Yikes.......
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172mph maybe? I was clocked doing 180 once when my gps said 115... can't always trust the gun... 😉
Back in late 90's Sammy Swindell ran under 25 second lap in quals for Outlaw show at Springfield Mile. If memory serves it was 24.7. Avg speed somewhere around 145 mph so he had to be ticking in the 170's or higher on the straights.
Didn't go to the late model race, but I was at the srpintcar race this weekend. Sunday afternoon was faster than friday night. Gravel said Hafertepe was running without the wicker bills to reduce drag. Anyway, it seemed to me the cars were flat out full throttle all the way around. I don't know if they have a minimum angle of attack on the wings, but I think they could have gained even more speed by laying the wings down quite a bit. Anyway, to the point, I doubt there was huge difference between their peak speed and their average. My guess is that if they were using any brake at all it was only a light tap to turn the car into the corner. At least they looked as if they were going nearly as fast in the corners as they were on the straights and the pitch of the engine changed very little if any at all.Quote:
Hafertepe was up above 142 average sunday.
I'm working on memory now but I believe it is Billy Pauch who turned the fastest lap ever at Syracuse. It was a few ticks slower than Sammy at The Springfield Mile.
Sammy turned a lap on The Springfield Mile at 24.719 in a 410 sprint car on June 7, 1998. That figures out to a 145.637 MPH average. The Illinois State Police had a radar gun set up overlooking the outside wall at the entrance to turn 3 and they announced that Sammy was clocked at just over 176 MPH at the end of the backstretch.
There are those who have measured Springfield and they are adamant regarding their claim that Springfield is longer than a mile even on the very bottom. I've never measured it so I'm only saying what those folks have claimed.
I was there that day Sammy and the boys raced at Springfield and it was frightening how fast those cars were going. I can't imagine how fast a present day 410 would be at Springfield considering the technological advancements of the past 23 years.
The engine technology would probably make the biggest difference from 1998 to today. In a podcast interview of Carl Kinser a while back he said he stays in close contact with the people at Foxco these days. Carl said the people at Foxco are routinely seeing 100 HP more from the 410's on the engine dyno these days as opposed to engine horsepower during his final years as an owner and mechanic. Carl said it's obvious that the horsepower isn't a major factor at bull rings but the longer the track the more that horsepower numbers come into play thus engine horsepower is a more dominant determining factor at a huge place like Springfield. He didn't mention any particular track specifically but I'm sure Springfield would be at the top of the list.
Absolutely correct TDRacing. Brain fade, for sure. Thanks for setting the record straight.