Check out the AFCO Crate Spec Shock Series at PRI this week

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12-03-2018, 11:19 AM
FASTRAKPR

Check out the AFCO Crate Spec Shock Series at PRI this week

Pro Late Model drivers should be sure to come by the AFCO Racing booth at PRI in Indianapolis this week. AFCO’s booth is number 3801 in the yellow hall. Teams will have the opportunity to learn more about the AFCO Crate Spec Shock Series which will debut for the 2019 season.

The AFCO Crate Spec Shock Series was announced last month. It is a true “racing shock”, with gas pressure and a Schrader valve and features a tamper-proof enclosure system, all for a great retail price of only $186.99. There are standard valve code and fitment options for the four corners, plus an optional right front and left rear, which should satisfy any customer’s needs.

AFCO representatives will be available to answer questions that teams may have at PRI. The Performance Racing Industry Trade Show runs from Thursday, December 6th to Saturday, December 8th.

“This is the first chance for teams to get a look at the AFCO Crate Spec Shock Series,” said FASTRAK General Manager DJ Irvine, “A lot of testing has went into the development of this program and it’s exciting to see it come alive.”

AFCO Racing Booth #3801 Yellow Hall
Exhibit Hours
Thursday, December 6 – 9am-5pm
Friday, December 7 – 9am-5pm
Saturday, December 8 – 9am-4pm

Check out the official website for the FASTRAK Racing Series at www.fastrakracing.com and continue to follow our social media networks for the FASTRAK Racing Series. Like and Follow our Fan Page on Facebook plus follow @FASTRAK_SE and/or @FASTRAK_MOV on Twitter to get up to the minute news and details as they become available.

The 2018 marketing partners for the FASTRAK Racing Series are Chevrolet Performance, Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuel, VP Racing Lubricants, FloRacing, Basey’s Site Work, LLC, Swift Springs, TNT Race Cars, Arizona Sport Shirts, Simpson Safety Equipment, Rockauto.com, Dirt Late Model Magazine and Thomas Clarke Performance.
12-03-2018, 11:52 AM
hardracer32

I'll post this again because I'm interested to hear some discussion on this. I hope that these take off and perform well. I'd love to see these shocks on Super Late Models as well, and would love to see this tip the scales back towards some of the low buck teams who can't afford the current shock packages. I'm not saying I want them to have an advantage, but I would love to see some guys move up who wouldn't think about doing it otherwise, or maybe some guys get back into the sport because it's more affordable with these types of options.
12-03-2018, 12:50 PM
CageFaraday

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardracer32

I'll post this again because I'm interested to hear some discussion on this. I hope that these take off and perform well. I'd love to see these shocks on Super Late Models as well, and would love to see this tip the scales back towards some of the low buck teams who can't afford the current shock packages. I'm not saying I want them to have an advantage, but I would love to see some guys move up who wouldn't think about doing it otherwise, or maybe some guys get back into the sport because it's more affordable with these types of options.

Running crates was suppose to get people back in, it didn't. If Mr Fastrak wants to ruin his series with this, "we're all the same" bs, that's fine, but leave the spec crud outta super. No 2 drivers have the same style and no 2 cars are setup the same way, so putting the exact same shocks on everyone's car is only gonna result in train races and a thicker lining of Mr Fastrak's pocket from the AFCO money he'll get by making this change. The shock packages are the only reason crate can put on a decent race now. You make everyone the same and you won't like the outcome and neither will fans.
12-03-2018, 12:51 PM
CageFaraday

on second thought I hope its a huge success and then that will kill crates and we can get back to racing...
12-03-2018, 03:14 PM
PushinTheLimit

Shock costs isn't what is keeping the crate guys from moving up to supers... it's motor costs and refreshing them.
12-03-2018, 03:52 PM
No_Weak_Links

Quote:

Originally Posted by CageFaraday

on second thought I hope its a huge success and then that will kill crates and we can get back to racing...

Be careful what you wish for. You kill crate's then lots of tracks would have to shut the gates. Then where you going to "get back to racing" at?
12-03-2018, 04:40 PM
champion24

Quote:

Originally Posted by No_Weak_Links

Be careful what you wish for. You kill crate's then lots of tracks would have to shut the gates. Then where you going to "get back to racing" at?

