Looking for:
What kind of cars race on dirt tracks
Click here to ENTER
I write as a hobby and have a wide range of interests from automobile racing to military history. Often overlooked in the mainstream, dirt track racing is perhaps the most exciting form of automobile racing in North America. Dirt track racing is done on over 1, tracks throughout the United States. In the s and 30s, dirt track racing became the dominant form of automobile racing in the United States due to the abundance of thoroughbred horse racing tracks.
There have been traditionally two types of racing cars that have dominated dirt track racing: open-wheel cars—including sprint cars and modifieds, which are primarily run in the Northeast and Midwest—and stock cars, which are raced in the South.
Longer length tracks tend to be more dangerous due to higher speeds, which increase the chance for injury to drivers and damage to race cars. This is why dirt tracks of one mile or more in length are extremely rare. The most common dirt track surface is clay because it retains moisture more readily, which results in more tacky conditions, allowing the cars to grip the track better and reduce dust.
Each race track and sanctioning body maintains specific rules outlining each class of race car, including dimensions, engine size, equipment requirements, and prohibitions.
For the most part, tracks usually coordinate with various other tracks to allow for the widest venue for each type of car. This coordination allows the drivers to compete at many different racetracks, increase competitors’ chances of winning, and lets racing associations develop a series of race events that promote fan interest. There are several forms of dirt track oval race cars, and in this article, we will go over each type.
The main types of race vehicles that race on dirt are open-wheel cars, modified cars, stock cars, and motorcycles. Ray Harroun’s Wasp, winner of the Indianapolis An open-wheel car is a type of car with its wheels on the outside of the body and usually consisting of a single seat.
Open-wheel cars differ from their production-based brethren in that their wheels are usually covered by fenders. Open-wheel race cars also tend to have a higher level of technical sophistication, with a Formula One race car being at the pinnacle of technological development and refinement.
Famous racecar driver and constructor Ray Harroun was an early proponent of lightweight, single seat, open wheel monocoque race cars and began racing them competitively in after a stint working as a mechanic in the automotive industry. Harroun was then tasked with building a race car to compete in the inaugural Indianapolis then known as the International Sweepstakes which he would go on to win. His revolutionary design dubbed the Marmon Wasp would become the blueprint and forefather of all single-seat racecar designs.
The standard open-wheel race car is simple in basic design with a small cockpit sufficient only to enclose the driver’s body, with the head exposed to the air. The exception to this is modified stock cars in which the driver’s head and body is contained in the car similar to that of a conventional passenger car. In modern open-wheel racecars, the engine is typically located directly behind the driver such as in Indy Car and Formula One racing; however, modifieds and sprint cars retain the standard setup where the engine is in front of the driver.
Both types of cars are rear-wheel drive and depending on class rules many types are allowed to have wings at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as a very low and virtually flat undertray that helps achieve additional aerodynamic downforce pushing the car onto the racing surface.
As opposed to off-road racing, an open-wheel race car races on dedicated purpose-built road courses or temporary street circuits, however, these types of races and tracks are beyond the scope of this discussion and we will be focusing on dirt track oval racing from here on out.
Walking into the gates of your local dirt track for the first time can be both exciting and a bit overwhelming with the plethora of different cars in the garage area and on the track. How do you make sense of it all? Like what is that funny-looking car with the big wings on it, or is that really a go-kart zipping around the track, and what is that behemoth rumbling around the track shaking the grandstands as it speeds by?
As any fan will tell you it all begins to make sense after you attend a few races and get to know what the different classes or divisions are and what types of cars compete in each.
First and foremost one must understand that dirt track racing is a very regionalized sport and the types of cars, classes, and race procedures differ from region to region and track to track.
Although dirt tracks are sprinkled throughout the United States and Canada the types of cars competing will vary from place to place. For example, in the South and Southeast, stock cars dominate the scene. You will be hard-pressed to find any tracks there running sprint cars on a weekly basis. In contrast throughout the Midwest and oddly enough Pennsylvania sprint cars are the most popular form of dirt track racing, although you will find a few stock cars here or there.
On the West Coast, you will find the highest concentration of non-wing sprint cars which always put on death-defying if not sometimes dangerous shows. We will explain what each type and most common types of open-wheel dirt track race cars are and where you can see them race. A go-kart is a small tubular frame open-wheel vehicle that typically uses small 2-stroke or 4-stroke gasoline-powered engines.
Racing karts are single-seat vehicles that can reach speeds up to mph but the typical dirt track kart usually reaches speeds ranging from 30 to 50 mph. Most karts are open and have no roll cage, but on many dirt tracks, a cage is required due to the higher speeds being reached and the increased chance of a rollover or flip usually caused by close contact racing. Karts are usually the entry-level class at most tracks and people looking to get into the sport find this an economical way to test the waters before committing serious money on a true race car.
Drivers can start racing karts as young as 7 or 8, however, there are different classes divided between different age groups. During a typical Saturday night racing program the karts are usually the first class on the track and the races tend to be very short, anything ranging from 4 laps for a trophy dash to 20 laps for a feature event. One of two types of qualifying and race formats can be used.
Some tracks use a racing format of two lap heats followed by a lap final. Finishing positions in the two heat races are used to calculate the starting position in the feature race. The other popular format is time qualifying. Karts equipped with transponders are sent out onto the track in groups of 5 or less to try to achieve the fastest lap time. Positions for the lap feature event are determined by qualifying times.
Quarter Midgets are a popular class of entry-level racing and the next step up from racing karts. Drivers are usually restricted to the ages of 5 to 16 years old and there are upwards of 4, quarter midget racers in the United States. Most quarter midgets can reach speeds of anywhere between 30 to 45 mph and this is considered safe due to the limited size of the tracks they compete on.
