Nss Slm Just Maybe

[georgep]

NSS is super fast and when you screw up you are looking at another car. The track is great but the hi speed freight train is what takes over the show. MAYBE the other tracks get more cars because you can pass and win without all the ponies required at NSS.
I miss not going to NSS and VCS since I am up in SC but MAYBE the race pace at that track has exceeded the budget of many owners.
Another observation is that MAYBE there are not that many SLM's around with the CRATE deal going.

[Frasson118]

I agree on both points George. I think the technology in asphalt racing has come so far towards perfection, that there is no longer any excitement left. Aerodynamics, tires and high priced motors have everyone on such equal ground that there is TOO much parity. Unless the guy in front of you screws up (or if you fall in to the Rubbins' Racin' crap) then there is NO passing. Drive every lap perfectly and Tony Stewart and AJ Foyt would never get past you. Sure it takes talent to drive fast, but nobody needs to learn how to RACE each other.... it's all a high-speed parade. Or a Crash-fest. And I, for one, am sick of both. Take away the gumball tires (new ones every time out), the ABC bodies (if you nick a fender up, your day is shot anyways), and the $30-40K store-bought motors (not many guys these days are smart enough to BUILD one with that much power, so they just buy one)... and see how many of these guys are actually RACERS instead of DRIVERS. I think you'd find a very short list.

In my opinion, it really doesn't have as much to do with New Smyrna, as it does the condition of the entire sport. Too much technology is ruining it. It's just more visible at NSS and at Lakeland than it is elsewhere.

As for "not that many SLM's around"... I agree. See above for the reasons why that is.

If you can't afford to rent the track for private testing, come back for the night-before-the-race practice session (don't forget your new set of tires for each of these nights), practice all afternoon... and then time trial in 2/10th behind Russell or Choquette, you are screwed from there on. I've said it a MILLION times... these guys are ALLOWED to spend far too much money on non-race nights. It costs a fortune (with Zero payback) and chases away anyone who would like to run the race, but can't afford 2 days of keeping up with the Jones'. Who wants to take their $50K SLM out, when you realize that a top-5 finish is an unrealistic dream, and a win is positively out of the question.

Get rid of some technology, don't allow unlimited budget teams (or greedy track owners/promoters) to control the policies, and maybe you'll see a whole lot of Weekend Joe's come out to the tracks again.

Some of the Dirt Late Model groups have it figured out... practice consists of 1 or 2 sessions, 3-5 laps each. That's IT. If you don't have it working right by then, do your best and maybe next week you'll hit it right on. Many times, there are over 25 cars on a given night that have the ability and equipment to win. Asphalt can't even bring that many total CARS, let alone potential winners.

Just curoius here... in the last 3 seasons, how many different SLM drivers have won a feature in Sunbelt, AACS, or Brighthouse Series? My guess would be less than 15.

[ovalracer44]

Put all racecars back on D.O.T tires and watch all those problems go right out the window. Motors dang sure wont matter anymore. You will see some of the real wheel men come back to the front.

This includes putting D.O.T tires on SLM cars, modifieds, and every division in between.

[georgep]

Put all racecars back on D.O.T tires and watch all those problems go right out the window. Motors dang sure wont matter anymore. You will see some of the real wheel men come back to the front.

This includes putting D.O.T tires on SLM cars, modifieds, and every division in between.

Alternate plan "B" to DOT is Hoosier and other tire companies have a boat load of SPEC TIRES for series that are no longer around. They are CHEAP at $55.00 to $60.00 each. Dirt uses a hardness for the right rear and it works. The problem is that the tracks do not want to punch tires since it is a subjective test at best. I can punch my right rear and get 5 different readings depending on where I check it.
There is NO ANSWER when the tracks are controlled by the purse strings of the top teams period.