@@teresashinkansen9402 Neither of those events were a factor in this case. It is a good opportunity to reassess your understanding of rules-based competition fixing.
@@buckstarchaser2376 What? I see you already said it, I don't understand your reply. Many rules are put in place due accidents, a clear example is aviation industry, also rail road, chemical factories etc, a significant amount of rules are due catastrophes and life loss, so it is foolish to assert what the original commenter said. It is rare for rules to be solely due "unfair" advantages and because "you are doing something right" that just happens in competitive activities, as you already mentioned it and even in there that's not always the case, it wasn't but the past year during the 2022 F1 british grand prix there was a crash that provoked rule changes. I didn't read your comment before posting mine but I was trying to say the same, just less eloquently.
Yes when you scare them with simple technology and shear knowledges and will power to work out issues that their $$$$ sponsors cant do for them they run and cry to rule changes , saw it happen when i was in motorcycle racing also
Only late model video I’ve watched all the way through. This is really cool. Unfortunately big teams love to hate when small teams figure something out to be fast.
It's really sad because at the end of the day late model is still a small fish compared to many other racing leagues. They do themselves a disservice by trying to hold back innovation to keep the crown of their little hill.
You sir are what the sport WAS all about, shade tree engineering at it’s finest, keep dreaming and making things happen, you are one of those rare persons that can think something out, see it in your minds eye and make it a reality, very inspiring. Blessup
Yes, you look back at older racing trends and you see a MIX of COMPLETELY different cars doing wildly different things to get any edge possible. But people make everything worse. Now everyone has basically the same thing, doing the same motions... Kills any creativity and fun. I struggle to see the fun in racing when its so cookie cutter and monotonous. THen cunning idoits cry and complain and pull the human tribalist bullshit of canning anyone who disagrees. How anyone can find racing in the modern sense fun is beyond me. We are our own worst enemy. Also, I am not well versed in racing. I am just making a judgment based on some snippets I have glanced at here and there.
Wow. This is possibly the best 29 minutes I’ve ever spent on UA-cam. Amazing, informative, and very funny all at the same time. New subscriber and fan here.
Just ask A.I. how to build a faster & faster racecar. It will eventually know..... & also kill the whole world while it designs a whole new racecar,..... simultaneously
Great video. I applaud your approach to trying something different. It’s funny how the teams with the most money get butt hurt when they get out done by hard work.
@@RaceMentally thumbs down bro racer, that was so painful to read. I think I just got PTSD from your comment, you should mask up next time for my safety! Your Elon Lust rubbed off on me, that's because it's contagious, as shown in a lab. Now I will need therapy, in my car I go...Where is the nearest race track they haven't suicided yet? Oh good , nice drive out. I suggest you do the same, ignore the noise make your own noise , Darlins!
Laughable, they know for a fact it isn’t a money thing. They just know to say that so the higher ups will listen. No one will listen or care if the word “money” isn’t involved.
I love what you did. When we raced factory stocks at our local track, we played the grey area like you did. The following season, there were FIVE new rules just from what we did. It's aggravating to get DQ'd or overlay teched but yet satisfying at the same time. We were running against the promoter's nephews that were grossly illegal and beating them so they had it in for us. You're video was really cool and makes me miss the sport and the competition of it.
As presented for scrutineering at the beginning of the season....and passed....then you should be able to run that same combination all the rest of the season...even after you start winning. The winning team should automatically have a seat on the rules committee to stop DQ being imposed for next season..
No, this is just like corporate America. You have to get a team together and blackmail the shit out of those complaining, and trying to flog the system so that they have a one up on everybody else ..Otherwise they will keep fucking over the little guy.
I'm gonna be honest I've never really paid that much attention to the dirt late model world until of late, so I've never heard of you before, but this was quite frankly one of the best engineering videos and motivational racing videos I've ever seen and I'm going to subscribe to your page now in hopes for more content like this. I hope you continue your success of building cars and being different and not afraid to try things out of the ordinary... good luck 👍🏼
I'm a development engineer/ Toolmaker, been doing it for 40 years so I know exactly how frustrating it can be struggling toward a goal, but also how satisfying it is when a plan comes together. We have nothing like Late models or Modifieds here in the UK so I find all of this weird science fascinating. What a great way to spend 1/2 hour. Oh, some great, ingenious fab work there!
Love the innovation and I love the technical discussion. The racing community needs more of this. My old man built top fuel engines in the 70's and late model engines until he retired in the late 90's. He told me do something different, if you just copy what every one else is doing you will only be as good at best. He also told me having rules written because of your ideas is an honor. Great work and I can't wait to hear more.
Austin, we raced karts together, that one night at Dirt devils when they airlifted that guy out of there, i knew then you were going to do great things, im so proud of you for what you have accomplished, best of luck!!
I was there at Cherokee for that win. We had went to run street stock and I remember every lap of the feature. Never heard your name but man you made a statement. Tried to make my way to meet you and figure out who you were. If you done it once you’ll do it again. I remember following the story about them banning the straight axle and just thinking about how one guy changed the whole SLM scene. Awesome job man keep digging!
This absolutely has to be the best video I’ve ever seen. Edge of my seat start to finish as someone who loves designing/building and who likes underdogs. Was incredible to see u take an idea everyone dismissed n turn it into a night win and a 2.5 sec lead in ur heat. Pleaseee more technical videos and would love some long format racing stories like this
Well done. I raced radio control dirt modifies. I built a straight axle EDM (Eastern dirt modified). That car put 2 laps on second place, and was banned from competition. I was planning a Ford twin I beam version, but a rules update was added that required all cars to be based on an off road buggy counterpart. The twin I beam reacts more like a straight axle than a arms do, with active camber and caster. Food for thought from another rule twister.
I do not think straight axles are unilaterally better than A-arms in every situation. It is weird that so many racers, on so many levels, are afraid to race against them. In my oval racing experience, dirt, carpet, asphalt, and a fun time on no-skid sandpaint ( before that car was banned ), a straight axle can transfer weight in ways A-arms can not. For me it is about manipulating the front wheel track (distance from outside of left front tire, to outside of right tire) from its preset location in the chassis. A-arms have a fixed wheel track with respect to their preset location on the chassis. Straight axles are held in place side to side by a track bar. My track bar is mounted to the left side of the axle, and the right side of the chassis. The track bar can be positioned, so when chassis roll causes the right front to compress down entering the corner, the wheel track of the front tires can be manipulated in relationship to the axle's preset location to the chassis. When you change the centerline of the front wheel track, from its preset location on the chassis, you change the way the car transfers weight. The radius rods that hold the axle front to back, can be set to manipulate the wheel base (distance from front tire to rear tire) as the axle goes through its motion. Straight axles require an aggressive, drive it like you stole it, driving style. After watching this video, Austin is not only a talented designer/fabricator, he is what we call a "wheel man". It still takes a butt in the seat, feet on the pedals, and at least one hand on the steering wheel, to race full scale cars.
