What wins more races? Big motors or set-up?

We know the answer. My real question is why don't more people take time to educate themselves on vehicle dynamics instead of spending thousands of dollars on more HP when they wasn't hooking up what they had?

Setup and the ability to read the surface of the track n pick a shock combo and tire that'd be there at the end.

This day and age horsepower is a must to start up front in the feature by a) qualifiying well or b) finishing up front in heat race to start up front in feature. Not saying big motor wins races but does help with track position when they pay the big bucks

Horse power is great, but means nothing if the car wont go around the track, or hook it up to the track... jmo...

Mullins outlaw headed 400 won a lot of races and the big engine was great when the track was heavy but the Mullins spec head motor was alot smoother and the 8" tire is much easier to hookup. Go to Valousia, Eldora, Hartford, Knoxville, bulls gap even Portsmouth and u will be wanting that extra hp there's no denying that 1..setup on average tracks and good smooth engine you'll be ahead of the game. Main thing is whats the track like in the feature? If its heavy hammer down early and shiny slick late, I'd take the smooth motor as them heat races don't pay the bills, heavy all night u may want some power but still boils down to setup, tires and looking past the air cleaner..

I would rather have 600 than 700hp most of the time. If you are running at Volusia, Eldora, or hammer down 1/2 miles, you need the 750 plus motors for a little while. They will hurt you at most tracks, unless you detune them somehow. However, we won the UMP Nationals, and the 4 Crown at Eldora with a 587 HP Ford engine. I think an average racer needs to decide where he is going to race before he decides which engine to build , or buy. One question I have is, are you ever wide open off the corner and down the straightaway ? If you are and people are diving away from you, you might need more engine. If you aren't, and people are driving away from you , you probably need to work on setup.

HD, I agree, you are so right!!! JMO

Heavy Duty is spot on. Just to add, there are more 550hp 800hp engines than there is 800 hp 550hp engines. I good solid 600hp powerplant is really fewer than most realize. Of course there are some but not NEAR as many as people think.587 on whose dyno? That could be 750 on some dyno's. LOLIf you are holding it wide open all the way around and your not spinning the wheels and they are leaving you then more horsepower is probably needed. You hold 600 honest hp wide open all the way around without being gear bound and you'll likely be up front or on the way there.

Sad thing is most guys will drop $5000 to $10000 on a engine , but won't spend $500 to have someone set up the chassis . I can't tell you how many times I've had cars come to me and they have no variety of springs and shocks , or steering isn't centered , or ' what's bump steer ' . Situation is better today than it used to be . Still a lot go by setup sheets , but don't know why the car does what it does .

funny thing
back in 2009, had a new car and put a 18º top end on great motor.
made more power, but a bit less torque. car was awesome, and drove great. tracks were heavy then slicked off in main. excellent results most of the year.
toward the end of year, lots of rain, car just seemed to labor, and boggy.
changed some things around, and still same results, kinda a turd. Changed cams. no dice. went to alky... no help.
finished year out, and it felt like we needed more power.
2010 new car (different mfg) had headwork done, stroked motor, changed cam again.
just before start of season (2010) found cells in the battery were not right, was not producing the proper voltage to MSD in 2009. hmmm probably problem in 2009????
Put in new battery, and of course had all new ignition in new car, and wow. could not contain the power.
Car could not handle it.
had to detune motor, and begin working on setup. and work, and work. got the car ok, but still not great. 5 wins
worked on same car for 2011 season. car was much better, turned motor back up and continued to get better all year. 6 wins

2012 freshened same motor, went back to a proven chassis builder, with good setups...wow...21 wins in 42 nights.
10+ 2nd place finishes.

moral of the story
SET-UP, SET-UP, SET-UP. work with proven chassis builder.

Not that 2010, 2011 was a wash. learned spring behind set-ups, what to do and what not to do. but definitely a learning experience.

I still do not know it all, (few do) and thanks to a lot of notes, we can get it pretty close most of the time.

Just curious, which chassis brands?

setup wins over motor why would guys be switching to crate motors in imca ruled mods.in 2006 we had 17 out of 19 nights with top 5 finishes(avg. over 35 cars per night)5 wins including a 11th place at a usmts show with a 355.the following season put a 400+cid motor in results were 1 win and only 4 top 5 finishes .both cases were at muliple tracks same car pretty much same compeition

Love the feedback guys