Quality of current Late Model racing. How good is the racing & could it be better?

[HoosierDirtFan]

Thinking about current late model racing and after watching an episode of Dirt Tracker Daily and the talk
about drivers with bigger engines then others.

What if there was a limit on c.i. engine size like sprint cars have. Maybe all open motor late models are limited to a 420 or 430 motor and maybe it would help with getting the fields closer together and not so much who might have the bigger motor.

We All know just because you have a bigger motor doesn’t necessarily guarantee a win or a good finish but maybe by limiting engine size it might help the quality of the racing on the track and putting teams in the same boat regarding engine size and just let them worry about the setup and driver behind the wheel making the biggest difference.


Just a thought not saying it would work or help but you don’t know unless you try and see how it works out.

[dirtluver]

Isn't that what's hurting Nascar? Everyone is equal and racing there has sucked. I think put the fast cars in the back and let them race to the front. But, thats not the answer either. LOL

[Highside Hustler25]

I think put the fast cars in the back and let them race to the front.

That's the way it was done back in the 70's and the racing was great.

[Morgs153]

In the 70s a good number of drivers (dirt and pavement) were building their own stuff, cars and engines. Some started to shop off the shelf when the stuff like the Howe cars came out and they were still based from a stock stub. The reasons the racing was great was because those fast guys in the back timed in sometimes two seconds faster in time trials, especially on a half mile track. The difference between haves and have nots was bigger and the difference in talent was sometimes bigger. That's a big reason why the racing was more fun and memorable when the fast guys picked their way through a full feature field and got to the front at the end. They were racing against a big difference in equipment and ability. Time and technology changed all that.

Also a reason why local and regional late models are often better to watch than the national tours because they are still a little less predictable. There are still drivers in the early part of the learning curve and maybe new to the class of car as well. Predictable at the national level has about 2/3 of the field in the same chassis, engine and shock package and the rest aren't far off plus the talent level is mostly there as well. Yet we still talk about a small group of usual suspects.

I'm not sure about a cubic inch limit. You just added another task to your tech team for pumping engines. You just added another big expense for teams to chase the next expensive thing which would be - the engine builder who gets the absolute most out of that limit. I can remember when I worked tech and there was a 390 carb rule in our series. To save cost. The tech tools had to fit in all the right places (plates, openings, boosters, booster bridges, etc.) just like the box stock Holley carb we had in the tech trailer. But at the same time NASCAR was also using the 390 in the Busch Series and they ran at restrictor plate tracks. So the big money teams figured out how to rework the 390 and get all those tools to still fit inspection yet make gobs more power from that little carb. You could buy those carbs for $4500+ and that was over twenty years ago. That trickle down technology didn't save anyone a dime. It cost them. Lesson is, be careful what you ask for in rules.

The easiest things to work in involve weight and sheet metal. How heavy you make something and where you have it located and how big or small things like spoilers can be.

[t4g2]

A few things can be done to make racing great for the fans. Start with getting rid of inverts an go back to running dashes. Top 6 run 6 lap dash to see where they start or top 4 depending on car count. Second get rid of Delaware file restarts leader doesn't need an advantage. An get rid of Popsicles sticks gloves all signaling /spotters. There's been races last year because of it made the racing bad.

[84wedge]

I think the answer is in every thread that's more than 4 pages long.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

They can't pass unless it's a banzai slider. We all know why. They've already completely abandoned body rules to pursue unneeded suspension rules. Engine rules aren't needed if the cars aren't glued down.

[zyoung25]

Unhook the cars and rest will take of itself

Where is Clayton with his dead horse GIF?

[kidrock]

I realize they can't start the fast guys in the back because of how close they are in speed today but (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) figure something out. Not much will change until the fans stop showing up or watching the streaming platforms. Which I have done so far this year. I will tune in this weekend since I like Brownstown. It usually puts on some decent racing.

[riddle28]

go look at the photo album DoD just posted of the 95 jackson 100 and look at their nose pieces and flat decks and youll fix most of it right there

[Henry Every]

They can't pass unless it's a banzai slider. We all know why. They've already completely abandoned body rules to pursue unneeded suspension rules. Engine rules aren't needed if the cars aren't glued down.

Precisely. Limiting engine size to a one size fits all is nothing more than an expensive crate division. Why is it so hard for people to understand that AERO is the "KEY" issue? We've been here before, todays car is essentially "Wedge 2.0" and we fixed that by going to smaller bodies and doing away with all the aero goodies. Thank you Bob Memmer, we need another Bob it seems for today, but as of yet they all just tow the line, ignoring the rot at the base of the DLM tree.

https://www.dirttrackdigest.com/dirt...rs-leadership/

Quote from article:
"By the 1980s, the technology being used to develop the division’s top-performing cars was rapidly becoming more and more expensive with the meteoric rise of the wedge-style Late Model. Car builders like CJ Rayburn and Larry Shaw were instrumental in the development of the wedge body – built primarily from sheet metal as opposed to the traditional fiberglass bodies of stock cars.

These new body designs, heavily dependent on the air-catching principles of aerodynamics, quickly became the key to more speed and control on the track. Bigger spoilers and body panels created levels of downforce never before seen in the division, and was complemented by larger engines, more tire wear, and thus, higher costs.

The 1982 and 1983 dirt Late Model racing seasons were reported to have some of the lowest car counts at local Friday/Saturday night venues in several years, and costs were only partly to blame. Rules regarding the new body designs and numerous tire brands/compounds available were different at every track, and in some cases non-existent, which only added to the inconvenience for the weekly racer to compete."

[dirty-white-boy]

Wait....I thought Francis was going to fix everything?

[Jim11h]

Nobody has balls and deep pockets to prove worth of rule change and racing quality

[riddle28]

Wait....I thought Francis was going to fix everything?

its not gonna change until Flo decides it needs to change

[Henry Every]

I'm of the opinion it won't be changed, ever. DLM will continue to technologically and economically leave blue collar dude behind, its captured. I think building a similar class seperate from "Late Model" designation would be a better road going forward. Simply take the aspects of DLM that are the heart of a DLM, but incorporate some new aspects to blunt the aero problem. Something along the lines of the old "Thunder & lightning" cars from the 90's, only with full tube frames and good parts and pieces. I don't see the class known as DLM ever being corrected, it will either remain a toy for the elite or die. Maybe call it "Super Sportsman", but whatever it should NOT be a crate engine powered vehicle, it must have more power than traction and be difficult to drive. IMHO.