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

How often does the Silva 57 car break, fail, or slow down on the track ?      

The reason I'm asking is because I can only think of 1 time.

8/26/2018.   ASCoC race at BAPS.     Kyle was the fastest car every time he hit the track that night.       There was a red flag during the feature.       When they pushed off the Silva 57 wouldn't go into gear.    He was pushed into the pits and didn't return.   Tony Stewart won.

About the same amount of times any of the top sprint car teams in the country break down------very few.  

I'm surprised  Spell Check didn't block putting "slow" & "Kyle Larson" in the same sentence!

That's awesome

And that is where the arguement that everyone has the same stuff falls apart. Some of it is the crews maintenance and a lot of it is how often parts can be replaced. New parts don't break as often as parts with several races on them. The top[teams are often parts stores for the lower budget teams.

Didn't they have an issue at the first Outlaw race at Volusia? It wouldn't start right as they were starting the A main. As we saw with Sweet and Donny recently, parts issues can screw up a good run. Larsons run even more incredible given they haven't had any issues mechanically.

Sorry, disagree.  Very few mechanical malfunctions on a nightly basis.  So, the top teams are all running the same stuff.  The lower tier teams are running the stuff left over from the top-tier teams.  So yes, it is all the same equipment.  And, there are so many "top-tier" teams, running high-budgets, many cars unload with the same chance to win every single night at any given track.  

If all cars are hitting the same track with the same equipment then I would expect mechanical failures from the equipment that suffers the most abuse throughout the night.     But that is not what I have been seeing this summer.  It has been the opposite.  I have been watching a car that takes a lot of abuse (#57) rocket to the front every night.  The car bounces off cushions, corners, racecars, and sometimes the wall.    It goes from straight to sideways to straight again in an instant and seems to gain speed while doing so.       During some races the front wheels get off the ground on almost every lap.        The engine and drivetrain are pushing that car faster and harder than any other car on the track so they are being stressed also.

We aren’t aware of any mechanical failures since February.   The car seems immune.   No flat tires.   No magneto problems.     No mud caked in the car anywhere.   No broken shocks.     No broken crankshaft last night when he bounced around Knoxville.    I’ve been a dirt fan for 40 years and this doesn’t seem normal.     I expect random failures or a bad night once in a while on dirt tracks.     The #57 failure rate rivals NASA.  It is fascinating.   It is amazing.   I can’t wait for Husets tonight.

Sorry, disagree. Used parts are not the same as new parts just because they have the same brand name on them. I have run equipment long enough to know that you can abuse new stuff longer on any given day without breaking them  than you can used ones. Sprint cars do all get abused, Larsons more than most. If that is not true I wounder why to best finnanced teams replace all parts right up to engines and chassis more often. I am not taking anything from what Larson is doing but finances helps.

He had a flat while winning one of the Ohio speedweek shows. Came back to finish 6th I believe. They do have issues every now and then....�

I agree brand new parts can be abused longer than used parts.  However, few cars pull into the pits each night because of mechanical failures.  The overwhelming majority of cars finish the race under full power.  And, once again, there are a lot of teams funded as well, if not better, than the 57.  

Have they been torn down yet?  Does this even happen anymore?

_

Not sure what races it's done at, but top 3 (I believe---maybe top 5?) get torn down after the Nationals.  Anyone know if they do so at King's Royal?  Any other big races?