I-76 SPEEDWAY

Fort Morgan, Colorado

 

2005  ECONO CLASS RULES

 

 

                The “Econo” class is just that - an economy class, designed as an entry level class for the amateur or beginning driver.  It is intended to be a cost effective means for the amateur driver to experience the fun and excitement of circle track racing.

 

            This class is for the basic “stock car.”  Only minor modifications may be made.  The Econo class is open to any American-made, steel-bodied production automobile or stationwagon from 1955 up.  Cars in the Econo class must have a wheel base of 108” or longer  (No Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, compacts, convertibles, trucks or 4-wheel drive vehicles allowed.)  Cars must be strictly stock, excluding the following rules.  GM subframe cars such as Nova’s, Omega’s, Apollo’s, and Ventura’s, WILL NOT BE ALLOWED.

 

1)  BODIES:  The drivers and passengers side doors may have the inner panels removed for roll bar clearance only! Roof inner panels may be trimmed only for roll bar clearance.  Hood and trunk lids may not be gutted or lightened.  No hood scoops or holes in hood for air cleaner.  Inner front fender wells (splash pans) may be removed. Fenders and quarter panels may be trimmed for tire clearance.  Material may be removed from stock wheel well radius.  Any openings to the interior or trunk area from wheel wells must be closed off.  Sharp metal edges must be rolled or reworked where trimmed.  Doors must be bolted, plated or welded shut.  Hoods and deck lids must be pinned for easy access in case of fire.  No sharp edges anywhere on car; bumpers or fenders; your racing will be suspended immediately until problem is repaired.  All cars should be brightly painted and bodies kept in good condition throughout the season.  No rear view mirrors or two-way radios allowed

 

2)  NUMBERS:  Car registration numbers must be obtained at a cost of $25.00 per car, and the application form properly filled out and returned to I-76 Speedway before being allowed to compete.  Car numbers must be neatly painted (no spray cans) in contrasting colors, must be at least 20” high on both sides, on top of car  (readable from right  side), and on left front headlight panel or front edge of hood on left side (at least 4” high).  All numbers on Econo cars must have an “E” before the car number, half the size of the car number.

 

3)  INTERIORS:  All upholstery, wiring and glass must be removed, including headlights, tail lights, chrome trim and anything else that may come loose and become hazardous.  Dashboards  may be removed.  If removed, all sharp edges must be rolled or rounded off (this goes for all sharp edges in interior).  All unnecessary holes or openings in front and rear firewalls must be closed off or covered securely with sheet metal.  Original seats must be removed and replaced with one sturdy bucket type seat properly fastened to the roll cage (not floor pan).  Racing type seats optional (fiberglass seats must have plate on back mounting at least 4” x 6” x 1/8”).  A fire extinguisher (2-lb or larger) must be securely mounted within reach of the driver.  The driver must wear safety approved aircraft or racing type of seat belts (mounted to cage, not floor pan), shoulder harness, helmet and eye protection at all times.

 

4)  ROLL BARS:  A 4-post roll cage must be properly installed, using steel pipe or tubing 1-1/2” OD or larger, tubing must be of .095 or larger thickness, welded to the frame, or plates (6” x 6” x 3/16” minimum) welded and/or bolted to  the floor pans on unibody cars.  Three or more horizontal bars must be installed on driver’s side, arched outwards placed between the driver and left door with several vertical braces and gussets at all welded joints.  Right hand door bars optional, but must have at least two bars connecting upright bars on right side (X-configuration or whatever).  All welding is to be done electrically with no galvanized pipe or threaded joints allowed.  Roll bar padding mandatory near driver’s head and body.  Additional gusseting and triangulation of all cage construction is recommended.  Additional radiator bracing okay as long as bracing does not extend more than 12” forward or rearward of radiator.  Six or more vertical steel bars of 3/8” or heavier spaced approximately 4” apart must be installed in the windshield opening in front of the driver for protection.  No fabricated bump or nerf bars are allowed on the front or rear bumpers.  No side kick-off bars.  Reinforcement behind stock bumpers properly welded to the frame is allowed as long as it does not tie into the main cage.  Front hoop and rear support bars optional.