Anyone else watch the whole damn thing? EPIC dude! My brother worked at Jeff Smith's shop in Kings Mountain that manufactured and retailed GRT Chasis in the early 2000s and this was a facinating video my friend. They really made the wrong move in banning your car. The instance you outlaw innovation and true competition to be best at something you end up with NASCAR results. Where you just cant seem to figure out why less and less people devot their time to your craft, and the make so many changes, nearly every year, that youre literally tearing down stands so that your crowd optics look better, turning lap times that are slower than previous technlogies and where Busch leauge is now faster than the cup series.......when you could just be like sprint cars and the cream rises to the top..........Keep it up dude, you will change everything.
Actually, nothing will change unless you hold power over the powerful meaning this is why the Senate and Congress does not mess with the FBI or CIA because they know all their dirty secrets and hold all the blackmailing power if they messed with pretty scary scenario the citizens live in…
Man I remember when just about every car in the pits was homemade and not a carbon copy of every other car on the track. This type of ingenuity used to be celebrated, now they just instantly ban anything that gives the main 2-3 chassis brands any serious competition.
I love this kind of stuff. My grandfather added to a lot of sprint car rule books. This is the kind of racing I grew up around. Our family has always raced under the idea that we could build something faster than everyone else was buying. I just stumbled across your channel. I'm now a new subscriber. I hope to see some more innovative ideas in the future.
Awesome! I drew a straight axle latemodel suspension up 50+ times as a kid between 1998 (15yrs old) and 2006!!!! My boss and I discussed designs for hours while I was supposed to working/welding. We knew it made sense and was going to work and you proved it!
Would enjoy learning more about your cantilever set-up and how you designed it and then transformed it to meet the verticial "technical" regulations and if that had any impact on set-up and driveability. Also, you obviously designed those yourself... how did you go from CAD model to final product (find someone to machine and build) and how many iterations did you go through to eventually get the right fit? Great stuff... i feel like you could make even more videos off this one going into more detail about the various suspension items.
Cantilevers were actually pretty easy as I was just using a 1:1 motion ratio. The main utility was they looked cool and kept me destroying 1000$ shocks when I cleaned the RF off the car. I think I will do some videos on how to cost effectively get ideas from your brain to on your car 👍🏻
Since i was a kid Ive wanted to build a PIKES PEAK HILL CLIMB CAR , especially when it was a dirt track..…but life got in the way … Sure do wish i had a neighbor or friend like you when growing up i might have been able to get that done… !!! I have so many ideas over the years and some of them still to this day i still have not seen used…Right here on you tube we have Old Smoky a hill climb truck i watched the last few years that didnt give up and eventually set the diesel record but recently crashed and will have to start over..Both of you fellas really inspire me not to give up …!!! One question i have is the size of the tubing that you use..? It looks like 1 1/4’’ or 1 1/2’’ DOM … Not chrome molly ..? IM A NEW SUBSCRIBER…! 🏁🏁🇺🇸
Dirt racing, something about that just seems so natural. The dust, the smell of octane, and the feel of the wind and happiness until something bad happens. Confidence sometimes gets in the way of failure. Failure is just another step to achieve the complicated process that happens over a long period of time.
Great video. I work at GARC in Alabama and we build asphalt late models. I love what you built and you do nice clean work. Ive been in this sport over 40 years and its easy to get frustrated but then I see your video and it makes me excited to go to work and keep pushing boundaries. I look forward to see what else you have up your sleeves.
@13:57 did I just watch a guy "redesign" a bracket by jus dragging an unconstrained sketch to make it a bit bigger?!? he's the hero that every mechanical design office needs
I like your style , nothing ventured , nothing gained , one of my proudest moments ever was when a tech guy in a "racing organization" that I won't name said "oh boy , we got us a dang innovator here" but I didn't get 2 pages added to a rule book , that's something you can really be proud of , keep on keepin' on Buddy !
This is a great video. I love the straight axle concept. I know some guys that used it on their asphalt Modified for years. Guess what. There was a rule change too
Incredible story! Thank you for taking the time to share. I feel like there is also an incredible story about the flex plate change in the truck on the side of the road. Keep up the hard work!
I absolutely love everything about this. We build our own dirt modifieds and are always looking for something different. We even had a cantaliever front suspension car we built back in 2011. Keep working at it man, you’ll stumble onto something magical again. You’re my new hero because of your willingness to go out and do something that nobody else does.
Awesome video! I'm a 77 year old dirt track 410 sprint and super late model fan whose only race car technical experise comes from my ticket purchased at the track entrance gate. Your story taught me so much about how nuanced the car set-up can be. Austin, you did a fabous job recounting your straight axle journey and I learned so much. As the Ohio season comes to an end here, I look forward to watching you guys and gals roaring into the first turn of the 2024 season. God speed!
Your thoughts and attention to detail with that race car was unbelievable. I have and old truck I am going to restore and was going to eliminate the straight axle. After watching this video I think I'm going to keep the straight axle. You gained a fan. I love the way your brain is working. Good luck.
Excellent, Austin. I can remember folks who did things differently and they almost always, if not, always ran into difficulties with the 'rulers.' Back in the day there was a guy named Jim Hall who was doing things differently, too.....and Brabham.
Was there that night also. Absolutely mind boggling how fast the car was!!! Had no idea that was the secret behind it. Amazing story, design, build and ideas behind it all. My uncle built his last chassis before he retired and had gre at success with it. Props to you for never giving up!!! Awesome video!!!!
loved this story, i am on my own similar Journey but in a smaller scale of cars Radio Control race Cars, i developed electromagnetic Friction Braking for Nitro Powered RC cars, that is unlike anything ever developed for the scene, its had years of testing and fine tuning..and ready to go to market. liker you i love engineering and making things faster than the status quo....keep it up and go Fast
Really enjoyed this, we are from Australia, race late models & watch lots of late models all the time, always wondered why your cars were signaled different, well done, keep at it.
I'm a relatively new fan to dirt late model racing. But I also am somebody who thinks outside the box and and can make anything work. This is the best video I've seen on UA-cam. I've been on UA-cam since 05. In a sport that's dominated by two chassis manufacturers to do this is unbelievable and cool asf. Watching guys in capitals not be able to outrun longhorns and rockets makes it a ton more impressive that you went outside of conventional chassis design and suspension and was going to spank them boys. If this chassis really would eclipse all other chassis why would other chassis manufacturers not want to build one with this front suspension. We should start a movement bring the straight axle car back! #bringthestr8axlecarbackorelse
Thanks for the explanation.. I have always tried to think outside the box too ,sometimes out of necessity...Keep pushing brother , I'm a big fan now ...
I have followed dirt late model Racing for 30 plus years. I have always known your name and saw you a few times But after watching this video I am now a fan. This is awesome stuff with your mind set and talent you will be up front soon
To me the best part of racing has always been the stuff that resulted in new rules being made. Every banned idea motivated me to keep trying to innovate.
