It’s not unusual for the NMRA to make rules adjustments during a race season. However, they usually take place after 3 races, or halfway through the season. It is a tad unusual for a rules change to happen after just the first race of the year.
The Renegade class underwent some rules changes before the season to open things up, and possibly grab more racers in the class. The class was dominated by Frank Varela’s Hellion Power Systems’ turbo Fox at the Spring Break Shootout This lead the NMRA to revise the weights for the supercharged and nitrous combinations.
Specifically, the supercharged combinations lost 100 pounds, and the nitrous combinations all had weights adjusted according to cubic inch. The 311-inch nitrous combinations lost 350 pounds, while the 365- and 415-inch limits lost 400 pounds off their combinations. We wish it was that easy to lose weight in real life.
Contrast that with what a turbo combination has to weigh, like Varela, who with the turbo base weight of 3,300 weighs in at 3,450 since an air-to-water intercooler set-up tacks on 150 more pounds. A 311-inch nitrous combo’s base weight is now 2,700 pounds.
On the rules change, though, Varela says, “If it makes the class even better I am all for it. Team Hellion has so many years of experience that it will be just another reason to try and find a way to go faster.” And he’s right, because you don’t have a car all worked out after one race. With the team’s experience, his car will only get quicker, regardless. However, at 3,450 pounds, that’s a heavy race car. At Bradenton when he had a ‘chute malfunction, Varela had a hard time getting the car stopped before running off the end of the track.
The racer who dominated the class in 2014, and the defending Renegade champion, Bart Tobener told us, “I was expecting more than a 100 pounds, but you have to start somewhere,” adding “I haven’t been dragged down the track like that in a very long time.” Bart is in agreement that the turbo cars are too heavy from a safety standpoint, and thinks an exhaust restriction could also help balance out the rules, as well, if these weight breaks don’t do the trick.
About the rules change, Promedia’s Rollie Miller tells us, “Our goal is always to have a fair and level playing field so competitors can race hard and not let the rules favor one combination or another. Sometimes it’s easier said than done when our technical committee sits down and tries to bring in new combinations and keep the balance of power. But our goal is always equality and fairness for the racers.”
Still, others with S197 cars may not be able to get their cars down to the new base weights so that’s a concern for those racers. However, we’re sure the NMRA will be paying attention to the class next weekend at Atlanta, and if further changes warrant, they’ll make more adjustments. Stay tuned.
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