Posts
146
Joined
12/29/2024
Location
santa paula, CA
US
So I finally got my sprint car running and had my first day in it, what a beast, I couldn’t have ever imagined anything could be so fast and maneuverable. Felt pretty comfortable by the second session and I had some help on setup by Mike and Brian Whitley wich was super cool of them. Brian is a top dog in the California scene lately. I’m racing the local Ventura raceway series starting this weekend and the plan is to not wreck myself and especially not wreck anyone else during the learning curve. Based on lap times I should be on pace with the back of the pack 👍
Very cool
Awesome !!
I grew up a few blocks from a sprint car track. Absolutely love those things. Have fun!
Non-wing? Youre a bravo mofo. LOL
What bars and ride height you running? I dont think you guys run near as much stagger as winged. Is that a 40" car? 360 or 305 class?
Best of luck and keep the pics coming. When in doubt go big on the RR bar. LOL
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Stay away from that damn curb at Ventura !!! And run more stagger than you think till you get comfortable, then tighten things up. Old school Afco style shocks or clickers? I see Afco looking and Pro's on the car ... flip them over, less unsprung weight.
I believe they're 360's down there ... not sure how close to ASCS specs. West coast 360 wing cars have very good engines.
Last thing ... maybe a halo bar.
From research Ive read, any item that is attached to the chassis and running gear both, the unsprung weight savings is divided by half. So flipping 'em may help a bit, but not as much as rumor has it.
KMC is right, more roll-out for noobs beats bicycling cuz she dont wanna go left. And fo-sho get a halo. IMHO its more important that the arm guard tubes.
Video of my second session out
Yeah first session the car was way too loose and we sucked the right rear in to 20” from the frame to the center of the tire from 21” and also dropped the psi on the RR from 10.5 to 8 and on the LR from 8 to 6, then for the third session we went from a 6:28 gear set to a 6:58 and that really helped, yeah until I get comfortable comfortable I’ll be a bottom feeder haha, and for the halo maybe, I want to be able to get out of this MFer if I have to, I also considered running nets with a traditional seat but I was gifted this joie seat and I like it
Ride height we haven’t even blocked it to check 😂 it’s a 360, I got the car as a roller with a disassembled engine that was used up and my finances dad is an engine guy, he helped out ALOT and got it right and got the squish and jetting perfect. He won a drag boat title in 99 and is basically an engine guru
I think you’re completely out of your head…
And that’s AWESOME.
I hope you quickly get used to getting loose.
Btw, Andy Gregg of Guts Racing has had some really good times in a sprint car.
Best of luck and I look forward to seeing you in the Big Money Finals! Get Some 💪🏼
Jetting? Does your 360 have an injector or carb? I saw the dry sump tank so figured it was injected.
Since Im so non-wing illiterate Im really curious what bars you guys run on the right. Heavy and dry slick both.
Kudos to Dad for the wrenching, that really helps. Nothing wrong with bottom feeder, if your car rolls on the trailer completely intact after the Feature, it was a great night.
Please post updates !
...be safe, be sane, have fun... ...and like JAFO92 said above, post updates and keep it rubber side down...
...btw, this kind of message thread is exactly what this back-water online forum is for...
That '58 gear will help the car a ton turning especially once you get really comfortable driving with your right foot. Track definitely looks dry as usual for a day session.
JAFO92 Bobby has lots of driving and set up experience, me I just got to wrench and set up for the most part, a few hot lap sessions here and there. 360 winged NorCal car back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. 🦕
Almost forgot ... be careful taking big swings on setups, reason is, whether good or bad you won't know what made the car do what it's doing. Definitely can chase your tail a lot.
Honestly wish I was there to help. Have fun!!
Not jetting the bypass return pills, I’m used to moto lingo 😂 it’s a Hilborn injection system, not sure the proper name for it, as for the bars I have zero clue I’ll find out when I get home from work
Awesome reading this on here! Stock car racing was my first real love. I grew up 10 minutes from our local asphalt track, it was the first place I went after I came home from the hospital as a baby because my dad had just finished building a new street stock and had to shake it down. I spent every weekend there, my mom would set me in my stroller right against the fence coming out of turn 2, and I’d put my blanket over my face and drift off to sleep. My dad had to come get me out of bed every Sunday morning when he unloaded the car because if I heard the engine fire up I’d get pissed he didn’t come and get me.
