Southwest Missouri Racing

the crates is probley where we all are going to end up, but the problem is, as you mentioned about the Batesvile series, I have 2 really good friends that race that series and are near the top of the points, and both have told me to be competitive with the crate, you need to send it off to a state to the East of Ar., and have it " tuned up" at a cost of about what the engine sold for new.
It seems that if a track is going to run crate engines, they sould have a new one in stock at all times to exchange with the dominating crate engine racing at their track. This would help keep everybody possibly from cheating up their motors.
Jmo.....
sure wish we could get ULMA and the SHO-ME series closer together, as both have a great group of people racing their series

I hear you can send them to Iowa and get them "tuned up"

[quote="RexMerritt
sure wish we could get ULMA and the SHO-ME series closer together, as both have a great group of people racing their series[/quote]

Rex
they sure look close to me:
26 features ran so far this season:
Show me motor has 11 wins
ULMA motor has 13 wins
Crate motor has 2 wins

I think what Rex was talking about (not trying to speak for him) was 'closer' by the rules so that there was more cross integration of the 2 types of cars. You're 'show-me motor' that has won a lot... while it is a spec car... it was built specifically for ULMA racing and not for the Show-Me Series. The same way that the Show-Me Series has steel motor cars that were built for it. Why would you're guy change his car to run with the Series (shedding all that weight after he has it working so well) and why would the Show-Me guys (including the steel motor guys who would have to add 50 lbs to run ULMA) add the extra weight to run weekly?

While I think the spread on your numbers is great for the little bit of integration you have now between the 3 types of cars. Both groups could benefit from getting closer on the rules.

As you said before that "there are more crate and ulma cars around than show-me cars" and while that might be true up north... in Southwest Missouri that isn't the case. And with a track like Lucas in the middle of the 2. Why wouldn't they want to see full integration and get the maximum cars?

I think the short of this whole thread is that if an easier way was found that suited both the ULMA and Show-Me Series cars to get closer on their rules (or even GASP... the same rules) it would be beneficial for all parties involved.

thats what I was trying to say, thanks, the numbers of wins are not quite right though, I know Vance has a spec motor but, I can't say its a sho-me motor as I don't ever recall him running with us or going through sho-me tech, but I AM NOT saying he is not legal or that he is cheating in any way, as I have said before Vance is a very good racer, I don't know him , but I have watched him race and he is good!
I don't think any of the sho-me cars have won this year, or not the ones that are currently racing with sho-me in 2010.
Hopefully we will soon have a legal ULMA motor, and hopefullly we can be more competitive. The motor I am currently running is a wet sumped steel blocked 360 and runs quite well for a 10.5 to 1 flat top motor, but I think I will be better with an all steel 434, 650 hp will be way better than a 560 hp motor at the same weight. the weight difference is 150 pounds and not 50 pounds though....make that ole track slick and smooth and we will be back with the little motor!!..........Please don't get me wrong, as I am not whinning or saying anybody is cheating, because I am not, I would just like to see everybody get a chance to run at all the local tracks without having to spend half a day switching our cars over from track rule to track rule
The bottom line is I guess I am getting old and tired of working on these cars all the time.....or mabe I am just getting lazy....lazyer....if thats a word

Rex, I appreciate the compliment. I am not stating that YOU have said I am cheating but others have. I would like to understand the Show Me rules more because we have talked about coming down and running with you guys. If we do come down, we want to be legal to run. If you are on facebook, look me up there and we talk or exchange phone numbers. Best of luck this weekend. Vance

The 50 lbs I was talking about was for the steel motor cars that run with the Show-Me Series. They only have to weigh in at 2300 lbs compared to the 2350 of the ULMA.

