Stock Buggy Class
 

I just wanted to create a thread and see how others felt about this issue. I feel that the stock buggy class is just getting out of control.

I feel that stock buggy should be for new racers that are want to get use to a more competitive class. However at the current time, and at multiple tracks, (that I have visited at least) I feel that stock buggy is getting the wrong kind of competition. You see, I don't care if people only race stock and don't want to race pro-stock or mod, but if they are only going to race stock I feel they should have an appropriate attitude behind it. I'm not sure about your local track, but at ones I have visited you have two different kind of people, you have the people that only race on Saturdays, then you have the people that, then the people that race/practice 5 out of 7 day's a week. I feel that these people that are getting this much practice should not be allowed to race in stock! As any would expect, with all of their practice they are receiving of course they are getting better and winning all of their races. Yes you should be glad you won, but at what point do you stop your cockiness? At multiple tracks I have been to they try to make people advance individuals, as they start winning on a constant basis.

Also the other issue I feel should be addressed at tracks, is the skill level. We constantly have A and B mains in stock. However the problem is we will have the A Mainers running anywhere between 18-22 laps. So you have these fast people trying to get around these slow people and they just dont have the popular etiquette to let the fast people around. Overall at the few tracks I have been to in the past little bit everyone is slowly starting to stray from this fun class because of environment it brings. I myself and multiple people, have stopped racing stock too. I feel it's kinda ironic this is occurring at a club level and not a big race level.

What if these people that are winning stock on a constant basis raced mod/pro stock instead. If they truly wanted to race stock still, but a 17.5 at a big race? Then you have the people that will come out screaming, "They are sand baggers!". Why is that such a big deal? There is no rule that says you can't do that, and essentially there is no advantage to this because it still comes down to driving skill/practice. Then you have the people saying I just went against what I just said. Well no because at most big races skill level is completely different. Most stock buggy races at big events (no pro races, but "big" events locally) they will be within seconds of each other (30seconds I would say).

I'm done with my rant, what do you think should be done to address the stock buggy issues, at multiple tracks nation wide?

-Alexander L.

Everybody has a different opinion on this one, so you will hear all sides of the isle, and nothing will ever change or be solved. My opinion, is that the "stock" class is just a class for a certain wind motor and/or battery. Skill level has nothing to do with it. At every track I race at, there are two groups of classes that involve skill level, and they are:

Beginner drivers = Novice
Experienced drivers = Any other class (which may include stock, mod, 4wd, whatever)

Stock around here simply means drivers are running 17.5 turn motors. If you think you are going to show up and get an easy run because it isn't mod, you're in for a surprise. Cruize down to TRCR and watch the top shelf stock drivers race... some amazing talent. Are they sandbagging? No.. because "stock" is a hardware designation, not a skill designation. Do people give them a hard time anyway? you bet. I say, race where you want. A lot of guys run stock because it's a lot easier on the tire wallet.

The fast guys want to race in the class that has the most competition. Around here it was mod until the last 6 months or so and the mod class died, so now all the fast guys run stock. Stock used to be an intermediate step between rookie and mod, now there is no stepping stone, so you have a big gap in ability. The guys that are too fast to run rookie stay there because they know they can run up front every week. So now the track broke it down to rookie, 17.5 sportsman, 17.5 expert, mod sportsman, and mod expert. And that's just buggy! In 4x4 sc you have expert and sportsman, mod 4x4 buggy, 1/8 ebuggy, 2wd SCT. The classes are so diluted it has turned what should be a 4 hour day into an 8-10 hour day . I say run everyone together not by ability but by what they are driving and let quals sort them out. That's why there are A, B, C mains. But everyone wants a shot at making the A.

+1

I have pretty strong feelings on this subject, Im that guy that races maybe 2 times a week if Im lucky and the only practice I get is before the race. I get absolutely smoked.

I personally feel that breaking down stock into expert and intermediate levels would be the best for all parties. that way the fast guys dont have to worry about lapping a guy 3 or 4 times in a 6 minute race. A lot of the slower stock drivers do not want to be on the track with novice SCT drivers!

At IERC we run it:
Sportsman Stock Buggy
Expert Stock Buggy


And let me tell you the Sportsman class is still no walk in the park. On an average night we get about 4-5 heats of Sportsman. The A-Main qualifiers are usually within about 5-10 seconds. With the Expert class about a lap faster.

Stock Buggy class by us is a 17.5 motor with esc set in blinky mode this puts all the buggies on a level playing field and now it comes down to driver skill. We also run a sportsman class for the novice racers to compete in until they become better drivers.
The only way to get better is to race with good drivers and learn their lines and driving styles. Most of the guys by us are friendly and will gladly help you out with set-ups.:)

Oops wrong thread lolz

Agree completely, I enjoy racing with you, Dave, Jason, etc, all people who are of similar skill level to me, not super fast like Mike S or Andrew.

Maybe we should approach Scott about splitting up stock buggy into slow and fast classes? I think everyone would enjoy that, slow or fast.

It's best to divide racers as little as possible. If you start chopping up classes so more guys have a chance to "win", then nobody really does. Interest dwindles, turnout fades.

Last weekend we were actually talking about putting together a 13.5 blinky class that we wont tell anyone about except the people that are close to our skills lol. (they run that class during the gold cup, so its not like its a new class or anything)

It'd be annoying to have to get a new motor, but I'd be down for that.

.

Here in the PNW 17.5 buggy is one of the most competitive classes there is, and that is why I run it. At a big race up here there's no shame in a B main appearance as there are several tracks within a few hours of each other, so you can guarantee that there is a good sampling of the fast 17.5 guys from each of the tracks in addition to the host track locals that have a slight advantage by running that dirt week in and week out. For club racing competitive guys will go where the competition is. If the good competition is in 17.5 buggy, that's where they will race.

At the tracks up here the fastest 17.5 buggies aren't far off the pace of the fastest mod cars, so perhaps at a club level separating 2wd buggy into sportsman and expert would be a better plan, or keep the fastest guys running where they are and continue to try and catch them. At TRCR I measure my progress in how many laps off of the lead group I am (on a good day I'm 1 lap or less off the top guys), but at my local track I measure success in how many seconds off the winner I am, or if I'm lucky I'm right in the thick of it at the end of the race.

At the end of the day it really comes down to whether or not things need to be divided (which will make for 2 smaller classes, perhaps everyone making the A in both classes), or leave things alone and measure yourself against the racers you are in competition with week in and week out. If it is divided between expert and sportsman and someone is cleaning house in sportsman by a lap but is still 2 laps off pace in expert, does he get bumped? It really becomes a hard decision for the race director when it comes to forced bumps based on performance with two completely different skill sets. On the one hand you want everyone to have a great time and be competitive, but my creating parity you may lose the interest of those drivers who are faster than sportsman level but aren't quite up to speed with the expert group.

Exactly