mile dirt tracks

[jhanson]

I saw ARCA racing on dirt at the Springfield mile (DuQuoin has a dirt mile also) What is the difference between an ARCA engine and a dirt late model engine. I've heard that dirt late models can't take a mile track. Is this true ?
Jim Hanson

[Eagle One Fab]

It’s nothing to do with engine. It’s the frame design. John Mason took a nasty spill in Dyracuse on the mile. Some one would be serious hurt if not killed.

[SLIDING SIDEWAYS]

So one would have to have a special built late model to run the 1 mile.

[brsteg]

So one would have to have a special built late model to run the 1 mile.

Define have to? They could run them, but they'd be sketchy as heck as far as safety.

As far as engines; it'd be hard on them. Not that they couldn't last, but it'd take all 9 lives out of them, and their'd be some that wouldn't make it.

ARCA Illmor motors are steel block with a rev limit if not a gear rule. Late Model engines are basically wide open, and they'd test the limits.

[chathamracefan]

Late models ran the Springfield mile from early 90's to probably 2005 or so. The car count was in the 50's in some of those years but dropped off by the end. Everything is stressed so hard on these cars today (especially the motor) even on 1/4 or 1/2 miles that a mile race would have to pay on order of $30k to win and a good payback to make it worth the risk of popping a motor on the big track.

Look what happens when they try to go to somewhere like Terre Haute even (big flat 1/2 mile) for a summer national show. Car count drops from maybe in the 30's to barely 20 cars.

[Highside Hustler25]

Late models ran the Springfield mile from early 90's to probably 2005 or so. The car count was in the 50's in some of those years but dropped off by the end. Everything is stressed so hard on these cars today (especially the motor) even on 1/4 or 1/2 miles that a mile race would have to pay on order of $30k to win and a good payback to make it worth the risk of popping a motor on the big track.

Look what happens when they try to go to somewhere like Terre Haute even (big flat 1/2 mile) for a summer national show. Car count drops from maybe in the 30's to barely 20 cars.

Exactly.
The UMP/Dirtcar Fall Nationals were held at the Springfield Mile for years. Back when it first started, Late models were nowhere near as fast as they are today. Add in no banking, and a guardrail for a wall, and you can see why car counts dwindled. One of the last Fall National races I saw there, Darren Miller and Birky put on quite the show. They were heads above the rest of the field. Brian Shirley was in a modified at the time and had a good race with Kelly Shyrock. I was told UMP parted ways with the track because of safety reasons as well as being too hard on equipment.
The Springfield Mile used to be my last race of the year for a long time. Miss that place. The only time I go now is for the American Flat Track race in Aug.

[kazual]

Late model components, parts and engines have become so specialized as to be too delicate for big tracks, even big half miles.

[Jking24]

You think people whine about aero now

[chathamracefan]

Exactly.
The UMP/Dirtcar Fall Nationals were held at the Springfield Mile for years. Back when it first started, Late models were nowhere near as fast as they are today. Add in no banking, and a guardrail for a wall, and you can see why car counts dwindled. One of the last Fall National races I saw there, Darren Miller and Birky put on quite the show. They were heads above the rest of the field. Brian Shirley was in a modified at the time and had a good race with Kelly Shyrock. I was told UMP parted ways with the track because of safety reasons as well as being too hard on equipment.
The Springfield Mile used to be my last race of the year for a long time. Miss that place. The only time I go now is for the American Flat Track race in Aug.

The modified portion of that race used to actually be better than the late models. Mods drew north of 60 for car count. Want to say there were a couple years where mods were around 80 or 90 cars and put on great racing. That all ended after George Handley got killed in a crash at the mile in 2002. Car count dropped off massively after that & the event in total was gone within 3 or 4 years of that. And as mentioned, the tech on these cars has changed so much since then to render it not feasible. The mods run as a companion to silver crown at DuQuoin and draw like 20 cars at most for 2,000 to win.

