My thanks to New Smyrna Speedway, the ACT, and to whoever was involved in bringing this outstanding group to the World Series. Tonights 100 lapper was even better than the one on Sunday night. Not a single car had to be towed, nearly all the starters finished, and the competition was fierce.
edm and I enjoyed watching #91 Patrick Laperle. That guy is relentlessly on the attack, “Well done” to all the drivers.
Awesome, I have NEVER seen a 100 lap race w/o a single car needing the hook, lots of close hard racing but not a single hard wreck. A friend of mine down from Vermont told me about this series a few months ago, I am glad he did. The race director Tom Curley runs a tight show and keeps everyone in check.
1 These cars are not fast, start of the race was 19.5’s, this proves that you don’t need 30k+ motors to put on a great show.
2. invert the top 26? cars from yesterdays race.
3 8" tires, drivers have to rely more on skill plus they are alot cheaper.
4 The only time you can change a tire during the race is if its flat.
5 If your in the way, you get parked.
6 If you slow the race down by causing cautions, you get parked.
7 Tight rules and a very strong race director.
8 Not sure if its true or not but there are only 2 people allowed to freshen these motors.
9 Patrick Laperle comes from quite a racing pedigree. I was very impressed.
Thanks for bringing the ACT in, I hope they are here again next year.
[B][I]You should see them in action up here, like at the Milk Bowl, where around 60 cars shows up every year for 26 sports on the tight high bank quarter mile of Thunder Road, or at The Can Am 200 at ST Croix where they started 43 last year for their 1st presentation, or the 25,000$ to win TB Bank 250. There is also there presence at Loudon New Hampshire on Cup week end which give them a lot of exposure.
As for Tom Curley, the race and series director, if ever you have the chance, attend one of his pit meeting, it’s worth it. They don’t call him the preacher for nothing. When he really gets into it sometime, it’s better than the race itself.[/I][/B]
They run a sealed crate Chevy or Ford motor, 8" tires, perimeter chassis, ABC type body, run a spec shock package, and weight 2850 lbs. At New Smyrna, from what I saw on Speed51, they’re about the speed of the Florida Modifieds. On Monday night, they inverted the top 20 finishers from Sunday night’s feature. They run HEAT RACES - no boring single-car time trials, and feature starting spots are based on how many “passing points” you get in the heat races.
I missed last night’s feature, but did listen in to Sunday’s race. Someone got in the wall pretty hard Sunday. They also have the pink “Piggy” flag: if officials think you’re “hogging” the track, you get the “Piggy”.
Sounded like it was a pretty good show.
Back in the early '80s, WTBS Superstation was televising the Rolex 24 for the first time, and I worked as a spotter for them. Tom Curley handled the spotters meeting, and it was, in fact, very entertaining to say the least. He certainly didn’t take any guff!
missed the 2nd show–
Couldn’t make the 2nd show, but caught the first one. Instead Monday night was a much needed date with the little lady.
But for those that weren’t there, here is a quick run-through:
At first it was slow and loose, toward the middle there was some contact, and at the the end it was bumping and banging, as she was liquored-up just enough to put out.
Tom Curley understood a long time ago he was selling entertainment. So he worked on it. His pit meeting, his tires distribution//draw system, his Milk Bowl time trial with the clocking done not at flagman but going into turn one,(pretty wild sometimes), the total inversion of the 3 segments, the kissing of the cow, the + or - qualifying system, and on and on and on. He was promoter of the year once or twice not for nothing.
These guys from up north are a joke!Who wants to see guys race through the pack when the fast cars should start up front so they can run away and hide.A series like this would never make it here in Florida.
In the interest of fair reporting I am from Maine and have seen Tom Curley shows since I was 10.Kudos to all the teams for making the trip down here they deserve all the credit for putting on two great shows for everyone.Curley used to run a Nascar North series before ACT and those were some of the best races my failing memory can remember.