Question of the Week #3

I’ve really tried to refrain from getting too upset about some of the things I’m hearing lately concerning car count. Me, myself, and I are pretty happy to get to see any supermodified racing at all regardless of how many there are, and like I’ve said in the past, I’m pretty sure too many people are trying to live in the past and not enjoying the present.

So as I sat and tried to find some positives, it struck me that there’s a lot of you that like to throw out reasons or opinions as to why the car count was down at Lancaster or why the SMRA has failed to get over 12 410s to a show, and I thought well there’s the question of the week. Maybe ya’ll do have the answers, and I’m willing to let you put them up here in a public forum for discussion. But here’s the twist, instead of bitching about it and giving me your opinions filled with blame, let’s ‘offer up probable solutions to the negative.”

What three things would you do to increase and stabilize supermodified car counts?

Now list three things and feel free to expand on it. If you tell me something obvious like “make everybody get along”, I’m gonna clobber ya. If yer brave enough to say it back it up with facts and plausible solutions. If ya just wanna piss and moan…well…you know.

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Scott Endres

Dan,
I pretty much agree with what you say with exception of weight with driver.A low budget team like us are under-horsepowered compared to most teams and can’t afford to buy better heads,etc. to increase that.Maybe the heavier guys could lose some weight?Our advantage is that Vern weighs about 140.Still doesn’t compare to being 20+ less on horsepower.
One other thing I feel would help is that everyone get together and work out the schedules so they don’t conflict with each other.Example is the end of Sept. show @ Berlin for ISMA & MSA/Oswego the same weekend only 4 hours away from each other.Everone needs to work together for the betterment of Supers.
Dan Zirzow

I agree Bobby, car counts so far have been nice. Problem with the supers is after the crash, having the parts to fix the car.

The biggest, and easiest to identify, is the different car specs from the 3 organizations here on the East coast (ISMA, MSA, and Oswego). If these specs can be combined with common grounds, the rest will take car of itself.

The difference between the series should be changes on car which you would normally expect to change when you travel to a different track. IE, spring rates, stagger, shocks, gear. For Oswego, this should be a wing on/off issue.

Today, bigger teams have Oswego only cars, and then wing only cars. Now, some of the Wing cars are not compatible with each other series (aero tubing, etc). A wing car shouldn’t have to take off a wing and then add an “aero body” to the car. Build up the back tails of the car with a spoiler built in and be done – same body with or without wings. Compromise: ISMA/MSA dictate back bodies/tails, whatever you want to call it. Oswego, eliminate the right side flat body panel.

Let the individual series still dictate purse, point structures, tire rules to benefit that series. However, do not box in the rules so the whole car is illegal (yes, easier from management knowing if you pi** off a competitor there is no other game in town to run that car).

Weight: weight the car with the driver. Why should a 100 pound driver get a break over someone who is 300 pounds? 200 pound weight difference is huge in these machines! If a car owner, I should go to Louisville and look for a horse jockey to be my driver because I already have the weight advantage.

Weight part 2: (I’ll use this towards the 3 suggestions) if someone’s car is legal in another series, but not your own… use the traditional equalizer for racing: add weight to the car. If you are going to have aero tubing on the car, add 50-100 lbs (or whatever is deemed fair). Your running an IFS, same concept. Your not forbiding the car and team to compete, but you may have a chance to pick up another team or team.

For each additional team, the track promoter gets some happier people in the stands with larger car counts, he also gets more pit pass revenue and filled seats in the grandstands following that additional driver!

I hope one day this discussion becomes why the East coast and West coast cars are not the same rules. In a perfect world, they would line up coast to caost with car compatibility. Hmmmm, I think dirt sprint cars kinda went that route and Ted Johnson came along and created the World of Outlaws. The WoO would never have worked without local team support where they traveled. But the local sprint cars were close enough in rules, they could compete with the WoO. Knoxville will always be Knoxville and it did not lose any prestige with the WoO, and so will Oswego and the Classic be the same for the Supers.