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

In reading the website for Trantner Engines, click on News, and I see that Kody Swanson won the Little 500 this year with one of "Trantner's V-6 Chevy's", his words not mine.  Down 200 HP from the V-8s, it doesn't seem possible, but better gas mileage, shorter pit stops as they required less fuel in the two stops, whatever, have no idea why really.  And the article in Sprint Car and Midget that I got today with Sammy on the cover and an article about the Little 500 doesn't really explain how the V-6 is able to do it, though Swanson mentions they require less fuel at pit stops   Actually Tranter's engines were 1st and 3rd and 1/4 of the field had V-6 engines. 

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

Somewhat old news, but worthy of discussion. I agree, SC & M article didn't really give a good explanation.... if they all had to make 2 pit stops, how much extra time did it take to fill tanks  a few more gallons on the V-8s? Couldn't have been by more than a few seconds.....

I was there & found the race confusing as hell.... so many lapped cars, hard to tell which passes really mattered. By about lap 425, it was down to 14 cars & it started making sense. 2 guys passed the leader, scoreboard said they were both a lap down, so I followed them... one was Swanson who passed again for the win.

Pleasant surprise was that with 33 cars on a 1/4 mile track, I expected lots of wrecks, especially on the start. Didn't happen. In fact although a few guys hit the wall, I don't think there were any wrecks between cars

But I'm still curious about why the V-6s did so well.....I seem to recall somebody mentioning a lower weight, but article said nothing about that

It was Nolen Racings website, their car driven by Kody Swanson (USAC silver crown point leader) won the Little 500 in Nolen Racing's words in their news article about their big win "one of our Chevy V-6 engines".  Tratner was their builder of the V-6's finishing 1st and 3rd.  Tried to find the cubic inches these V-6 engines have but not mentioned anywhere.  I do know that 360 engines have won sprint car 410 feature races at Husets in the  past cuz I was there to see it.  Cubic inches isn't everything, but its close to everything.  

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

Got news for you guys, but not only is it possible to win that race with a V6, Kody Swanson isn't even the first to do it.    There was a car owner by the name of Glen Neibel, along with driver Bob Frey, absolutely dominated the Little 500 back in the eighties with a V6.   It really isn't hard to figure out why.    The V6 car was lighter by a good bit back then, and I don't think there was a weight minimum.   The wheelbase was shorter too and the car was faster through the turns as a result.   The V8s would easily out accelerate the V6 on restarts, but within a few laps the V6 was running a faster lap time and would reel them back in and pass them.  As I remember it, the V6 car required one less pit stop during the race, which was also a huge difference.   I'm not sure if what's happening now is exactly the same as it was back then, but I'm guessing it's close to the same.         

Let's not forget that when Tony Stewart won the Triple Crown with USAC, both his sprint car and his Silver Crown car utilized a V6 platform as well

Real race cars don't have fenders...

How could I forget it if I never knew it to begin with?

Thanks for the info...

Ben Cook had one in Pa  back in the  day drivers like Steve Siegel ,Fred Rahmer,and thinking Van May   maybe  others  dont remember.    Or  the win  record  if any

Tratner worked for Niebel during the V-6 era.

Bentley Warren also showed well in Glen's v-6 cars at Anderson.

I'm not sure how many pit stops were mandated at that point in time, but you have to look at the whole package. The car being lighter was easier on tires which would result in fewer pit stops which makes up for a lot of track position.

Aren't the V-6's given a couple hundred pound weight advantage?

No weight break.  There was in the past.  No less fuel stops as everybody required By rules to stop once in the first 250 Laps and once in the last 250.    You can make it on those two stops with a 410.    You don’t use all of the available horsepower of a 410 at Anderson.

     Interesting. I'd imagine with a V-6 engine being lighter, you'd have a little advantage in being able to distibute the weight differently.