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This was posted in the Jan 1991 issue of Open Wheel in the In and Out Box section;
While I will not post the whole article, but the parts I felt were interesting:
Duane M. DePuy of Cleveland, OH wrote the following:
".......failed to include several important items. The Chevy was supposed to be a low cost substitute for the then-expensive Offy. Unfortuately, the Chevy engine certainly has come a long way since the days when we used to buy a factory new 283 CID short block for $225, hone it, cam it and bolt on mag, injectors and heads to go racing. Not to mention that we could run these things some twenty races or more. Contrast this with the now-required 410 plus inches of everything that skyrockets the cost into the thens of thousands and reduces life to a few nights. Do we really need this expenditure?"
will skip the section where wings are discussed as they do not apply to USAC/CRA racing.
"Speaking of tires, it's come down to where if you don't start every feature with a brand new one you might as well forget it. That means you have to make a mint just to break even--and that's not counting fuel and motor wear.
And how about throwaway chassis that are so refinged and so alike that only the positions of the shock brackets differ? The basic configuration is just as Frank Kurtis laid out so many years ago and, like the propeller, has been copied and improved uponh ever since.
All these things area a direct result of the intense pressure to win. Sure, try a different tire, if it doesn't work, go back to what you were using. Same with engine and engine components. No one wants to take the time and money to develop any radical new design simply because the cost of racing is too great.
Gaerte has it right when he says, 'If we don't get a handle on cost, the sport could be dead in three more years.'
Strange as it may seem, sponsors have created the problem. By telling competitors to win at any cost, sponsors are telling them, in effect that it's BUY, BUY or BYE-BYE!"
I'm sure the above article is more focused on the WoO than the various USAC series, but in some ways in does relate to the sport of sprint car racing in general.
It seems that USAC/CRA is working on trying to limit tires to some degree, which I think is a step in the right direction. But maybe it's time to look towards a limited class of sprints as a companion to the regular USAC/CRA 410 series? But then maybe not.....the cast iron small block Chevy engines are not available these days either as GM is well into using aluminum engines in their factory built cars.....
Just thought this article intersting
Ed
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