Timothy Culp getting out of racing?

[Flathead]

If he thinks cheating is bad in late models he's going to be in for a big surprise in a mod.

[Clayton_Wetter]

Sounds like the have nots get a thrill when the do haves falter.

[kidrock]

Fact 1: More rules NEVER decrease the cost of racing. Look at IndyCar. That is complete spec class and it is super expensive. Makes late models look like bombers from a cost perspective. And don't get me started on F1. Tons of rules and regulations. Tens of millions of dollars to even get a seat at the table.

Fact 2: Not enforcing rules ALWAYS increases the cost of racing. If you have rule that says, "no widgets", and you throw out any car with a widget on it, nobody goes and spends money on widgets. But if you allow one or two guys to run widgets because you don't want to tick them off, then EVERYBODY has to go buy widgets to be competitive.

What the late model sanctions have done is quite a force multiplier by continuing to ADD more and more rules while simultaneously continuing to NOT enforce any of the rules that they have. Hell when was the last time you even saw something as simple as engine setback measured at the track. It's complete incompetence from the top down. It grew too big too fast with a lot of mismanagement the entire way. The sport hasn't had a real visionary at the top since Bob Memmer. Everything since then has been a series of carnival barkers. And this "council" that they created which consists only of people who stand to PROFIT by separating racers from their money is an absolute joke.

You have to have SOME rules but if you don't enforce them, adding more rules is stupid. And that's exactly what they continue to do. K.I.S.S. But they don't so we will all be kissing late model racing goodbye if someone doesn't step up with some serious leadership and leave everyone's' egos in the dust.

Matt, you are spot on. It never makes sense to add more rules when you don't enforce the written rules you already have. For Promoters it's a double edge sword. You enforce the rules you piss some off and you potentially lose some drivers, you don't enforce the rules you potentially lose some drivers but, I believe you should enforce the rules.

[kidrock]

If he thinks cheating is bad in late models he's going to be in for a big surprise in a mod.

Or any other class for that matter

[GrocMax]

Culpuppy raced outlaw style mods for years in the ark-la-tex and OK regions. One of his better cars was an absolute frankenstein deal, one make front grafted onto a rear of another cause they were both wrecked bad.

[grt74]

here is the biggest problem with super lates, they are by far the most complex and engineered race car in motorsports, and that was said by a top engineer (f1, nascar, trophy truck guy)
and now that rumley fired the first shot, the top guys have picked up the pace, and i don't see any of that going away, even if they have rules enforced, or make new ones
so if your not willing to work and learn all of this stuff you'll fall behind quicker have to pay to keep up (and thats what most do) this game has become a never ending hunting trip

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

here is the biggest problem with super lates, they are by far the most complex and engineered race car in motorsports, and that was said by a top engineer (f1, nascar, trophy truck guy)
and now that rumley fired the first shot, the top guys have picked up the pace, and i don't see any of that going away, even if they have rules enforced, or make new ones
so if your not willing to work and learn all of this stuff you'll fall behind quicker have to pay to keep up (and thats what most do) this game has become a never ending hunting trip

Most complex machine in Motorsports? Lol.

[getinit]

here is the biggest problem with super lates, they are by far the most complex and engineered race car in motorsports, and that was said by a top engineer (f1, nascar, trophy truck guy)
and now that rumley fired the first shot, the top guys have picked up the pace, and i don't see any of that going away, even if they have rules enforced, or make new ones
so if your not willing to work and learn all of this stuff you'll fall behind quicker have to pay to keep up (and thats what most do) this game has become a never ending hunting trip

I agree.

I know of one engineer that has been in the sport since at least 2001. He came from Nascar and was working with the 2001 world 100 winner, the next year he moved on to another driver who won the world that year. Even after being told "you guys can't beat me". This engineer brought some knowledge to an area of the car that is still a big expense today.

The difference I have seen over the last 35 years is tech inspections. I know I'm exaggerating some by saying this, but it's almost as if it looks like a racecar it is allowed to race. Man, it used to be a big feat to get something by the officials, now it's like they look with their eyes closed, if they look at all.

I don't see any of it changing as long as there is inheritance money, big insurance and lawsuit settlements & big business involvement.

