NEWS & ANALYSIS
“What our intentions are with this is we’re going to keep the tires within the guidelines,” Maggart continues. “This is the first time we’ve used this many tires on this many cars, so it’s the best data-gathering opportunity we’ve had so far and we really appreciate ORSCA allowing this. We know the rule said 12 (inches maximum tread width), but they said if it went over 12, they realize it’s new so they’d still allow them to run.”
 Posting on ORSCA’s online message board, Outlaw 10.5 chassis builder and racer David Sheppard (right) said he’s been imploring ORSCA president Johnny Fenn for years to tighten up the rules regarding tire size. “The ONLY ones who benefit from bigger/better tires are the tire companies,” he wrote. “I've preached for three years that we do not need bigger/better tires—we need more affordable tires.” |
For many, adhering to tire-width limits is critical to maintaining the integrity of the class.
“I had a long conversation with Johnny Fenn and he told me that that’s his number-one concern right now,” Miller said. “He brought a gauge (to Huntsville) and they measured the tires of every car that went down the track—before and after they made the first run—and everybody’s tires—including ours—went from about 11-and-three-quarters to about 12-and-a-quarter after one pass.”
ORSCA Tech Director Ray Donald had his tire measuring template out at Albany, too, checking tread width on each Outlaw 10.5 car before each qualifying lap. Most fell within limits or were so slightly oversize that a few passes along the offending tires’ shoulders with some gritty sandpaper was enough to bring them within specs.
“This is a zero tolerance thing,” Fenn said as he watched Donald’s progress. “I told these guys if they don’t want to have to do this (sanding), then they need to get on the tire companies to make a product that doesn’t spread to beyond our rules.”
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Hudspeth arrived at the US 19 Dragway in Albany with eight pairs of reengineered Hoosier slicks in the back of his van.
“The major factor is that after it runs ours has a more rounded shoulder than the Mickey does and as it wears it’s wearing wider. So I’ve brought tires with me that we’ll make work, that are going to answer that problem,” he said. “The way a tire is actually built you can fluctuate tires in width, so the overall section width and tread width have been changed to address the tread-width rule.”
There’s also the rollout issue, though. Barfield said he knows of course that there’s always going to be some discrepancy between various sets of tires, but reveals, “I’ve got one set of the Hoosiers that measure out a whole lot more than any of the other tires out there.” He declines to say exactly how much more, other than reiterating, “a lot.”
“I’m in favor of having two or three good tires to choose from, but I don’t want to see any racer—including me—have a larger set of tires than anyone else. It’s just not right,” Barfield states. “Everybody gets a set once in a while that are a little bigger than normal, but if I get a set with 108-inch rollout and [my opponent] has a set with 104, who’s going to win? We both have about the same power, but we don’t have equal tires. That’s where I think it’s just not fair.”
The premise of 10-wide racing has always been that the tire, with its predetermined tread width and rollout, would be the ultimate limiting factor no matter how much horsepower resides under the hood. Introducing longer and wider tires removes or lessons that limiting factor, but also requires bigger, more powerful (read: more expensive) engines to make the larger rubber work.
“Right now it’s not a limiting factor,” Miller flatly states. “I can put all the power to it that a 771 nitrous motor can make on the back half. We put more power to it to the verge of (nitrous supplier) Speedtech telling me that we’re going to burn it up if we do that, so we had to back it up.”