SUPR Spec Engine

SUPR SPEC ENGINE RUNS STRONG, SAVES $$$
A LOW COST COMPETITIVE ENGINE?

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You've heard it before - you have to spend money if you want to win races. This may be true in some areas, but not in the SUPR Late Model Series. Competitive motors for less than half the cost? Read on.

By Larry Jewett
Short Track Racing magazine

June, 1994 - In Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and surrounding areas, the home base of the southern United Professional Racers (SUPR), the car counts in the premier Late Model class just hadn't been growing. There were plenty of drivers in these areas, but they were spending their weekends sitting in the grandstands or helping some of the lucky few who raced. These idle drivers had experienced motor problems and just didn't have the money to get the car back in shape and go racing.

What a frustrating feeling for a driver! There sits a perfectly good racecar - a possible contender, except that it lacks an engine. The price tag for a new engine could run as high as $25,000, and not many drivers have that kind of money after the season has started. It's equally frustrating for the promoter, who's seeing his car counts dwindle. When car counts go down, the fans seem to stop coming. It's bad all the way around.

Making Late Model racing affordable and competitive is a challenge, but it's not impossible. And SUPR has come up with a way to bring the costs back down to an affordable level, yet still keep the driver in the thick of the action.

"We wanted to bring back the racers who had quit," said SUPR president Roxy Dancy. "Our car counts were stagnant. People would race and then you'd lose them. We had people on the sidelines who had cars, but couldn't afford to race them."

According to Dancy, the driving force behind building a spec engine was pure economics. The situation had become a vicious circle: "Late Models get so expensive that car counts come down. The drivers need more money in order to compete, so they go to the promoter asking for an increase in the purse. But the promoter can't justify an increase when the car count is down."

Some race tracks across the country have been forced to drop Late Models as their headliners in their weekly shows. The reason: Car counts did not justify the expense. These tracks offer the traveling Late Model circuits, but fans no longer have their favorite local drivers to root for. The traveling series rely on the local base of cars to strengthen their fields, but if there are no regular Late Model fields, the car counts will appear to be down when the series come to town.

Turning this vicious circle into a "winner's" circle is possible with lower-cost engines like the SUPR spec engine.

When more drivers can afford Late Model racing and be competitive, the result will be more cars, and more cars means extra leverage when seeking an increase in the purse. If racers' initial costs are lower, they may even make a little money.

A SUPR spec engine will cost no more than $8,000. If you do it yourself, you're looking at less than $7,000. Combined with a lower car weight and larger rear spoilers, the level of competitiveness is not compromised. The cost is the only thing that goes down.

The idea of the "spec" engine came from SUPR competitor Donald Watson, who saw that racers wanted to spend less and race longer, especially those who weren't blessed with lots of cash. Watson's first call was to James Hall at Hall Racing Engines in Charleston, Mo.

"He asked if we could build an engine that would meet his needs," Hall said. "He was interested in a complete 550-to-600 horsepower motor that wouldn't cost $20,000."

Several more conversations followed between the two men. Hall accepted the challenge and used ideas from Limited Late Model engine restrictions in effect in some parts of the country.

Hall, whose engines won more than 200 features in 1993, didn't need to build this type of engine. He already had plenty of customers - some of them willing to spend whatever it takes. In addition, there's not much profit in a low-cost engine, but Hall liked the idea.

"If you've been around racing very long, you know the cost is getting out of hand," Hall said. "The cost has to stop somewhere. If we don't stop the rising costs, Late Models are going to end up like the World of Outlaws. Local racers can't afford it (racing) now. We thought this deal would be something the locals could afford and would help them become more competitive."

Another key player was Brodix, Inc. of Mena, Ark., a company that developed the cylinder heads and the HV1 intake manifold that are required on the spec engine.

Engine 1- circles.jpg (51762 bytes) The heads and intake manifold proved to be big factors in reducing the competitors' costs. The heads are limited to 60cc combustion chambers, which makes the engine a true lower compression engine. Many racing engines are running 12-to-1 compression and some are as high as 14-to-1. A SUPR spec engine is limited to 10.9-to-1 compression. This lower compression also leads to longer life, which saves money.

Drivers could easily have invested $10,000 in heads and head work alone in order to gain a competitive edge, but that can't happen with the SUPR spec engine. Brodix has cast the letters "SUPR" into the intake and exhaust ports, which allows tech inspectors to verify that the heads have not been altered. A driver who isn't spending all of his money on the heads and head work has some left over for other items on his racing budget.

The idea for a spec engine surfaced after the 1992 season and the engine's first test came in 1993.

Hall Racing Engines assembled the powerplant for Watson for the '93 season and Hall selected Oliver Sportsman
rods, a Lunati camshaft, a Barry Grant carburetion system and JE flat top pistons as its components. Hall's knowledge and experience allowed him to keep the high-quality components, yet keep the cost manageable.

Since racers sometimes need to be shown that something really will work, there were skeptics who didn't believe the spec engine would work. Watson quieted the critics by winning the SUPR championship, due in large part to the engine's reliability. In the entire '93 season, the new champion only experienced one mechanical failure - a broken rocker arm late in a race. In fact, no DNF's (did not finish) were listed for any of the spec engines on the circuit. Other spec drivers who won SUPR events included Tony Cardin (the 1993 Louisiana State Champion) and Ronnie Poche.

The Engine's Possibilities are Endless!

The spec engine concept may have originated with the SUPR series, but the engine's possibilities are endless. "Our emphasis with this engine is on helping others," Dancy said. "Our drivers are saving money, but the idea can get to promoters elsewhere." When others begin to see the engine as a way to bring down costs and keep the racing competitive, it becomes a "win-win" situation.

