Legends Cars Racing & Other Hot Rod News

Motor Sport Of The Month
Legends Cars Racing
In Three Words: Shrunken racing rods

The Gist: About a decade ago, as skyrocketing costs were signalling the death of affordable grassroots oval racing, Charlotte Motor Speedway officials vowed to fight back and come up with a solution. They pictured small, nimble, simple, low-maintenance cars that were easy on the wallet and light enough to be towed by (or even in) a small pickup. These demands prompted the birth of Legends Cars: 51/48-scale '30s Ford and Chevy replicas on a dedicated tube chassis and powered by motorcycle engines. The cute yet potent pocket rockets compete on both ovals and roadcourses throughout the United States and in 10 foreign countries. With strict vehicle rules ensuring parity and classes divided by driver skill, racing is extremely competitive.

Vehicle Specs:
* Length, width, and height: 126, 60, and 46 inches respectively
* Fiberglass bodies
* Minimum weight: 1,300 pounds (with driver)
* Engines specs: Yamaha 1200-1250 cc's; 10.0:1 compression; 125 hp
* Tires: 205/60-13 BFGoodrich Comp T/A HR4s on steel wheels
* Brakes: Front disc, rear drum
* Suspension: Coilover springs with Bilstein shocks

Fun Facts:
* During design, '30s Ford and Chevy coupes and sedans were carefully measured, then shrunk on computers to yield precision-scaled replicas
* There are over 1,900 Legends Cars in existence
* Legends Cars are legal for competition in some SCCA and NASA classes
* Numerous drivers in various NASCAR series gained experience racing Legends Cars
* Mandated "traction-challenged" tires prevent drivers from fully exploiting power, eliminating the need
* to modify motors
* Legends Cars can be purchased through 600 Racing Inc.

Gimme More:
www.legendscars.com
-Stephen Kim

Government Watch
Federal: The EPA ruled that auto greenhouse gas emissions are not "pollutants" subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act. The ruling was in response to a longstanding petition for rulemaking filed by several environmental groups and supported by a large number of Northeastern states. That still doesn't get rodders in California off the hook; that state passed a law directing its Air Resources Board to regulate greenhouse gases by the '09 model year.

Federal: A Federal court overturned a rule issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that gave automakers the choice of installing "direct" pressure monitoring equipment in each wheel or less-costly "indirect" systems that estimate tire pressure by using the antilock brake system to analyze tire-spin ratios. The court ruled that the indirect system was not as reliable since it could fail if all four tires were under-inflated or if two tires on the same axle were under-inflated. Under the current rule, manufacturers must install direct or indirect equipment starting on '04 models.

Michigan: SEMA is working with Hagerty Insurance to amend Michigan law on historic vehicles. Under current law, historic vehicles are only permitted to be driven in club activities, exhibitions, tours, and parades. The proposed amendment allows these vehicles to also take advantage of "other occasional use." Many Michigan owners whose cars qualify for the historic registration class have chosen to register as more costly daily drivers to avoid the limited-use restrictions.