Hi Everyone,

The season is off to a great start and it seems that everyone is pleased with the results so far. I’ve heard that turnouts are up just about everywhere and travel between race tracks is on the rise. Great stuff!!

I wanted to start this thread to help clarify how to implement the TOUR rules at your facility, if that’s what you’ve decided to do. I also want to clarify who has the authority and jurisdiction.

Let me be clear. The Race Director has the full authority and jurisdiction at his/her race event. The TOUR is simply a common set of rule guidelines that tracks can adopt and use at their discretion. It gives us all a common platform to work from and serves to unify the rules used from track to track in an attempt to grow the sport.

When a track/event promoter adopts these rules, they own them. They have the full authority and jurisdiction to regulate how strictly the rules are enforced and how they are interpreted.

Allan and I are always available as a resource to the track/event promoter to provide clarifications, but we do not have any authority to make decisions.

I wanted to make this distinction because I have been asked “what’s legal” or “is this OK” several times since I started racing this year. My stock answer is “I’m just another racer, like you, trying to get away with anything I can”. I always defer to the race director.

This approach works best because for several reasons. Truthfully, I have no business telling a tack owner what to do. He pays the bills. He owns the building. Our rules package is there to help, not to dictate. Plus, depending on the size of the class, directors need some flexibility to grow the class and find ways to “include” people, not turn them away. Locally, we had a returning racer. His old equipment did not meet any spec in the TOUR. But we found a place for him to get him started and we are slowly transitioning him into the guidelines. It’s this type of “common sense” and knowing your customers, that is vital to racing. No national rules set can replace that.

So support your local track and let’s go racing!!!

Steve

Great post Steve!

Good call Steve...we're about three weeks away from our grand opening in Indy and the TOUR will be our centerpiece.The new platform the TOUR has created has been a shot in the arm for pan car racing here in the Midwest and our new facility plans to take it to the next level.
We're finishing up the track side restaurant & dining area this week while we wait for the arrival of the new carpet from CRC.

We're finishing up the track side restaurant & dining area this week while we wait for the arrival of the new carpet from CRC.

damn too bad that you are not my local track:hat:

You missed the G C saturday al. I popped two staples out, man was I stuffed.

damn too bad that you are not my local track:hat:


Alan....trust me, our facility had excellent outdoor concessions...and I'm sure Kevin will make sure that it carries over to the new carpet track. We are both on the better side of 280...we like good food!! :cool:

The greatest thing about this is the fact the sportsman division is creating interest with new and old racers. I have been pushing the class locally, and it looks like we'll have 4 or 5 trucks going over the next few weeks. That is more cars than what 13.5 has been pulling for months. Atleast one of them has never raced before and intends to move up once he feels he's ready. I can honestly say he would have had no interest in pan cars otherwise because he watched 13.5 and figured there was no way he could do that.

Great job putting this entire deal together guys.

at marshalls the last 2 weeks we had the 17.5 class running with our 4cell stock class. its a even split so far at 5 and 5. but the guys with the stocks are being urged to move to the 17.5 as the season goes. so hopefully a full 10 cars by the second series! could even get bigger then that with some time!

I could not get my 17.5 1 cell to keep up with the "stock 17.5 4 cell". was off by about .5 seconds. We are running the 13.5 COT with the 17.5 4 cell and are having great racing. I took the TQ by .01 seconds last week and the win by mere feet. By stock are you running 27T 4 cell?

John

at marshalls the last 2 weeks we had the 17.5 class running with our 4cell stock class. its a even split so far at 5 and 5. but the guys with the stocks are being urged to move to the 17.5 as the season goes. so hopefully a full 10 cars by the second series! could even get bigger then that with some time!

Yea, there is a considerable speed difference between 17.5 4 cell and 1 cell. the 4 cell guys should be running with the 13.5 guys.

we run the 4cell stock 27turn motors with the 17.5 tour trucks. so far they are very close with the drivers that are in the class. one guy did say that he thought the 27turn with 4cell was a tad faster. but the 17.5 1cell truck won last weekend. so for now untill the class grows even more we dont mind combining them. i agree that 17.5 4cell is very close to 13.5 1cell.

The past couple of weeks we have run 21.5 2 cell with 10.5 single cell. They are real close on speed. Each time the 10.5 has won, with the 21.5 coming in secound once. Combinding clasess at a local level is a great way to ease everyone on the same page.

This is the Best thing to hit kit Oval racing since the they put a wheel on radios! I'm a race director for my local club and in the past it was this track is running this then that track is not running it.
As posted at the beginning, one of the most important things here is to grow the hobby for the new racers but also find ways to integrate the racers who's equipment it not currently TOUR specific. Being Race director has alot of work which most regular racers never realize, but it was our choice to take it upon our selves to do so. The TOUR guidelines puts us all going in the direction.

Ryan Pablo
Race Director
www.Cumberlandrc.com

17.5 4 cell vs. 13.5 1 cell. We have only tested twice in the past month,so far the 4 cell 17.5 cars are faster up front than the 13.5 1 cell. after 2 minutes or so they seem to equal out within a few hundrenth's,we're still missing some with the 1 cell 13.5 car but for now it's a good transition for guy's to go 1cell stock racing.

We run the 17.5 4 cell with the 13.5 1 cell and have great racing. The 17.5's can only keep up if they run fresh cells. Once they cells get old they have a hard time. top 4 or 5 drivers have all switched to 1 cell now.

John