Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I ' d like to know what your feelings are about a tire rule or no tire Rule ? Does sprint car racing need it ? does it save costs ? and what opinion do you have on this issue .

The more rules you have, The more problems you have!!! I have been envolved in racing for 29 years, everytime the promotos make a new rule( tire rule, wickerbill...) They say it will save racers money!!!!!LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL. No track promotor will save a racer money, said racer will buy another motor, car, hauler..........................

I have always tried to get a rule added that allowed 1 tire from each of the manufacturers. It would be the same rule that is in place now, only you can choose which brand you want to run. For the 360's , use the Hoosier MED as a basline, then find the equal tire from Goodyear and American Racer. Then I think we would see tire prices go down a little. Sure there will once again be tire deals, but if you are good enough to get a tire deal, good for you. It's not like there aren't deals still in place right now anyway. But since I drive a car, none of the rule makers will listen to me, I am not adding any weight to their wallets.....

If you do away with tire rules, you take money out of promoters' pockets that they are receiving from Goodyear/Hoosier/etc. to be the "official" tire of the series. With most promoters hurting right now, it's hard for them to justify that.

Are more open tire rules better for the car owner? Yes, but in today's economic context, that's not enough.

National Sprint Car & Midget Examiner
http://tinyurl.com/r4opgk

Some promoters take that money right out of their pockets and buy themselves fancy new things....Tire rules are a joke. I do think a good idea would be to have the manufacturers make a yearly point fund and pay out to the drivers that run their tire all year. Screw the promoters, the drivers need the money more. I know Goodyear provides "point fund" money to tracks, but how much of that money is actually going to the sprint car point fund?

PS...how good are tire rules when you have to buy a different tire for every 3 tracks you race? Is that really saving money? Also, if it was an open tire rule, there would be a lot more of a used tire selection for "low" budget teams. Something to think about.

That idea is the best for keeping costs down as each manufacturer would have to "sharpen their pencil" to sell you their tire for a better cost than the competitor. The rule should state that the governing body (of whichever series you are running) would have to approve the tires at the beginning of the year. That would prevent a manufacturer from unveiling a new, more expensive tire that was so good, you couldn't compete without it, during the middle of the year.

Your idea is the only real solution to the problem, so long as corruption within the sanctioning bodies doesn't favor one brand over another.

I agree it would have to be set at the beginning of the season. Instead of the rule reading "Hoosier MED only", it would read "Hoosier MED, American Racer SD XX, Goodyear XXX" replace the "X" with whatever compound matches the MED on a durometer. But like I said, this is not adding weight to the promotor or series wallets.....

Never hit stationary objects!

Because that doesn't seem like a system that's begging for people to be screaming about bias and corruption.

National Sprint Car & Midget Examiner
http://tinyurl.com/r4opgk

The local 305 class here in Missouri has been doing that for a few years now. Grain Valley has a durometer reading of 40 or harder. Any time I raced there, they checked every RR before the cars rolled out. LA Raceway used to have a 35 or harder rule, but switched to the Hoosier MED due to the WOW (ASCS Warrior) and Lake Ozark Speedway both run that tire for 360's. They are easy to come by used around here. The durometer rule is nice, you can run any brand you want (or can find used), and as long as you compare your durometer to the tracks before hand you know if you are legal. It does work, but once again, not making the promoters wallets any heavier......

I dislike tire rules! So I would say the only good tire rule would be the tire you start the night with is the tire you finish the night with,regardless of mfg. or compound! But as was stated before that will not pad promoters pockets!

www.stevestoneracing.com

Just say NO to tire rules!

_

I don't think we really need to talk seriously about tire rules to save money when racers think you can't race without 52' trailers, diesel rigs for tow trucks, ridiculous pit equipment (Mule with $5k in chrome)... common sense doesn't appear to be anywhere near pit road.

Wasn't the story about the Goodyear WoO deal... a point fund at mid-season? All I ever hear about is "the promoters kept the $". Does anyone on here have any fact that the money never supported a points fund?

