Should Dirt on Dirt cover crate late models

[ptown]

I say absolutely positively no! These crates aren't real late models, they're just pigs with lipstick and will eventually be the death sentence for super late model racing as we know it, especially for tracks that run supers weekly.

I'll hang up and listen.

[zach51]

The only problem is, so many SLM drivers are dipping their toes in the crate money pool now that if DOD didn't slightly cover it, people would be complaining wanting to know how JD or Ronnie Johnson ran in the big crate race, so it is a tough spot for DOD to navigate.

I'll be honest, to 99% of the fans, if you put crate engines in every car that started the World 100 and ran the race again, nobody would notice.

[Chris Thomason]

Sure, why not? There is a description of each video and I can easily choose to not click any crate races. If they begin doing that heavily, I'd only hope that staff was added so they dont sacrifice a crew that would ordinarily be at some SLM event. Lets film big street stock races while we are at it.

[CIRF]

If it looks like a late model and sounds somewhat like a late model I reckon it's a late model, only with less horsepower and speed. The crate engine is what distinguishes it from a full house late model. They should be covered by DoD as such.

[dirty bert]

The only problem is, so many SLM drivers are dipping their toes in the crate money pool now that if DOD didn't slightly cover it, people would be complaining wanting to know how JD or Ronnie Johnson ran in the big crate race, so it is a tough spot for DOD to navigate. I'll be honest, to 99% of the fans, if you put crate engines in every car that started the World 100 and ran the race again, nobody would notice.Agree most fans wouldn't know the difference all the cars look alike now, even some of the hobby class car's bodies look like slm car's

[ptown]

Agree most fans wouldn't know the difference all the cars look alike now, even some of the hobby class car's bodies look like slm car's

So some hobby stocks are running late model bodies, should DOD start covering those too? They look like lates models just not as much horse power.

[B_K]

$52,000 engines, etc will be more of a reason for the death supers as you know it.

I sincerely doubt the fans at Crossville, Tn were less impressed with those 12:7 laps last week because they were being turned by drivers in a crate.

Top five of
Overton
Welshan
RJ
Jesse Lowe
Chip Brindle

All of those have multiple super victories with the exception of Lowe who I suspect will get his fair share soon as well. If you get your nose out of the air, crates for the most part this year have produced as good or better racing from what I've seen.

I'll always be a super guy, but crates aren't going away.

[Wells Racing Photos]

I have been a proponent of crates since day one and when tech is done the proper way, the racing will be better than that with super late models. Don't get me wrong I still love to watch supers race but all of the crate racing this year has been much better around here than the supers have been. The price to run a SLM compared to the payout is insane and only the drivers and teams are to blame.

[CIRF]

It's obvious that some of the sportsman classes look a lot like generic late models. So, if it doesn't look like a street stock and it has fenders around the front wheels it's in the generic late model family. So, what the hell, cover them DoD. Those guys could use a little recognition right along with the crates and the supers.

[jog49]

There's no such class as "crates", per se, as all I have ever seen were called Crate Late Model. So, 4M's top category is called Dirt Late Models. Crate Late Models run on dirt so there you go. At a few bullrings, a crate late model can outrun a super late model. Ask Ronnie Johnson about that!

[BloomerHarvickFan]

Some of my favorite races that I've been to through the years were ones where they ran the lower level late models, whether you call them Limited Late Models, or Steel Head Late Models or Crate Engines or whatever.
I'd much rather watch those cars in support of a SLM race than the street stockers, so I am all for whatever is done to promote it.

[Chris Thomason]

They start covering all this and that, then we will be b!tchin and moanin about our subscriptions being $39.95 a month! Aint broke dont fix it

[mcarter815]

Weekly SLM is dead, it just doesn't know it yet. SLM will be relegated to just touring series. Engine builders have themselves to blame for it.

[mskdorf]

Wouldn't most of the coverage be about how they all cheat?

[B_K]

They start covering all this and that, then we will be b!tchin and moanin about our subscriptions being $39.95 a month! Aint broke dont fix it

They already "cover" crates with results/updates from bigger crate shows. No need to stop.

[CIRF]

Weekly SLM is dead, it just doesn't know it yet. SLM will be relegated to just touring series. Engine builders have themselves to blame for it.There is some credence in what you're saying. I would only add that those same engine builders may be partially responsible for sounding the death knell of most 1/2 mile racetracks around the country.

