Making modified racing more affordable in central ky

[modmadman]

Here we go again....it was just a few years ago that the local tracks were gonna save all the local racers money by installing a hard tire rule on the modifieds...DIDNT YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THAT AT ALL...It costs us more money now than it did before...if you wanna run the top 10 you better at least have new rear tires every week because all us racers know when the edges are gone the tires are done...You wanna save racers money forget about the tires and worry about where the real money is spent....THE ENGINE...put us all on 604 crate engines AND TECH THEM!!!

[HEAVY DUTY]

My hard tires always held the edges better than my soft tires. They do slow down from heat cycles, Hoosiers are worse than american racers about slowing down.The american racer open comp hard compound stays about the same until it is wore out, but they cut down easier because of the thinner tread and sidewall construction. The G60 is made by Hoosier and American Racer and is the same tread and construction. The crate motors will only work if they have enough power to win without cheating them up.The racetracks do not have the ability, resources, or desire to tech them and keep them legal. Crate motors would cause everyone to have to spend 6000 dollars on a new one or find a used one that may or may not still be legal, which would drive them to another class to use what they already have.The traction control is a valid issue, we are already running against it and that will never change until the tracks and sanctioning bodies start teching it.

[HEAVY DUTY]

What is happening right now is some racers are sitting at home until there is a big show that pays more money because there is no way they can afford to race at a regular show for what the tracks can afford to pay.That will only work for awhile untill the local tracks have to shut down from lack of cars and attendence.Then the series wont have anyplace to race either.The AMS series had to travel all over the place last year to find enough tracks to fill their schedule.I like the AMS and plan to race with them as much as I can,but they only run 1 or 2 nights a year at each track and the track has to worry about what is best for the other 18 or 20 nights they are open.Most of the AMS front runners are buying 2 or more tires at each race anyway, why cant they buy 2 tires to run on the rear at the tracks they are going to. THE G60 Hoosier and American Racer is 20 dollars a tire cheaper than the UMP tire and last 2 to 3 times longer.Less tires to buy, less money to buy the tire, and less motor to be competitive.That is a win win situation for everybody but UMP because UMP gets at least 10 dollars per hoosier EMOD tire whether they are used in UMP or not.That tire money is the reason that UMP is not going to do anything to keep the racers from buying as many tires, and Hoosier sure isnt interested in changing the rules to sell less tires.If you dont think something needs done, just look at the classifieds and see how many racers are selling out completly.

[9modified]

I would love to see this tire change. Gas is going to be over 4.00 a gal this summer and by saving on tires helps me to put more in my tank to get to the track. If we run on the G60 there will be less traction which will help equipment last longer, by not hooking up as hard your engine wear will be a great deal less over a season. You will also use less racing fuel every night of racing. Race fuel 110,112, and 114 is not cheap!! If I can save a couple of gallons a night that adds up. I think this rule should have been put into place a long time ago. I'm Glad Brandon Hardgrove and Joey Tacatt are concerned with racer costs- this says alot about the two guys as promoters.

[HEAVY DUTY]

Lets keep this discussion going.

[dirtmaze3]

Let them run Humpers and sideboards ! Would save on Shocks and Horsepower !

[mudeater18]

I'm all for hard tires only. Even if everything else was equal (speed, wear, price, etc.) it saves us from having to have both compounds mounted. Having fewer wheels saves $$$ as well as the time saved by not switching between races, scaling the car on different sets, grinding extra sets, and cleaning tires that were only on the car for hot laps and maybe a heat race. Less money and less work gets my vote every time.

[carbon fiber]

Its my uderstanding the tires will be 95.00 to the racer.hoosier has 1 and aracer has a g60 that price is needed.All things can be changed- msd boxes-tire softner can be used on any compund-chips can be bypassed-crate engines can e cheated,but the tire construction cannot.We have to put trust in racetracks and series to ck for softner.These tires will result in cheaper engines.Why spend more to race for the same money?.If we try to out spend each other we all will just end up broke.Thanks for trying to help heavy duty mod racing needs cheap tires and engines.

[9modified]

Well said Carbon Fiber!!! I agree with you.

[mudball]

I also agree with tracks running the hard tire rule. Hopefully it would cut cost ,let more racers race and provide closer competition for the fans. The tracks would have to make the time and effort to tech them to keep them legit.

[HEAVY DUTY]

Thanks to everyone who has replied or will reply, this thread is getting a lot of attention by looking at the number of views.I have had guys call my shop from other areas that are multiple feature winners with 750 horse motors that say they wish something like this would be done in their area because it cost them to much to race their motors, but they feel they need to have them to be competitive on the bigger race tracks.When you race on heavy hammerdown race tracks with long straightaways, the only thing that takes the big motor advantage away is tires. These G60 tires are not only a hard compound but also have a stiffer sidewall and narrower tread than the UMP or open tire.You only need as much horsepower as it takes to spin the wheels, A harder stiffer tire is easier to spin and therefore takes less power to do so, and any extra power you have is just wasted money.

[carbon fiber]

i dont blame them for wanting cheaper engines,the racetracks really need to help with this its the only way to get new commers into this sport,and keep every1 else from going bankrupt.Its forcasting there own future.like i said why spend more to race for the same money.put some driving back into these cars.not horsepower!!!

[9modified]

It is the future of our sport. The modified was designed for the average working man, but yet we have 20,000.00 engines and new tires every 2 races. The racers and sanctioning body's have let this get out of hand, we need to get this tire rule going so there will be modifieds on the tracks in the next 2 years. We are in Bad economic times we need this. I know it's hard to change, but we have to start somewhere to save our sport. No doubt it will take time but it needs to be done. I believe this would help excell AMS series if they had this tire.

[HEAVY DUTY]

I know when I first started racing modifieds in 1988 we were running the G60 tire on leaf springs. I had about 3000 dollars in a complete car (homebuilt and engine parts that were blown up left overs) and went to florida for speedweeks and led a lot of laps, was very competitive.Those days are over now but my point is we were racing for 300 or 400 to win with a 3000 dollar car. Now we are racing for 500 or 600 and have 25000 to 40000 dollar cars because the sanctioning bodies havent kept a tight grip on the rules.I know that not everyone has 40000 in their car but quite a few do, That is about the going rate for a name brand chassis and engine combination, race ready.UMP changed the tire rule in 1992 because they could get more money out of hoosier than they could out of McCreary Tire ( american racer now) and our engine costs and tire bills double or maybe tripled at that time.Now our suspensions, shock packages and other technologies have advanced to the point that we have the capability to use 750 hp at some racetracks (not all) and that is what has made the modifieds virtually unaffordable for the average person. By limiting traction with the tire ( not only hardness but also sidewall and tread construction) we can limit the amount of horsepower it takes to be competitive. I had one popular UMP engine builder tell me that he would just as soon build 500 HP motors than 700 HP engines because he didnt have to buy as expensive of parts to make them live and could build them way cheaper and have a bigger customer base.Another one told me that it cost $10000 more to build an 18 degree motor than a 23 degree but that it added 100 HP to the same bottom end combination. We dont need that in modified racing.

[carbon fiber]

All race tracks need to look close at this tire and engine problem,or they wont have to make a rule before long.There wont be any left,like i said before why spend more to race for the same money.Thanks heavy duty for trying to help ever1. i hope some track owners get on here and try to help.

[mudeater18]

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