The Kingston Trio ââ“ Celebrate the Arts April 26

Hither is an extract from an editorial submitted to Gater News. The editorial was written by a well known, dirt modified commuter. I idea it was interesting. And you may be shocked (or...mayhap not ) when you discover the year it was written!

Can you guess…

A: Who wrote this editorial?

B: The year it was written?

Guest Editorial

â€Å"Where are we going?â€Â

I was the possessor and commuter of a race car that once finished 2nd at Langhorne Speedway. Upon completion of the racing season, the entire car was sold, ready to race, for $825.00.

(Five years afterward) I won the point standings at (a Northeast dirt track). The automobile was then put up for auction: 36 Chevy – 350 Cubic Inch Engine – consummate ready to race - $ii,500. There were no buyers.

The car which I competed with (three years afterwards that) already had one betoken title under its belt, and by the stop of the season it had but another, I tried to sell the race auto, the truck, trailer, a spare rear, a 350 cubic inch engine, a manual, a radiator, wheels, tires, and all other spare parts for the price of $half dozen,000.00. With the credentials that this auto held, information technology should have spoken for itself, but again no buyers. Was the engine likewise small? I installed a new 454 cubic inch engine and sold the car for $3,600.00 later on I invested $two,500 in the engine.

(5 years after that), I drove a car that wore a Mustang body and housed a 400 cubic inch engine. It was sold for $8,000.00.

Where are nosotros going?

Full purses accept gone up over the years, merely not in straight proportion to operating expenses. The answer however, is non to increase the purse any higher than it is right now. This would only increase admission prices and the fans are already beingness taxed to the extent that he or she can no longer beget: $4.00 - $six.00 per ticket, $.60 for a hot dog, $.50 for a coke, and $1.25 for 2 meatballs.

It is but fair to go on in heed that the promoters expenses are also on the increase.

It should non exist difficult to realize that the owners expenses have risen a lot higher than whatever of the other two categories.

As I attempted to betoken out earlier in the article, the cost of a competitive and successful race car is constantly climbing. The toll of a competitive and successful race automobile is constantly climbing. Today we have a select few who are capable of financing a $40,000 racing squad which consists of a $twenty,000 race automobile, spare engine, towing equipment, tires and wheels.

Stock car racing was and should have local appeal as it did 5 to 10 years ago. This tin can only be achieved by lowering the cost of the race cars…

The race fans have to be straight affected by the general atmosphere which surrounds him at the race rail. Each car, no affair what its reputation, brings a certain number of fans to the track. If the owner of the auto is dissatisfied with conditions, it becomes apparent to the fans when he talks to them. He complains that the car is too expensive to maintain without beingness competitive and he can’t afford the $20,000 race car necessary to bring domicile a win. The fan has no desire to come to the track to come across a loser or a hopeless case.

It is not a picnic for the mechanic either as he is trying to keep an overweight, overhorsepowered race car together for two or 3 races a calendar week.

So there is the driver, the man who has to effort to pull it all together on the race rail. How can he be competitive – trying to run a mule in a horse race? The drivers have lost their desire to win and will yous and so. His feelings are also expressed to the fans.

How can you wait the fan to come to the races if the owner tells his fans he can’t afford to compete, the mechanic tells his fans he doesn’t have the time to maintain the car like so and and then, and the driver tells his fans that the car just isn’t capable of winning or even running in the top five. At that place are as well the times when the commuter says how the technical men or the officials are giving him the shaft for the â€Å"?†time.

Let’s get the owners, drivers, and mechanics heads screwed on direct so nosotros tin can start talking positive almost racing and stop blasting information technology to the fans.

How:

Lower the cost of racing.

Lower the maintenance time

Treat all drivers as equals

Let’south have a wait at the engine. Everyone knows that an engines life is governed by its original pattern. A passenger auto engine was never intended to develop 2 H.P. per cu. inch. It can just be achieved by using $1,000 creepo shafts, $700 rods, $600 cam shafts, and $1,500 heads. Who can beget this – The Chosen Few – but we can not put on races with the chosen few.

Dorsum downward the cubic inch

You should do any y'all can do within reason over a ii year period of time. Switch to a iv-barrel carburetor (a sure size or part #), four barrel manifolds (it must be a stock or hi-ascension manifold canonical by a technical committee) and a carb restrictor plate to govern cu. in. h.p. Weight per cubic inch has been successful in elevate racing and a lot of circumvolve tracks in the Midwest. This would permit owners to use up existing engines.

Gear ratio is one of the new ideas to come virtually as this is one of the missing links to cut cost. We all know RPM’s put out h.p. and this tin cut the life of the engine in half. The gear ratio should be so, that engines can not be turned more than 6,000 RPM’s. Allow the engine run in the RPM range that information technology was originally designed to do.

Limitations on tires is a must. Xiii inches should exist the maximum tire width with buffing allowed. A limitation on wheels should follow with a maximum of 12 inch steel wheels on the rear and 8 inch or 10 inch steel wheels on the front.

The front end wheels should be narrow enough so that you are not forced into ownership an $800 power steering to be competitive.

Most of all in that location must exist technical men qualified and capable of enforcing the rules equally they are written. The technical men should work with a committee of owners and mechanics.

…Information technology is not also belatedly, and then let’s hear from the owners, drivers, and mechanics to encounter if we can’t get dorsum on track .

haneyarne1952.blogspot.com

Source: http://www.dirttrackdigest.com/DTD/index.php?/profile/423-jay-mooney/content/page/17/&type=forums_topic_post

Share this post