[Josh Bayko]

here is the biggest problem with super lates, they are by far the most complex and engineered race car in motorsports, and that was said by a top engineer (f1, nascar, trophy truck guy)
and now that rumley fired the first shot, the top guys have picked up the pace, and i don't see any of that going away, even if they have rules enforced, or make new ones
so if your not willing to work and learn all of this stuff you'll fall behind quicker have to pay to keep up (and thats what most do) this game has become a never ending hunting trip

Most complex in motorsports? Not a chance. Most complex on dirt? For sure.

[hucktyson]

You can only spend soo much money for sooo long with no results. There are no billionaire car owners out there and millions won’t last long pissing away money like that ...

[hucktyson]

When father in law pays the bills you have to do why he says ..... he could always start culp heating and air and then he spend the money how ever he wants. Rich guys didn’t get that way by being stupid , it doesn’t matter how much you spend ifnyou don’t have World Class Talent on the wheel you aren’t going to beat those guys. Once they realize that they either get a World Class wheel man or quit

[a25rjr]

here is the biggest problem with super lates, they are by far the most complex and engineered race car in motorsports, and that was said by a top engineer (f1, nascar, trophy truck guy) and now that rumley fired the first shot, the top guys have picked up the pace, and i don't see any of that going away, even if they have rules enforced, or make new ones so if your not willing to work and learn all of this stuff you'll fall behind quicker have to pay to keep up (and thats what most do) this game has become a never ending hunting trip

Maybe most complex in adjustability! If you apply the MN rule from algebra class, there is literally over a million chassis setup combinations.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Culp set the world on fire when he got that first xR1 car. He may have had too much success too early.

[Zonks32x]

So who's gonna call Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Vettel and tell them to "step up" their games, "step out" of the technoligically inferior world of Formula 1, and "step into" the most advanced race machine on the planet...the Dirt Late Model!?!?

Seriously...we all love our little world of DLM, but to try to compare a rocket, longhorn, or bloomer car to the Mercedes or Ferrari F1 machines in terms of which one is more complex.....c'mon. All because one Nascar guy said so.

Anyone watch the Lewis Hamilton/Tony Stewart deal at Watkins Glen a few years ago??

They turn laps in the other's car.
Hamilton jumps into Stewart's Cup car, buckles up takes off, and turns faster laps then Tony did.

I find F1 racing boring to watch, but to say those cars are not complex....I can't buy that one, sorry.

[Kwd1253]

^^ some people try blow smoke up people ass. F1, gt prototype, are way more complex. Think only reason he believes it more complex he don't understand late model because he don't have a computer sending information back to trailer while racing or some guy making millions to get information to set the car for him. Someone has be pure fool believe sdlm are the most complex cars in the world of racing.

[93Nelson]

IMO racing is meant for a hobby, not a job. Racing across the board would be better kept that way. If you made it your job, that's your fault.

Everyone is to blame for cost. Racers, promotors/sanctions, and manufacturers. Everyone.

It will come full circle and maybe douche itself. There needs to be a time when we sit back and see what this sport needs to be.

I race a sport mod and I don't see myself moving up to a full blown mod. I'm smart enough to know I don't need to spend more money to maybe have more of a "thrill" on the weekends. I'm almost as fast as them anyway so who cares. If I had to even drop back down to a FWD to have fun I would. My balls aren't that big.

One thing I know is I won't sit on here and be all "doom and gloom" about what's going on. I'm gonna enjoy while we can so just go have fun!

[CageFaraday]

Supers are going to be gone locally in the next 5 years completely. You will have a MAX of 50 teams and its everyones fault from the car builders to the shock guys to the engine builders. When there is only that many teams wait to see the price of everything.

Yes and No. While the chassis guys, the shock guys and the engine guys keep coming up with more and more expensive pieces, they are only responding to the demand of their customers. The customers keep demanding more because Sanctions and track operators left the proverbial gate open 20 years ago and the bull has been roaming free ever since, wreaking havoc and destroying things. We had plenty of rules back then, if enforced and with a few tweaks could've kept things more in check and stable. It is the responsibility of sanctions and track owners to keep and eye on the health of the sport, they dictate how level or UN-level the playing field is. It is a racers duty, his purpose, his obligation to seek ways of becoming faster within the rule structure set forth by sanctions and tracks, so lets put the blame where it goes. For decades I've watched tech men locally and nationally let things slide, inch by inch, only striking down the most gross offender. We don't need a bunch of new strict rules, just some reasonable ones enforced that un-hook the cars. If we un-hook the cars the need for 900HP goes away and the costs will come down in the engine area. If we make it where the cars no longer hike up then a lot of the aero expenses go away. Yes racers will have to come up with some new different approaches to try and regain lost performance, but that's okay, we just need to make the money they spend less effective. Less traction equals lower cost.