10 years ago, I had a buddy who ran semi lates and I suggested the same thing to him. MUCH better front traction potential as you found out. I couldn't convince him to do it, as he'd just finished a GRT copy. Really cool to see that it worked. I'm not surprised it got banned. I'm the reason IMCA added the rule about independent rear suspensions to the modified rulebook in 1996....lol.
The only reason you got banned is that other chassis builders weren't smart enough to figure it out first! We can only move forward at the rate of the slowest person
Great story, it reminds me of a Bill Murray quote. “It's hard to win an argument with a smart person. It's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person.” Keep pushing forward you NASA engineer!
Awesome informative video! Love seeing other racers being able to talk intelligently and from a scientific standpoint about how things actually work as opposed to just getting the next hot piece from a manufacturer. Keep up the good work, always enjoy following your weekend at the World Finals!
You sir have gained a subscriber. Your attitude is what makes racing great. Them old turds are just mad you beat them with a 50$ idea vs their probably 10s of 1000s of dolars plus decades of trial and error.
I would like to say, i love the video! I want to tell you that i enjoy your demeanor as much as anything. You have so many great skills in the mechanical, engineering, electrical departments and many more, yet you seem humble about it. Its been a long time since i watched a video that made me smile with pride. I feel like your sarcastic comedic twist on some things is perfect. Ive instantly become a fan of yours. A long time ago i raced at my local dirt track in a local class of car. I was doing things that caused the inspector to scratch his head and exclaim that he couldnt do anything about it. I continued on to win the track championship and the next year rules were instated because of me. I feel when you do what you did, especially at that level, to have rules made because of your actions and creativity, well thats the biggest compliment one can receive in this sport, and its also my favorite sport and thing to do and be involved with. Good luck to you and yours in the future. I would love to learn and hear about any of your other excursions. Sorry for being all over the place with that, i just have so many things to say and im excited lol.😊
You rock Austin. I wrote the rules for Dirt, Woo, before they became World, back in 2004. It might have been different for you if I was still in charge. Keep up your innovation.
Excellent ! Hearing your trials of bringing a straight axle from idea to useable possibilities in Late Model is stellar!!! Throughly loved your video. It’s ideas like this that keep your Motorsport as well as others interesting, breaking the mold, cause some of us don’t want to do what every other guy is doing, plus if your faster being unconventional all the more power to you. I used to race R/C cars and actually loved the handout motor races where everyone gets the exact same motor, I had a serious secret on how to breakin my motor that I wouldn’t share with anyone, that (stock) motor would run more like an econo mod motor and I would dominate every race, the losers would demand I was cheating and force me to turn in my motor so they’d see what I had done to it, no one ever figured it out, still the same stock motor as everyone else.
I found this video while looking for info on designing a straight axle suspension for a drag car. I have watched it twice now; good stuff. Would you consider building a twin I beam front suspension to use in late model?
Thank you sir. Talk about inspiration. Car guys can get hung up on concepts, as there are so many poorly executed examples we collectively give up and shut down discussions. Again thank you for the huge middle finger you gave to those naysayers. We need to be able to push concepts, just because a design is old, does not mean it is inherently flawed.
Very cool indeed, I’ve always found it interesting that sprint cars still use straight axle technology and they’re pretty fast. I’d like to hear what made the car fast? Is there data on how the weight transferred and how it differs from an A-Arm car?
As a fellow dirt racer I applaud you for thinking outside the box like that. I ran northeastern dirt modifieds and everyone is always trying to emulate a late model suspension. I think it's awesome you not only used our outdated tech but kicked ass with it.
In 1999 I had a solar car design course where my team was for the chassis. The design was for a long slow straight race like across Australia. I proposed leading arms on a solid axle for the front and trailing arms for the rear as it would be smaller than the a-arms and we didn't need to turn. It would use composite leafs mounted on one end for light and compact package. Simple is always best, earned my team an A. Great work and a interesting story.
I don't really understand the problem with the hydraulic steering, as long as there are no leaks and it's been centered to begin with, since front wheels usually can be made to be self-righting, can't they ? As long as both sides have proper stops, I don't know why there would be a problem. What am I missing?
This is the perfect video and explanation of how racing works. Really hard work and tenacity pays off. Always.. this is what it takes to win. It's also a cautionary tale of winning by a little or winning by a lot as they both accomplish the same thing. Its fun to embarrass the competition but expect to be put under a microscope when you do it. This video was simply awesome!
Jesus Christ your story telling abilities are absolutely amazing!! I'm not a dirt car guy by anyway shape or form. I'm a motocross guy and for some random reason UA-cam put you in my feed. You had me laughing the way you explained scratching your buildings to start over all while I felt horrible for you at the same time. Well I'm a subscriber now! Looking forward to more videos
Respect dude, I had no idea this type of opportunistic engineering occurs anymore outside of some board room at a shock company lol. I figured the rule books for large super late model sanctions were the size of a bible and basically forbids people to innovate. I'm seriously impressed by all the engineering you did, even more so that it worked, you're clearly a really bright dude and you made a new fan out of me (just I don't want to be like the spring fan thing in the vid 😂).
So I Watched this video and I tried to think about why this car would work. Is it the lack of jacking forces and no camber change with the radical sideways yaw and massive counter steer? I'm curious about how it functioned. Dirt cars explore performance regimes that normal cars don't get anywhere near.
Many years ago I raced a Big Black Modified, all straight axle cars. One guy put a Camaro body on instead of the Gremlin. It set track records and won everything until it too was outlawed. I love your passion, ingenuity, and problem solving skills! Best of luck in your future endeavors!
So many people can't believe how many Gremlins hit the race tracks knowing what terrible street cars they were. But they were the perfect body for the stock sheet metal rule. No overhang on tbe back to tangle with other cars, And with the body tilted they were an ideal wedged shaped body. Even the earliest Aluminum bodies resembled them until wind tunnel testing was done.
This is a fantastic story, with enough detail to understand how it really went down. Love your attitude about the whole situation too. Thank you so much for sharing.
Video got you a new subscriber... Love to see the little guy put it to the big budget guys. Back in the 80's my neighbor put together a cart steering system that pulled the inside tire up 1 inch and pushed the outer tire down 1 inch and won track champion. It was written out of the rules before the next season started.
Major props for working through this. It’s horrible you weren’t allowed to continue with your innovative design. I’ve honestly wondered for years why no one ran a horizontal shock (Indy style) suspension. But I kept it under my hat just in case I got the change to build one. I still think we could work through your cooling issues though. Take a look at the off road trucks 😉. This gives me so many ideas I just don’t have the resources. More power to ya
Absolutely awesome, I commend you for being different and doing your own thing. Not that is hasn't been done before in a sprint car but to my knowledge not really in a non wing car, I have been experimenting with running a 4 coil set up at my local track and most people that don't know me think I'm nuts those who know me know I like to do my own thing. Yes it make it tough but on night the car works well I feel proud that I did it the way I wanted. Sorry for my long rant about me but you should be proud of what you accomplished especially at that level, racing is figuring out how to get faster and sometime you have to do things different to accomplish that, thanks for the video it was great.
