2013 Dirt Track Thread

[srx_600]

I cant believe there hasn't been a dirt track thread yet. I would think a lot of snowmobilers out there like dirt track racing.

Well, i race the #6 Late Model in Wagner, SD. This is my third year racing and when we started this whole project we stated it was at least a three year project due to the fact i had zero racing experience other than the local amusement park with go karts. So somehow we decided it would be a good idea to throw me in the premier class right away.

Well it hasn't been all bad, i haven't totaled out a car or anything.

Avg. a top ten finish every week out of about 16 cars. Keep learning and keep getting better each and every week with setup and driver skill!

(not me)

Dont be too harsh!

 

[sledhead03]

Right on man, late models are a great class. I used to crew chief for a DiRT Modified team a few years back, but moved away from the area. Late models have always been more appealing to me, as well as sprints.

The biggest thing is just to go out there and have fun. Keep track of your setups, and take as many notes nightly as possible about temp, track conditions, etc. A small tip would be to try and get your setup with the left front on the ground. Your car will really work better if you can keep it down. It may take some time to reconfigure your setup, but you're losing a lot of the advantage of the suspension and chassis geometry by only running on 3 wheels. We had our car run well on 3 wheels a few times, but the tires wore fast, and it caused a lot of strain on the chassis. When running on all 4, you'll notice that your car will be much more consistent. Just my .02, take it as you may.

Have fun and keep us posted on your progress!

 

[srx_600]

The pictures of me lifting the left front up were when i was a little too aggressive on my bars on the rear suspension and was a little off on setup. Typically when i think i nailed setup, the left front is kind of skimming the ground, not a foot off the ground. My car is a swing arm car so when it starts lifting like that i know i am off.

I do keep a notebook of each track i run at with track conditions, setup i put under the car, stagger, temp, humidity, wind, sun/clouds, ect.

I love the late models and wish more tracks would carry them, but racing is getting so expensive that tracks are carrying more lower class, which i cannot blame.

 

[maddog21]

Im no racer but I do enjoy watching the races. sprint cars are my favorite to watch

 

[sledhead03]

That's the unfortunate side of the sport, I noticed a lot of tracks dropping all of the top classes. To me, that's the whole point of racing the dirt tracks, to work yourself up to the mods, sprints, or late models. Personally, I think it's a mistake on the track's part, because it creates less interest over time.

 

[srx_600]

We had a rough night last friday, was making a pass for the lead in the heat race when a guy on my outside came down on me and took his left rear right over by right front and he went for a ride and rolled it. I havent seen any video as to who was at fault but he sure wasnt happy with me. I came out of it with only a small dent.

In the feature i lost oil pressure, get back to the shop and drain the oil and only had 5 1/2 quarts and we normally use 9 with the pan on that motor. Not sure were the other oil went other than losing it to blow by. We cut the filter apart and didnt notice anything too harsh in there so i think we are just going to run it and see what happens. I would like to pull the pan off and check the number 1 and 2 rod bearings out but not sure if i will have time to this week.