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Topic: NEW USAC WEST COAST 360 TIRE RULE IN EFFECT FOR 2012
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September 09, 2011 at
10:42:39 PM
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series
NEW USAC WEST COAST 360 TIRE RULE IN EFFECT FOR 2012
By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – SEPTEMBER 9, 2011... USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series Promoter Chris Kearns has announced that the group will have a new tire rule for the 2012 campaign. With Hoosier Tire discontinuing the RC3, a suitable replacement was needed that would also encourage more crossover drivers and teams between the various organizations that compete in California.
Since it’s founding in 2009, the USAC West Coast 360s have utilized the Hoosier RC3 right rear tire. Before that, the RC3 had been used for many years by various sanctioning bodies throughout the southwestern United States. As this writing goes to press, the RC3 is only used by the Central California based group. This fact prompted officials at Hoosier Tire to discontinue the line and Kearns had to search for an alternative.
Next season, the series will change to the Hoosier Medium 105 x 16 x 15 right rear tires. The Hoosier Medium is used by all of the ASCS winged Sprint Car groups and the ASCS Canyon non-winged region of Arizona. As before, the VRA tire used by the Ventura Racing Association will remain legal with the USAC West Coast 360 Sprints.
Currently, there are several key races left in the hunt for the championship. Visalia’s Richard VanderWeerd currently holds a fifty-three point advantage over Ryan Bernal of Hollister. Bernal is the hottest driver on the circuit and has won the last three main events. Richard’s twin brother Jace is third in the point standings and has a shot at the title. “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton and San Martin’s Wes Gutierrez round out the top five in points. This Saturday night, the USAC West Coast 360s have unfinished business at Hanford’s “Jim Turner Memorial.”
The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series would like to thank Southwest Contractors, Hoosier Tire, Amsoil, BR Motorsports, ButlerBuilt, Competition Suspension Inc., Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car & Midget Driving School, Crow Enterprizes, DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Hilborn Fuel Injection, Hinchman-Indy Racing Uniforms, Integra Shocks, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Port City Racing, Rod End Supply, Saferacer.com, Saldana Racing Products, and Sander Engineering for their support.
For more information on the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, www.racesantamariaspeedway.com, or follow the series on facebook.
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1-Richard VanderWeerd-628; 2-Ryan Bernal-575; 3-Jace VanderWeerd-549; 4-Danny Faria Jr.-525; 5-Wes Gutierrez-515; 6-Dennis Howell-461; 7-Justyne Hamblin-433; 8-T.J. Smith-424; 9-Greg Alexander-399; 10-Rusty Carlile-395.
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT SCHEDULE:
September 10: Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA
September 17: Santa Maria Speedway - Santa Maria, CA
September 24: Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA
October 8: Groppetti Automotive Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA
October 15: *Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA
-----------------------------------------------
*Non-Points Event.
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September 10, 2011 at
01:08:32 AM
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This message was edited on
September 10, 2011 at
01:09:26 AM by Derp
What an interesting selection.
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September 10, 2011 at
10:42:00 AM
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sure would be nice if the usac west coast 360 and the ventura group could align on a r/r tire. some people may not know this but with a 360 right now if you were to race vv , ventura and say hanford there is a potential for 3 different tires .vv is open you can use any tire , you can spend money on the supersoft outlaw tires if you want , usually i use the dt-3 , go to ventura now i need a vra tire ,,, go to usac west coast , well another tire again..this is part of the problem that some racers are faced with and keeps them at specific tracks ..tires are expensive , it may not look like they are for just 1 tire , but when you look at a season it has the potential to be one of the single highest expenses a team has to deal with.this is a big reason we dont see much intermixing of the non wing 360 cars out here.look at ascs , they have a wide range of racing areas and it all requires the same equipment everywhere they go.we really need to get smart on these issues and everyone pull together and agree on some commonalities with the cars . restrictors and tires are the main issues with the 360 cars .
Drama , Controversy , Rivalry
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September 10, 2011 at
11:17:04 AM
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Jim really likes his hard right rear tire. He feels it helps keep the competition tighter by reducing the need for high dollar motors. He has very competitive sprint and midget races at Ventura on those compounds, so there is no denying his theory is very correct- at least at Ventura. Unless Hoosier stops making sprint right rears with that hard compound, or someone comes up with a bunch of money and tells him to run a different right rear, he's not going to change it.
I'm sure most racers, regardless of class, would choose to run the softest tire they could bolt onto their car- after all we race to go as fast as we can.
Looking at Hoosiers catalog, the medium looks softer in compound comparison than the RC3 or DT3. It is a tire that is widely used in sprint car racing, which should hopefully keep the cost in check. Chris is a pretty savvy guy when it comes to whats good for racing, racers, and making sure that the seats in the stands get filled.
From my initial bit of research into this tire, it looks like a very good choice for the racers in the WC360 sprint group- if everyone is bolting DT3's on at VRP, then you would probably feel real competitive running the softer medium, and not worry about changing it to run there. It would be nice if at least the WC360 group and the USAC/CRA group would run the same tire- but if the CRA tire is a little wider and less sticky, it could be a wash and possibly an even swap between tire types, especially if the 360 guys are allowed to run their medium if they choose at CRA races.
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September 10, 2011 at
11:54:28 AM
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In my conversation with Neil Cowman @ Hoosier , the catalog is out dated & they changed the Med ASCS tire compound awhile ago where it durometers about the same as a DT 3 , also some of the AZ boys have run back to back track tests between ASCS Med & the DT 3 & ran the same lap times FWIW
The above Comments are satire & for entertainment
purposes only
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September 10, 2011 at
12:40:06 PM
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There's no reason for this series to not use the DT3. Unless there is a reason to use the Hoosier med. And that reason would be?