Having a keyboard and an internet connection doesn't make you right or smarter. It removes all doubt.

Personally... I liked the days when you might see 4 different tires on 4 different corners. I loved how 1 tire brand worked at some tracks but not others. Variety was cool.

Racing isn't cheap. Wasn't ever and I don't honestly think it ever will. Nobody agrees on anything and nobody trusts anybody else. Common sense is the last thing you see in racing. Racers will complain no matter what. They'll sit on a $15k mule and whine about the cost of racing. Pure genius.

I like the durometer idea. Whatever brand you want... rock hard durometer. Not medium. Rock hard.

How about the late model rules? Watching them on tv... they talked about same tire for a few races and then you see pit stops half way... maybe they aren't onto something after all. lol

I think tire rules fall into two categories.

1. Tire rules that limit spending. Tire rules that force teams to run the same right rear tire all night long might represent rules that limit spending.
2. Tire rules that limit competition. Tire rules that force teams to buy a specific brand or that discourage teams from traveling from one track to another might represent tire rules that limit competition.

Racing organizations need to focus on rules that limit spending, not those that limit competition.

I think there is a need for a tire rule, but most of the tire rules that have been implemented have failed miserably to address the problem.

The cost of the tires is NOT and never really has been the real problem. The real problem in sprint car racing is the cost of the motor. You might ask how a tire rule can affect the cost of the motor, its simple really. You don't need more hp if you can't get it to the ground.

So make the tires narrower, smaller diameter and harder.

Any brand will do as long as it is hard enough and fits inside the box that is set over your right and left rear tires.

Its not nearly as difficult as some series and tracks are trying to make it.

I really dont think it's as simple as that.Look at modifieds,they run on skinny hard tires.8 or 10 years ago,a mod basically spun the tires all the way around the track,but look at them today,they have got the suspensions better and they drive off the corners and down the straights hard on those hard 8 inch tires.A sprint car can be adjusted to hook up a harder narrower tire as well,and if it's only a short distance on the straightaway that the cars hook up,if the better motor can pull you by half a car length,he will soon have you by a straightaway.If a mod can be made to hook up,a sprint car sure as heck can.

The durometer rule is the best way to go.Tire rules make for higher priced tires.

I don't care how good the suspension is, if you take the same suspension and put a harder narrower shorter tire on it the car won't hook up as well.

Suspensions are getting better and better all the time anyway regardless of what they bolt on for tires.

If the hard, narrow, short tires are still hooked up too good the next step is fixed angle wings and no adjustable shocks.

A sprint car can be adjusted to pull a wheelie all the way down the straightaway,you would have to to do some major changes to make a car not be able to hook up anywhere on the track.No adjustable shocks?What the heck does that mean,you just proved you don't know what your talking about.You can't have cockpit adjustable shocks now,adjustable shocks just save money by not having to buy as many different shocks and save the hassle of changing them.

Currently a sprint car can be adjusted to pull a wheelie all the way down the straightaway, THAT is the problem. The cars are hooked up too good.

I wasn't aware they (WoO) don't allow cockpit adjustable shocks anymore, I don't read their rulebook every year. Honestly I don't attend many WoO races, I prefer a good weekly show which is fast becoming a thing of the past due to escalating costs.

Other than being damaged in a wreck how long do shocks last? Does a non adjustable shock last as many races as an adjustable one? Is the cost per race to keep good shocks on the car much different with adj vs non-adj?

Until the cost of the motors is addressed all other efforts to save money are nearly pointless.

The best way to address the cost of the motors is to unhook the cars. Any other way of controlling motor cost just turns sprint car racing into a hooked up under powered follow the leader high speed freight train.

If you don't think a narrower harder shorter (By the way I'm talking a LOT shorter, a LOT narrower, and a LOT harder) tire can unhook the car what is your suggestion to unhook the car short of removing the wing?