(Photo by RacingNews.co/Shane Walters) – It was a few years ago that I first got an in-depth look at dirt racing cars. They are astonishingly awesome machines and they have been refined over the 100+ years people have been racing in circles on dirt. Amazingly that refinement continues today with chassis and suspension development continuing to drive the performance and competition end of the sport. Proof of this comes when new rules are made to help keep things in line and to help keep things from getting too far afield in a racing series. The latest of these rule changes has been made by the World of Outlaws Late Model Series which has decided to institute a “droop rule” for the competitors. Here’s where it gets good.
When you see a high level, profession quality late model dirt car pull into the track the left side of the thing is basically scraping up dirt as it rolls along. As soon as the drive hammers the gas through, especially in a corner, the rear axle articulates forward and jacks the hell out of the left side, placing 100% of the car’s weight on the right side tires to aid in cornering (turning left). Over the years the amount of separation has grown and grown to the point now where guys have more multiple FEET between the top of the tire and the bottom of the upper frame rail of the car on the left side. As you can see in the photos above and below, the result is the car effectively cornering on two wheels!
There are now safety concerns as the noses of these cars are low and with this much movement it would be east for someone to get a nose under and basically flip someone over (not intentionally of course). So what’s going to be done? A pretty simple fix, actually. A limiting chain will be applied between the frame and the axle that will stop the movement at a maximum of 54″ between the top of the tire and the frame rail. This is measured by jacking the car up until the rear tire is off the ground and making the measurement.
The reason this is interesting is because of how dirt racing has effected drag racing over the last 10 years. Seriously.
The same shock technology that has gone into making these cars move and separate on the dirt has gone into making radial cars separate on the hit of the throttle and plant their tires on the drag strip. This will not harm either of those things but it immediately struck us as interesting when we considered the how’s and why’s of this rule coming to exist in the first place.
If you didn’t know…now you do!
Droop Rule: Check out the full story right here on this interesting rule change
“Safety concerns” how convenient.
Leave it to the sanctioning body to make another rule.
These cars were so cool to watch in part because of this.
Can’t have innovation now can we.
For “safety of course”.
You want safety stay on the porch.
Ahahaha you can\’t race sitting on the porch with a broke neck, safety is always first and foremost in any form of motor sports, let\’s just do without any safety innovative\’s put spikes sticking out of the rims to keep your competitors from trying to get up beside ya to pass ya, you probably never been strapped inside of any kind of race car and told now you go as fast as you possibly can down that straightaway then turn left and keep as much speed as you possibly can oh and the seatbelts fire extinguisher, helmet etc all that\’s optional you can use it or not or stay on the porch!
Idiot
Bummer taking the excitement away from a great sport
Neither of the cars in the photo look like they are exceeding 54” of lift. That is almost 4 1/2 feet. Pretty generous rule in my opinion.
I think the author was wrong on where they measure them, other videos show measuring from the ground to the top of the fender at the rear of quarter panel, not from top of tire, yea 4 1/2 feet from top of tire hell my girl friend could stand up inside of one of those is quite a stretch!
I may be wrong but i think the rule is gonna be 50 1/2 inches from ground to top of rear deck
The rule, from what I read elsewhere, is 50 1/2\” with a 1/2\” leeway. Its measured with the car jacked up so that the left rear tire is just off the ground. Then measured from the bottom of the tire to the bottom of the spoiler where it meets the rear quarter panel. The droop rule was developed in the southeast in a regional series and reduced the number of rollovers as well as letting older chassis be competitive.
I\’m already reading comments that make absolutely no sense. The article about droop, states physical impossibilities, as well as false assumptions. Apex racing news should reconsider and leave the posting of false information to the Democrats.