Rex, you are one of the few people who has enough influence to get this done. A few minor changes and this could be huge for latemodel racing in the area. The more LMs in the pits, the more fans in the stands. As many LMs as we have in the area, I think this would bring crowds back like we had in the 70s and 80s. Oh, and by the way Rex, the ole orange 25 looked good Sunday night. Ran away from Les in the heat race and ran 2nd in the feature. Good to see you have some good luck for a change and running up front. TRAVIS

Thanks Travis for the kind words, To get all the tracks and the sanctioning bodies together is going to be a joint team effort from everyone, and I don't think it will be a big deal to do, as we are close now. Wouldn't it be great to see 30 to 40 car fields like we used to, and the crowds will grow with the car count.
With my job at Bilstein I travel a whole lot through the racing season to different states, and work many,many race tracks and every track is suffering the same problem on car count, especilly in the modified division as the open modifieds, they have about priced themselves out of weekly racing and tracks are dropping them everywhere just like the latemodels have done. The only fix is limited classes like the ULMA, SHO_ME and IMCA. these classes put just as good show on as the full blown lates do, but with usually bigger car counts. Its up to all of us to help keep this growth on an up swing.
Mabe with the people with hi powers I.E.( Dan Robertson, the directors of ULMA, Randy Mooneyham, Cowboy and Hariatte of MLRA) will get together and have a common class for all of us. We still need the MLRA and MARS open latemodel series for special races, but we also need a limited class for the weekly races and the working class racers.....
thanks for the compliment of Sunday night, running a spec-motor is a whole lot like racing go-karts and keeping your momentium up, if you can start near the front you usually can run close to the front, if you start in the back, you break your momentium in traffic so much, you need 100 laps to get to the front. ..............most of us anyway, Justin Wells has it figured out...and no, I don't think he cheats, he is just that good....I just wish everybody would quit baseing the sho-me cars off his performance, he is lite years faster than the rest of us!
I shall get off my soap box now
Rex

Careful....don't slip....

and now I shall get up off my floor.....why did you not tell me earlier

Yep Rex. It would be great to see 30 to 40 latemodels on a regular show and wouldn't take a whole lot of work to get it done. Promoters could easily pay at least $1200 to win on a regular show with that kind of car count. Dan, Randy, and the ULMA guys need to find a rule package that keeps the cars even without a lot of changes to be made on any of them. Like I said before, I think this is a really critical matter that needs to be addressed to keep the LM class from pricing their selves out of our weekly race tracks. JMO TRAVIS

Dirtfan55
ULMA Was formed for that reason, to keep late models alive at weekly tracks.
That was the purpose 4 years ago when it started. Tracks were dropping them, and tracks that were running them all had rules of their own and drivers couldnt run track to track without alot of changes.
Rules were set based on the type of cars around and what worked for the class and tracks.
Each year we in-corporated something to help other types of cars, and it has worked also.

The show me series was a traveling series at the time, and still is from what i can see according to their schedule.

Spec motor guys wanted weekly tracks to run, so they were in-corporated into the rules this year giving them tracks to race weekly.
the rules are not bad based on normal late model type rules, etc. ULMA body rules are same as all late model classes, (MLRA, WOO, IMCA, etc). It was talked amoung different sanctioning bodies as to what body rules were all close, and that is what we went with, the majority.
Show me Series changed their body rules, and weight, for what reasons i am not sure, Other than i think to draw the supra lates in Arkansas which i think use that type of body rule.
But most all late models are under the same type body rules as ulma uses.

The spec motor has tracks they can run weekly now,
Now is your chance to give tracks 30 to 40 lates as mentioned above, as tracks are running this class.
Its easy to say it will work if you change this or that, but untill the counts are there its hard to make or think about changes without the support.

Some guys were thankful to have a track to race at weekly now, and some just dont care, and some just complain just to complain as they usually dont ever show up at the tracks anyway no matter what the rules were.

The 'body rules' changed last year by the Show-Me Series were to allow the Show-Me type cars to run against the MARS and other open cars and giving them an incitive to do so. Then a few open guys complained when a few spec cars with big spoilers beat them. So MARS took that away. A lot of Show-Me cars don't even run the big spoiler anymore for Show-Me races. And a spoiler isn't that big of deal. I think if the spoiler was the only thing guys had to change there would be a lot of guys taking the 10 minutes to change them out and they'd be at Lucas.

At this point the discussion is worthless really. ULMA isn't interested in doing anything but helping their own cars (understandably). While trying to keep the 'outsiders' to a minimum. They are kind of like the kids with a club house that you can't play in unless you bring naked pictures of your sister... but, you can't eat their cookies.

And Rex is exactly right. The ULMA/Show-Me/Crate deal has to come together for weekly late model racing to stay strong.

Rex's soap box has a hand rail..