Newbie drag racer wanting to race mod's????

[jsf74]

Hey fellas I'm new to this game and would just like some advise on where to start. I'm gonna run at butler in southern mi on a 3/8 mile banked track. There are so many options on what to run I'm kind of overwhelmed. I've talked to a few local guys and they all have different ideas on what's needed. I'm not looking to run top just log some laps and get my feet wet. What should I look for as far as car and motor?

[usafracer]

Something that is cheap and comes with a lot of spair parts. You are going to need them.

[johnny v]

Hey fellas I'm new to this game and would just like some advise on where to start. I'm gonna run at butler in southern mi on a 3/8 mile banked track. There are so many options on what to run I'm kind of overwhelmed. I've talked to a few local guys and they all have different ideas on what's needed. I'm not looking to run top just log some laps and get my feet wet. What should I look for as far as car and motor?

You should probably go to one of dirt driving schools first or go rent a ride in a factory stock class or a hobby car....even a limited mod class or b mod would get you going cheaper and with less initial money outlay....Someone who has never cut a lap on dirt has no business making his first laps on a banked 3/8 dirt track in a A mod or outlaw Mod....IMHO.. but good luck and once you try it, you will be hooked;)

[jsf74]

I would love to go to a dirt school but the closest one I know of is way down south. Is their anything close to Michigan and where in the world would I rent a ride to take some laps. I would be more than happy to lay out some cash for some lessons or test laps.

[ultramax25]

go with a good used 3 link roller,easier to set up and drive than a 4 bar. lot of good rollers avaiable around 2500-4000 dollars. Motor wise you do not need a lot of horsepower at Butler too run good,dry slick most of the time! could put a nice motor together 3000 ish plus or minus. take your time and try to stay out of trouble!! good luck!

[johnny v]

I would love to go to a dirt school but the closest one I know of is way down south. Is their anything close to Michigan and where in the world would I rent a ride to take some laps. I would be more than happy to lay out some cash for some lessons or test laps.

With the way the economy is, I would hang out at the local track, talk to all the hobby cars and stock car drivers and owners. Find out who has a car parked because they can't afford to race...... someone will put you in a hobby car for some hot laps if they know you have $$$ in your pocket....and then they can race it later in the night... all involved win!!.... We have a beginners class around here that kids and first timers get out there and race a heat and feature for no purse..... just fun racing.....

[jsf74]

Thank you sir that is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. As far as 3 bar or 4 bar why is the 3 bar easier compared to a 4 bar? As far as a motor goes will your basic 383 23* head motor at least be able to run top ten if the rest of the car is set up right. I would like to mix it up a little but don't want to be the guy holding everyone back either. That drives nuts. I would really like to see some ls motors start to run.

[racin6mod]

the very first thing to do is go up to one of the top five cars at your local track and talk to them about working on ther team.this will help you learn how to set up a modified and how to make the right changes to the chassis to keep up with the track.plus you'll see how the team works and what it take to run good and that is priceless.the other thing is you may not like what you see and decide a hobby stock is more of what your looking for.you may also find that you like helping others do better I know it can be just as fun to see a fellow racer win or just improve because of your help and ideas.

[jsf74]

What would be a safe amount to offer for a ride. I wouldn't want to insult anyone. Obviously god forbid damages would be taken care of.

[nikk]

I'm about 12 nights into my first season in an open mod.I would say start out with a 4 bar car from a builder that offers plenty of tech support.(shaw!!)As far as motors go,I would say at least 550-600hp.A 383 or 406 with good internals(racing aint cheep)These things are not easy to drive,set it up plenty loose and go have some fun!Don't get discouraged,there are plenty of good racers who are willing to help out if you're struggling.Try to find somebody who runs the same kind of car and make friends!

[ultramax25]

less adjustments and not so agressive with the 3 link. 383 would be a great motor to be competitive. no need to mix it up for awhile unless you have a lot of TIME and MONEY !!!!

