Is Rowdy Radial the Last Chance For a True Tire-Limited Class?
When it comes to heads-up racing, regardless of the rules, some will spend more money, work on the car more, and test more. You can have the same parts and pieces, but someone will get a couple more hundredths out of the combination.
Andy Cook’s GTO has a lot of laps on the small 235 tire; Could he rise to the top of the new Rowdy Radial class?
A perfect example is the NMRA’s Coyote Stock class. Utilizing a class-required crate engine and tune specifically from Ford Racing, power checks in under 500 horsepower. This puts the spotlight on the driveline, suspension tuning, and the driver’s skills as the difference to get class-leading cars into the 9.6-second range at near 137 mph, all at 3000 pounds and on a tire no larger than 28-inches tall and 10.6-inches wide. But even with the NMRA leveling the playing field on power, the testing and tuning ability of the driveline, exhaust, and several other key factors can lead to a field where there are several tenths of-a-second from the top qualifier to the bottom of the sheet.
When the BF Goodrich drag radial debuted over 20 years ago, it was a true test of how fast a car could go on the 275/60 tire. Designed to be more of a street and strip tire for mild to medium performance vehicles, racers quickly saw it as the limiting factor. Fast forward to 2003, and Mickey Thompson debuted the first version of their ET Street drag radial. Elapsed times started to get quicker, and combined with better track preparation at certain series and tracks, the tire became less of a limiting factor.
In the last six years, the 235 tire (equivalent to a 26-inch tall x 8.5-inch width slick) has become the latest attempt to use a small tire as the limiting factor to keep a heads-up class in check. It’s been employed in numerous places, from Rocky Mountain Race Week to the PSCA (Premier Street Car Association). Now, that tire will be the limiting factor in the new Rowdy Radial class for Sick Week 2023. The rules are simple: vehicles are limited to the 235 / 26 x 8.5-inch tire requirements (except all-wheel-drive which can run any street radial), and being contested on an eighth-mile distance.
Despite their small 26-inch x 8.5-inch size, times approaching the 4-second range have been recorded in drag-and-drive competition.
Sick Week currently has fifteen entries listed the Rowdy Radial class for 2023, including multi-time drag-and-drive participants Andy Cook and John Dodson. In the past, both drivers have competed in classes where cage and safety limitations have restricted them to 8.50 timeslips. But now, both cars have been upgraded to legally click off sub-8.50 in the quarter-mile (or 5.35 in the eighth-mile).
John Dodson’s turbo Malibu flexed 7-second power on Sick Week 2022; how will he adapt to Rowdy Radial in 2023?
In recent years at Rocky Mountain Race Week, times over the week for Rowdy Radial have averaged in the low five-second range. Dodson clicked off a best time of 7.64 at Sick Week 2022 in the Modified class, which should equate to a high 4-second pass in the eighth-mile. Modified allows for a maximum 315 radial, so the switch to the tiny 235 tire may prove challenging to Dodson and some other drivers jumping into the class.
After thinking about what performances the new class will showcase, my prediction is this: The radial-style track prep will definitely help some participants that don’t have the level of experience with the 235 tire. BUT, that small a tire doesn’t leave as much room for error as a 275 or a 315 radial tire does. The chance we could see the first 4-second average in a 235-limited class is a good possibility. However, unless two or more competitors are near that performance level, the mindset of a drag-and-drive to lay down good runs, without pushing too hard to the point of breakage, could rise to the top. My final words on it: we will see a quicker 235-limited class average than before, but it will not be in the 4-second range.
- Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks and Alex Corella.