- Kinser-AirFilers RaceSaver 305 Sprint Series to Bloomington Speedway in 2015- by Braden Rouse When I first heard the news of Bloomington adding a 305 winged sprint car class in 2015, I laughed and shook my head, looked at my friend and showed him the tweet on my phone. What the heck were they thinking? I’ll be the first to admit I commonly quote “Wings are for airplanes”, although I have a high respect for winged sprint cars and those who race them, and I even enjoy watching them race when they come to town, I’m just a Hoosier and my roots are in traditional non-wing sprint car racing. I quickly discovered many others thought the exact same thing, saying the engines cost upwards of $20,000 and even $30,000, asking what driver or owner would possibly pay those steep prices. Some also commented saying that other Indiana tracks in the past had tried to race a 305 sprint series and ended in failure. It turns out even Adam Gullion, the now “face”, if you will, of the Bloomington Speedway Kinser-AirFilters RaceSaver 305 Sprint Series had his doubts and was very outspoken about it in the beginning. I’m the kind of guy who wants things, specifically in the racing world, to be successful. I knew there had to be a bigger reason for Bloomington to add the 305 series and I had to find out for myself what they were really about. I got the opportunity of speaking with Adam at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Indianapolis on Friday to get a better understanding of these cars and what the purpose of the class really is. One of the things Adam made sure I understood was the reason he is now the main voice for this series as it makes it was to Bloomington. “The reason why I’m such a big advocate for the 305s is because [in the beginning] I was so verbal about my hate towards this 305 [car]. I didn’t understand the reason they needed to exist,” he said in our conversation. After racing in the RaceSaver 305 division Adam began to realize this was an opportunity to continue his racing career at an affordable cost. In his 360 car he was spending too much money and not having fun, and had come to the point where he was considering giving it up. Thanks to the lower cost of this series, he’s still racing and has even broadened his career by gaining new sponsors and being the guy to talk to and follow as an example for the newcomers wanting to compete at Bloomington. So what is it that makes these cars so affordable? It’s actually pretty simple. The rules package, which is strictly enforced, makes the cars extremely competitive regardless of how much money is spent on them. The initial engine cost is around $15,000-30,000, much less than a competitive 410 engine that can cost $60,000-80,000. Another great thing about the engines is they are built to last due to the fact they are pushed to their limits less with the strict rules that are set. Adam explained, “You can put 30-60 shows on these motors, without rebuilding them. And your rebuild costs are literally in the $1,500-2,000 range and that’s paying for your motor builder to do it, with parts included”. The 410 engines can cost $25,000-30,000, just to rebuild. Some ways the engines are restricted include a required 48 pound crankshaft, a stock rod, stock rod length and you must use their cylinder head (no porting or polishing of the head). The rules also say there is only one brand of valve spring that you are allowed use. These rules cause the engine to only turn between 7400 and 7800 rpms. If you try to put out more power than that it will cause the valves to flood. The fact that the engines are small and give the driver less power means there is less room for error and if you make a mistake it’s much harder to overcome than if you were in a 360 or a 410, making it a challenge that tests a drivers skills. If you’re trying to pull away in a race or even catch someone every single second and every move you make matters because they’re down on power. This makes for great, action packed racing and really tests a driver’s raw skill. Another aspect to think about is the weight. Each car must weigh 1,575 pounds, or 1,750 without the fire suppression system after the race. The rules dictate that you can run no rotating titanium mass (no titanium bolts in wheels, no titanium breaks, etc.). You can, however, run titanium bolts which allows you to distribute your weight to other parts of the car. If you were at the famed Bloomington Speedway on September 26th you got the chance to see Adam in action in his 305 sprint car. Between the last chance qualifier and the A-Main he took a few exhibition laps and actually had a quicker lap (14.36) than Chris Bell (15.20), who battled for the win in the feature event. We have to consider the slick track and the track size, but during a feature once the track is slick this series is bound to be competitive with a lot of racing action and could very well be the feature to watch week in and week out. Some of the drivers who are committed to racing with the Kinser-AirFilters 305 RaceSaver series include Ethan Fleetwood and Luke Bland. Ethan is a Bloomington Speedway regular and has competed in the non-wing sprints for 3 years now. “I’m really looking forward to this series coming to Indiana and I’m hoping we can have a good car turnout this season,” said Fleetwood, the 17-year-old Bloomington resident. Luke Bland is the defending 2014 U.M.P. Hornet track champion. He won six feature events and hopes to chase another Bloomington Speedway championship in the RaceSaver series. Also planning to own car entries in the weekly series are Kinser Air Filters (series sponsor) owner Roger Kinser, Mickey Smith, Sam Stockton and Dan Roberts. Now that I’ve had a chance to get to know more about the Kinser-AirFilters RaceSaver 305 Sprint Series I believe it will be one of the very best “affordable” racing series around and I think it will be a way for drivers to fulfill their chances of racing sprint cars. I know a lot of people who would like to move up from what they’re racing now or have always wanted to drive a sprint and this is definitely a much more reasonable chance to fulfill that task than if they were to begin in any other sprint car or any other open wheel car for that matter. The Bloomington Speedway is the perfect facility for a class such as the RaceSaver series and I don’t think there will be a bad race all year. If you would like to know more please visit racesaver or bloomingtonspeedway. You can contact Bloomington Speedway promoter Kris Kirchner at [email protected]. You can also contact Adam Gullion through his social media accounts for any questions or concerns. If you are for sure going to compete in the new series and would like help seeking sponsors or promoting your team please be sure to contact me on Facebook (Braden Rouse Photography) and I will do the best I can to help you meet your needs. Special thanks to Adam Gullion and Ethan Fleetwood for taking time to talk to me about this up and coming series. I look forward to watching it grow throughout the season!
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 00:52:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015