Given the tightness of this track, I was thinking of going for lots of low end torque and thus going with the 17 tooth pinion gear off a 9t motor. Is this too extreme?
Given the tightness of the track, I would run a P2k or a P2k2. What are you doing with a 9T anyways?
is the benifit of an expensive battery pack really going to be that noticeable over say a 1500mah battery.
Yes. The biggest thing is that you can run the 3000 or 3300 more then once a day. Plus, when you are ready to move up, you'll be a step in the right direction with your equipment.
ROAR requires 4 foot min track width over entire course
I'm not a member, but I believe it's actually 8 feet.
What adjustments would you make to a touring car to run it on an oval course
Firstly, I'd want a chassis that placed the cells along the left side instead of the right. Even a saddle pack is better then on the right. Secondly try to make the drivetrain as free as possible. With Oval, many times you run opposite camber and caster settings from left front to right front. I would talk to some of the local oval pan car shot shoes and try to copy the front end geometry on a sedan.
Hope this helps