HAMPTON, VA :: With the economy still teetering on the edge and sponsors tough to come by I was wondering is it time to open up the types of cars allowed at tracks that run by the NASCAR rule book for their Late Model Stock’s.
Many tracks (without the start and parks) had a medium to low car count last season. Which bring me to the question, is it time for these tracks to do what is best for them and start allowing straight rail cars run with perimeter cars? The straight rail cars would have to run a LMSC motor and weight the same as the perimeter cars. Other series have integrated these two cars with good success.
My personal feeling is that the straight rail cars are the way of the future. With some minor changes you can take one of these cars just about anywhere in the U S and Canada. Never have built one but talking to chassis builders, they tell me the chassis is cheaper to build and repair. I feel there are many teams that would choose to run at their local track rather than haul up and down the road. This in turn would help local tracks with their car counts and bring in new drivers and fans.
As we can see many sanctioning bodies make changes all the time to help continue their growth and stay strong. You have some that have numerous engine rules that allow teams to run the equipment they have, while others allow different styles of chassis to accommodate the racers in their area.
I think it’s time for tracks in Virginia and the Carolina’s to take a look at what will help their program and stop worrying about what is politically correct. Fans would rather see 24 cars race for the entire event, rather than 15 cars take the green and 3 or 4 pull in the pits after a few laps.
As always, just my .02 worth.
