rules packages unique to each track are killing car counts. Flammy drivers can't modify their 604s but Delaware drivers can and even with a weight penalty still have a lot more juice than the stock crate motor so it ends up that drivers like Gary Elliot will stay home. And whose brilliant idea was it to permit the cost saving crate engine be modified by an engine builder (and who lobbied for it) ? Conversely the Delaware cars with the modified 604 can't run at Flamboro.
Something has to give at Delaware or have they been lucky to get reasonably good crowd support due to no nearby competition?. It's the most expensive weekly admission next to Kawartha and car counts in all divisions rarely exceed 16 or 17. The whole modified concept should be rethought but they'll keep running a nine car division as long as they keep paying pit admission.
I think they've shot themselves in the foot by moving up the GC 200 to accomodate the Modified Tour which, in Canada, is an unknown commodity. Speculation on some of the New England boards is that we may be lucky to see 20 teams make the trip (dependant on how they're doing in the points in late Aug). In the last two seasons, American tour races in Canada have seen numbers drop as US participants seem reluctant to spend the $$$$ to outfit their teams with passports for one or a handful of races.
i agree with mike 32....the crate motor is suppose to be saving racing and then delaware lets guys tamper with them so i can see why there would be no interest from many outsiders...plus it just adds to the cost for everyone else to keep up...
flamboro had 20 cars i believe...and they have adjusted their rules to allow guys to run the 602, so a guy running thunders has one less expense if he wants to moveup and give latemodels a try...
sauble llm had 19....
the CVM's are allowing 602 crate and the have a few new cars and more interested...
and i hope it's a great show but i've read the same stuff about some of the whelen modifieds not making the trip to canada, so dont count your chickens just yet...i cant remember what series it was years ago that disappointed me that way, might have been at cayuga, but some people just dont want to cross the border for many reasons...
the ASA Crate that delaware has allowed was put into the rules to allow the ASA U.S cars to run for the specials ...as well it allows you to rebuild a stock crate ... and it adds stronger rockers and adds life expectancy to a motor...
the ASA Crate program is very strict and there is very minimal upgrades that you can do. The motor makes between 10 - 30 horsepower more after the ASA rebuild but we recieve a 50 pound penalty... our red car has a stock 604 and we qualified 3rd last year for the last delaware race at 19.112 with it .. our white car is an ASA Ford and its fastest time of the year so far this year is a 19 036 ... they are very comparable..all the cars with the ASA crate are the front running cars and they would be the front runners with a stock 604 ...
interesting concept but how many ASA legal cars has it attracted?. The loss of US drivers really has decreased the significance of this race also. I had hope when Chas Howe and Robbie Pyle showed up in years past that there might be more Yanks but IMO they were discouraged by the treatment they received at one Friday night show and then being caught up in someone else's mess in the 200 was likely the breaking point. Cutting the winners share this year by 50%---jeeze.
I'd like to hear from the Watson and Powell camps as to why there was no interest--just curious.
SFR81 isn't quite right with the whole ASA motor deal, it was just so the Ford guys would be able to have Ford powered cars because at the time the only Ford option was the ASA motor. Powell had shown up to test the Friday night, but I guess tech didn't go as planned from what I was hearing in the pits.