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September 10, 2011 at
01:30:27 PM
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Opinions are like assholes everybody has one the d-t3 is great for the 410 guys ascs is great for the wing guys. The VRA group doesn't need us there is only a few drivers from ventura that will leave there comfort zone and come race with us. I think this tire rule should be voted upon the drivers and the owners only!!! EVERBODY HAS A HIDDEN AGENDA YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!
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September 12, 2011 at
08:17:25 PM
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*RC-3 being discontinued. I have been looking into a new tire for 2 years. Consulted hoosier a lot on this decision
*Wing 360's in AZ and CA are on the Hoosier Medium.
*All Non Wing 360's in AZ on Hoosier Medium
* Only ones on VRA are Ventura and they dont travel much
*Talked to lots of AZ racers and they really like the way the Hoosier Medium wears and lasts.
*Talked to CRA guys and they arent real fond of the DT-3, but it is what the National cars run
*According to racers that have run both the Medium and the DT-3, they say the Meduim Cycles much better
*DT-3 is a wider/bigger tire. If a new one is bolted on each week, it will give the advantage more to the "Good" 360's, than the medium will.
*Made more sense to align our series with the other 360's, than with the 410's as far as tires go. If a team can afford a 360 and a 410, they can probably afford both tires and would be bolting a new RR on anyways
*Hopefully we are getting to the point where all 360's will be on the same tire on the West Coast. It is moving that way
*DT-3 and Medium punch withing 2 points of each other.
*VRA tire will still be legal
I am sure I have many more reasons. i just went with what i thought was the best all around choice for our racers.
Chris Kearns
www.ChrisKearnsPresents.com
805-714-8538
[email protected]
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September 12, 2011 at
09:02:26 PM
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So by your own explanations, you chose a tire that is run by wing cars that NEVER run with you and a non-wing series in another state? Like I said, makes perfect sense.
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September 12, 2011 at
09:27:52 PM
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what makes sense is a tire that wont have to be replaced every nite it races , but not one that will last half a season . what is really important is aligning the west coast 360 tires to all be the same , ventura included . this makes sense from the racers economical stand point as well as the retailer who has to stock these tires , we cant forget about these guys , they are a very important part of the equation. when everyone is on the same tire there are no advantages as far as the tire goes . its all about tuning and what ever tire is required , the racers and teams will learn how to maximize them. a few of the 360 guys that race when and where they can and dont follow a series have the rc3 the vra and the dt3 to deal with, depending on where they want to race. at vv there is no way 360 cars will run the rc3 or vra tire and have to race 410 s with dt3s or softs .
Drama , Controversy , Rivalry
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September 12, 2011 at
11:59:44 PM
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Reply to:
Posted By: chriskearns on September 12 2011 at 08:17:25 PM
*RC-3 being discontinued. I have been looking into a new tire for 2 years. Consulted hoosier a lot on this decision
*Wing 360's in AZ and CA are on the Hoosier Medium.
*All Non Wing 360's in AZ on Hoosier Medium
* Only ones on VRA are Ventura and they dont travel much
*Talked to lots of AZ racers and they really like the way the Hoosier Medium wears and lasts.
*Talked to CRA guys and they arent real fond of the DT-3, but it is what the National cars run
*According to racers that have run both the Medium and the DT-3, they say the Meduim Cycles much better
*DT-3 is a wider/bigger tire. If a new one is bolted on each week, it will give the advantage more to the "Good" 360's, than the medium will.
*Made more sense to align our series with the other 360's, than with the 410's as far as tires go. If a team can afford a 360 and a 410, they can probably afford both tires and would be bolting a new RR on anyways
*Hopefully we are getting to the point where all 360's will be on the same tire on the West Coast. It is moving that way
*DT-3 and Medium punch withing 2 points of each other.
*VRA tire will still be legal
I am sure I have many more reasons. i just went with what i thought was the best all around choice for our racers.
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Chris,
I appreciate your tire reasons but I thought your first blog covered it well. The tire sounds like it will work well for the series which we plan to run again in 2012. We also run Ventura from time to time. Teams are looking at their race per race cost in this economy.The heavily sponsored teams are going to have numerous tires in their trailers based on any tire required and will change for the Main. You don"t have a top tier in any series unless you have lower tier car count support .This compound will work for all cars and teams and keep a even playing field in the tire area. The car count should stay strong in the non wing series. With Arizona losing tracks you could possibly get a few cars in the series from time to time, especially since they dont have to buy tires for one race and can utilize that money for tow and other costs. The West Coast Series works well with 4 to 5 tracks within traveling distance and it eliminates costs for motel rooms and large fuel bills for the tow units. I appreciate your bringing the rule to our attention this early before owners buy more tires.
Allen Ennis
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September 13, 2011 at
12:38:44 AM
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I personally think the ASCS-Medium tire is great for Non Wing. As
Chris stated, it cycles very well and the wear is excellent. Basically
every series in the Northwest has already gone to this tire or is in the
process of going to it.
-Kyle Miller
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September 14, 2011 at
10:38:07 PM
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This message was edited on
September 14, 2011 at
10:38:24 PM by chriskearns
Reply to:
Posted By: Derp on September 12 2011 at 09:02:26 PM
So by your own explanations, you chose a tire that is run by wing cars that NEVER run with you and a non-wing series in another state? Like I said, makes perfect sense.
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Thank you. I agree. it does make perfect sense.
Chris Kearns
www.ChrisKearnsPresents.com
805-714-8538
[email protected]
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