Gabe Boudreau

I have been involved in racing for nearly 17 years now and have a rule change for next year. It seems to me that the Handout Tire rule's for the Mod. Nats are a little restrictive!

The Mod Nationals should be a place where the so called "Tire Wars" do happen! Limiting a driver to the type and amount of tires is rediculous! This only gives an ever greater advantage to a Factory Driver, who can still get all the trick parts for there cars, and replace any item 1000 times if they need too. It also places a HUGE burden on the track holding the event (IE This year the track in New Mexico has to spend $20,000.00 dollars just for tires!

This cost should be the racers responsibilty, not the track! I have seen a dozen or so tracks through the years close after they had a Nationals because they lost too much money hosting the Race, and ROAR does not seem to care about this increasing number!

Nationals are expensive, and racers who attend should know this. I have attend 5 national events, and 4 of them I was a factory driver and it stilled cost me over $1,000.00 dollars to compete (money from my own pocket!!!)

The rules for the MOD NATS need to be reverted back, so that new companys like Panther Racing Tires can have a shot at winning on a grand scale to help increase there sales. The way it is now, Pro-Line will win every national championship, since they can always outbid smaller companies for the rights to the handout tire!

Please Comment on this all ROAR Memebers who are concerned...

Gabe Boudreau

Homer Allman

Gabe 100% agreed. I just hosted the 2003 ROAR mod nats and the tire thing was a big nightmare. I had to spend close to 10,000 dollars in tires. It was not a good thing. This created problems that you could not believe. It did not force me to close, but it did make me open my eyes and I removed my track from ROAR. Because of this rule, tire technology is stale.

Gabe send me an email. [email protected]

BullFrog

iTrader: (4)

Gabe I'll reply but it's only my thoughts. I've attended nationals both without and with tire being furnished by the host clubs.I to have been racing 25 years. I did race off-road and on-road nationals.I still race just on-road.Here what happened many times to me. In off-road the teams have special tires for that track.Only the teams had them. All the money spent on tires was a waste.Some years Associated had the best tire others Losi.The same could be said for on -road. going to the on-road national in texas and the only tire that worked was the atlantic gome. Only assiocated team members had them (by the trunk load).They were available after the race on monday.
As for the tires for the nationals I do know the clubs pick the tires. If panther has a tire they should contact the host clubs.It the host clubs choice on what is used at the races.
There is no easy answer for your question.

Homer Allman

Tire type needs to be available to everyone or raced by no one. How easy is that.

Ever tried to track 4000 tires. If ROAR wants to police tires, they should have someone at the race to do it. A tracks first job should be to pull off a great race not police tires.

Skid Marks

i think bullfrog said it best. if we allow any tire to run, the factory guys will always have a tire that no one can getthen they would have an advantage. i agree that the tire policing could be done a different way. that would be something we can talk about at our next meeting.

speedxl

regardless if we race toy cars or real cars.
the factory guys will always have the deep pockets of the company behind them.!
this sport or hobby as we know is paid in full by the club racers and the hobbiest. we want a fair shot at being competitive.
the fact we all have a fair shot because we are on the same rubber has actully brought up attendance at races especially here in florida we can actually show up to a race and consentrate on setting up the car instead of woundering what the freagin factory guys are running that are whooping our asse$ it has made racing our toy cars more enjoyable.

the roar nationals is a place for the factories to show off thier hardware, yes you are right but does it really say much for them winning an event on tires that no one else has! now with the control tires everyone has equal footing and if they win! then they can be much more prouder to claim that thier equipment is the best. not the special tire. and any one here knows that the tire is the number one component that makes your car handle 70% of the equation to put the car in victory lane.
if you dont see this then you must be blind it is the best format for the racers.
now i understand it puts a burben on the host for tires then there needs to be some sort of resolution made!
here in florida we use take off tires, scumacher give the tires on cosignment and what ever is sold they split and schumacher takes back the unsold tires and there is no burden to the state or the host club.
I am sure that a small tire company will work out something like this with the host club so they can compete with the bigger manufactures, at no lost to the host or them .
sorry i used my .02 cents a long time ago but YES TO CONTROL TIRES!!!!

TimPotter

iTrader: (15)

Why doesnt, ROAR help out and float the first 100 or so sets of tires to the host club, and take that back out of the sanctioning fees ? After all it is the "ROAR Nats" not Joe Blow's Hobby Shop Nats...

Homer Allman

At the nationals we hosted it took over 1000 pair of tires 300 entries averaging 2 pair of front and 2 pair of rear equals 1200 pair. I had to pay for 9000 dollars in tires for handouts, I was unalbe to get all that I need. They were non refundable, In othere words what I ordered is what I paid for. This did not include the tires I had for practice and the rims that are needed. It was a big task, to say the least. Then we had to track all thse tires. Imagine that one................

TimPotter

iTrader: (15)

Homer, I undestand. I think we are looking at the problem form the wrong angle. It is really not the spec tire, but how it is administered.

1. Any tire company that submits a tire as a control tire, needs to have an understanding for return policy ( as long as the tires are still unopened ) or mabe they can give the host club net 30 terms or something.

2. ROAR could possible front some of the money for the first "X"sets of tires. It is thier national championship, maybe they should take some of the skin in the game.

3. Maybe ROAR, or the hobbyshop can give the host track and option to "Outsource" the tire supply. Ask the tire manufacturer to attend the race, and support/sell thier own tires.

I am sure somethign can be figured out. I would like to see other companies get in the game, but I do not think dumping spec tires will help that out.

raffaelli

iTrader: (13)

I always thought that the tire company should ship xxx tires to the track, raw, unpackaged. The host track sells them for the race. Whatevers left, the track ships back. Easy.

Homer Allman

Chris they shipped them to me in a box, with no packaging. Raw just like you said. They told me up front, I could not return anything. What ever I ordered I had to pay for. It was basically a guessing game as to how many tires we needed. I guessed wrong and payed dearly for my mistake.

Scrubb

would a rule only allowing current nationaly avaliable mass produced tires be good enough? No prototypes or special compounds. Questionable tires could easily be distroyed for inspection (shouldn't be a problem if they are mass-produced), if the tire is legit, the complainer pays for a new set, if its illegal, then the user is disqualified from the event.

Any reason this would not work?

Dawn Sanchez

the only question I would have is how do you tech tire compound? That is why the rule was put in place to begin with... to avoid new compound usage by select groups of racers that a privateer couldn't have purchased on his own....

The electric off road committee is attempting to rewrite the handout policy just for the reasons Homer stated and many others that we believe cause a hardship for the host tracks.

Please, email your suggestions to either me at [email protected] or Dennis Samson at [email protected] (he's the competition director).

thanks!

MarkA

iTrader: (21)

Something like this - a one-time purchase for ROAR. ROAR then buys off a local hobby shop shelf all the tire compounds a company makes and establishes a baseline hardness rating. People using traction compounds that soften a tire then do so at their own risk but they'll be aware of that up front.

Dawn Sanchez

thanks Mark.. great link.....