From the desk of Todd Staley

So Far, So Good: The opening weekend for the USMTS Castle Rock Recruiting Southern Series at the Houston Raceway Park was a big success and on Saturday night drivers raced in front of the largest crowd we’ve ever had for a Southern Series show. Last week at the Humboldt Speedway, we had a nice turnout of fans despite cold and windy conditions, and the drivers gave them one hell of a show. With that said, we want to keep the momentum and will be addressing a few issues early in the season.

Tire Testing: Starting with the event at the Outlaw Motor Speedway on March 19, USMTS officials will be confiscating at least one tire at each event. The tire will be sent to a lab for testing and returned to us promptly with their findings. Let it be known to all drivers and crew members that the USMTS will not tolerate any form of chemical treatment of tires. All test results will be posted at the USMTS trailer so all drivers can see the results for themselves. Any driver caught with any substance on the tires will suspended for one year, pay a $2,000 fine, forfeit all cash winnings for that event and lose all points earned for the season. Any kind of chemical will come up in the lab test, so we suggest when cleaning your tires you use water only. As part of this endeavor, the USMTS will no longer be awarding a new American Racer tire at the drivers meeting. Instead, we will give a new tire to the driver we confiscate one from.

Spec Heads: We have concluded that a couple issues concerning rules need to be amended, and will start applying these changes beginning March 26 at the Junction Motor Speedway. To date, we have discovered six different sets of heads that have been found to be illegal by two different engine builders. The only way to fight this problem is for the head to be taken off at the track. Therefore, any driver finishing in the top five of the “A” Main will be subject to having their heads removed and inspected. We will only do this inspection at the end of a swing – not at the beginning, or in the middle of, a swing. We record the serial number and the head(s) will be removed after the “A” Main on final night of a swing.

Spoilers and Weight: Beginning March 26, any engine utilizing aluminum heads other than the Brodix aluminum spec heads will be allowed a maximum four-inch spoiler (reduced from five inches). Any engine with aluminum heads must still weigh a minimum 2,450 pounds if there’s no raised runner heads or 23-degree valve angle. If utilizing raised runner heads or less than a 23-degree valve angle, your racecar must weigh a minimum 2,500 pounds. All racecars with aluminum heads must have 50 pounds of weight in front of mid-plate.

Engine Test: We will be testing the GM CT525 engine in the near future. This motor is an all-aluminum crate engine which retails for around $7,500 and will be available for any driver wishing to test it. Let us know if you are interested. By no means have we made a decision one way or the other if this motor will be allowed for competition, but we certainly want to find out more about it and see if it would be possible to integrate this into our rules.