Looking Ahead Part II
As the snow falls here in Maine on New Year's Eve, my mind starts to wonder about what 2007 will bring.
Part of my research has drawn me to many mud racing-related web sites and their various chat rooms. The big buzz now is the chassis issue. Should back half kits be legal? Should center seats be legal? What should be done about wheelbase and how do you enforce it all?
With regards to back half kits, I feel that they should be legal. Whether you build it yourself or have a chassis built for you, a back half kit when properly attached would be a strong foundation for a safe chassis.
Yes, my first reason is safety. The faster we get, the more possible it will become for our vehicles to wreck. The stronger and stiffer the chassis (up to a point), the less chance there is for the driver to be hurt. Obviously, proper safety gear as well as driver restraints all play a part in this. If the chassis is stronger, then it will last longer before it has to be replaced, thus helping to keep the cost of racing down.
Finally, when tied together with a strong cage, a non-flexing chassis allows the suspension to work better and more consistently. Center seats are more subjective. According to Bruce, center seats are OK if the pedals are on the left side. The only advantage to this is that the cage could be built directly over the frame, which could be stronger and lighter, but with a minimum weight, having to run too much ballast could make positioning it a challenge.
As far as wheelbase is concerned, there is a clear rule on the books now, but I have yet to see it enforced.
This comes back to the same bottom line, and that is enforcement. All of the comments that I have read are the same, give us a fair set of rules and enforce them! If a lack of staff at the race is the issue, then maybe racers need to step up and get involved with tech. Pro Stock would tech Pro Mod, Pro Mod would do Blowers, and Blowers would do our class. This should minimize the chance of cheating. This would definitely lighten the load on Bruce and allow the host clubs to deal with the less technical classes. The NMRO has more responsibility to us than just taking our money, and we have the responsibility to hold them accountable.
The one thing I am glad to see is the growth of the sport around the country. It seems that there are more groups starting their own sanctioning bodies and coming up with rules similar to the NMRO. This could be the common denominator that allows the sport to grow. With similar rules, you could race all over the country and this would pick up car counts. More cars equal more money in the purses. The guys at Fast Mud are committed to this goal and deserve our support. The Northeast seems to be the only place that has not had any real growth. Over the years, a few people have tried to start new races with very little success. It seems that the rules are antiquated, and this has led to the lack of competitiveness on the national level as well as the lack of new rides coming out of the Northeast. Deep pits are the only thing that seem to thrive. So I guess I will just have to keep traveling.
Speaking of traveling, Mean Streak will be heading south for the TMRO race in February. I am looking foward to racing with them and seeing some old friends.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year and we'll see you in 2007.
Part of my research has drawn me to many mud racing-related web sites and their various chat rooms. The big buzz now is the chassis issue. Should back half kits be legal? Should center seats be legal? What should be done about wheelbase and how do you enforce it all?
With regards to back half kits, I feel that they should be legal. Whether you build it yourself or have a chassis built for you, a back half kit when properly attached would be a strong foundation for a safe chassis.
Yes, my first reason is safety. The faster we get, the more possible it will become for our vehicles to wreck. The stronger and stiffer the chassis (up to a point), the less chance there is for the driver to be hurt. Obviously, proper safety gear as well as driver restraints all play a part in this. If the chassis is stronger, then it will last longer before it has to be replaced, thus helping to keep the cost of racing down.
Finally, when tied together with a strong cage, a non-flexing chassis allows the suspension to work better and more consistently. Center seats are more subjective. According to Bruce, center seats are OK if the pedals are on the left side. The only advantage to this is that the cage could be built directly over the frame, which could be stronger and lighter, but with a minimum weight, having to run too much ballast could make positioning it a challenge.
As far as wheelbase is concerned, there is a clear rule on the books now, but I have yet to see it enforced.
This comes back to the same bottom line, and that is enforcement. All of the comments that I have read are the same, give us a fair set of rules and enforce them! If a lack of staff at the race is the issue, then maybe racers need to step up and get involved with tech. Pro Stock would tech Pro Mod, Pro Mod would do Blowers, and Blowers would do our class. This should minimize the chance of cheating. This would definitely lighten the load on Bruce and allow the host clubs to deal with the less technical classes. The NMRO has more responsibility to us than just taking our money, and we have the responsibility to hold them accountable.
The one thing I am glad to see is the growth of the sport around the country. It seems that there are more groups starting their own sanctioning bodies and coming up with rules similar to the NMRO. This could be the common denominator that allows the sport to grow. With similar rules, you could race all over the country and this would pick up car counts. More cars equal more money in the purses. The guys at Fast Mud are committed to this goal and deserve our support. The Northeast seems to be the only place that has not had any real growth. Over the years, a few people have tried to start new races with very little success. It seems that the rules are antiquated, and this has led to the lack of competitiveness on the national level as well as the lack of new rides coming out of the Northeast. Deep pits are the only thing that seem to thrive. So I guess I will just have to keep traveling.
Speaking of traveling, Mean Streak will be heading south for the TMRO race in February. I am looking foward to racing with them and seeing some old friends.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year and we'll see you in 2007.
posted by Mean Streak Mud Racing at 7:29 PM
11 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hi y'll
about time you put something new on this site. hahahahaha. just kidding.
As with other sites i've visited - here's my take on the rules. (I am a purest at heart so i beleive that a stock frame is just that a stock frame. stock location seat - same.
If you build it right it will work right and be as safe.
That being said - The truth be known - backhalf trucks and all the other sliced & diced frames and seat positions out there in class 3 - ARE LEGAL!!!
Some of us may disagree with that - But all of the trucks/jeeps that have run at NMRO events have gone through tech - been approved - and certified to be LEGAL for class 3. NO WARNINGS - NO PROTESTS - NOTHING. (Nobody wants to be the bad guy) therefore these modifications have been accepted - YES?
If this is so - then do not all of these become the unwritten rules -that all of the racer can follow?
Some would say there's no advantage to these modifications?
(I think i built a good working chassis for my jeep - but i would be a fool to think that I could build it better than say - Comp engineering or S&W or others)? My answer is yes there are advantages.
(but some of these mod's mean more $$$).
I would say bring it back to the letter of the rules (90% or more of the racers use an unmodified frame)- but they would have to do it right now!! and no one will!!
Bottom line the door is open - LET THE GAMES BEGAIN!!!!!
enfocement would be nice - But it is what it is. that old saying - that actions speak louder then words - kind of sets the stage for how NMRO establishes the rules. (But maybe that is thier way of letting the classes progress).
My advise to any one new in the sport? Go to the events and check things out, But mostly look at the trucks and talk to the racers and the tech officials. I would hope that anyone that jumps in at this level did some homework.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Whether I, or anyone else agrees with what traveler and mean streak are discussing here, it is SO nice to see the hopelessly, useless comments of bigdawg ignored! Lets make this post the last time anybody even acknowledges his stupid, predictable, slanderous rantings. I for one appreciate the time that mean streak spends on this forum. Everybody involved in the sport of mud drag racing needs to work together to support each other and promote the sport, not waste time slamming fellow racers. Lets go racing!!!!
insta-gator - Good luck to you also at the TMRO race.
p.s. be careful though, your comments just might wake up that bigdawg.
Man sure looks cold and snowy up there, Hope it clears for your trip to TN.
Good luck - see you in the spring.
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SMILE big dawg you are on candid camera
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
bbb
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