Ive always wondered about using a slider or weight jack for the 4bars. We are already measuring rod angle anyways but it would eliminate actually having to unbolt and move that rod. Plus you could make a rod adjustment in the hot pit during a race.
About 30 years ago, I actually saw a Mazda Rx-7 at the 24 hours of Daytona that was running a straight front axle. I know dirt cars are a specialized area, and most of the things I've read pertain to sports car racing, but they make sense. With the typical independent suspensions, roll centers and camber curves are inextricably linked. For the wheel's camber to offset the body roll, you can run into difficulty in other areas. The drawbacks to the solid axle can be weight and packaging, but if you can solve those problems, you may have a superior set up. This was a fascinating video. How much of the performance do you think was from the solid axle and how much from just have a good car?
That is awesome! If they aren't adjusting the rules based on what you are doing - you aren't pushing them hard enough. That was a cool concept and you made it work
Fascinating video but hold on, why was the straight axle design beneficial? What advantages did you predict would make it worth it to go through all that time and effort to make it work?
Bro as a crew chief / builder you totally gained a fan from this video.. Innovation is what racing is about.. I hate the fact our hard work and ingenuity seems to be slowly getting us to a “Nascar” state.. Keep on keeping on.. I’m gonna make it a point to look you up first time we’re at a track together.. Thanks dude..
Put the car back together for local crate style stuff. If the car has 1 3/4 main frame can be ran in the vintage wedge series coming to the Carolina’s in ‘24. Would love to see this thing back running in some style of late model racing
I really want to see your sixteen hour video! As a European who unfortunately can only see this sport on UA-cam and who is an engineer for a big German car manufacturer I feel like I’m 8 years again and I’m in that amazing age of wonder where you discover new things that blow your mind daily! That to me isstock car racing in all its glorious iterations! The blend of old technology with some modern blips that creates unbelievably fast cars that are so purpose built that you can’t even driven them in a straight line unless they are on their specific track is just wonderful to me and I’d love to learn everything about the technology from the beginnings until now and all the „oddball“ or „Hightech“ technologies inbetween! It’s so funny hearing something like pushroad suspension called high tech, when even cheap entry level racecars I built and developed have it as completely normal function, especially when they don’t even have torsion bar springs! I love the simplicity of stock cars and would love to drive an oval one day. Asphalt and dirt, I just love both and would like to really experience them myself one time!
Loved the video and honesty! I remembered when you built it and stunned the dirt late model world. I mean this in a polite way, but what did all this (basically trial period) cost?
I ran a budget motorcycle road racing (solo) 'team' using salvaged bikes and used tires, eventually winning against the racers that 'broke-in' and threw away (or sold to me) my used tires... once I had a few regional and national championships, many curious people (spectators) asked me; *"How much would I need to go racing (or get started)?"* My standard (and first) response was; *"How much do you have available...?"* They might follow up with; *"No, really... How Much...?"* My (final?) response was often something like; *"It will probably be more than twice the amount you thought you might have available... and likely much more than that the following year(s)..."* Which never really answers **their question** ... Yet always gave them *the answer *I** *would have wanted* (if I had asked someone before I started racing)...
The problem you had was that you didn’t beat the regular “local favorite” at that track, you embarrassed the shit out of him in front of his peers and stands full of spectators, and without the deep pockets of a lot of the other race teams. This IS the essence of all motorsports, as long as you remove pride from the equation. Once you essentially pissed in his cornflakes you were done and he was gonna see to it that you learned a big lesson. If you had only sandbagged it a bit by not maintaining a 1-2 second lead over the second place finisher, you could have enjoyed the success of your design for a little longer. At least until they caught onto it or did something extremely spiteful to slow you down. Take care and I hope you will be able to drag their asses around the track again but with the revised front suspension per their new rulebook. That would be about the most awesome thing you could do and I wish you the best in achieving that success. I’d love to see that happen. :) Good Luck!!
Great video and great story Austin! As a notorious rule over thinker I have much respect for your efforts to do things differently.( and cheaply). In racing it is usually better to try new stuff rather than attempt to do things the same way only better. The other teams have a huge time/experience advantage you may never equal, but trying new stuff gives you an immediate advantage. Good job!
Awesome video… really refreshing to see a racing video that goes into the technical details instead of a blanket statement “we made some changes to the car and they worked”
Man, what an amazing journey! Loved the whole video. So pretty much your hard work, dedication, determination, research, trial and error paid of so well, the end result had to be banned 😂 it’s quite the achievement really. Given your skills, the setback is simply an opportunity for further learnings on a new suspension platform which I’m sure you’ll dominate in no time. Good onya!
Any time you do anything that causes new rules to be written, you are doing something right.
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Aviation rules are written in blood.
Racing rules are written in butthurt.
That's rare, it is usually due accidents or fools.
@@teresashinkansen9402 Neither of those events were a factor in this case. It is a good opportunity to reassess your understanding of rules-based competition fixing.
@@buckstarchaser2376 What? I see you already said it, I don't understand your reply. Many rules are put in place due accidents, a clear example is aviation industry, also rail road, chemical factories etc, a significant amount of rules are due catastrophes and life loss, so it is foolish to assert what the original commenter said. It is rare for rules to be solely due "unfair" advantages and because "you are doing something right" that just happens in competitive activities, as you already mentioned it and even in there that's not always the case, it wasn't but the past year during the 2022 F1 british grand prix there was a crash that provoked rule changes. I didn't read your comment before posting mine but I was trying to say the same, just less eloquently.
Yes when you scare them with simple technology and shear knowledges and will power to work out issues that their $$$$ sponsors cant do for them they run and cry to rule changes , saw it happen when i was in motorcycle racing also
Only late model video I’ve watched all the way through. This is really cool. Unfortunately big teams love to hate when small teams figure something out to be fast.
Would've been cool if they realized the potential and instead of getting it banned built a better car.
It goes both ways. The little guy will say the big guy had all the money.
It's really sad because at the end of the day late model is still a small fish compared to many other racing leagues. They do themselves a disservice by trying to hold back innovation to keep the crown of their little hill.
SAME FEELINGS here.
@@randr10❤❤❤❤
You sir are what the sport WAS all about, shade tree engineering at it’s finest, keep dreaming and making things happen, you are one of those rare persons that can think something out, see it in your minds eye and make it a reality, very inspiring. Blessup
Yes, you look back at older racing trends and you see a MIX of COMPLETELY different cars doing wildly different things to get any edge possible. But people make everything worse. Now everyone has basically the same thing, doing the same motions... Kills any creativity and fun. I struggle to see the fun in racing when its so cookie cutter and monotonous. THen cunning idoits cry and complain and pull the human tribalist bullshit of canning anyone who disagrees. How anyone can find racing in the modern sense fun is beyond me. We are our own worst enemy. Also, I am not well versed in racing. I am just making a judgment based on some snippets I have glanced at here and there.
Apparently not that's why his chassis got outlawed.