[Barbecueboy]

Wouldn't most of the coverage be about how they all cheat?

According to most of the experts, the slm guys all cheat too, so?

Smfh

[Barbecueboy]

I wish there was a dod of mods to be quite honest.........

[fastford]

According to most of the experts, the slm guys all cheat too, so?

Smfh

yea, but they spend thousands of dollars to so called cheat , the crates are supposed to be economical so the low budget guys couldn't afford to cheat, therefore the get out run....

[grt74]

$52,000 engines, etc will be more of a reason for the death supers as you know it.

I sincerely doubt the fans at Crossville, Tn were less impressed with those 12:7 laps last week because they were being turned by drivers in a crate.

Top five of
Overton
Welshan
RJ
Jesse Lowe
Chip Brindle

All of those have multiple super victories with the exception of Lowe who I suspect will get his fair share soon as well. If you get your nose out of the air, crates for the most part this year have produced as good or better racing from what I've seen.

I'll always be a super guy, but crates aren't going away.

i buy new engines every year or two and there nowhere near what you are saying,guys need to do there homework

[Barbecueboy]

yea, but they spend thousands of dollars to so called cheat , the crates are supposed to be economical so the low budget guys couldn't afford to cheat, therefore the get out run....

Or, maybe they aren't actually cheating........just better .

Talking about the slm guys.

[THE DOORMAN 4STUHLER]

Nope!!!! No way!!!

[Clayton_Wetter]

Do you fans want crates to put an end to SLM locally and weekly, Just keep supporting them and they will.

Not enough room for both anymore. The Mod class had already depleted the SLM enough. Let alone have yet another class come along. UMP and many promoters are to blame for allowing/creating this.

[ptown]

Do you fans want crates to put an end to SLM locally and weekly, Just keep supporting them and they will.

Not enough room for both anymore. The Mod class had already depleted the SLM enough. Let alone have yet another class come along. UMP and many promoters are to blame for allowing/creating this.

Exactly my point, those things are the poison pill for super late model racing.

Do we also need DOD by covering them to legitimize these late models in drag?

[dirtcrazy4u]

The crate class was started as a alternative to the guys that could not afford to run with the big dogs. Now the big dogs are taking there 80k slm and dropping crate motors in them and are going out and putting a woop arsh on the guys that thought they were going to be running with guys just like themselves. The purses for the weekly competitor is just stupid. So if there is a higher paying show some slm team goes out and cherry picks. That is just going to lead to guys either getting out altogether or looking at another class. So tell me, who wins ? NOBODY ! Crate racing cann't pull the gate to survive on there own. You have to run as many classes as you can so the pit gate makes up for the small crowd in attendance.

[tsand]

People are always saying the crates are cheating by can never offer proof. The top 3 cars at Virginia motorspeedway we're torn down the bare block and we're legal. The motor fregy finished second with is streaght out of the crate from GM. The success of crate racing in all about corner speed not streaght away speed.

[Highwayman]

The only problem is, so many SLM drivers are dipping their toes in the crate money pool now that if DOD didn't slightly cover it, people would be complaining wanting to know how JD or Ronnie Johnson ran in the big crate race, so it is a tough spot for DOD to navigate.

I'll be honest, to 99% of the fans, if you put crate engines in every car that started the World 100 and ran the race again, nobody would notice.

I'd notice they sound awful. Droning on and on, lap after lazy lap. Vote No.

[jr29]

Sure, why not? There is a description of each video and I can easily choose to not click any crate races. If they begin doing that heavily, I'd only hope that staff was added so they dont sacrifice a crew that would ordinarily be at some SLM event. Lets film big street stock races while we are at it.


Exactly. You aren't forced to watch crate videos or read about crate races or look at photos from crate races. If you aren't interested, don't look at any of it. Easy enough.
Some of the bigger southern crate races during the winter also give the site something to cover during the slow months.

[grt74]

the problem with crates in some areas (notice i said some areas) they are just way out of hand, and the owners or promoters are so scared of running someone off they look the other way, i love the idea of cheaper racing but crates are no longer the answer, you have lower classes for a reason, and then just have one class of late models

[Highwayman]

the problem with crates in some areas (notice i said some areas) they are just way out of hand, and the owners or promoters are so scared of running someone off they look the other way, i love the idea of cheaper racing but crates are no longer the answer, you have lower classes for a reason, and then just have one class of late models

It would help if there were some distinction between Supers and Crates besides the engine. Maybe include a tail piece and/or use the older style noses, otherwise they're just droning, lazy late model posers. Even though a CT525 is technically a crate I don't include it in my definition of crate, to me that distinction falls squarely on 602/604 cars. 525's can put on a good show especially when paired with steel block/head limiteds. JMO

[President Clinton]

The ct525 is the easiest of all the crates to cheat up!!!! You aren't even allowed to protest one. That sure isn't the answer????? Quit worrying about motors and cut tire size in different classes. Put crates on 8" tire!