[Highside Hustler25]

The modified portion of that race used to actually be better than the late models. Mods drew north of 60 for car count. Want to say there were a couple years where mods were around 80 or 90 cars and put on great racing. That all ended after George Handley got killed in a crash at the mile in 2002. Car count dropped off massively after that & the event in total was gone within 3 or 4 years of that. And as mentioned, the tech on these cars has changed so much since then to render it not feasible. The mods run as a companion to silver crown at DuQuoin and draw like 20 cars at most for 2,000 to win.

A little off topic, actually a lot. Do they still have the Chatham Chip throwing contest? I miss driving by that water tower on my way to the marina on Lake Springfield.

[chathamracefan]

Yes they do still have the cow chip throw during the sweet corn festival. Mid July and always falls on the hottest 2 or 3 day stretch of the summer.

[dirtcrazy4u]

Syracuse, each October ran on the mile. The board said no more and it ended all racing. The eastern big block mods and the woo spring cars ran there. Speeds were incredible at the end of the straights. The woo quit going because of that and also because the outcome of a crash most certainly would have been quite possibly devastating. It was the indy 500 for the big block guys. The woo, they pulled out before that.

[turnleftandgasit]

I think it was Kevin Weaver that said he saw things shake and break that he had never seen shake or break on a LM.

[chathamracefan]

I attended a WoO sprint show at the Springfield Mile in late 90's. They did it 2 years & a 3rd year got rained out & never rescheduled. The year I went, Sammy Swindell set quick time with a lap in the 24 second bracket in qualifying. Late models there were fast but the sprints were beyond crazy fast. Fortunately no bad crashes occurred as those could have gotten real ugly at the speeds they were going.

Not sure if WoO went back to Cuse after those Springfield races or if Springfield was the last of running on a mile track.

[Highside Hustler25]

A little Springfield Mile History.

WoO sanctioned the Springfield Mile thru 2002. (Birky)
Dirtcar sanctioned in 2003. (Lanigan)
Stacker2Extreeme 2004 (Birky)
Stacker2/WoO/UMP 2005 (Bloomer)
UMP sanctioned 2006 (Miller) < last year they ran on the mile.

The race was labeled as the Fall Nationals and was moved to LaSalle in 2007 (Jeep)
I believe it was rained out in 2008. (scheduled @LaSalle.) By 2010 the event was moved to Eldora.

[Rocky]

Chargin ’ Charlie Swartz at Springfield.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WKmULE5Oljo

[Highside Hustler25]

Jeff Purvis 1984

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cxtw6Wo23Y

[427c.i.]

We never went back after the mod fatality in 2002, I don't think the cars are built for those speeds. I remember Steve Sheppard got turned around on the backstretch going into three and it seemed like the car slid forever before hitting the guardrail hard. Car was a mess/junk and Steve was pretty banged up.
Racing is a dangerous sport, I get that but when you put cars that are not designed/built for the speeds a mile track produces, bad things have more of a potential to happen. I don't go to the races to see bad things happen.

[jhanson]

????? Is the roll cage safer in ARCA than in dirt late models ? How fast could an ARCA car turn a lap at a mile dirt track as compared to today's dirt late model ? How does the horse power of ARCA engines compared to dirt late model engines ? How does the gearing of ARCA cars compare to the gearing of dirt late models ?
I like racing but I don't know the fine points of these cars.
Thank you,
Jim Hanson P.S. I'm assuming dirt late models have a better tire for dirt than ARCA ?????

[Rocky]

An ARCA car is practically an M1 Abrams main battle tank compared to a dirt late model. It has a steel body DLM has a body made of flimsy aluminum. An ARCA chassis is perimeter, which means that it goes way over to the passenger door. A DLM chassis is offset, the cage stops around a foot and a half to the right of the driver. An ARCA car weighs 3500 lbs a DLM weighs 2300 lbs. An ARCA car I believe has 550 horsepower a DLM has depending on who you ask 800 to 900 horsepower. How much faster? They’re 9 seconds faster than the NASCAR trucks at Eldora. The answer? I don’t know, but way, way faster.