@@ban80 due tell please🤔🤷🏿♀️🫵🏿
Why ?
Wow. This is possibly the best 29 minutes I’ve ever spent on UA-cam. Amazing, informative, and very funny all at the same time. New subscriber and fan here.
I second this!
I said the same thing to some people I sent this too. Might be the best UA-cam video I’ve seen. Lol loved it.
Agreed, very impressive.
Just ask A.I. how to build a faster & faster racecar. It will eventually know..... & also kill the whole world while it designs a whole new racecar,..... simultaneously
Agreed. Another subscriber earned !
Great video. I applaud your approach to trying something different. It’s funny how the teams with the most money get butt hurt when they get out done by hard work.
It’s laughable hearing the guys with million dollar haulers crying about someone affecting the cost of racing that showed up in a 04 cummins.
Shows you who you’re around when you go to the races. Leave the sport and 10x your life.
@@RaceMentally thumbs down bro racer, that was so painful to read. I think I just got PTSD from your comment, you should mask up next time for my safety! Your Elon Lust rubbed off on me, that's because it's contagious, as shown in a lab. Now I will need therapy, in my car I go...Where is the nearest race track they haven't suicided yet? Oh good , nice drive out. I suggest you do the same, ignore the noise make your own noise , Darlins!
Laughable, they know for a fact it isn’t a money thing. They just know to say that so the higher ups will listen. No one will listen or care if the word “money” isn’t involved.
I love what you did. When we raced factory stocks at our local track, we played the grey area like you did. The following season, there were FIVE new rules just from what we did. It's aggravating to get DQ'd or overlay teched but yet satisfying at the same time. We were running against the promoter's nephews that were grossly illegal and beating them so they had it in for us. You're video was really cool and makes me miss the sport and the competition of it.
As presented for scrutineering at the beginning of the season....and passed....then you should be able to run that same combination all the rest of the season...even after you start winning.
The winning team should automatically have a seat on the rules committee to stop DQ being imposed for next season..
@@JohnSmith-yv6eq Literally couldn't of said it better, this is how it should be.
Good job man stay in racing. Maybe NASA needs you to.
This Comment!!! Surprised not getting more thumbs up
No, this is just like corporate America. You have to get a team together and blackmail the shit out of those complaining, and trying to flog the system so that they have a one up on everybody else ..Otherwise they will keep fucking over the little guy.
I'm gonna be honest I've never really paid that much attention to the dirt late model world until of late, so I've never heard of you before, but this was quite frankly one of the best engineering videos and motivational racing videos I've ever seen and I'm going to subscribe to your page now in hopes for more content like this. I hope you continue your success of building cars and being different and not afraid to try things out of the ordinary... good luck 👍🏼
Makes you not want to race. Why surround yourself with losers and money flying out of your pocket? Think about it.
@@RaceMentally passion
@@lom23sc sounds like a problem. Needing validation?
@@RaceMentally passion = validation? lol
@@Epic_Aviation no one said it equals validation. That was a separate question. Where and why is there “passion”? Sounds like some fruity drink.
I'm a development engineer/ Toolmaker, been doing it for 40 years so I know exactly how frustrating it can be struggling toward a goal, but also how satisfying it is when a plan comes together.
We have nothing like Late models or Modifieds here in the UK so I find all of this weird science fascinating.
What a great way to spend 1/2 hour.
Oh, some great, ingenious fab work there!
Try the 750 club.
Love the innovation and I love the technical discussion. The racing community needs more of this. My old man built top fuel engines in the 70's and late model engines until he retired in the late 90's. He told me do something different, if you just copy what every one else is doing you will only be as good at best. He also told me having rules written because of your ideas is an honor. Great work and I can't wait to hear more.
Austin, we raced karts together, that one night at Dirt devils when they airlifted that guy out of there, i knew then you were going to do great things, im so proud of you for what you have accomplished, best of luck!!
I was there at Cherokee for that win. We had went to run street stock and I remember every lap of the feature. Never heard your name but man you made a statement. Tried to make my way to meet you and figure out who you were. If you done it once you’ll do it again. I remember following the story about them banning the straight axle and just thinking about how one guy changed the whole SLM scene. Awesome job man keep digging!
This absolutely has to be the best video I’ve ever seen. Edge of my seat start to finish as someone who loves designing/building and who likes underdogs. Was incredible to see u take an idea everyone dismissed n turn it into a night win and a 2.5 sec lead in ur heat. Pleaseee more technical videos and would love some long format racing stories like this
Well done. I raced radio control dirt modifies. I built a straight axle EDM (Eastern dirt modified). That car put 2 laps on second place, and was banned from competition. I was planning a Ford twin I beam version, but a rules update was added that required all cars to be based on an off road buggy counterpart. The twin I beam reacts more like a straight axle than a arms do, with active camber and caster. Food for thought from another rule twister.
Why is a straight axle better?
I do not think straight axles are unilaterally better than A-arms in every situation. It is weird that so many racers, on so many levels, are afraid to race against them. In my oval racing experience, dirt, carpet, asphalt, and a fun time on no-skid sandpaint ( before that car was banned ), a straight axle can transfer weight in ways A-arms can not. For me it is about manipulating the front wheel track (distance from outside of left front tire, to outside of right tire) from its preset location in the chassis. A-arms have a fixed wheel track with respect to their preset location on the chassis. Straight axles are held in place side to side by a track bar. My track bar is mounted to the left side of the axle, and the right side of the chassis. The track bar can be positioned, so when chassis roll causes the right front to compress down entering the corner, the wheel track of the front tires can be manipulated in relationship to the axle's preset location to the chassis. When you change the centerline of the front wheel track, from its preset location on the chassis, you change the way the car transfers weight. The radius rods that hold the axle front to back, can be set to manipulate the wheel base (distance from front tire to rear tire) as the axle goes through its motion. Straight axles require an aggressive, drive it like you stole it, driving style. After watching this video, Austin is not only a talented designer/fabricator, he is what we call a "wheel man".
It still takes a butt in the seat, feet on the pedals, and at least one hand on the steering wheel, to race full scale cars.
Anyone else watch the whole damn thing? EPIC dude! My brother worked at Jeff Smith's shop in Kings Mountain that manufactured and retailed GRT Chasis in the early 2000s and this was a facinating video my friend. They really made the wrong move in banning your car. The instance you outlaw innovation and true competition to be best at something you end up with NASCAR results. Where you just cant seem to figure out why less and less people devot their time to your craft, and the make so many changes, nearly every year, that youre literally tearing down stands so that your crowd optics look better, turning lap times that are slower than previous technlogies and where Busch leauge is now faster than the cup series.......when you could just be like sprint cars and the cream rises to the top..........Keep it up dude, you will change everything.
Actually, nothing will change unless you hold power over the powerful meaning this is why the Senate and Congress does not mess with the FBI or CIA because they know all their dirty secrets and hold all the blackmailing power if they messed with pretty scary scenario the citizens live in…
This was Smokey Yunik great! Loved it!😊
Man I remember when just about every car in the pits was homemade and not a carbon copy of every other car on the track. This type of ingenuity used to be celebrated, now they just instantly ban anything that gives the main 2-3 chassis brands any serious competition.
