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Sam
As you know, I've been involved with racing for a long time, 55 years to be exact. This has given me a unique perspective on our sport. Right now, I think that weekly DLM racing is in deep trouble. On the National level, we have allowed the big $$ teams to dictate the rule packages which we race under. As weekly racers, it's no longer possible to compete with the travelling teams, yet we race under the same rules package. You know as well as I do that this is driving racers away from weekly tracks. We simply can't keep going in this direction. We can't restrict engines, there's already too many wide bore and exotic engines out there. We can't regulate shocks, even though they're out of control. We CAN however regulate the bodies. (1) Bring the noses back to 48" with a variation of 2" from side to side. That will also increase the angle of the noses, reducing the wedge effect. (2) The decks should return to flat and level. Use a string line from the back of the hood to the base of the spoiler. The deck must not deviate more than 1" from the string. (3) Reduce the spoiler height to 6". (4) remove the "dish" from the right side doors.
All of the above changes will work to unhook the cars, taking away some of the engine dependence. These things can all be measured quickly, using only a tape measure. There are other places that can be addressed but those 4 simple changes will help. Additionally, maybe it's time to put a group together a group of racers, promoters, owners and builders to discuss where we are headed. I'm talking about weekly guys, not national racers! Let's work together to bring Bob Memmer's vision back to weekly racing. It's time to divorce ourselves from the National touring series. The "Next Level" isn't working out as we thought!
As you know, I've been involved with racing for a long time, 55 years to be exact. This has given me a unique perspective on our sport. Right now, I think that weekly DLM racing is in deep trouble. On the National level, we have allowed the big $$ teams to dictate the rule packages which we race under. As weekly racers, it's no longer possible to compete with the travelling teams, yet we race under the same rules package. You know as well as I do that this is driving racers away from weekly tracks. We simply can't keep going in this direction. We can't restrict engines, there's already too many wide bore and exotic engines out there. We can't regulate shocks, even though they're out of control. We CAN however regulate the bodies. (1) Bring the noses back to 48" with a variation of 2" from side to side. That will also increase the angle of the noses, reducing the wedge effect. (2) The decks should return to flat and level. Use a string line from the back of the hood to the base of the spoiler. The deck must not deviate more than 1" from the string. (3) Reduce the spoiler height to 6". (4) remove the "dish" from the right side doors.
All of the above changes will work to unhook the cars, taking away some of the engine dependence. These things can all be measured quickly, using only a tape measure. There are other places that can be addressed but those 4 simple changes will help. Additionally, maybe it's time to put a group together a group of racers, promoters, owners and builders to discuss where we are headed. I'm talking about weekly guys, not national racers! Let's work together to bring Bob Memmer's vision back to weekly racing. It's time to divorce ourselves from the National touring series. The "Next Level" isn't working out as we thought!
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