Originally Posted by
T. Taylor
I guess it boils down to this.... If I want to race in Altoona I have to get the right speedo (to handle lipo) a novak 21.5 motor (for what looks to be one track) and a lipo battery. Thankfully I can use the lipo and the speedo at Frederick MD's Colesiuem with my 17.5 motor.
At first yrs ago I was against going 4 cell as well till I figured out that I was ahead of the game. Then all I had to do was break 6 cells to 4 cells and I was done. With lipo taking over and the use of 21.5 or 17.5 motors I like alot of other racers will have to shell out more of what we do not have. That is if we want to keep racing. That or like some of the racers here in MD just put the car on a shelf with a pretty body and look at it.
I do not mean to sound whiny or complaining but with the economy the way it is and hrs at work being cut or jobs being pull out from under some. Why do we all want to make major changes instead of running what we already have ????? Thus leaving more money to take care of more important things like food housing and othe essentials.
These are just my feelings on things and my opinion.............thankfully we have the right to free speach here in the USA
Spec is all about saving money as well as being competitive. With spec racing you do not have to upgrade your equipment every 6 months to have the latest and greatest in order to compete, right there that saves a ton of money, I spent a ton of money last year buying new 4 cell batterys for big races, having to keep 4 or 5 batteries at all times in good condition and so on....this year I could easily run w/1 lipo all day long. That right there has saved me well over $150.00. Brushless motors also a major savings, last year b4 we went brushless I had a know 10 stock motors and only 1 that performed well enough to keep up. this year 1 brushless, again major money saver and that is not even taking into account all the brushes and com lathe and everything else that I needed to maintain everything last year.
I dont run pan car anymore simply because I can't afford to replace tires every few weeks, BUT I did do some research and Altoona Raceway has adopted the rules of every major oval race that is currently being run and every big oval race coming up. So if you plan on running any of the sanctioned events then your gonna need this equipment anyway. Its not like Altoona is asking you to buy equipment that you will never use at any other track....it is the standard of the class.
So to keep this on the shorter side, when it comes to spec. racing you buy everything ONCE and you are set for the year (barring any mass disasters). And HOPEFULLY if your hours get cut or you lose your job (as i did) and you cant afford to race AND keep food on the table you will have enough smarts to hang up the racing for awhile and get back on your feet. Granted times are tuff and I myself had to hang it up for awhile back in the summer until I could get my money situation under control. From what I am hearing on the TV and such, its going to take a while for things to come around here in the good old USA, but if it comes down to racing or feeding and housing your family I would hope that making that decision is a no brainer!!