Post by Doc22 on Aug 8, 2004 20:44:25 GMT -5
There is a safety issue to look at here too. The faster aluminum and even steel motors catch the slower cars very fast. Too many times I have seen the leaders either get caught up in a wreck trying to go around the slower and usually less experienced drivers as well as actually punting the slower car off the track. It gets dangerous in a hurry when the big dawgs decide you shouldn't be there. There is a place for and a reason why we have the limited class. There are a lot of drivers out there that aren't ready for the big dawgs no matter what their ego says. Say what you will about crates but the fact is having a crate or spec class allows you to have a limited class and have a means of teching them as well as controlling costs. If you just say ok you can have up to a 362 there is a smorgesboard of ways to cheat and absolutely no way to control the costs. Remeber a Nextel Cup engine is a 358 and it has 800hp. With a sealed spec motor or crate, there are only so many ways to cheat and we're gonna catch them, believe me. The other point is with a sealed engine there are legal ramifications to breaking into these motors. Ask Mike Cope from ASA. GM fried him. What has happened at a lot of tracks is the Limited Class went away and guys either went home or dropped back to another class because they can't afford or aren't ready to be a Super Late, many go broke trying. racing isn't fun anymore when you are going broke and not being competitive. The pressure to perform well is overwhelming and can be even worse if you have a sponsor expecting big things from you. Mixing Lm and LLM is a recipe for disaster with too many trying to drive over their heads. Like Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force.." A man's gotta know his limitations." the problem with racers is we all think we're the next big thing.
Doc
Doc