Superstock hitting (Read 3,418 times)

[stockcar25b]

dose anyone else think superstocks are getting to fast to be able to hit ???all i seem to be hearing is hurt and ko superstock drivers!!look at poor collingwood,man that must of hurt......what do you think?

cheers
butterbean

[extra]

I think super stocks should be left the way they are. Every driver that straps his or her self into a car and heads out that pit gate knows very well the dangers of contact speedway. i think it goes for all motorsport and even some other sports. At the end of the day its there decission how heavy their right foot is.

just my thought

[Colin E]

Yes there have and probably always will be some serious injuries to Superstock drivers.
Now this is not to disrespect Superstock Drivers but my opinion is.
In recent times outside of Teams Racing there have only been a few serious injuries when you put in context the amount of cars, meetings etc... around the country.
I believe they are not as brutal as they used to be but appear to be more calculated with the use of bumpers and the better drivers tend more to push the opposition away rather than bash them out of the way.
Looking at a lot of the racing at the 240's the guys that were midway to rear of the pack at the start were picking up places at the start by just getting to the inside and forcing their way around the corners while the front 8 or so cars were busy worrying about what was in front and outside of them.
One of the guy's that was doing this effectively was 64P Kev Smith. He got past a lot of cars on the corners by just giving them a push rather than bashing through.
I admit I came away from Friday night thinking that it was not too different than watching Mods with the odd bit of push and shove.
But going back on Saturday and watching instead of looking for the big hits it made me realise how much smarter drivers are now compared to say 10 years ago.
I was a little disappointed with Friday but on reflection I was waiting to see destruction rather than clever and smart drivers.
Just my thoughts anyway.

[Regan O'Brien]

Well last saturday i managed to have my first drive of a super stock 66b the ex john hynd car after the meeting and the speed of those cars is awsome i can see why they dont hit as much but when they do i can see why some get hurt. its like anything the speed of a stockcar is getting faster and faster i dont think slowing them down is going to do much as there's been some people hurt in stockcars who dont go as fast. Like what someone said in another post that Rees slowed down a bit when taking a car out down south or they both would have got hurt so its just up to using there brain when hitting other supers.

[HIGHWAY45]

people get hurt in sport. rugby, basketball, cricket, soccer, netball, speedway, v8s........... it s not just speed. it can be equipment, race incidents......the list goes on

the link provided shows just one recent example of a slower paced car driver being injured

www.stuff.co.nz/dailynews/4822715a6002.html

[MadMarty13B]

Jan 19, 2009 10:51:26 GMT 12 @stockcar25b said:

dose anyone else think superstocks are getting to fast to be able to hit ???all i seem to be hearing is hurt and ko superstock drivers!!look at poor collingwood,man that must of hurt......what do you think?

cheers
butterbean

This was brought up in the Collingwood thread.
I have been getting a lot of messages and emails etc over this with calls of slowing Superstocks down this is how i have replied....
you are going to get incidents like that from time to time weather or not they are going slower.Different points of contact have different effects it is all about angles and the point of contact on that angle,meaning if Hampton and hit Collingwood on a slightly different angle and the point of contact was slightly different then both may have been fine.Incidents like this are scary but even Stockcar(Standard) drivers have the same injuries and worse.
We dont like to see people injured but it is a contact class and injuries will happen, the drivers know that and the risks as should the spectators.Auckland Superstock teams they have officials scattered around the out side of the fence,when an incident occurs the peer through the fence to see how a driver is and quickly communicate to the infield if something is wrong.maybe that is needed for all the bigger meetings.

[stockcar25b]

yes i agree with all of that but just seems to be a bit more injurys happening latley..........and it cant be good for snz

[Mark]

My opinion is that its getting out of hand. I feel if you choose to teams race, then yes, getting straightlined into the wall, or other massive hits is expected. But, in an individual Superstock race, why should you have to fear about your own safety, or that of your $$$ racecar.
I looked at Steve Hamptons hit on Royden. It sort of pissed me off. He had only one intention, not only stop Royden from winning the event, but to totally destroy him and his car in the process.
Roydens $90K car is now totalled. Will he race a Superstock again, and how many others may not, purely because of these types of incidents.
I compare the hit of Hamptons to the equivilent of a clothesline type tackle in a rugby game. Just ridiculous.
I remember back in the day when Stockcars were much weaker, and we saw more blocking than outright hard hitting. That was a true sign of skill, and for me, much more entertaining.
If Hampton wanted to ruin Roydens race, I'd like to see him pass, or get to the inside of him, and block him, or slow him down, maybe spin him (streetstock style), basically anything other than to fire his rocketship into Roydens car at full noise into an unforgiving concrete wall.
Happens too much for me, and its starting to get annoying.
I also felt the same the previous night when the lone Gisborne stockcar was continuosly attacked. He came up here to add to the numbers and enjoy a weekend of racing. Instead, he was targetted, smashed up, and spent his weekend on costly repairs. Wonder if he'll come race here alone again? No wonder so many people wont travel to other tracks these days?

[Ugmo]

Its threads like this that actually piss me off. Everyone complains that they dont hit and then when they do its too hard blah blah and wah wah.