That’s great to know backyard engineers still do exist , and keep pushing the rules to the edge. Great job ! 👍
I love this kind of stuff. My grandfather added to a lot of sprint car rule books. This is the kind of racing I grew up around. Our family has always raced under the idea that we could build something faster than everyone else was buying. I just stumbled across your channel. I'm now a new subscriber. I hope to see some more innovative ideas in the future.
Back room politics and "If you can't beat it, ban it" is prevalent in all forms of racing. Great video and commentary bro.
Flex plate swap on the side of the road might be the most impressive part of this entire saga.
Don’t give up , not many can build their own car , skin it and drive the wheels off of it like you , can’t wait to see the next AK car
Awesome! I drew a straight axle latemodel suspension up 50+ times as a kid between 1998 (15yrs old) and 2006!!!! My boss and I discussed designs for hours while I was supposed to working/welding. We knew it made sense and was going to work and you proved it!
Would enjoy learning more about your cantilever set-up and how you designed it and then transformed it to meet the verticial "technical" regulations and if that had any impact on set-up and driveability. Also, you obviously designed those yourself... how did you go from CAD model to final product (find someone to machine and build) and how many iterations did you go through to eventually get the right fit?
Great stuff... i feel like you could make even more videos off this one going into more detail about the various suspension items.
Cantilevers were actually pretty easy as I was just using a 1:1 motion ratio. The main utility was they looked cool and kept me destroying 1000$ shocks when I cleaned the RF off the car.
I think I will do some videos on how to cost effectively get ideas from your brain to on your car 👍🏻
Since i was a kid Ive wanted to build a PIKES PEAK HILL CLIMB CAR , especially when it was a dirt track..…but life got in the way … Sure do wish i had a neighbor or friend like you when growing up i might have been able to get that done… !!! I have so many ideas over the years and some of them still to this day i still have not seen used…Right here on you tube we have Old Smoky a hill climb truck i watched the last few years that didnt give up and eventually set the diesel record but recently crashed and will have to start over..Both of you fellas really inspire me not to give up …!!! One question i have is the size of the tubing that you use..? It looks like 1 1/4’’ or 1 1/2’’ DOM … Not chrome molly ..? IM A NEW SUBSCRIBER…! 🏁🏁🇺🇸
Dirt racing, something about that just seems so natural. The dust, the smell of octane, and the feel of the wind and happiness until something bad happens. Confidence sometimes gets in the way of failure. Failure is just another step to achieve the complicated process that happens over a long period of time.
Great video. I work at GARC in Alabama and we build asphalt late models. I love what you built and you do nice clean work. Ive been in this sport over 40 years and its easy to get frustrated but then I see your video and it makes me excited to go to work and keep pushing boundaries. I look forward to see what else you have up your sleeves.
@13:57 did I just watch a guy "redesign" a bracket by jus dragging an unconstrained sketch to make it a bit bigger?!?
he's the hero that every mechanical design office needs
Lmaooo glad one of the 200,000 people that watched this appreciated that 4 seconds
Damn I missed that, lolol
Yo this comment is underrated -- I still giggle about it
I like your style , nothing ventured , nothing gained , one of my proudest moments ever was when a tech guy in a "racing organization" that I won't name said "oh boy , we got us a dang innovator here" but I didn't get 2 pages added to a rule book , that's something you can really be proud of , keep on keepin' on Buddy !
This is a great video. I love the straight axle concept. I know some guys that used it on their asphalt Modified for years. Guess what. There was a rule change too
Incredible story! Thank you for taking the time to share. I feel like there is also an incredible story about the flex plate change in the truck on the side of the road.
Keep up the hard work!
I absolutely love everything about this. We build our own dirt modifieds and are always looking for something different. We even had a cantaliever front suspension car we built back in 2011. Keep working at it man, you’ll stumble onto something magical again. You’re my new hero because of your willingness to go out and do something that nobody else does.
The spirit of Smokey Yunick lives on !
Awesome video! I'm a 77 year old dirt track 410 sprint and super late model fan whose only race car technical experise comes from my ticket purchased at the track entrance gate. Your story taught me so much about how nuanced the car set-up can be. Austin, you did a fabous job recounting your straight axle journey and I learned so much. As the Ohio season comes to an end here, I look forward to watching you guys and gals roaring into the first turn of the 2024 season. God speed!
Your thoughts and attention to detail with that race car was unbelievable. I have and old truck I am going to restore and was going to eliminate the straight axle. After watching this video I think I'm going to keep the straight axle. You gained a fan. I love the way your brain is working. Good luck.
Excellent, Austin. I can remember folks who did things differently and they almost always, if not, always ran into difficulties with the 'rulers.' Back in the day there was a guy named Jim Hall who was doing things differently, too.....and Brabham.
Was there that night also. Absolutely mind boggling how fast the car was!!! Had no idea that was the secret behind it. Amazing story, design, build and ideas behind it all. My uncle built his last chassis before he retired and had gre at success with it. Props to you for never giving up!!! Awesome video!!!!
loved this story, i am on my own similar Journey but in a smaller scale of cars Radio Control race Cars, i developed electromagnetic Friction Braking for Nitro Powered RC cars, that is unlike anything ever developed for the scene, its had years of testing and fine tuning..and ready to go to market. liker you i love engineering and making things faster than the status quo....keep it up and go Fast
Really enjoyed this, we are from Australia, race late models & watch lots of late models all the time, always wondered why your cars were signaled different, well done, keep at it.
Brother hold your head high its a honor to have a chassis outlawed. To know you put fear in the drivers!! Thats one hell of a compliment!!!!
I'm a relatively new fan to dirt late model racing. But I also am somebody who thinks outside the box and and can make anything work. This is the best video I've seen on UA-cam. I've been on UA-cam since 05. In a sport that's dominated by two chassis manufacturers to do this is unbelievable and cool asf. Watching guys in capitals not be able to outrun longhorns and rockets makes it a ton more impressive that you went outside of conventional chassis design and suspension and was going to spank them boys. If this chassis really would eclipse all other chassis why would other chassis manufacturers not want to build one with this front suspension. We should start a movement bring the straight axle car back!
#bringthestr8axlecarbackorelse
Something different is coming soon
Dude, keep it up! We are rooting for you and you will prevail.
Thanks for the explanation.. I have always tried to think outside the box too ,sometimes out of necessity...Keep pushing brother , I'm a big fan now ...
I have followed dirt late model Racing for 30 plus years.
I have always known your name and saw you a few times
But after watching this video I am now a fan.
This is awesome stuff with your mind set and talent you will be up front soon
To me the best part of racing has always been the stuff that resulted in new rules being made. Every banned idea motivated me to keep trying to innovate.
10 years ago, I had a buddy who ran semi lates and I suggested the same thing to him. MUCH better front traction potential as you found out. I couldn't convince him to do it, as he'd just finished a GRT copy.
