Dirt Track and Karting

**AllZWay** · 08-01-2019, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by mach1

yeah, sprint cars scare me, I was thinking a limited modified, they go for around $10k

Yep.. no sprint cars for me. I would like to drive one, but I don't think I have what it takes to not think about flipping those things.. they don't wreck gracefully.

Dirt cars are really pretty cheap.. I see stock cars daily race ready for 5-10k depending on how nice. I see the limited mods and even some IMCA mods in the 10-20 range.

The buy in is not bad at all.. it is the engine cost that are so outrageous.

**Supercharged111** · 08-01-2019, 09:22 AM

And the fact that those engines don't last forever. I rebuilt my LT1 for about $800 back in 2015, had to replace the rotating assembly. It burns a little more oil now, just ask John, but still makes the numbers.

**BryanL** · 08-01-2019, 09:38 AM

I know little about the dirt world but loved a trip to Devil's Bowl for I think World of Outlaws or Sprints but they also had other classes waiting to come on track before the other cars were off-non stop racing for spectators.
From the looks the sprint cars are heavily supported operations with 18 wheelers, teams, $50-100k motors so budgets appear to be $100-1 myn I'm guessing.

My exposure to dirt was around 2000 when a neighbor bankrolled his son in IMCA Modified and it sounded like a circus. I was over there enough and heard enough stories to stay away. But here are the bullet points

-Worked on the car every night during the week with several guys working. Fixing wreck/broken, checking everything, and generally a motor pull/change, etc. It was crazy the time they spent but all single guys with a some drugs and alcohol mixed in.
-The rules and enforcement were ludicrous. They may go to a big money race and put in a $15k motor only to get their motor claimed. Then they were running a two barrel class and lost to a car with a 4 barrel but the track didn't enforce it.
-Of course that resulted in a fight. Common for a member of their team to get banned from a track. Lots of feuds between teams/drivers, etc. They all sounded willing to sacrifice their car to takeout someone else and nothing illegal it seemed.
-My understanding is when their car was on track they had to leave someone at the trailer to make sure tools/parts didn't get stolen.

Needless to say when I started looking at racing dirt didn't hit my radar. I was brought up going to the dragstrip and went there first as some of the newer heads up classes really appealed to me. I went to the track, met some guys, looked at the rules, and it was clear that every class became a wallet class. Meaning even in the lower classes that was an iron head nitrous class it was still who spent the most money and generally on the motor. I think it's why you see so many engine builders as drag racers.

I hear you James on CMC but I still think it's the most budget friendly to have a competitive car on the podium. The brakes aren't bad in the long run it's the tire program that is killing it now. Spec Vette looks cool but the buy in is many times that of CMC as they have some high dollar spec parts and I don't know enough about the torque tube issue and the drivetrain. They do have a tire program that probably makes up for the initial buy in after 3-5 years.

**mach1** · 08-01-2019, 09:54 AM

Good info guys! Looks fun but very demanding and scandalous.

**AllZWay** · 08-01-2019, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Supercharged111

And the fact that those engines don't last forever. I rebuilt my LT1 for about $800 back in 2015, had to replace the rotating assembly. It burns a little more oil now, just ask John, but still makes the numbers.

Excactly.. One year I bought a built 383 stroker and paid roughly $5000 for it... it made it three nights before it grenaded. There are no warranties on racing engines.

Brian.. for the most part the engine claiming has gone way.. for IMCA I think they have a swap rule, but it isn't used anymore.

Oddly though.. this is partly what has driven up the engine costs. When IMCA had a $450 claim rule, you didn't run a $10k engine.. you ran a $2500 engine. A pretty successful racer I knew was claimed 4 times in one year... and he would tell you that was still less expensive than the no claims now days.

**BryanL** · 08-01-2019, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by mach1

Good info guys! Looks fun but very demanding and scandalous.

Well my relayed info. was from a long time ago and the stories also sounded like the people I knew were crazy as well. Maybe the big money races weren't claims. Like we would tell someone looking at CMC or whatever. Go to a few races, look around, talk to some people and your going to have a feel for what kind of fun and costs to expect. Look at the cars before/after and ask them how much time they spent on the car since the last race.

I have seen a groupon for a dirt track driving experience with a few different cars-thinking it was Kenny Wallace.

Interesting info about claims james. I would like to think that spending more money on the motor would help them last longer but I don't know. I can only guess why they don't last is in the dirt and spinning your sitting on the rev limiter most of the race?

**drecords** · 08-01-2019, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by mach1

Have you ever seen it in person? It's amazing

105 speedway is the closest track to us and we probably make it out for the races once a quarter or so. We love it, carry your cooler in, cheap hotdogs/hamburgers/food and about as much racing as you can stand to watch. Lots of fun -- we got a group together and did my 30th birthday last year at the dirt track. They let me wave the green flag for the limited modifieds race since it was my birthday and I definitely tired to bring the flagman a beer, but he declined since he was a hard working professional.

I've had a honda 125cc shifter kart for longer than I've had the CMC car -- it has never run and is still being put back together from having the frame painted, I'll get to it one day.