[cavemod]

Done what want to in 1998.This is what i learned and think is your best bet.First go a find a freind who has success (like mentioned above)Learn about setup and most important is weekly maintainence from them!!It really doesn't matter whether its 3 link or not .4 bars is what i would have started on if i could do it over only because there are more adjustments and guys that start on 3 and switch to 4 have another learning curve to go thru.If you don't have a good 10k to get into a car get a bmod and enjoy yourself and have fun.If your freind owns a harris and thats what you've been working on then buy one.Try to get one the same year as what you have been working on. Rather then driving school i would suggest a school about setups like racewise or a combo school like dirtworks had or has??? Or brooks shaw school or something similar. Get a dependable motor hp isn't going to be that important for a while durability is!550 range will be just fine don't need big cid either a 6"rod 355 with decent heads will work just fine especally in imca type racing.Try to buy the best parts you can afford no matter where it goes on the car.Once you do get racing keep lots of notes.

[Imca27mod]

If you are looking to learn how to drive get a 3 link so you don’t have to many thing to change also get a car that if you smash it, you didn’t spend 10k on it. I have a 3link buzzard mod for sale that I’m racing at tri-city speedway this year. This is my first full year on dirt and I’m starting to get it. 2400 for the roller all you would need is gear, clutch set up and motor. The last 3 weeks I finish 5, 6, 4 easy car to setup I would help you much as I can. I’m in Clio, MI PM me if you want more info

[Bcollins82]

I've never understood the concept of buying an outdated car to learn in to make it "easier"?! Your gonna end up going out and buying a 4 bar car anyway, so why wouldn't you start with one? THERE IS NO VOODOO TO A 4 BAR CAR. As stated earlier, get with a competitive team and listen, ask a bunch of questions, and buy a 4 bar car from a chassis builder that is easy to get ahold of and will talk to you and answer your questions. There is just too much info out there, and too many good chassis builders out there with good baseline setups to waste your time and money buying an out of date car that will teach you nothing about your next car. A driving school like the McDowell/Cook school should be way up on the priority list. You will learn 100 times more about technique, car control, and basic car prep than you will by renting a ride for a night. Cause let's face it, your probably not gonna be jumping into a quality ride. Their school will move your learning curve up by YEARS because they will help teach you proper technique and basic principals of driving so you aren't starting in left field. They also spend time explaining the 4bar basics, and car prep basics. Good luck!

[powerslide]

I've never understood the concept of buying an outdated car to learn in to make it "easier"?! Your gonna end up going out and buying a 4 bar car anyway, so why wouldn't you start with one? THERE IS NO VOODOO TO A 4 BAR CAR. As stated earlier, get with a competitive team and listen, ask a bunch of questions, and buy a 4 bar car from a chassis builder that is easy to get ahold of and will talk to you and answer your questions. There is just too much info out there, and too many good chassis builders out there with good baseline setups to waste your time and money buying an out of date car that will teach you nothing about your next car. A driving school like the McDowell/Cook school should be way up on the priority list. You will learn 100 times more about technique, car control, and basic car prep than you will by renting a ride for a night. Cause let's face it, your probably not gonna be jumping into a quality ride. Their school will move your learning curve up by YEARS because they will help teach you proper technique and basic principals of driving so you aren't starting in left field. They also spend time explaining the 4bar basics, and car prep basics. Good luck!

I have never been to one of these schools but i wouldnt throw a bunch of money at them if you've never turned a lap and have no clue what they are talking about. Get a 4-4 floated car run a season or half a season where you can keep up w/ the back and middle cars then go to the school. If you go before you have much experience driving or setting one up, they are going to be talking WAY over your head.

[Bcollins82]

I've been to the McDowell/Cook school, and believe me, they are super laid back and don't talk over your head at all. There were several people there that had never turned a lap before and they were going as good as anyone by the end of the day. There's no reason to wait and learn bad habits or listen to inexperienced people that love to hand out driving or chassis advice. I'd say it will benefit a "green" racer more than an experienced racer, IMO.