Really cool to see that it worked. I'm not surprised it got banned. I'm the reason IMCA added the rule about independent rear suspensions to the modified rulebook in 1996....lol.
This has been some of the best 29 minutes of my life i've ever spent and I'm a sprint car fan! Keep digging HOSS! I wanna see more out of you
You scared them! Genius doesn't happen overnight. A young man comes in and took it to future legends. Congratulations on that!
The only reason you got banned is that other chassis builders weren't smart enough to figure it out first! We can only move forward at the rate of the slowest person
Great story, it reminds me of a Bill Murray quote. “It's hard to win an argument with a smart person. It's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person.”
Keep pushing forward you NASA engineer!
Awesome informative video! Love seeing other racers being able to talk intelligently and from a scientific standpoint about how things actually work as opposed to just getting the next hot piece from a manufacturer. Keep up the good work, always enjoy following your weekend at the World Finals!
You sir have gained a subscriber. Your attitude is what makes racing great. Them old turds are just mad you beat them with a 50$ idea vs their probably 10s of 1000s of dolars plus decades of trial and error.
I would like to say, i love the video! I want to tell you that i enjoy your demeanor as much as anything. You have so many great skills in the mechanical, engineering, electrical departments and many more, yet you seem humble about it. Its been a long time since i watched a video that made me smile with pride. I feel like your sarcastic comedic twist on some things is perfect. Ive instantly become a fan of yours. A long time ago i raced at my local dirt track in a local class of car. I was doing things that caused the inspector to scratch his head and exclaim that he couldnt do anything about it. I continued on to win the track championship and the next year rules were instated because of me. I feel when you do what you did, especially at that level, to have rules made because of your actions and creativity, well thats the biggest compliment one can receive in this sport, and its also my favorite sport and thing to do and be involved with. Good luck to you and yours in the future. I would love to learn and hear about any of your other excursions. Sorry for being all over the place with that, i just have so many things to say and im excited lol.😊
You rock Austin. I wrote the rules for Dirt, Woo, before they became World, back in 2004. It might have been different for you if I was still in charge. Keep up your innovation.
Excellent ! Hearing your trials of bringing a straight axle from idea to useable possibilities in Late Model is stellar!!! Throughly loved your video. It’s ideas like this that keep your Motorsport as well as others interesting, breaking the mold, cause some of us don’t want to do what every other guy is doing, plus if your faster being unconventional all the more power to you.
I used to race R/C cars and actually loved the handout motor races where everyone gets the exact same motor, I had a serious secret on how to breakin my motor that I wouldn’t share with anyone, that (stock) motor would run more like an econo mod motor and I would dominate every race, the losers would demand I was cheating and force me to turn in my motor so they’d see what I had done to it, no one ever figured it out, still the same stock motor as everyone else.
What did you do to break in those brushed motors?
Curious about this motor 'break-in' secret...
I found this video while looking for info on designing a straight axle suspension for a drag car. I have watched it twice now; good stuff.
Would you consider building a twin I beam front suspension to use in late model?
It wouldn’t be legal with how the new rules are written
Thank you sir. Talk about inspiration. Car guys can get hung up on concepts, as there are so many poorly executed examples we collectively give up and shut down discussions. Again thank you for the huge middle finger you gave to those naysayers. We need to be able to push concepts, just because a design is old, does not mean it is inherently flawed.
This was the best / informative video I’ve ever been able to watch.
Simply wow. Inspiring. 🏁👌🏼
A true Racer
Very cool indeed, I’ve always found it interesting that sprint cars still use straight axle technology and they’re pretty fast. I’d like to hear what made the car fast? Is there data on how the weight transferred and how it differs from an A-Arm car?
As a fellow dirt racer I applaud you for thinking outside the box like that. I ran northeastern dirt modifieds and everyone is always trying to emulate a late model suspension. I think it's awesome you not only used our outdated tech but kicked ass with it.
Brilliance at its finest. Video was outstanding.
In 1999 I had a solar car design course where my team was for the chassis. The design was for a long slow straight race like across Australia. I proposed leading arms on a solid axle for the front and trailing arms for the rear as it would be smaller than the a-arms and we didn't need to turn. It would use composite leafs mounted on one end for light and compact package. Simple is always best, earned my team an A.
Great work and a interesting story.
Holy shit that was awesome. I laid awake at night thinking about suspension geometry for 10 years. Then life pulled me away from racing. Outstanding!
I don't really understand the problem with the hydraulic steering, as long as there are no leaks and it's been centered to begin with, since front wheels usually can be made to be self-righting, can't they ?
As long as both sides have proper stops, I don't know why there would be a problem.
What am I missing?
This is the perfect video and explanation of how racing works. Really hard work and tenacity pays off. Always.. this is what it takes to win.
It's also a cautionary tale of winning by a little or winning by a lot as they both accomplish the same thing. Its fun to embarrass the competition but expect to be put under a microscope when you do it. This video was simply awesome!
11:07. Whats the advantage? Wouldnt unsprung weight be the worst weight besides rotational weight?
this needs to be seen by everyone!! incredible video Austin and great independent work. Underrated!
Jesus Christ your story telling abilities are absolutely amazing!! I'm not a dirt car guy by anyway shape or form. I'm a motocross guy and for some random reason UA-cam put you in my feed. You had me laughing the way you explained scratching your buildings to start over all while I felt horrible for you at the same time. Well I'm a subscriber now! Looking forward to more videos
Respect dude, I had no idea this type of opportunistic engineering occurs anymore outside of some board room at a shock company lol. I figured the rule books for large super late model sanctions were the size of a bible and basically forbids people to innovate. I'm seriously impressed by all the engineering you did, even more so that it worked, you're clearly a really bright dude and you made a new fan out of me (just I don't want to be like the spring fan thing in the vid 😂).
So I Watched this video and I tried to think about why this car would work. Is it the lack of jacking forces and no camber change with the radical sideways yaw and massive counter steer? I'm curious about how it functioned. Dirt cars explore performance regimes that normal cars don't get anywhere near.
Many years ago I raced a Big Black Modified, all straight axle cars. One guy put a Camaro body on instead of the Gremlin. It set track records and won everything until it too was outlawed. I love your passion, ingenuity, and problem solving skills! Best of luck in your future endeavors!
So many people can't believe how many Gremlins hit the race tracks knowing what terrible street cars they were. But they were the perfect body for the stock sheet metal rule. No overhang on tbe back to tangle with other cars, And with the body tilted they were an ideal wedged shaped body. Even the earliest Aluminum bodies resembled them until wind tunnel testing was done.
This is a fantastic story, with enough detail to understand how it really went down. Love your attitude about the whole situation too. Thank you so much for sharing.
Video got you a new subscriber... Love to see the little guy put it to the big budget guys. Back in the 80's my neighbor put together a cart steering system that pulled the inside tire up 1 inch and pushed the outer tire down 1 inch and won track champion. It was written out of the rules before the next season started.
