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

Another newcomer question: What are Silver Crown cars all about? Seems like a waste to build a car for 9 races a year. Did they formerly run on gasoline? 360s? Are they just a long time tradition?

Probably a dying series but sad if it happens. In my mind, since I've known about them 25 years ago, I've always thought they were the best looking race car in the world, the pavement ones especially, they sit lower than a dirt silver crown car.. Looks like a stretched out sprint car, that big 75 gallon methanol tank in back, about a 100" wheelbase. Those "new" silver crown cars, don't know if they are still around racing or not, supposed to be able to race em on 1 1/2 mile tracks, but they look like he11--ugly..

Lawlessness + liberalism = HELL -  NYC, Detroit, Chicago, 
Seattle, LA  Who the H runs those cities. 

The Silver Crown cars are definitely a throw back to another time. As a youth I attended an AAA (predecessor to USAC) 100 mile race at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds (one mile dirt track) and the cars I saw that day really weren't much different than the later Silver Crown cars. For a number of years there was a Silver Crown race at Phoenix International Raceway as a part of the long gone Copper World Classic. Unfortunately the Copper World is no more so no more Silver Crown cars. Although they've raced on as small as a 3/8 mile track, they are far better suited for larger venues -- perhaps 3/4 to 1 mile. I'm not sure I'd want to see one on a 1 1/2 mile track though. If I remember correctly they run 358" engines. Shane Hmiel was driving one at the Terre Haute Action Track when he was so badly injured a couple of years ago. I don't remember what happend to it (hopefully it was scrapped) but in its infinite wisdom USAC came up with a new Silver Crown car design a few years back. It was designed specifically to run on the larger paved ovals and was, in my opinion, a real abortion!

Tucson Osty

They were know as big cars, or Champ dirt cars. I saw the best of the best run them as a kid at the Phoenix fairgrounds in the mid 50's to 62, and later at the Classic, Manzy, and USA.

THIS IS THE SCHEDULE THIS YEAR. GO SEE THEM IF YOU CAN.http://www.usacracing.com/silvercrown_index/schedule_sc

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

Silver Crown cars are thought of by many drivers as the Cadillac of sprint car races. The silver crown cars of today could probably run the the Indy 500 back in the 1950 s. There are a few races for them, remember NASCAR has road race cars that only race a couple of times a year. The cars were originally built to run on a 1 mile dirt track with 75 gal. fuel with maybe no pit stops. The drivers that drove them have not a bad thing to say about them. They have always run on alky and run 350 type motor

They have always run on alky and run 350 type motor.

No way; the offy was the engine of choice in their hey day, and just like with the Sprinters, the Chevy started pushing them out in the early sixties. If you notice, they mention every Chevy that was running at Langhorne in 64 in the video because of the rivalry at that time. AJ won it in a OFFY.

The "Silver Crown" cars of today mostly run a Chevy is true though, and maybe that's what you meant to say, or not. Their certainly not ASCS legal, that's for sure..LOL

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

Watch the last half of this video.

Loose is when you hit the wall with the rear of the
car, tight is when you hit the wall with the front of
the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and
torque is how far you move the wall.

Loose is when you hit the wall with the rear of the
car, tight is when you hit the wall with the front of
the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and
torque is how far you move the wall.

I am even more impressed that what seems like a young reader, he posted questions about the Silver Crown to gain interest and knowledge.

Kudos too you young man.

David Smith Jr.
www.oklahomatidbits.com

"I am even more impressed that what seems like a young reader, he posted questions about the Silver Crown to gain interest and knowledge.

Kudos too you young man."

Thanks, too funny: I'm 61!

Used to go to dirt track races in Virginia back in the 1960s, we moved north, went to 2 asphalt races, lost interest. Always curious about sprint cars tho. 2 summers ago I was in upstate NY, headed to southern Pa. next day, & a gearhead friend lent me a Circle Track that mentioned Central Penn sprint scene. So I googled it, found they were racing at Clinton County next nite, I went, was amazed! Then at a gas station a racer told me about Williams Grove, couple of months later I flew back from Colorado for National Open, now I'm hooked.... what is it about the smell of burning methanol????

61 but still immature....

For sure I didn't pick a very competitive race, but remember Langhorne was the most dangerous track on the circuit at that time. Jimmy Bryan, one of my last boyhood hero's after we moved to Phoenix was killed there...http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1568

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. 

You youngsters never saw a bright yellow flyer nailed to a power pole on Florin Rd and 99 saying "THE BIG CARS ARE COMING TO THE SACRAMENTO MILE" just the words 'BIG CARS" told the story it would be fall and if you could get a ride to town and you had the five bucks for bleachers you got to see all of them ya all of them it was meca offy's ruled, then chev's, (every one could run a big car now no more high priced race motors). Then it happened a ford four cam ya a camer stuffed into a big car and the three or four that had them owned the join. I watched Foyt, Andretti, Unser on the mile, big 18in steering wheels, Lee was worken on power steering, 10in RR. Then it was over who ever had a cammer won.

Rear motors at Indy ended the similarity of dirt/pavement cars, and road racers from England were not going to spend thier summer on the fair dirt tracks of the US. So the "Big Cars" limp on named and renamed but for a little kid from Sheldon Ca in 1955 I got to climb a tree in turn one and watch the BIG CARS I always got excited when I saw the first flyer nailed to a pole.