 

5)  FUEL AND SYSTEMS:  Stock gas tanks may be removed and replaced with a container not to exceed 15 gallons maximum (VW Bug tank or marine boat tank works good).  Must be securely mounted in trunk area.  All fuel lines should run under car. If run inside of car, line must be sealed in conduit from front to rear firewall.  Stock  fuel pumps only  (no electric pumps).   You must run gas only (no alcohol).  Fuel cells recommended - maximum 22 gallon capacity, must be in steel container of 20 ga. or heavier.

 

6)  FRAMES, SUSPENSIONS AND BRAKES:  All frame, suspension and steering components must be OEM unaltered stock components.  Rear frame may be tied to front frame using rectangular tubing on unibody cars.  No coil-over shocks are allowed.  Load-leveler spring assist shocks are acceptable.  All sway bars, A-frames, and shocks (1 per wheel) must be mounted in the  stock position.  No screw jacks, spacers, shackle extensions, weight adjusters or any other method of adjusting suspension pre-load allowed.  Original steering box must be mounted in original location.   No steering quickeners.  Front and rear springs must be OEM or OEM replacement.  All brakes must be in good working order on all four wheels, using only stock components.   No brake master cylinder bias adjusters allowed.  Speedway Motors front and rear stock replacement springs okay.  No coil spring spacers or spring shims allowed.

 

7)  ALL CLASSES MUST RUN MUFFLERS.
 

8)  TRANSMISSIONS, REAR ENDS AND RUNNING GEARS:  All cars must be equipped with an OEM stock production passenger car transmission having all forward and reverse gears.  A stock steel/cast flywheel, pressure plate, and single disc clutch on all standard transmissions.  No high performance lightweight flywheels allowed (i.e., Corvette and Camaro).  All Chevy’s must use 168 teeth GM flywheel with no lightening of stock flywheel.  All automatics must have a working stock torque converter (no racing transmissions). An inspection hole in bellhousing to inspect clutch is required, or be willing to remove transmission upon request of officials.  Rearends must be from family line only (GM - Chev, Olds and Buick) (FORD - Mercury) (CHRYSLER - Dodge and Plymouth).  REAR ENDS may be locked or stock OEM production type posi-trac.  No pick-up, truck or floater rear ends.  No aluminum pumpkins, carriers, housing or any other racing components.  Driveshafts must be painted white and have a full 360 steel loop (at least 1” x 3/16” strap) within 12” of front U-joint encircling the shaft.  This safety loop is mandatory and must be fastened properly to the floorboards or frame to prevent the front half of the shaft from falling to the ground.

 

9)  BATTERIES:  One automotive type battery (no larger than a Group 27 L-17” x W-7” x H-8”) must be moved from engine compartment to interior of car.  Battery must be placed inside approved container, use of a hold-down across the top of the battery securely bolted/mounted through the floor is mandatory.

 

10)  NO BALLAST ALLOWED.

 

11)  TIRES AND WHEELS:  WHEELS cannot exceed 8” inside of bead to bead surface.  All wheels must be steel and of heavy duty type such as white spoke, chrome spoke, or rally type of wheels with heavy plated centers.  No bead locks are allowed.  It is recommended that all wheel studs and nuts be replaced with heavy duty ½” or larger.  (These studs and nuts are used on ¾ ton and 1-ton pick-ups and can be purchased through your local parts dealer.)   Minimum requirement is to replace stock lug nuts with H.D. 1” hex nuts on all wheels.  (These can be purchased at your local parts store or at the race track from parts dealers.)  TIRES can be a stock production street tread design tire for highway use.  No mud and snow, knobby, studded, cross country lug or truck tires allowed.  These tires must fit an 11” hoop.  No grooving of tires.  Optional Towel City 11 inch coarse #66 or #77 compound retread on a Winston Cup radial casing or asphalt take-offs with I-76 or RMNS stamp.

