Tech Inspection stories?

Mike Schwartz · 02-10-2024, 12:41 AM

A new bracket racing sanctioning body with its own bespoke rule book held a "national event" at Atco Raceway. You had to pre-enter and pay by mail if you wanted to race. On the morning of the event I drove the 100 miles from my home in North Jersey in my 1969 Mercury Cougar.

I had never had tech problems at any of the other tracks where I had raced the car previously. However this group's tech inspector bounced me because a portion of the car's slapper bars extended below the rear wheels' rims. I had never heard of such a thing, but it was in their rule book. I never thought to look, because NHRA had no such rule that I was aware of and no one ever questioned the setup before.

Mind you, the car was running stiff-wall DOT tires. The bars wouldn't touch the ground even if all the air was let out. Nevertheless, I didn't want to waste the trip and entry, so I unbolted both traction bars and left them in my pit space. The amount of squat in the rear on subsequent runs was unnerving. After the race I put the bars back on and drove home. I never had problems with tech again, and I never raced with that organization again.

02-10-2024, 12:41 AM	#17
Mike Schwartz Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Maryland USA Posts: 533 Likes: 129 Liked 248 Times in 89 Posts	Re: Tech Inspection stories? A new bracket racing sanctioning body with its own bespoke rule book held a "national event" at Atco Raceway. You had to pre-enter and pay by mail if you wanted to race. On the morning of the event I drove the 100 miles from my home in North Jersey in my 1969 Mercury Cougar. I had never had tech problems at any of the other tracks where I had raced the car previously. However this group's tech inspector bounced me because a portion of the car's slapper bars extended below the rear wheels' rims. I had never heard of such a thing, but it was in their rule book. I never thought to look, because NHRA had no such rule that I was aware of and no one ever questioned the setup before. Mind you, the car was running stiff-wall DOT tires. The bars wouldn't touch the ground even if all the air was let out. Nevertheless, I didn't want to waste the trip and entry, so I unbolted both traction bars and left them in my pit space. The amount of squat in the rear on subsequent runs was unnerving. After the race I put the bars back on and drove home. I never had problems with tech again, and I never raced with that organization again. Last edited by Mike Schwartz; 02-11-2024 at 12:33 AM. Reason: Traded droop for squat. :)