Can't really get into this yet! Maybe in a few days! Tracks, rules, etc. that many of us have discussed for some time, we will ALL weigh in on it soon! Crate motor racing, for as terrible as some of you think they are, is here to stay!! More & more rules and spec parts are coming and here to stay! I don't see any way to "go back" to many things in racing!!
12-03-2018, 05:07 PM
RaceEngineer

Quote:

Originally Posted by champion24

Can't really get into this yet! Maybe in a few days! Tracks, rules, etc. that many of us have discussed for some time, we will ALL weigh in on it soon! Crate motor racing, for as terrible as some of you think they are, is here to stay!! More & more rules and spec parts are coming and here to stay! I don't see any way to "go back" to many things in racing!!

Spec racing is boring.
12-04-2018, 09:54 AM
hardracer32

CageFaraday, Crates did exactly what they were intended to do. When the class was first introduced there was an influx of people into the sport. Then, because of the advancement of shocks and chassis, the savings of the Crate motor were quickly negated. Are shocks alone going to "SAVE" the sport? Well no! But anything that can be done to help level the playing field and bring down costs is going to help. Just like SPEC engines did for a lot of people when they came out. But, again, that was before bodies got waaay out of hand and the shock technology started running rampant. And I'm not talking about making the low dollar shocks a requirement, I'm just talking about making them an option. Something to help narrow the gap a little. There are still tons of other things that need to be addressed and can be done to reel things back in if promoters will just get together.
12-04-2018, 11:35 AM
MasterSbilt_Racer

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardracer32

CageFaraday, Crates did exactly what they were intended to do. When the class was first introduced there was an influx of people into the sport. Then, because of the advancement of shocks and chassis, the savings of the Crate motor were quickly negated. Are shocks alone going to "SAVE" the sport? Well no! But anything that can be done to help level the playing field and bring down costs is going to help. Just like SPEC engines did for a lot of people when they came out. But, again, that was before bodies got waaay out of hand and the shock technology started running rampant. And I'm not talking about making the low dollar shocks a requirement, I'm just talking about making them an option. Something to help narrow the gap a little. There are still tons of other things that need to be addressed and can be done to reel things back in if promoters will just get together.

I see typical double adjustable Ohlins run top 10 in Crown Jewels. Please explain what is happening with shocks?
12-04-2018, 02:22 PM
hardracer32

MasterSbilt_Racer What is happening with shocks is the cost of them has increased literally 10x what they were just a few years ago. I don't have a clue what a "typical double adjustable Ohlins" costs, but I do know that your top of the line shocks that are being run by most competitive teams are well over $1,000 each! I don't see how you can think that's not an issue, especially in the Crate class. The cost of a DLM has more than doubled with just a handful of changes in shock and chassis technology. I.E. Docol tubing, canister shocks, stacked spring set-ups, etc.. All of those things have contributed to the fact that it now takes more HP than ever in order to run with the big dogs, which means that the cost of engines has gone up tremendously. The Super class has all but disappeared on weekly basis where I live. Now tell me how we shouldn't take steps to lessen the cost that it takes to be competitive. If someone can bring out a product that allows racers to go out and be competitive, and do it cheaper than the next guy, it can't do anything but help racing. There will be those who will still go out and spend $100k to build a car, but if there are rules in place, and components that people can use that will allow them to compete without having to spend that much money, then car counts will go up and racing will be better. I would love to expound more but I really hate typing and I'm at work. I think it would be cool to sit down and have this conversation in person with some folks though.
12-04-2018, 04:22 PM
MasterSbilt_Racer

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardracer32

MasterSbilt_Racer What is happening with shocks is the cost of them has increased literally 10x what they were just a few years ago. I don't have a clue what a "typical double adjustable Ohlins" costs, but I do know that your top of the line shocks that are being run by most competitive teams are well over $1,000 each! I don't see how you can think that's not an issue, especially in the Crate class. The cost of a DLM has more than doubled with just a handful of changes in shock and chassis technology. I.E. Docol tubing, canister shocks, stacked spring set-ups, etc.. All of those things have contributed to the fact that it now takes more HP than ever in order to run with the big dogs, which means that the cost of engines has gone up tremendously. The Super class has all but disappeared on weekly basis where I live. Now tell me how we shouldn't take steps to lessen the cost that it takes to be competitive. If someone can bring out a product that allows racers to go out and be competitive, and do it cheaper than the next guy, it can't do anything but help racing. There will be those who will still go out and spend $100k to build a car, but if there are rules in place, and components that people can use that will allow them to compete without having to spend that much money, then car counts will go up and racing will be better. I would love to expound more but I really hate typing and I'm at work. I think it would be cool to sit down and have this conversation in person with some folks though.