[rubbinsracin]

I've been to the McDowell/Cook school, and believe me, they are super laid back and don't talk over your head at all. There were several people there that had never turned a lap before and they were going as good as anyone by the end of the day. There's no reason to wait and learn bad habits or listen to inexperienced people that love to hand out driving or chassis advice. I'd say it will benefit a "green" racer more than an experienced racer, IMO.

x2 with it helping and new racer more than an experienced one. better to spend $1000 on a class than 1000 in parts that end up broke because you didnt know how to set up properly.

this is the class i would go to if i was a mod driver. as stated above Shaw is the best for helping a new person learn. Kevin teaches a hell of a class. we have a shaw late model and have spent hours on the phone with him even though we bought it used and he didnt get any profit from it at all.

http://www.brooksshawdrivingschool.com/index.html

another nice thing about this school is they get all over, Kansas, Minnesota, Canada. all up not to far from where you are. and they are in the winter all the way through july. so you can get a used shaw. call him and let him know you bought one and are coming to his class. spend some time from now until you get to the class and you will have one on one time with the car builder himself.

[Imca27mod]

You get a starter car because you will crash, you will get hit and you will be hit so you go spend 5000 for a roller and then "ooooh no i over did my self" now i have a 5000 bent mod.

[racin6mod]

that's part of my point LEARN HOW TO WORK ON AND REPAIRa chassis before buying one because we've all seen a brand new car get wrecked on the very first night out.even the so called older pro's have crashed a new car.the big thing is they now how the get it back to racing condition.

[JCSullivan00]

In the Michigan area, I would call Brian Ruhlman and ask him what he thought.

[1Blacksheep]

Find a straight 2-3 year old chassis you can pick up cheap. Then you can experiment with the different designs and find what you like. When it gets junked replace it with another one. 2nd the hanging out with another successful team for a season and learn the basics. You really should start with a street stock first and get some seat time. A- mods are technical machines and not a good starter class to play with if you have zero dirt oval experience. :eek:

[jsf74]

Yeah I guess that's kind of my dilemma. I built my mustang drag car and every time I turned around I was spending money to move up in a class and go faster. I think I would rather start out where I want to end up. The learning curve will be steep but I would rather run at the back for know and work my way up. How do I get in touch with Brian. I am in mi and will be running at butler.

[Bcollins82]

You get a starter car because you will crash, you will get hit and you will be hit so you go spend 5000 for a roller and then "ooooh no i over did my self" now i have a 5000 bent mod.

I kind of understand where you'd be coming from if you were guaranteed to destroy a car, but that just isn't the case.... Parts and repairs on an outdated car are no cheaper than a newer floated 4bar car. And if you do happen to wreck hard enough to destroy the chassis, you most likely won't have a lot of parts that will bolt on the new car you'll buy. There is just no reason to fight it. On top of that, there aren't a lot of updated 3 link setups out there, so you'd be on your own for the most part. And have you ever taken too much angle out of your RR 3 link bar? Ya know, where it rolls over in the corner and the bar goes past 0* and when you get on the gas your tire tries to climb over the bar and shoots your LF to the moon? Lmao I remember those days... Wouldn't recommend it to anyone! Loose gruff cars ran a 2/z or 2/swingarm setup a few years back and those cars were pretty good, and easy to set up. But, not any updated info on them, so there ya go, on your own.

Definitely get ahold of Ruhlman. He will get you going. Chances are it won't be cheap. But it will be worth it. I believe his site is brianruhlmanracing.com

[harvey wallbanger]

A good person to contact would be Todd Sherman at teamse.com
There are several of his cars running at Butler. Or send me a PM, I run a mod at Butler.

[jsf74]

I sent u a pm but just in case. 517-474-5047

[jsf74]

I just wanted to give a little update with my situation. I met a few real good guys at our local track who are going to give me a hand and assist me with buying a good straight roller. Also got a offer for some seat time in a multiple feature winning car. Thanks everyone for the help so far and I will keep everyone updated on my progress. And most of all thanks Greg for putting me in contact with some helpful people.