Racing Burnout or Something Else?

[ask0329]

First off i'll state i love racing no matter the class. For the most part. I say that hesitantly. I wont name the track name as i have nothing bad to say about the place. I think its more me than anything. Fantastic facility, fantastic views, 3-3.5 hour show, great good, comfy seating with tons and tons and tons of racecars. I think there in i found my problem. While being at the track will always beat being at work, if found this nights racing to be completely boring. I had zero sense of excitement on the way to the track or while i was there. Vs when I go to Brewerton for example, I'm like a kid in the candy store all day long cannot wait to be there.

Saturday night presented 4 classes. Crate models, 358's, sportsman and novice sportsman. Granted we where only there 3 hours the night felt like it dragged on and on and on and just would never end. It was an endless parade of bicknells, troyers and teos. oh with the exception of the 11-12 crate models. where was the variety? Where was the home built ingenuity? Where was the creativity? There was none. It was bicknell with atomic graphics, troyer with atomic graphics, teo with atomic graphics. Bicknell with pilate graphics and on and on and on and on. We ended up leaving before the novice class took the green flag. If your in the NE Mod cult i would assume this would be a dream night for any cult fan. 20+ small blocks, 60+ sportsman and 15+ novice. It was boring, monotonous and repetitive irregardless of whatever racing action. Need more variety in racing, need to see some different looking cars, some different classes. Thought about checking out skyline next weekend as boy, do they have variety in there 5-6 classes but they only drew 50 cars on the night. an hours drive to see 5-10 car fields? I feel in some ways racing is heading in the right direction, but i feel in other ways, its taken a huge step backwards.

Makes me wonder if we are headed towards a crate future and everything will be whittled down to maybe 2-3 classes within a subset of cars.  For example, crate late models and regular late models, crate sportsman and then modifieds or SB mods. Sprint cars are all over the place class wise but im starting to see more and more 602 sprint cars popping up.

[Goggles Pisano]

First off i'll state i love racing no matter the class. For the most part. I say that hesitantly. I wont name the track name as i have nothing bad to say about the place. I think its more me than anything. Fantastic facility, fantastic views, 3-3.5 hour show, great good, comfy seating with tons and tons and tons of racecars. I think there in i found my problem. While being at the track will always beat being at work, if found this nights racing to be completely boring. I had zero sense of excitement on the way to the track or while i was there. Vs when I go to Brewerton for example, I'm like a kid in the candy store all day long cannot wait to be there.

Saturday night presented 4 classes. Crate models, 358's, sportsman and novice sportsman. Granted we where only there 3 hours the night felt like it dragged on and on and on and just would never end. It was an endless parade of bicknells, troyers and teos. oh with the exception of the 11-12 crate models. where was the variety? Where was the home built ingenuity? Where was the creativity? There was none. It was bicknell with atomic graphics, troyer with atomic graphics, teo with atomic graphics. Bicknell with pilate graphics and on and on and on and on. We ended up leaving before the novice class took the green flag. If your in the NE Mod cult i would assume this would be a dream night for any cult fan. 20+ small blocks, 60+ sportsman and 15+ novice. It was boring, monotonous and repetitive irregardless of whatever racing action. Need more variety in racing, need to see some different looking cars, some different classes. Thought about checking out skyline next weekend as boy, do they have variety in there 5-6 classes but they only drew 50 cars on the night. an hours drive to see 5-10 car fields? I feel in some ways racing is heading in the right direction, but i feel in other ways, its taken a huge step backwards.

Makes me wonder if we are headed towards a crate future and everything will be whittled down to maybe 2-3 classes within a subset of cars.  For example, crate late models and regular late models, crate sportsman and then modifieds or SB mods. Sprint cars are all over the place class wise but im starting to see more and more 602 sprint cars popping up.

I agree with this 100%.  There is almost nothing at the track that is not store bought. 

[sidebite]

They look the same because the rules say they have to. I am certain that from the stands that it is difficult to see ingenuity but its there, those guys that keep in the throttle, those guys with the high corner speed, the ones that come onto the straights at a couple hundred more RPMS than everyone else, those cars have ingenuity, they are different you just cant see it.

[bakes]

It would be a lot more interesting if they took the dirt mods out of the box that they came in and went back to a smaller body style.  Like watching billboards race around a track, and you cannot see the driver.  Something similar to the late 1980s-early 1990s size wise, but open it up for some creativity.

[ask0329]

They look the same because the rules say they have to. I am certain that from the stands that it is difficult to see ingenuity but its there, those guys that keep in the throttle, those guys with the high corner speed, the ones that come onto the straights at a couple hundred more RPMS than everyone else, those cars have ingenuity, they are different you just cant see it.

Real world experience with two drivers prior to Saturday nights events. Made up names to keep identity hidden. sure maybe some ingenuity but i have to believe this is the mindset of the majority of sportsman drivers. Driver Jim and Crew chief Joe are puzzled. they need to move the left front axle back a quarter inch but the rods are bottomed out on the heims. cant go back any further. Keep in mind Jim finishes in the back weekly. So i pipe in and say put on shorter rods. Joe replies with, "no, we are not putting on shorter rods. These are 25" per bicknell, what your supposed to have." At that point, i knew not to give any more advice. Driver Bob, goes over and measures his left side rods on his car. 24.5" each. Now mind you Bob has been racing for wins this year. Crew chief Dave says "you need to get those off your car. They are not right and you need to put 25" rods on.  I shook my head and walked out of the garage. Sure enough that night driver Jim, starts 3rd. by lap 12, hes last.

