an Engine Builder back in the day but now who knows whether they have a clue nowadays. P.S I agree with the post about driver ability especially in the support classes.Big cubes and voodoo electronics,along with gumball tires won't make you look like Moyer,Babb,Bloomerroid,you have to feel it in the seat! JMO;)
 
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