At the end of the day the sanctioning bodies are the ones to blame. They could enforce rules that would keep costs down, especially with the bodies. Get rid of the huge noses, square off the bodies, get the body panels up off the ground, and slow them down. That would reduce costs and make the racing better.

Yes, we are in complete agreement.

The sanctioning bodies are 99% to blame for the increased cost. When they allowed the spread bore motors, the genie was out of the bottle and there is no putting it back in. All of the other technology in terms or aero and shocks that has come about is a direct result of hooking up that extra 150-200HP that the tires just weren't designed to be able to handle.

Exactamundo my friend.

Nope. Racers are their own worst enemies when it comes to cost, and the part manufacturers are only feeding the demand set by the consumer. The only way sanctioning bodies can control costs is to spec parts (what IMCA has done to an extent), and then everyone b1tches about restricting innovation and ability to buy any part they want. Cost is a no win situation.

Its is a racers job to seek more speed, its the nature of racing, but rules can be tailored to make that money less effective.

Did Moyer hurt his feelings?

1 spring rod and he quits? I don't buy that, nope.

here is the biggest problem with super lates, they are by far the most complex and engineered race car in motorsports, and that was said by a top engineer (f1, nascar, trophy truck guy)
and now that rumley fired the first shot, the top guys have picked up the pace, and i don't see any of that going away, even if they have rules enforced, or make new ones
so if your not willing to work and learn all of this stuff you'll fall behind quicker have to pay to keep up (and thats what most do) this game has become a never ending hunting trip

Rumley didn't fire the first shot and DLM's are about as crude a design right now as they have ever been. The original "Wedge" cars were far more sophisticated than the collection of crutches and band aides today's DLM has become. Hanging large junks of aluminum on an axle with a plethora of holes isn't a triumph of engineering. Running around hiked up on (2) solid rods pushed over onto a solid bump and rolled up on a solid bar is an engineering joke, even Rumley himself said if he designed a DLM from scratch his way today, he wouldn't put the suspension under it they run today. He only made the Longhorn better than it was, NOT what he knew was best. Customers want 4 links all jacked up, so that's what they build and sell them. Nothing more.

Most complex machine in Motorsports? Lol.

Complex? Yes. Sophisticated? Not by a country mile.

[Illtsate32]

Cage I agree, how do we get these guys to follow suit? See back before Moyer and these guys became who they are, the sport was bigger than any one racer...back in day a Belle Clair and Highland they had a cubic inch rule, shock rule, open rearend rule. The winner got tore down every nigh pretty much point blank period. I know this dont apply to open motor late models but just giving an example..and they need to unhook the cars to the point that 900hp would be more of a hindrance than advantage, therefore eliminating the need. They will still be fast with 750 hp...

[chopter]

So who's gonna call Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Vettel and tell them to "step up" their games, "step out" of the technoligically inferior world of Formula 1, and "step into" the most advanced race machine on the planet...the Dirt Late Model!?!?

Seriously...we all love our little world of DLM, but to try to compare a rocket, longhorn, or bloomer car to the Mercedes or Ferrari F1 machines in terms of which one is more complex.....c'mon. All because one Nascar guy said so.

Anyone watch the Lewis Hamilton/Tony Stewart deal at Watkins Glen a few years ago??

They turn laps in the other's car.
Hamilton jumps into Stewart's Cup car, buckles up takes off, and turns faster laps then Tony did.

I find F1 racing boring to watch, but to say those cars are not complex....I can't buy that one, sorry.

Then tony buckled in Hamilton's car and beat his lap times.

[Hoosier_Dirt]

IMO racing is meant for a hobby, not a job. Racing across the board would be better kept that way. If you made it your job, that's your fault.

Everyone is to blame for cost. Racers, promotors/sanctions, and manufacturers. Everyone.

It will come full circle and maybe douche itself. There needs to be a time when we sit back and see what this sport needs to be.

I race a sport mod and I don't see myself moving up to a full blown mod. I'm smart enough to know I don't need to spend more money to maybe have more of a "thrill" on the weekends. I'm almost as fast as them anyway so who cares. If I had to even drop back down to a FWD to have fun I would. My balls aren't that big.

One thing I know is I won't sit on here and be all "doom and gloom" about what's going on. I'm gonna enjoy while we can so just go have fun!

Well said!!!!