I guess what I am saying is you don't have to have those shocks to run well. You can have a set that costs $1500 bucks and your car work VERY well. You won't have some of the crazy stuff I have heard and seen that the Lucas Oil Heroes are running, but you will have competitive equipment. The average racer will screw his car up with 4 way adjustable shocks. Bloomer may have position-dependent damping, but you don't need it to dominate your local FASTRAK race.

I am also glad you brought up Docol. All steels have the same stiffness. Chassis are designed for stiffness. Docol just costs more. It doesn't make the stopwatch trip sooner. A lot of money is spent for the latest, greatest and be a pure waste of money.

The biggest reasons the cars take more power now are increased understanding and increased aero. Only one can be fixed with rules. And those rules have been ignored or changed in the wrong direction for years.
12-04-2018, 05:28 PM
Krooser

We had full fields of late models when we ran sealed oil shocks...light medium and heavy.
12-04-2018, 06:56 PM
fastford

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardracer32

CageFaraday, Crates did exactly what they were intended to do. When the class was first introduced there was an influx of people into the sport. Then, because of the advancement of shocks and chassis, the savings of the Crate motor were quickly negated. Are shocks alone going to "SAVE" the sport? Well no! But anything that can be done to help level the playing field and bring down costs is going to help. Just like SPEC engines did for a lot of people when they came out. But, again, that was before bodies got waaay out of hand and the shock technology started running rampant. And I'm not talking about making the low dollar shocks a requirement, I'm just talking about making them an option. Something to help narrow the gap a little. There are still tons of other things that need to be addressed and can be done to reel things back in if promoters will just get together.

I dont really remember a " influx of people" , most racers came from other classes , they either moved up or down .....
12-04-2018, 08:55 PM
No_Weak_Links

You guys need to embrace the crates. Most tracks can't afford to run supers on a regular basis, but most fans love late models. These crate guys are what's keeping the lights on and the gates unlocked at these tracks so that supers can come in once a month or so and run their big shows. I love supers as much as anyone on here, but the days of weekly supers is gone, and once a month is better than tracks closing. Like I said I know it's a compromise, but it's better than the alternative.
12-05-2018, 07:57 AM
Punisher88

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterSbilt_Racer

I guess what I am saying is you don't have to have those shocks to run well. You can have a set that costs $1500 bucks and your car work VERY well. You won't have some of the crazy stuff I have heard and seen that the Lucas Oil Heroes are running, but you will have competitive equipment. The average racer will screw his car up with 4 way adjustable shocks. Bloomer may have position-dependent damping, but you don't need it to dominate your local FASTRAK race.I am also glad you brought up Docol. All steels have the same stiffness. Chassis are designed for stiffness. Docol just costs more. It doesn't make the stopwatch trip sooner. A lot of money is spent for the latest, greatest and be a pure waste of money.The biggest reasons the cars take more power now are increased understanding and increased aero. Only one can be fixed with rules. And those rules have been ignored or changed in the wrong direction for years.

Exactly. I still have the same set of Ohlins I bought new in 2008. Only thing that's be changes is some heim ends and the body on the Rr last year. I promise with the help I receive from Kirk Loudy at Envy I'm not lacking in shock department. You cant tell me they haven't been worth the 500 a piece I paid for them back then..
12-05-2018, 10:52 AM
CageFaraday

Quote:

Originally Posted by fastford

I dont really remember a " influx of people" , most racers came from other classes , they either moved up or down .....

Exactly. Crate started out cheap, but wasn't drawing huge numbers so they jacked up the purse to Super levels and that made a ton of folks quit running "Limited and Super" to create the crate class of today. Nobody deals with the inherent issue of why these expensive items are needed, they just keep adding band aides and finding ways to line their own pockets. He had the same knee jerk reaction on seats a couple of seasons back and when I approached him about how his Nascar seat was going to lead to entrapments for larger drivers, he told me, "Don't worry I've got a blanket and we'll come get you." WTH? I'm not waiting in a burning car for you to bring me a blanket, I want out. I shared that to demonstrate the lack of critical thinking at work. The motivation is money for FASTRAK, not saving anyone any money, that's secondary. Deal with the real AERO/Sealed off issues and the shock issue dies on its on.