That’s where it goes. These cars are the results of a very loose rule set in the 70s
It is on fire. This is alarming. I’m too young to die. Even virtually.
Did they consider rear mounting the fuel tanks where they are completely exposed to impacts? Might as well go whole hog since the engine is exposed.
There is no straightening these out when you lose it, it would appear. Staggered tires are hard to control!
Thank you for sharing this. Completely bonkers stuff.
Lol. Safely and oval racing.
That’s a t-shirt design we could sell. Front says “safe iracing oval driver” back says “LOL” above a picture of an overturned sprint car, on fire.
Apparently 410 Winged Sprint Cars do NOT like trailer parks.
Wait, so they’re trained to crash like that?
The BS is strong. I suspect the Youtuber got tired of answering the “Did he survive?” question.
Day 2 of sprint car adventures went “better”. Less crashing and more laps back-to-back without sending it into a wall. I did around 300 laps and managed to get into a safe groove between 15 and 16s a lap. At a moderate pace I was able to string many laps together without major incidents.
In definitely not ready for races, though. I am still trying to learn how to put the power down or keep momentum up. It is tricky in that it does not forgive overdriving.
The track I am on isn’t quite an oval. It’s more like a Tro-Val. There’s 3 turns and the final turn to S/F is not kind if you put the power down too early. Coincidentally, this is exactly where you are tempted to gas it, as you are swinging out to the finish line. It is rather embarrassing when you find yourself planted into the wall just before the line.
Tonight I should get into the 14s as I landed 15.00. At some point I will start being able to be maintain a higher min speed and start flowing while having the engine on boil. For now, I am trying to focus more on getting the tires to behave and not push.
Glad I decided to do this as it is undoubtedly going to teach me much. It’s also a nice change to do something different than Kk.
Out of curiousity I googled it and there’s sprint car racing to be had in NJ.
Here is how iRacing describes the class:
"Nothing better epitomizes American grassroots racing than the sprint car. Its iconic roller skate shape hearkens back to a time when the likes of Bill Vukovich, Jimmy Bryan and Parnelli Jones scratched and clawed their ways from the short tracks of America to a front-row seat in the Indianapolis 500.
A sprint car feature win at Terre Haute is no longer an E-ticket to the Indy 500, but sprint cars have continued to play a vital role both as a stepping stone for drivers like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne and as the top of the short-track pyramid in parts of the United States as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Small wonder. With a compact wheelbase and a power-to-weight ratio approaching that of a modern Formula One car, muscling a sprint car around a bullring for 20 or 30 laps is not for the faint of heart.
Apart from a similar power-to-weight ratio, sprint cars are a long way removed from their Formula One counterparts. Lacking a clutch, flywheel and transmission, they utilize a direct drive system engaged from the cockpit. With no onboard starters or even a battery, sprint cars rely on a push start (usually by a push truck) and are powered by a 410 cubic inch, push rod engine.
Brutish? You bet. But sprint cars also demand a certain finesse from their mechanics and drivers. Consider that no two of a sprint car’s tires are alike. In fact, all four are not only different sizes but different rubber compounds. Also remember that, while a sprint car feature rarely lasts more than 25 miles, with 800+ horsepower and 650 lb/ft of torque on tap it takes a delicate touch with the steering wheel – and the throttle – to make that right-rear tire go the distance."
“But all you do is turn left and drive in circles. How hard can that be?” - self proclaimed car guys.
Just got notice that my DD is shipping
See you in a month. It’s gonna be a great experience, I think.
Have your torque wrench ready and maintain that 10nm before each session.
@Bimodal_Rocket Sounds like good progress.
What track are you running the sprint car on? Also, is that a free track, or did you have to purchase it?
Are you using the default iRacing setup?
It was a track that I had to purchase a long time ago when I first bought some sprint cars to try. It’s called Concord Motorsports.
I am not running a tune. I simply went to the practice mode option.
Very long, very boring footage, but that’s what it looks like.
It’s buried somewhere in this mess of tracks near Charlotte.
Per iRacing:
Located in the heart of NASCAR country, North Carolina’s Concord Speedway features two adjacent oval tracks. The larger track, which has grandstand seating for 8,500 spectators, bills itself as the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile Tri-Oval” and it really is a sort of mini Pocono, with three very distinct turns. With different radii and banking (14 degrees for Turn One, 11 degrees for Turn Two and 14 degrees for Turn Three) for each turn and straightway (eight degrees for Start/Finish, 10 degrees for the short chute that connects Turns One and Two, and 11 degrees for the back straight) chassis setup is critical for achieving good lap times and a car that works in traffic.
Owner Henry Furr opened Concord in 1982 as a “short” (.4-mile) dirt oval. He later paved the track, at the same time lengthening it to a full half-mile with the addition of the third turn in place of the original backstretch. The track had seating for over 12,000 fans prior to a recent downsizing that saw the Turn One grandstands converted to a dirt berm.
A quarter-mile, conventional two-turn oval, originally dirt but also now paved, sits adjacent to the tri-oval. The smaller track has its own grandstand that accommodates 2,000 spectators.
The tri-val hosts a weekly program featuring Super and Limited Late Model Stock Cars, while the quarter-mile oval is home to both INEX Legends and Bandolero divisions.
Concord Speedway has in the past operated under the names Concord Speedway, New Concord Speedway and Concord Motor Speedway, names that have been used for now-closed racing facilities in and around the town of Concord.
Cool, thanks Dom!
I’m getting the itch to drive my rig again, but I might try the GT4 first. @tjkoyen is the Porsche 718 Cayman the car to have for GT4?
I have only driven the Cayman, but parity seems to be pretty good between all the cars. I think I tested the BMW a bit when it came out, but can’t remember.
I do like the Cayman though. Feels very neutral once the tires come in. Most people are driving that.
@Bimodal_Rocket That sprint car looks like it’s constantly trying to kill you.
Oh, I tried narrating in sim and it worked well, lap wise. Sadly, I was talking to myself the whole time as the mic wasn’t being picked up.
Which is a pity since I had many interesting stories and made many interesting noises when crashing.
I wasn’t kidding when I said it’s the most dangerous car I’ve been in, by a long shot.
We are developing an understanding of each other. It’s a strange relationship but we go on great dates and have a lot of fun. I suspect she will dump me for a better driver, eventually.
Thanks TJ!
20 characters
I asked this on sprint boards…
"I’m new to sprint and trying out the big boy on Concord. I’ve done a tiny bit of oval dirt and this seems a lot less forgiving and substantially harder to not put into a wall.
The staggered tires make this challenging, putting down power. Good fun, but, am I making life hard for myself by just running the default tune that comes with practice mode? Is a tune per track “required”?
Thanks!"
Let’s see what they say.
This might help you Dom: Setup Tips for Asphalt Oval Racing - Old School Racing Motorsports
I use OSR’s setups for dirt oval stuff sometimes. They’re free and while not always as dialed as you’d get from something like VRS or Craig’s, they do give you a starting point. They have a lot of setup guides too and tutorials on how to dial the car in.