Major props for working through this. It’s horrible you weren’t allowed to continue with your innovative design. I’ve honestly wondered for years why no one ran a horizontal shock (Indy style) suspension. But I kept it under my hat just in case I got the change to build one. I still think we could work through your cooling issues though. Take a look at the off road trucks 😉. This gives me so many ideas I just don’t have the resources. More power to ya
This is awesome! Some big names got their asses whooped and got mad. Best of luck!
Absolutely awesome, I commend you for being different and doing your own thing. Not that is hasn't been done before in a sprint car but to my knowledge not really in a non wing car, I have been experimenting with running a 4 coil set up at my local track and most people that don't know me think I'm nuts those who know me know I like to do my own thing. Yes it make it tough but on night the car works well I feel proud that I did it the way I wanted. Sorry for my long rant about me but you should be proud of what you accomplished especially at that level, racing is figuring out how to get faster and sometime you have to do things different to accomplish that, thanks for the video it was great.
Great video. I'm not even really into dirt stuff, but I loved learning from this
It's inspiring to hear your journey and perseverance. I admire your drive and enthusiasm to look out of the box at the challenges. Don't ever stop!
That was a bad ass video mad props for you working outside the box this is what motor sports is about outwitting your competition
Ive always wondered about using a slider or weight jack for the 4bars. We are already measuring rod angle anyways but it would eliminate actually having to unbolt and move that rod. Plus you could make a rod adjustment in the hot pit during a race.
About 30 years ago, I actually saw a Mazda Rx-7 at the 24 hours of Daytona that was running a straight front axle. I know dirt cars are a specialized area, and most of the things I've read pertain to sports car racing, but they make sense. With the typical independent suspensions, roll centers and camber curves are inextricably linked. For the wheel's camber to offset the body roll, you can run into difficulty in other areas. The drawbacks to the solid axle can be weight and packaging, but if you can solve those problems, you may have a superior set up. This was a fascinating video. How much of the performance do you think was from the solid axle and how much from just have a good car?
That is awesome!
If they aren't adjusting the rules based on what you are doing - you aren't pushing them hard enough.
That was a cool concept and you made it work
Fascinating video but hold on, why was the straight axle design beneficial? What advantages did you predict would make it worth it to go through all that time and effort to make it work?
Man, that was awesome. Always wondered how he did what he did and what happened to him. Props to you Austin, can’t wait to see what’s next!
Bro as a crew chief / builder you totally gained a fan from this video.. Innovation is what racing is about.. I hate the fact our hard work and ingenuity seems to be slowly getting us to a “Nascar” state.. Keep on keeping on.. I’m gonna make it a point to look you up first time we’re at a track together.. Thanks dude..
I just can't believe you were able to get it working well after scrapping the bell cranks. Very cool project, thanks for making this! Keep em coming!
Love your video. I built my own UMP mode chassis many moons ago and listen to your video being back so many bad and a few good memories of that time.
AWESOME DRIVE FROM YOU, NOT GIVING UP on your thoughts , my hats off to you Austin , great video also
Put the car back together for local crate style stuff. If the car has 1 3/4 main frame can be ran in the vintage wedge series coming to the Carolina’s in ‘24. Would love to see this thing back running in some style of late model racing
Awesome video. Awesome build that truly has made many of us late model guys question what the car actually was and how it worked!
I really want to see your sixteen hour video!
As a European who unfortunately can only see this sport on UA-cam and who is an engineer for a big German car manufacturer I feel like I’m 8 years again and I’m in that amazing age of wonder where you discover new things that blow your mind daily!
That to me isstock car racing in all its glorious iterations!
The blend of old technology with some modern blips that creates unbelievably fast cars that are so purpose built that you can’t even driven them in a straight line unless they are on their specific track is just wonderful to me and I’d love to learn everything about the technology from the beginnings until now and all the „oddball“ or „Hightech“ technologies inbetween!
It’s so funny hearing something like pushroad suspension called high tech, when even cheap entry level racecars I built and developed have it as completely normal function, especially when they don’t even have torsion bar springs!
I love the simplicity of stock cars and would love to drive an oval one day.
Asphalt and dirt, I just love both and would like to really experience them myself one time!
Very nicely done. Car and video both.
This work gets you a chair at Smoky Yunick's table anytime.
Loved the video and honesty! I remembered when you built it and stunned the dirt late model world. I mean this in a polite way, but what did all this (basically trial period) cost?
I ran a budget motorcycle road racing (solo) 'team' using salvaged bikes and used tires, eventually winning against the racers that 'broke-in' and threw away (or sold to me) my used tires... once I had a few regional and national championships, many curious people (spectators) asked me;
*"How much would I need to go racing (or get started)?"*
My standard (and first) response was;
*"How much do you have available...?"*
They might follow up with;
*"No, really... How Much...?"*
My (final?) response was often something like;
*"It will probably be more than twice the amount you thought you might have available... and likely much more than that the following year(s)..."*
Which never really answers **their question** ...
Yet always gave them *the answer *I** *would have wanted* (if I had asked someone before I started racing)...
The problem you had was that you didn’t beat the regular “local favorite” at that track, you embarrassed the shit out of him in front of his peers and stands full of spectators, and without the deep pockets of a lot of the other race teams.
This IS the essence of all motorsports, as long as you remove pride from the equation.
Once you essentially pissed in his cornflakes you were done and he was gonna see to it that you learned a big lesson.
If you had only sandbagged it a bit by not maintaining a 1-2 second lead over the second place finisher, you could have enjoyed the success of your design for a little longer. At least until they caught onto it or did something extremely spiteful to slow you down.
Take care and I hope you will be able to drag their asses around the track again but with the revised front suspension per their new rulebook. That would be about the most awesome thing you could do and I wish you the best in achieving that success. I’d love to see that happen. :) Good Luck!!
Man...that night you won Cherokee by like 5+ seconds, that was AWESOME! You spanked 'em good that night. I became a fan on that race.
Great video and great story Austin! As a notorious rule over thinker I have much respect for your efforts to do things differently.( and cheaply). In racing it is usually better to try new stuff rather than attempt to do things the same way only better. The other teams have a huge time/experience advantage you may never equal, but trying new stuff gives you an immediate advantage. Good job!
Well done pal. Glad you built that car. I don’t know that I would’ve ever been nudged into the deep end of DLM racing had you not. Ha
Awesome video… really refreshing to see a racing video that goes into the technical details instead of a blanket statement “we made some changes to the car and they worked”
Love the video and the work you put in to it. Some days it might become the perfect car to own
You could of kept radiator on the side just adding a second one in the shape of a cpu air cooler stacked with fans in between radiators.
Man, what an amazing journey! Loved the whole video. So pretty much your hard work, dedication, determination, research, trial and error paid of so well, the end result had to be banned 😂 it’s quite the achievement really. Given your skills, the setback is simply an opportunity for further learnings on a new suspension platform which I’m sure you’ll dominate in no time. Good onya!