Drivers in weekly Late Model shows that are not sanctioned have used the engine with great success. This is an important point because it starts the resurrection for the weekly operations. From a racer's standpoint, a lower cost, yet competitive, engine will give the driver a chance to compete on an even keel with the "big boys." From the promoter's standpoint, a higher car count is a bonus, but a higher number of competitive cars will add to the excitement. The sport lacks excitement when the same few drivers win every week. For the traveling sanction, the rebirth of the Late Model class bolsters car counts and encourages fan-based enthusiasm at the race track. All this is done while keeping racing's number one enemy (cost) at a manageable level.

SUPR rules allow certain tolerances that place the spec engine on an even keel with the higher-cost and greater-horsepower motors.

SUPRImprintClose-up B - circle.jpg (53129 bytes) The sanction has four weight divisions which are determined by the weight of the car and the engine type. The "A" engine, which is anything less than 381 cid, must weigh 2,250 pounds with the driver after the race. The "B" engine cars have 381-410 cid engines and must weigh 2,350 pounds. The heavyweights are the "C" engine cars. These cars have engines over 411 cid and must weigh 2,450 pounds after a race. All of the engines may be steel or aluminum.

The spec engine, type "S", is a 362 cid steel engine. The weight of this car with the driver after the race is 2,150 pounds, substantially less than the other types.

In addition to the weight break, spoiler rules are different for cars with spec engines. The rear spoiler's dimensions for types A,B and C are 72 inches by 8-1/2 inches, while spec engine cars are allowed a little more spoiler - 72 inches by 12 inches.

Each car at a SUPR event has its letter designation on the roll cage and drivers have to be honest about their status. Only two drivers in the circuit's history have been found to be outside their stated designations.

The spec engine also has the distinction of being the only engine that can be claimed at a SUPR event.

"We put the $8,000 claim on the engine to keep them from building high-dollar lower ends," Dancy said. Under the organization's rules, the engine may be claimed by any of the top 10 drivers from the feature race. The price tag includes intake manifold, valve covers, heads, block, oil pan, water pump, crank dampener and internal components. A driver can claim up to four engines a year. Dancy said the idea was patterned after IMCA's successful claiming program.

After a race, a winning driver with a spec engine can expect to spend a little more time at the tech station before the win becomes official. "Tech gets a little more complicated," said Dancy. "We have to check and make sure the heads haven't been tampered with and make sure there's flat top pistons and so on."

Unlike some eastern Late Model circuits, SUPR competitors run mostly methanol. The spec engine generates power in the 550 horsepower range on this fuel; with gasoline, there's a slight drop off in the horsepower. Watson, who qualified through SUPR for the Hav-A-Tampa Shootout, converted the engine over to gasoline to run the high stakes show. Despite the drop in horsepower, Watson qualified in the top third of the invitational field. There was no weight break involved and the car had to weigh 2,300 pounds.

The engine's success in its first year of competition will most likely increase the number of drivers using it, but SUPR doesn't intend to make it mandatory.

"We're not going to make it (the spec engine) dominant," Dancy said. "You can run any engine you want. We're just trying to make the low-cost alternative competitive. Some already have the perception that you have to use the engine to run SUPR. That's not so."

As of early February, Hall was building a couple of spec engines for the1994 season and expected to receive a few more orders. His staff of six people has been kept busy building all types of engines for the Late Model
ranks. He estimates that about a half-dozen spec motors were built at his shop last year for SUPR competitors.

Many Drivers Won't Have to Use a Professional Engine Builder...

In addition to the engine's low cost, another advantage is the likelihood that many drivers won't have to use a professional engine builder and can build it themselves. "If you've got any engine building experience at all, you can do this," Dancy said.

There's a bountiful supply of blocks, engine parts or kits, and every racer has easy access to them. The only parts that must come from a specific manufacturer are the heads and the intake from Brodix. Hall Racing Engines has given SUPR a breakdown of the parts that are needed to build spec engines, along with their prices. Dancy cautions that there are ultra-light parts that could be used, but they are more expensive. It's important to bear in mind that the engines have a claiming price. In terms of cost, race-ready lower ends run about $4,000 and the heads and intake bring the total to just over $6,000.

The engine's lower compression adds yet another economic advantage.

Many of the high-dollar engines go through one or two rebuilds in the course of a year. Rebuilding an engine takes money - between $5,000 and $8,000, depending on the engine builder. The lower compression engine requires fewer rebuilds, which saves money in maintenance costs.

While it may be too early to determine the effect on car counts, the average number of Late Models in a SUPR-sanctioned event did increase in 1993. After an average of 25 cars per show in 1992, the field average was 27 in 1993.

The spec engine isn't the only cost-saving proposal put forth by SUPR.

From the circuit's beginning, a set tire price of $110 was established and drivers may choose from two different sizes and two different compounds.

Engine builder Hall sums it up best. "This will help Late Models, and I say that not just because it could mean business for me. Somebody's going to have to change this Late Model thing. It's getting into too much money."

Dancy compares the skyrocketing expenses to a snake: "You cut off a little piece of his tail - that's not going to bother him too much. If you continue cutting him, you're going to kill him. That's what we're doing with racing."

All ideas must start somewhere. The idea of a lower-dollar, yet equally competitive, engine has apparently taken root in the SUPR series.

For further information regarding the 2006 O’Reilly SUPR Series contact Greg Holmes at 225-275-5040 or e-mail us at mailto:SUPRrace@aol.com.

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