Granted a half inch difference in radius rods is not making or breaking anyones season.

[old man]

I think the one thing that has hurt racing at all levels is the street car manufacturers don't build cars with frames anymore so race cars have had to adapt for safety reasons. Use to be we could root for different makes and shapes but those days are gone. Even NASCAR has the same problem. Don't have an answer but the crate engine is another result of the same thing and I too find today's racing less exciting with the exception of when you have a family member in the car.
Dave

[dustydarkwater]

What you are witnessing is the future of dirt racing in the northeast. There are a myriad of reasons for this. First, the idea that people are going to build their own cars is as dead as Studebaker. It’s not going to happen. At least not in numbers that will sustain any class. You can point fingers at society if you want, but the attitude isn’t going away. Who wants to spend the time and money building a car only to go out and get lapped by store bought cars? Sure, you can point a finger at the exception to this, and there are those who have done it, but so many more have thrown in the towel on their experiment. Some went store bought, others found other outlets for their time and money.

We live in modified country and that’s what the majority of fans want to see and drivers want to drive. It’s a shame because variety dies with that.

I was thinking about Five Mile Point in the mid 80’s. They ran 4 distinct classes, modifieds, 6 cylinder late models, 4 cylinder modifieds and street stocks. Each class looked and sounded very different. I miss that.

If I had to guess I would say that many of the support division cars were home built, at least the street stocks. Now, we are in a “spec” racing world, which is a mixed blessing.

The crate program has allowed racers to drive the cars that they dreamed of, even if they aren’t modifieds, they look like it and to the casual fan, that may be good enough. The crates have also resulted in the slow, painful death of street stocks and IMCA modifieds. (Although the decline of the IMCA modified can partly be attributed to the perceived apathy to the Northeast by the sanctioning body)

It’s my understanding that for the cost of a competitive street stock a driver can field an equally competitve crate sportsmen. (I’m using the Southern Tier, FMP, TM, AMP, PC and SRP as reference). It’s growing more and more evident that not enough people want to spend the money on a fringe class, which is what these classes are today.



The lack of 8 cylinder rear wheel drive cars also plays into this. Racers have the attitude that it has to fit that criteria or they aren’t interested. Try suggesting any other options, FWD 4 or 6 cylinder divisions and no one will listen to you. Skyline proposed a 6 cylinder division a few years back and nothing ever came of it.

I don’t know what is going to happen. There doesn’t seem to be any viable, non-modified style, classes on the horizon. Don’t mistake this as a defense of what is happening, I like variety in racing. The best part of going to new tracks is to see classes I don’t get to see on a regular basis.

[ask0329]

Excellent posts Dave and Dusty.

Dusty brings up some very good points that have hit home with me over the recent year. I had quit racing for geez nearly 4 years now and are going back. But the question was what class? I settled on Brewerton Speedway 4cyls. The rules are fairly open and not meant to be a stock banger, kruizer or battle car class. They are 4cyl Super stocks. This class offers everything thats missing in racing as described above. Which lead me to my next dilemma. Racecars are RWD and thats it. god what a stubborn and pigheaded statement that is and i fell under that belief for a very long time. (more on this below) Bottom line, I would not have the power i needed to be competitive if i went RWD. So i picked up an acura integra FWD street car and started the process. I am loving every minute of it. Gutting, cutting, chopping, designing, using my brain. Do i want to run street tires, hoosiers, american racers? do i want any one of 50 engines honda/acura put out? So many options and thoughts as what i could do. I am having a chassis builder do my cage and such only cause im not that good of a welder. But the builder is working with me and i get to be a part of the process. Be it holding things or a gopher.  This to me, is what racing is all about. Sure id love to be doing it with a Camero, Firebird or mustang in a Street stock V8 class but its not logical or even doable anymore.

Back to racecars are only RWD. We need to get rid of that mindset for several reasons. kids are the future of racing. sure allot go the karts to sportsman route but there are still those that start in 4cyls. we need to encourage that growth. As outlined above the lower level classes are dieing off. Where do these racers go? No shame in a step down to a sustainable 4cyl. I could never afford the best of the best for my imca mod or lm. I didnt have junk but it wasnt great. I have found my affordable class where i can afford best of the best and very safe parts. Secondly, the tuner market is huge, there is a draw to get them to the dirt tracks. There will be some drivers that have no desire to move up and will be lifers in the 4cyls as its what they can afford. Nationally there is starting to be some huge 5-10K paying races. Nationally 4cyl oval track racing i believe is on a huge upswing and gaining prominence. Allot of these 4cyls are now in the 200+ horsepower range and climbing. Heck Evans Mills even has a turbo class and turbos can go well over 300hp. Now your in 602 hp range. Even im amazed how much the 4cyl class has changed in the 10+ years i last raced in it.