April 5th, 2014 FASTRAK PR

(Carnesville, Georgia) – Has the time come that we need to re-look at the aerodynamics of dirt late model racing? It’s finally come to the point of when

one car gets up under the back of another, the front end washes out and who did that happen too before? NASCAR, Remember the term “aero push” and we all laughed about it? Well now the famed aero push has reached dirt racing. So the question is, will the sanctioning bodies, series and chassis people step up and fix it before it gets any worse, or will it continue until the fans are gone and all that is left is the teams and the track itself?

We really need to think about this. We all hear, well they never work on the track. Yes that may be true in some cases, but probably less than one might think. Most tracks make a sincere effort in making the surface the best they can. I became a new track owner in 2013 and I can tell you it is not as easy as one might think. It really took us all year long to get it were I thought was ‘right’. It can still get one groove and in most cases will, but my idea about it might be somewhat different than others. The cars have gotten so good, so fast, so aero dependant can they do anything but go to the bottom to simply stay in the race track from a gravity standpoint alone?

Remember the old sideboards and wedge cars? Why did they fizzle out? No racing. Well why was that exactly? Think about it, what’s the difference then, than it is today? No they are not wedge cars but they are aero dependant so what’s the difference? No we don’t have sideboards anymore, but what’s the difference if the sides are completely flat? Is that not a sideboard with the exception that it doesn’t stick up above the car? Flat is flat and that has the same effect the old sideboard cars had. Doesn’t it? See the old wedge cars had doors that were “curved at the bottom”.

Therefore the sides of the cars themselves did little to affect the side bite. Now as I stated before, flat is flat. Therefore the side bite is affected and if you don’t think it makes a difference then go out and compete against cars that have it and yours doesn’t. Uh HUH. Thought so. Wouldn’t dare would you? Me either.

Look at the roofs now. In the past the rule books said “must remain flat”. When is the last time you actually saw a flat late model roof? Well let me ask that another way. When is the last time you saw a late model with a flat roof win the race? Go back and look at victory lane photos from all over the country from as far back as the last couple of years. They are all sloped down in the front much like a winged sprint car. DID THE RACING GET BETTER AFTER THEY DID THAT? I am betting no.

How about the lips above the fenders now? Previously they were called elephant ears but that’s when you hand made everything out of plastic. Now it’s molded, made for aerodynamics. I own the FASTRAK dirt late model series and I have seen it in crate racing. When FASTRAK began, the limit above the hood was 2 inches. 2 INCHES!!

Now it’s 5 INCHES? Yep all of 5 inches and that’s only because we stopped them from doing 6 inches. Yes, we actually had to make people cut them off. LOL. That almost seems funny to me other than its truly hurting racing everywhere. Now the question is “why did they do that”. Well there are several things going on at the same time here. The car “rolls over” in the corner. That takes the left front fender and rolls it higher in the corner allowing it to hold the front end. Plus the roofs now are actually tilted to the right looking from behind the car.

HMMM getting the picture now? As the car goes into the turn, it rolls over on the right front allowing the elephant ear on the left front fender and the roof to ‘catch it’ and keep it going faster and faster and guess where? The bottom of the corner. I mean can you blame them? If my car were that good and would stick on the bottom I don’t see what I would want to go any higher than I just had too. Would you? I mean these things are flying when they go through the turns now. Hell they have to go to the bottom just to stay on the track don’t they? The answer is yes.

Back to the old wedge cars; they were a straight angle from front to rear. Remember? Well now they are getting almost to the same configuration again. The front ends are dished in the middle putting front down force on the car, working in conjunction with the roof putting down force on the car and the rear spoiler and etc and where does it stop? Again, not really a difference in air flow than from the wedge cars, just done in a very different manner. Let’s say ‘slick’ in aerodynamic terms.

Under the nose. Look under the nose of any dirt late model now. It has what is called a valance. The nose is ‘sealing off’ the air from going under the car. That also seals it off by the way from the guy behind him too. What’s the result? AERO PUSH. Sound familiar?

Put it all together and shake it up and what’s the bottom line? Maybe a better question would be why did they stop running the old wedge cars? What was the reason? Are we beginning to see that same problem today, just in a different way?

Aero is aero regardless of how it’s packaged. The more aero you have, the worse the racing is. Most dirt track people complain about how boring NASCAR racing is. You are about to see the same thing in dirt racing if we don’t do something and quick. Think about it. Are we beginning to experience the same exact thing our larger brethren did in NASCAR? Is that the racing we want to see? Well if the answer is no then why can’t we learn from it instead of having to live through it or should I say suffer from it. We have two choices in my opinion. Either quit qualifying altogether at ANY event or get the cars back to not having such aero dependence.

We can’t blame the chassis and body guys. We allowed them to do it. We could have just as easily said no as we did allow it to pass. The larger series will have to take the lead in this altogether. The smaller series can’t do it on their own.

The greatest thing in this respect is that it wouldn’t cost anyone a dime to do this. Pull the doors back in at the bottom. Get the roofs level again and get rid of the (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)ed lips on the roof edges. I did forget about the nose and that will cost. Who in the hell needs a five inch lip on the fenders anyway?

Oh I know some will say “don’t ruin the looks of them”. My first response would be you mean you didn’t like them before? Well how did you become a dirt late model fan? As it because of the looks or was it actually because it was great racing?

So the question is, do we continue to allow it and see worse and worse racing or do we do something about it before the grandstands get empty? Or emptier for lack of a better term? Who starts it? Someone will most certainly. Or we become our larger brethren. The choice is ours.

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FASTRAK Companies International would like to thank all of its marketing partners for their great and continuing support. Those 2014 FASTRAK sponsors include: Hoosier Race Tires, VP Racing Fuel, Chevrolet Performance, Arizona Sports Shirts, Velocita USA, Beya Headers, Thunderbolt Tees, Indocil Art, BSB Manufacturers, Old Man’s Garage, TNT Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, High Velocity Heads and RockAuto.com to our line-up of product sponsors. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the “Nations First, Premier and Most Prestigious Pro Late Model Series in the Country” please contact Stan Lester at the FASTRAK Corporate Office at (678) 935-7304 or Brian Haynes at (706) 340-4781.