Let them race, the issue of cost! - By: A.J. Payne

Posted Jody Shannon on December 24th, 2007 | Filed under A.J. Payne, Articles

For a while now, I have noticed that there has been much stated about making rules, which will limit what the amount spent on things like engines, shocks, and even chassis parts. Although when all was said and done it was not a huge issue after all, and from what I can tell it did not make any difference in what a given race team spent, and more importantly, it was not a deciding factor in most of the championships won this past year. Nor did this on going debate either truly fix this financial issue, or at the very least help the traveling teams, or the weekend warrior.

Another thing, for me at least, none of these rule changes offers any true savings to the racer, and most of you understand that the people, which have the budgets to spend, will spend the money it takes to run up front. Nevertheless, the exceptional debate goes on, with no end in site, and has this truly get the racing community any closer on solving any area of this problem? Another thing I would add if one does not have the budget for the whole schedule on a series like the (World of Outlaws, Lucas, or even the All-Stars then one needs to find a schedule on a series that is within their budget and ability to race on.

In addition, I know most people would not take a knife to a gunfight and this is what you do when you decided to race a whole season with a series like the World of Outlaws, Lucas late model series, or even the All-Stars for the sprint cars. Now do not get me wrong if it is a waste of money, I for one am for saying hey lets step back and look at this and see if it is truly helping my racing program or not. In addition, this should be a decision made by the people who run the teams, not a person who that goes to the races maybe five times a year, and decides after getting loaded with firewater, to start to solve all the issues on the cost of what a race team spends. Because this does not stop the car owners and drivers for wanting to get paid more to race, or even what the series will charge to get into a race.

Nevertheless, what I believe is one of the best courses of actions is letting the teams themselves decide what they are able to live with as far as spending the money in their budgets for a given race season, so if a team wants to spend half a million dollars a year on racing let them. Besides there is more than just the race teams to look in this debate. Oh, yea let us not forget the series, because if we honestly debate this topic, I think it is important to look at the whole picture, not just one part. Even though I do understand that, it is hard to book tracks that are so close together. Although this issue has to be addressed, because of the teams, which have, trouble affording to run from one end of the country to the other and back again with no races in between.

This seems to me to be unwise and wasting the teams’ money by putting together a schedule, which seems to have no thought put into it, because I noticed more than a handful of drivers referring to this one issue. In addition, the fact remains that this is a cost that the teams should not have to accept. Because just like any business there is only so far, the employer will push the employee, until they find somewhere else to work. In addition, the same person would not drive out of there way for a job that does not pay well for the job done.

Therefore, let us not always think that there is a quick fix to this ongoing issue that seems to come backup over repeatedly. Oh, and by the way this is not suppose to be a slam on anyone alone, but just someone pointing out what I have seen and heard. In addition, I have been around dirt track racing my whole life and most of the people I seen winning races had something basic on their car and did fine. Although like with everything there is always those people who will have some level of success with the adjustable shocks, or tires that are not what they say on the side, or even traction control which to me is a waste of money anyway. In addition, those types of products seem not to deliver the type of results, which I look for in a product, which should give me an advantage over the competition. I have watch more engines bite the dusts when this devise is used and I have not seen a racecar yet around here do well on a regular basis either.

Nevertheless, from my experience around car owners they prefer to spend the least amount of money from their own pockets, as they are able on engines and parts, which will simply be a waste of money. This is not only true of the weekly racer, but it is also true of the car owns of cars that race with a series. Although the car owner knows, they will have to try, some new ideas on setups and parts at times to stay competitive. In addition, though the driver, is only concerned about winning, and faces it there are those drivers, which travel and race with a series that want to get pay as much as possible and winning races is the quickest way for a driver to reach this goal of earning as much as possible from each race. Therefore, the driver is always willing to try new parts and setups on the car, if they think it will give them the competitive edge against the next person.

So naturally, both the car owner and the driver want to get the very best for their money and are willing to spend extra to get the type of performance that will give them the competitive edge in which both have in mind. Therefore, it is time to take this article to the edge as well, and point out that there is no way the crate engines are in anyway the answer to this debate, because one needs to look at the bigger picture on the engine issue. Just look at the idea of someone telling you that you have to use an engine, which most likely has been mass-produced, and could have been sitting in a warehouse somewhere for all I know, and if it was not I think I would have concerns about who put the boat anchor to be together in the first place.

Oh!!! By the way, the question I have is on this, so called problem fixer is what are the promoters getting out of this deal? Because in some cases I have to question if it is just simply the promoters making deal with an engine builder just simply to make money, for themselves, by making under the table agreements to build this so called cost of engines issue. Therefore, the idea of the crate engine has not sold me that this is the fix all to the cost of racing engines for the type of auto racing today. In addition I have spent a great deal of time talking to people who that have used crate engines on dirt, and pavement and get much the same answer from these people from both, which is the crate engine did not save them anything, and cost them more in the end. Now do not get me wrong I have no problem with promoter make money, but the motive behind it that I question.

Now we are at the point, which I have, I got your attention, and you are about ready to throw, your computer out the window lets look at another area, and seems to have become a huge issue as of late and has gotten a ton of coverage on radio or television show programs that cover auto racing. This would be the fact that canister shocks have become some what of an issue in some circles is totally beyond me. Because from my view point there are only a handful of people using canister shocks in the first place, and in my view, the canister shocks truly have not help them at all in a race, because the canister shocks from what I have seen only is helpful to those race teams that are running a 100 laps or more. In addition, this style of shock is very costly, high maintains, and it is something that would help on a longer race.

Although on the other side of this issue with canister shocks, at least the ones I have seen they were the type, which were fixable. Therefore, call me crazy, but I think this would be a more cost-affected way for a race team cutting their cost on racing with this type of shock. Because spending money on shocks that one cannot either rebuild themselves or send off somewhere to have rebuilt does not seem to smart to me. In addition, either once a regular shock is no longer any good a regular shock normally used on a car that will be sold, thrown away, or by some chance, gets take to an auction.

By the way I was reading something about making a car were there would be limits on the amount of adjustments which could be made on a car, so that it would unhook the car and put it back into the drivers hands. Well, first thing is I was not aware this had changed, and the driving was no longer in the drivers’ hands. Maybe we should ask Steve Kinser about weather-or-not the driving of the cars today is still in the drivers’ hands, or even Danny Lasoski his thoughts on these two issues. Because, the fact is there are no speed limits on the path to success and I would add that there is no price on the path to success. Although like these two gentlemen, or even someone like Chub Franks, Steve Francis, even Jason Krohn (the 2007 OReilly Auto Parts Usmts National champion) or by chance, Eddie Martin would love to see the price of dirt track racing come down. Although like these gentlemen as well as many more will continue to spend the time and money to get the best handling car, and top of the line-equipment that is available.