[tsand]

Go to a 2500 lb weight limit. No adjustable gas shocks. Steel tube non adjustable shocks with a buy rule. seca has just outlawed the air shocks this is a move in the right direction. A spring rate rule would do away with the longhorns and xr1 or any car that runs off the right front. go back to the older cars with a conventional setup that doesn't take a engineer to figure out.

[xray]

Go to a 2500 lb weight limit. No adjustable gas shocks. Steel tube non adjustable shocks with a buy rule. seca has just outlawed the air shocks this is a move in the right direction. A spring rate rule would do away with the longhorns and xr1 or any car that runs off the right front. go back to the older cars with a conventional setup that doesn't take a engineer to figure out.

Sounds like somebody needs a superstock. Oh wait no track has more than 10 of those because the fast guy is "cheating"

Sometimes no matter how much you slow em down they still gonna be faster than you.

[fryefan]

They do cover them and they should cover them. They are the future of weekly late model racing.

[kazual]

DOD should cover what makes them viable as an ongoing and profitable business. Entitlement seems to pop up in the most unexpected places anymore.

[riddle28]

no DoD shouldnt cover them. I run limited late model and dont really care about whats going on with other lower class cars across the country. They already cover crate results under the weekly tab

[Barbecueboy]

Nope!!!! No way!!!

You guys should all choose more wisely when you pick your friends.......y'all hanging with a bunch of cheating sobs apparently.

[Highwayman]

Go to a 2500 lb weight limit. No adjustable gas shocks. Steel tube non adjustable shocks with a buy rule. seca has just outlawed the air shocks this is a move in the right direction. A spring rate rule would do away with the longhorns and xr1 or any car that runs off the right front. go back to the older cars with a conventional setup that doesn't take a engineer to figure out.

Be careful with talk like that they frown on logic and sensibility.

[jog49]

"Do you fans want crates to put an end to SLM locally and weekly,
"

The cost of racing has already done that by itself so where have you been? My local track put up a $10,000 to win, unsanctioned SLM race earlier in the season and couldn't even draw a full field of 24 for that kind of money. And that was with a multi-state area from which to draw because of inactivity that weekend. I like supers more than most but have been reading the writing on the wall for quite a while now.

[PushinTheLimit]

I understand most people would rather see a super race than a crate race. As for DoD, I would like to see them cover the sanctioned races (NeSmith, Fastrak, UCRA, etc.) with video of their features at least. Don't have to include the heats. Also, any $10k or more to win crate race would be interesting to see the video of as well.

I'm a crate racer... would absolutely love to run a super, but just don't have that kind of money or support to do it the way you need to in order to be competitive. I don't have the newest equipment, but we do the best we can with what we have and that's all any racer can do.

[grt74]

"Do you fans want crates to put an end to SLM locally and weekly,
"

The cost of racing has already done that by itself so where have you been? My local track put up a $10,000 to win, unsanctioned SLM race earlier in the season and couldn't even draw a full field of 24 for that kind of money. And that was with a multi-state area from which to draw because of inactivity that weekend. I like supers more than most but have been reading the writing on the wall for quite a while now.

because weekly guys are gone

[grt74]

I understand most people would rather see a super race than a crate race. As for DoD, I would like to see them cover the sanctioned races (NeSmith, Fastrak, UCRA, etc.) with video of their features at least. Don't have to include the heats. Also, any $10k or more to win crate race would be interesting to see the video of as well.

I'm a crate racer... would absolutely love to run a super, but just don't have that kind of money or support to do it the way you need to in order to be competitive. I don't have the newest equipment, but we do the best we can with what we have and that's all any racer can do.

watch what happens when supers die out completely

[Highwayman]

watch what happens when supers die out completely

I expect that too. Wide open over the cliff...

[CrankedUp90]

I expect that too. Wide open over the cliff...

LMAO, same here. Go out in a blaze of glory!!!