Although quarter midgets can run on larger tracks that run Saturday night programs this is not common and most quarter midget races are sanctioned by a local or regional sanctioning body that runs on tracks specifically built for quarter midget racing.
A micro sprint is the next class of race car found on dirt tracks after quarter midgets. They are smaller versions of full sprint cars and must run a side-mounted, chain-driven cc motorcycle engine. They can either be winged or non-winged depending on the track regulations. Their chassis and body style is like that of a full-sized sprint car or midget sprint car.
The minimum weight for a winged sprint is lbs while non-winged must weigh lbs. Generally speaking, a micro sprint is supposed to be a more cost-effective alternative to racing a mini sprint or midget but sometimes can cost just as much or more depending on the level of competition and willingness to invest in the program.
The minimum age at most tracks to race micro sprints is 12 and there is no maximum age so many adults can find enjoyment racing in this class also. Very similar in appearance to a micro sprint, a mini-sprint is a slight step up from its micro counterpart and is more comparable to a full-size sprint car in appearance and a midget sprint car in size and dimensions. In a true mini-sprint, the driver sits upright as in a sprint or midget.
Mini-sprints feature an upright style chassis, and a center-mounted four-cylinder motorcycle engine and are similar in size and appearance to a modern-day midget sprint car.
Engines are chain-driven and can range anywhere between cc and cc in size and cars can weigh anywhere between to lbs. A midget packs a lot of power into a small package and these cars feature a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four-cylinder engines.
Midget engines have to horsepower while only weighing 1, lbs, which makes these cars extremely fast, and very dangerous. Full safety roll cages are mandatory for this exact reason. They are designed to run relatively short sprint-style races seldom exceeding 50 laps in distance. Few local tracks conduct a weekly midget racing program and most midget races are hosted by a regional or national touring series.
However, there is still a strong following for non-winged sprint cars, especially in California where this type of racing garners the most support. Purists however respect non-wing sprint racers because this type of car is more difficult to control as traction is harder to find and the cars spend more time sideways putting a premium on driver skills and offering more side-by-side racing.
This also makes them extremely dangerous and there has been an increase in serious and fatal injuries leading to non-winged sprint cars being banned on certain tracks. Winged Sprint Cars are simply put the fastest, highest horsepower, and most dangerous race cars on dirt today.
They are truly awesome machines and words cannot describe what it is like to see one in person. Although they can be seen throughout America, sprint car racing is the motorsport of the Midwest.
The vast majority of sprint car racing’s biggest events take place at tracks in this region. As the fastest cars on dirt, everything about a sprint car is pure speed and anything not absolutely necessary to make the car go fast is discarded.
They do not even have starters and have to be pushed to start. You may hear or see the term or sprints. This is referring to the engine displacement. The purpose of the wings is to provide as much down-force as possible in order to keep the car glued to the track. Tracks now limit wing size to 25 square feet. While many tracks allow wings that can be adjusted by the driver in the cockpit many do not.
The cars use methanol fuel and the gas tanks can carry anywhere from 25 to 35 gallons, but drivers and crews have to be mindful of fuel load because carrying too much will make the car too heavy, and not carrying enough will result in running out and that spells the end of the night because there is no time to refuel in a 50 lap sprint race.
When it comes to engines the is the engine of choice for Outlaw Sprint Cars. These engines are capable of producing an amazing horsepower and that is spectacular in a car only weighing 1, lbs. Due to high cost, most local dirt tracks only run Sprints and this enables many hobby racers to compete due to lower costs and availability of engine parts.
Typical engines are based on production cast-iron blocks and heads, using a wet sump in place of the expensive dry-sump system, and forbidding down nozzles. A silver crown car is a throwback of a bygone era and are the direct decedents of the old Indianapolis Roadsters that ran throughout the s and early 60s.
Silver Crown cars run on dirt or asphalt and look very much like a sprint car but much bigger. They run production-based V-8 engines capable of producing horsepower while only weighing 1, making for one quick and nimble race machine. As we leave the exciting world of the light and nimble high horsepower sprint cars and go over to the other side of dirt track racing and learn about the fender bending, beating, and banging world of stock cars we will enter a completely different racing culture.
With roots dating back to the s prohibition era when moonshine runners would attempt to outrun the authorities in souped-up production cars. With the repeal of prohibition in , there was an abundance of fast modified cars sitting about so guys got together and started having informal races against one another.
It quickly became apparent that there would need to be some standard set of rules if the races were to be fair so Bill France Sr. Street Stocks are a rough and tumble class of production-based race cars.
This class is the most numerous on the local dirt track due to the fact that few modifications are allowed and a car can be brought from a local junkyard and brought up to racing standards. A team has to simply strip the car of all unnecessary components and add a safety roll cage and go racing. Depending on the track they can be called street stocks, pure stocks, hobby stocks, bombers showroom stocks, or U-cars.
Due to the abundance of front-wheel drive cars now available in many junkyards this type of car has become more prevalent on local dirt tracks.
What kind of cars race on dirt tracks.How Dirt Stock Car Racing Works
In the beginning of dirt track racing small numbers of cars would gather at a horse racing oval. [2] [page needed] The first dirt race was held in in Cranston, Rhode Island and was made . Nov 30, · Many different kinds of race cars participate in these events, including both open-wheel and stock cars. Most of these cars are modified with special dirt track racing tires that . Apr 05, · They involve 2-seater cars, which is different from Formula races. In Formula races, the cars are all single-seaters. They also have enclosed wheels instead of having the .
Comments are closed.