 

12)  ENGINES:  Engines must be strictly stock OEM.  Exception:  NO SMALL BLOCK 400 CHEV MOTORS.  Cars must run family line engines, such as:  GM must use GM engine.  All heads, blocks, intake and exhaust manifolds must be cast iron.  No special high-performance engines or limited production “optional” engines allowed.  (No LT-1, LS-6, Z-28, Cobra Jet, etc. options.)  Flat tappet cams only.  Guide plates screw in studs, positive lock valve adjustment nuts optional.  Cam shaft can not have  a higher lift than .420 lift measured at the valve.  Note:  Some non-high performance big blocks will be allowed a higher lift -- make sure it is stock.  Nothing larger than 1.94 intake valve and 1.5 exhaust valve on small block Chev.  No domed pistons.  Heads and intake manifolds must be OEM stock with no porting, polishing or relieving allowed.  No angle plug Chev heads.  Cooling and oiling systems must be stock.  Only one radiator ahead of the engine is allowed.  Aluminum radiator allowed.  Aluminum pulleys allowed.  No oil coolers, or special racing oil pans will be allowed.  Exhaust system must consist of cast iron manifolds with attached pipe(s) extending back beyond driver to direct spent exhaust gasses past driver’s compartment. 

 

13)  CARBURETORS:  Limit of only one 2-barrel carburetor may be used.  Some engines were not available with anything but 4-bbl carbs, so you may use an adapter to install a 2-bbl carb on your car.  Maximum height of carb adapter shall be    1½” (less gaskets).  The largest allowable carb you may use is the Holley 2300 series 500 CFM 2bbl carb (such as List  #0-4412).  No 600 racing 2-bbls, no Predator 1-bbl carbs, no 4-bbl carbs, no racing carbs or racing modifications of any kind allowed.  Stock type Rochester, Carter, Stormberg, etc.  2bbl carbs okay.  No fuel injection or throttle body injection.

 

14)  ENGINE CLAIMS:  MOTOR BUY-OUT $500 SWAP.  Includes the complete engine, less carburetor, starter, fly wheel and clutch assembly).  Engine must be pulled within 2 hours time limit or claim is considered a refusal and those penalties apply.  Motor must be claimed and paid for in cash before leaving the track.  IMCA claiming procedures apply.  If a refusal to sell, the driver and owner cannot run the Econo class for the remainder of the season and lose all points up to date and money and points earned for the night.  Rules and penalties apply at  I-76 and RMNS.

 

15)  HEADS AND INTAKE MANIFOLD CLAIM-SWAP ONLY.  $250
 

16)  PROTESTS:  Protests may be made by a competitor in the Econo division and must be made to an I-76 Speedway official within ten minutes of the finish of the A-Main event.  A cash fee of $100 must be posted for the removal of intake manifold and both valve covers and checking cam lift.  ($25 will go to I-76 for use of equipment.)  A $150 fee will be required for pulling a head to check for legal bore and stroke combinations.  ($50 will go to I-76 for use of equipment and labor.)  If found illegal or if driver refuses tear-down, driver will lose points to date of tear-down and points and money for the night.  On second offense, driver will not be allowd to compete for remainder of the season.  Any unsportsmanlike conduct or complaining about being torn down by driver, owner or crew will be treated as a refusal and the same penalties will apply.

 

17)  ALL DRIVERS in all divisions must wear an approved firesuit, fireproof underwear, helmets and eye protection while on the race track.

 

NOTE:  The intent of these rules is to provide a measure of equality and comparable equipment on all cars at a reasonable cost.  All cars must pass a safety inspection before being allowed to run in competition.  Any modifications, changes or alterations not specifically stated in these rules will be illegal. I-76 officials shall determine who is eligible and who is not.  Final judgments on any points not covered in these rules will be left up to the discretion of the I-76 officials or track management.  With I-76 officials’ consent, a new car can run at least one time before conforming to I-76 Speedway rules.

 

            If you need more information, or rules for other divisions and/or events, please call Butch Speicher at               970-867-2101, or write to I-76  Speedway, 16359 Road S, Fort Morgan, CO 80701.

 

            Best regards and “Good Luck” in your racing.

 

Butch Speicher, President

I-76 SPEEDWAY, INC.

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