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

When the outlaws was started it was on the fact that they would have few rules. Then came along the 410 engine rule then wing size rules and tire rules. They sell these rules by say to help control the cost of racing. Every time they think one of these rules are going to help all it does is run the price of the parts even higher because of the greater demand. I would love to see them to go back to the old saying of "RUN WHAT YOU BRUNG" "BRING WHAT YOU WANT TO RUN"

I can't help but think that a reversion back to the "run what ya brung" days would result in a hell of a lot more injured sprint car drivers - even fatalities as well.

As in every sport - there are many who will forego safety in their pursuit of victory. Dirt track racing is noe exception. No matter my op on rules - or anyone else's - I think it's safe to say with great clarity that rules are very necessary in many regards. If the cost of having good rules is some bad ones also.......well...........

Just from reading about the history of this sport - there are a lot less mangled racers and fatalities than there used to be - and I think to a large degree much of that is because of rules. The better and advanced safety of todays racing is because of rules (to varying degrees).

But I will agree that there are some bad rules probably. Not sure if I agree on your interpretation of them, but just for the sake of argument, yeah there are some bad rules.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

SAFETY..thats what happened. Well put OKCFan

-Austin Rankin

I can understand and agree with you guys about the safety aspect, but the cubic inch rule has done nothing but harm the sport. The number of cars have been in a steady decline since this rule has come into effect.

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The one that gets me is "The Cheaters Race" up North - Husets? Look at all of the rules they have now. Sure had to take the fun out of that race.

Sorry, I'm from the land of "little sprint car racing" - and the birth of the World of Outlaws. I don't know about the Cheaters Race but I always enjoyed reading about it and the cars and the wing configurations.

Without rules, engines would be huge and super chargers & blowers would be there. There was a car from Mesquite that was quickly outlawed with a blower on it. Just as all of the innovations that Tom Johnson and John Gano came up with were outlawed (remember "the Moose" at Knoxville?).

With some rules should come better racing - weight and cubic inch rules, for example. These should make for closer racing. Should, being the operative word. I wish they had a weight rule for the Chili Bowl - or something that would not allow a car to race only once a year - at the Chili Bowl (no rules). At least they do on occasion stress safety at the Chili Bowl.

Sorry I am always so "chatty".

I remember when they use to run 430's then they went 418's and now they are 410. They cannot go below 406. To pull the wing there need to be at least a 406. I knew a guy who tried running with a 400 cubic inch motor and that was not getting the car off the corners, so he got out of the sport. They try and make a level playing field for the teams they cannot please everyone. The only other thing they could try is a spec engine. I will stop being a fan when or if that is ever done!

Sooooo... 360s can't use the big wings? Spec motor is one thing... but spec heads are a bad thing? You may live where there are no ASCS races (hard to believe) but get on the internet and look them up. They are hardly struggling.

Less cubic inches has ruined the sport? Wow. I guess if we had 500 cubic inch big blocks you'd have to run at William's Grove a few times a year and 440 ci small blocks good for one race before rebuild... that would really help. Limiting cubic inches didn't kill the NHRA Pro Stocks(cars)or NASCAR and it won't kill the WoO. Hasn't so far through several drops. It won't when they bite the bullet and do the right thing (360).

Rules can cost a racer money... and lack of rules WILL cost a racer money. How many racers will benefit from being able to buy BIGGER motors? From nitro? From having to buy more expensive parts to keep up with the big teams spending $85k (yes, I said $85k) on a motor that the new looser rules allow?

The NHRA Pro Stock trucks come to mind... small block motors costing upwards of $100k due to all the trick internals and extreme porting work on heads. Less rules didn't help them... it killed them. $100k motor trying to win $10k or so. Sounds a lot like the "run what ya brung" WoO in 2011 without rules.

The engine rule is the best thing the WoO has ever done! If they still allowed everybody to run big blocks or any other configuration they wanted, the cost of engines would be ridiculous, 45,000 dollars for an engine is already hard to swallow, also the reliability of said engines which would increase cost even more. Also we already have 800-850 Hp in 1375 pound racecars, how much more do you need, sprintcars are already the fastest most exciting racing on dirt! If engine rules harm the sport and decrease car counts, then why are there 40/50 cars in the pits at ASCS national races every weekend? With 360 ci, last I checked that is less than 410 ci.

If you want some rules to open up the ingenuity of sprint car racing, let them do what they want with the wings and body in pre-determined dimensions, I am tired of paying 600/700 dollars for cookie cutter wings with flat tops. Also let them run any tire from any manufacturer, that would make it more challenging and force people to actually use their minds and be able to read race tracks and in this racers opinion make the racing better for everyone involved!

I know there are people out there that have been in this sport a long time and are very intelligent, I want to see what they come up with in their minds not how much money they spend, the true innovators of our sport were the cheapest bastards I know ( Karl Kinser) for example.

thats just it on a local level there should be rules to govern -cost -speed -safety and every thing els but at the outlaw level the top level of the sport thy should open the rule book back up EXCEPT for safety there needs to be stringent safety rules at all levels of racing .but at the top level open the rule book back up to run what u brung if u want to run a Hoosier run one if u want a bicycle tire run one if u want to run youre front wing on top cool lets see what happens if u want a big block have a big block if u want a 4 banger good luck have one if u want a 1 gallon fuel tank than run a 1 gallon tank but u pay the consequences for it.this is how the sport of sprint car racing evolved and it has staled with the rule books the advancements made to our sport has died and we cant advance without being able to try new things

Robert Bond    San Jose Ca

blowers where tried in nor call in the early 80s and hauled the mail down the straits but turned into grenades in the corners very very powerful grenades lol

Robert Bond    San Jose Ca

Yes, I forgot. Divisions with open motor rules have killed themselves off. Like the late models. You just can't find any of those things around anymore.......... Oh, wait!!! Don't they out number sprint car counts across this country at a rate of something like 80/1?

Sure, the WoO and all other 410 divisions should go to 360's. Then, when the costs of those balloon out of control as they already are, maybe everyone should go to 305's. It's not like we havn't seen the costs of those already start to go through the roof, also.

When you pigeon hole people into having a very limited amount of products, the costs of those products go up. It's economics 101 folks. They have to have one thing in particular, so the manufacturers have everyone by the short and curlies. Open up the rules and allow people to make horse power in the best way that they see fit and you'll see the costs go down. It's a simple free market theory that works.

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according to your post the 360 sprint cars can't get off the corner's!!! thats funny 360's in the mid west run with wings. guess i'll watch next race and see if they are drag racin. better yet piff the engines and see if they are 410's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@

I agree with OKC, if it was run what you brung, you'd have cars like the old CanAm series with over a thousand horsepower. Translate that to today's technology, you could have 1500 horsepower cars. Could get rediculous without rules IMO.

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

The tires won't withstand that kind of horsepower. You guys aren't thinking this all the way through.

Let me give you a hypothetical. A team can take a big block and get as much power as they need out of it. They have two choices.

1: Turn it into a grenade that over powers the tires, doesn't hook up to the track surface because it's causing the tires to spin like hell and blows up just as quickly as some of their "spec 410's" do now. And, don't kid yourselves. What we have now is spec racing.

2: They tune and turn the motor just hard enough to get what they need out of it. The motor lasts a helluva lot longer, the teams stop bleeding money like a whore on the rag and blue collar drivers without nascar bank accounts begin to be able to contend again. AMEN.

Which do you think will happen?

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