Steve also put his car on the line with the hit but people dont think of that because of what happened after hit to the 94p car. Good on Steve for trying to help his club mates win even though none helped him down here in Chch and he ended up 4nz.

Maybe people who want to fast cars rubbing should go watch Supersaloons and Mods instead of Superstocks.

[legaspeed]

Not to sound so blunt but, these are stockcars. Anything on track is fair game. The drivers know all this. If drivers dont want to travel to other tracks its their call. Look at Mr Faram on Saturday night. He won the first 2 heats in the Superstocks in Paradise champs, he knew he would be a target and his race was over before it began. As for the Hampton/ Collingwood incident looking at my video clip of the 1st hit, Steve looked as if he was going for a spin but both cars hit a little rut which threw both cars towards the fence with the resulting consequences. In summary these guys do it for the enjoyment. The damage is part of the deal. If ya dont want damage race another class.

Cheers
Legaspeed

[Admin]

Something that's been nagging me in recent years and I've voiced it to a few people .
Way back when , stockcar racing was about car on car , no holds barred . Roll them , bowl them do whatever but it was entertaining and spectacular.
These days it seems to be too much about smashing cars into concrete and I don't like it so much anymore .

Must be going soft I guess .

[Super Salooncar Fan]

I and a few others would like to know something.

What is the intention or purpose of Stockcars?

[Ngahihi o te ra]

Kia ora
Stockcars is a contact sport.
As Tana Umanga said of another contact sport
"This isn't tiddlywinks ref!"
In my humble opinion the main intention and purpose of stockcars as with any other sport is
to enjoy yourself.
Some drivers enjoy going as fast as they can, some don't.
Some enjoy contact, some don't. Some have loads of money to invest in stockcar racing, some don't. However the day they stop enjoying what they enjoy about Stockcar racing - they stop.
I believe the principles of stockcar racing can be applied to other motor sports, that is, people enjoying themselves. Contact or no contact.
We are fortunate that speedway offers many kinds of racing for people to choose from.
Stockcars is a contact sport, it is not tiddlywinks and I enjoy watching drivers enjoying what they are doing. contact or no contact.
Green flags and green lights.

[pallmall]

Jan 21, 2009 11:15:01 GMT 12 Super Salooncar Fan said:

I and a few others would like to know something.

What is the intention or purpose of Stockcars?

The original intention was to be able to race to win with the ability to legally spin out the car or cars that were preventing you from doing so, and of course every other car is trying to do the same thing.
The introduction of concrete walls in the seventies has changed the way things happen, and the wall is used to push the opposition into, or slam the opposition into. Using the wall to gain a benefit is actually illegal according to the rulebook, another rule that is totally ignored.
There would actually be more action, spins, blocking, and more exciting racing if the wall was not allowed to be used and drivers had to learn how to spin cars and punt and pass.

[kiwisnoopy]

The reason for the gaining advantage using the wall rule as I understand it is:

To stop a driver using the wall as a means to increase their speed (without spinning up as they would at that speed if on the pole line) as it than creates the real possibility of:

1/ As they are now travelling much faster than normal, if another car is stationary in the wall in the next corner, the car using the wall to gain a speed advantage has little or no show of stopping or turning back to the pole line to miss the stationary car.

2/ The chance of, because of their ability to generate more speed, climbing the wall and launching into the safety fence is greatly increased.

Dave Evans and Porky Ellison perfected the art of "riding the wall" and following some very severe hits as a result of the above, the rule was introduced. As far as I am aware, it was never intended to stop cars from being "taken to the wall", I feel that you have misinterprited the intention of the rule by saying that putting a competitor into the wall is gaining an advantage.

[supastocknut]

I agree with Ugmo on this topic!! and i don't agree with him often lmao ;D but this is all part of racing. one thing that has been mentioned and ignored in these threads is how Collingwood was hurt,
i would put money on it that he was not hurt other than knocked out by the Hampton hit, it would have been the head on hit with the wall which was a freak accident and does not happen often at all!! that did the damage to him.

I also think it is wrong of us as fans to decide what drivers should and should not be aloud to do on the track, as stated all drivers know what to expect on the track.
Superstocks are superstocks and that's why we love them. regardless to what speeds we slow them too or even if the straight line rule was brought in drivers would still get hurt in freak accidents.......then what?? i bet Collingwood is not sitting there rounding up the rule makers and requesting change so why should we!! ;D

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2009 12:44:29 GMT 12 supastocknut said:

i bet Collingwood is not sitting there rounding up the rule makers and requesting change so why should we!! ;D

Agreed, I bet he's not. But I bet he may well be re-thinking his involvement in the Superstock class.

Which is one reason why speed, safety equipment, injuries always need to be monitored and discussed, whether by drivers, officials, fans etc.

[supastocknut]

Agree with that Basil, although i feel it should be drivers and officials not fans that forward the need for change. Reason i say that is there are a lot of fans that have no idea what it is like to race one of these things so have no real base for comment.
Comes down to the drivers themselves, after all it is them that spend the bucks looking for more speed and speed =harder hitting, harder hitting = more injury...........

[Admin]

I didn't think this thread was about the hampton /collingwood incident .

[supastocknut]

True that Gordon, but seems to be the number 1 example at mo ;D