*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideDirtRacing.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the dirt racing topics of the day from east Tennessee and beyond.
The latest edition of the Turn 2 Blog is presented by the American Crate All-Star Series.
Richard: While the average person sitting in the grandstands or the average media member walking through a Dirt Late Model pit area may not know a great deal about the rules that govern the bodies on race cars, the competitors certainly do. And one thing that I have heard drivers and teams complain about over the past few years is the fact that not all of those rules are the same nor are they administered in the same way. But it appears as if that may soon change.
This past Thursday at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show it was announced that twelve regional tours would adopt a set of rules that would bring each of those regional circuits in line with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. Those two national tours began working toward a set of uniform rules since back in the early part of the 2021 season and now the majority of regional tours have decided to join in.
The regional series that fall under the DIRTcar organization(Summer Nationals, MARS and Sunoco American Late Model Series), the Ray Cook-promoted Schaeffer’s Oil Series(Spring Nationals and Southern Nationals), the Valvoline Iron-Man Racing Series, the Southern All-Star Dirt Racing Series, Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association, the Ultimate Super Late Model Series, the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series, and the Castrol Racing Night in America Series will streamline their rules to match those of the national tours.
Among the rules to be incorporated into all of the series mentioned above are a droop rule to govern rear deck heights, the universal weight of 2,350 pounds, the sizes of rear tires, and measurements for the width of the race cars are all a part of the uniform regulations. Not all of the particulars were announced but will be in advance of the 2022 season.
While there may not be agreement on the rules themselves, I don’t see how this newly revealed cooperation can be viewed as anything other than a positive for the sport of Dirt Late Model racing. The fact that a team might be able to race for example in an Iron-Man event on a Friday night then a Southern All-Stars race on Saturday without having to make significant changes has to be seen as welcome news for those who participate in this sport. And furthermore, I would think those who officiate the sport would also be glad that they do not have to explain to competitors why a car that passed inspection the night before with another series now doesn’t meet their particular standards.
This has to be a good thing, right?
Michael: If these things will actually be enforced, it will be a good thing. The bodies on these cars are out of control. They get bigger and get more jacked up with each passing day. Compare today’s cars with those 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago, and you can see clear differences.
One thing constantly talked about on the bigger tracks is clean air. At the Xtreme event at I-75 Raceway last week, both the winner and the second-place finisher (who led most of the race) mentioned clean air being the key. This isn’t NASCAR. Clean air shouldn’t be an issue in this type of racing. I’m hopeful the changes will fix some of these problems.
The bodies on cars driven by regional star Cory Hedgecock(23) and national standout Brandon Sheppard(1) should be identical
Richard: There’s no doubt that the bodies on these machines have changed significantly over the years. And I don’t think anyone would disagree that the cars of today are not what was originally intended when this style of Late Model came into use. But there will always be evolution and it’s up to those who set the rules to rein in those advancements when they get out of hand.
You do raise an interesting point in regard to enforcement. Hopefully the agreements made by the various series is more than just something written on paper but not actually put into practice by all the sanctioning bodies.
Where it was sometimes a difficult situation when a team might go from one series to another and have to change something because of a written rule, it will be that much more of a difficult situation for each individual tour should a driver claim that his car was allowed to race with one series then was disallowed by another when both tours are a part of this agreement.
To me, the most important part of this announcement is that all of these series have agreed to cooperate on something. Do you see that as a big deal?
Michael: I can see if one series says a car is okay and another series says it is not, that can lead to the same arguments of favoritism or one director doesn’t know what he’s doing and so on. We hear those claims from people all of the time. My understanding is all series will be using a common “template” to check the bodies and offsets. If so, that will be a good thing.
One thing I would have liked, had this been part of the changes, is doing something with the noses of the cars. They’re too flat along with the filler panels. The early 2000’s cars looked the best and I would like to see the cars go back to that. I think that would also help some with all this aero talk we hear more and more.
Richard: Perhaps a more important thing that could come from this new feeling of cooperation is that it could bleed over into other aspects of the sport apart from mechanical issues. With so many races set to pay $20,000-to-win or more it would be nice to see the various regional tours try to work out deals with each other so as not to schedule on top of each other when possible.
Obviously, there aren’t enough weekends on the calendar for everyone but if the different series could somehow find a way not to plan races on the same day at tracks that are two hours or less apart it would benefit racers, fans and promoters.
It’s too late for 2022 as most schedules are set. But if everyone can get together to work out mechanical differences, it would be nice to see them work out other issues as well.
Michael: I agree. We’ve already seen some conflicts on scheduling, not sure if any of those are intentional or just trying to find the best date already taken that causes the least grief for both sides.
We see the Ultimate Super Late Model Series and the Valvoline Iron Man Series are co-sanctioning an event at Smoky Mountain Speedway in March. Let’s hope we see more races like that on a regional level.
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