He raced for 20 years after retiring from MX because he had started a family and wanted something safer. I started at 12 in a mini stock, and jumped to a street stock and pro truck until I got out of it to go back to MX when I was 17. We were less than an hour away from East Bay Raceway, and went to a million Winter National races, but never appreciated the dirt stuff as much as I should have as a kid.
About 5 years ago I reconnected with a friend that I used to play hotwheels with on the bleachers while our dads raced together, he had bought another dirt car so I started tagging along. As I’ve gotten older I have converted to 90% dirt and 10% asphalt racing. Just nothing as bad ass as a 2-3 lane track with ever changing conditions, being able to run a razor thing cushion, etc. I’ve seen plenty of 360 and 410 winged stuff, but seeing USAC at Volusia and Ocala completely changed my perspective and I will say those guys are the most bad ass race car drivers on the planet. Absolute animals in those cars. I can’t imagine a non wing 360 is much easier.
I hope to get a CRUSA street stock in the next few years, but trying to buy a house at the moment. Nowadays the most car racing I do is a few Nissan Altima enduros at the track I grew up at, now called the Freedom Factory. 100 laps, 100+ cars, and no cautions. Easily one of the funnest things I have ever done, and one of the most focus intensive things I’ve ever experienced. Here’s a pic of the start of one of the last ones I did.
That's awesome. I've been wanting to do Cory Kruseman's school for a long time to try a sprint car. Just haven't gotten around to it. Had you ever driven a sprint car before you bought yours?
It looks like the car counts were pretty bad last year, hopefully this year is better!
Holey Moley look at that car count 😳
Pit Row
Went up to Pennsylvania to one of the sprint car races and DAMMMMMM !
We have mini sprints here in charlotte that run 450 motors that must be cool to
Did you take any pics of the 450s? Never seen anything like that. I used to race 600s, so curious what the 450 looks like.
Gonna do a few searches.
The 450s are what are considered “micros”, at least down here they are. The 600+ CCs are referred to as “Minis”. Not sure what the differences are between chassis
For people that do not know boats....Top Alcohol Flat is not for the faint of heart. People usually associate drag boat and wrecks...well, TAF is a solid contributor to the stereotype. Possibly the most unruly of all the drag boat classes (up there with top fuel).
He must have been a heck of a wheelman to be running one of those things.
Yeah he’s a maniac for sure and he never wrecked racing for 20 years +
Thats cool as it gets, only guys crazier than sprint racers is boat racers. 🤣
Dan Pastorini used to live not far from me, and when I was still racing a 360 he was racing asphalt roundy-round at Big H in Houston. Whenever I saw him we'd swap race stories on our weekends. Only reason I mention him, is that he used to race that crazy fast boat stuff too. (as well as top fuel)
shows how much I know about sprint cars 😆
years ago I was selling a really large countershaft sprocket for a CR500 on ebay and someone bought it in nascar central Concord and I drove it over and it was for a micros as you put it.
Bundy Racing JGR’s old motor guy builds MX/SX bikes and sprints with the 600 and smaller 450 motors along with lots of other circle track type stuff .
YZ450F backwards motors seem to be popular
couple photos of the engine before we installed it
this is how the car looked when I bought it
Is there a rule that you have to use the same number that the car came with, or did you just decide to use the same number?
OK I have a dumb question …. Why do they have to be push started?
3 Stage dry sump and KSE water pump. Nice. Most likely a Waterman on the back of the cam and 2-3/16" tubes on the Hilborn. Wonder where your dad ended up on compression and if he went zero deck or sticking out the hole. I always play-doughed everything to make double sure on valve-to-piston clearance. You wind that thing up past 8K and kiss a valve its not pretty. LOL
Curious if you have a lever for the quick-change or the old style little 't-handle' where you pull up and turn. I always wanted one of them newer fancy lever styles, but the t-handle was light years better than the old slider coupler driveline we used back in the day.
Lastly, do you know if that is a J&J, Maxim or XXX ?
Seeing that pic of you guys with the leveler and hoist brought back memories. 😁
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