[DeTomaso] From the Horses Mouth - SSCC tire rules from Head of Tech

Mad Dog Antenucci teampantera at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 22 14:35:34 EST 2009


Mikey,

If you (or anyone else) are looking for excuses not to run your Pantera at the NORC or the Silver State you can find plenty of reasons besides tires not to pass tech or run.... 

But the truth is with a couple exceptions the overwelming majority of us that have run an ORR  and never had a tire tech problem we couldn't solve . And that includes all the years we were all running 15" tires in the 80's and 90's. I've run more then 40 ORR's and never not passed Tire Tech.

Your memory is fading on one point....Doc has NEVER had a tire tech problem.  You are thinking of Bob Wood who bought ultra low profile Yoko's in '98. And he was clearly given a thorough explanation as was I why his tires did not pass tech.  The front Yoko's on his Pantera did not come close to meeting the minimum load rating rules. The Yoko's he replaced them with passed with no problem.

As an aside, Bob after initially failing tire tech manned up and drove to Reno to get replacement Yoko's that did meet the load rating rule and then drove all the way back to Ely and completed the NORC averaging 140 mph but that is another story. 

The only other person that had a similar tire load rating problem was Pedro "Ranger" Martini in '99....in Pedro's case Larry Stock (Pantera Parts Connection) had an extra set of 17" high speed tires already mounted and ready to go and he loaned or sold those to Pedro....in fact he also sold him a new radiator and pulled him out of a ditch at o'dark hours too but that is another story. 

Out of more then 100 open road races that Pantera or Mangusta owners have completed in Mexico, Nevada, Texas and Nebraska and going back to 1989 when Junior Wilson entered the first ORR  we have had few problems at Tire Tech. There are consistant challenges though.....Is Eric a DICK? Yea.

And IF you are Dan "Crazy Dan" Courtney you are guaranteed that just showing up in Ely for Tech is going to be a challenge. ;-]> Because everyone there loves Dan   But Dan must have done something wrong in September because he passed Tech with flying colors even if his full race Pantera engine didn't finish the Silver State he did pass Tech.  ;-]>

Tech has ALWAYS had some other  issues with mixing and matching mfg or tire models or running "race slicks" (aka; gumballs) or dot legal Hoosier race tires.  Larry Stock, Bob Benson, Jason and I have all had challenges or discussions with Eric with heat cycled Goodyear or Hoosier race tires  espially if the tires had any track time but its not stopped us from running or passing tech as long as the race tires weren't run on a race track in open track competition. To be honest Tech does an outstanding service. In dozens of cases they have discovered a cracked valve stem or some other debris in the tires at tech or at the starting line that the driver never found and quite possibly saved someone's life.   

The biggest problems with race tires as Jack DeRyke and others have pointed out is one, if you pick up any debris on course and with soft compound race tires you will pick up everything in your path there is a risk that whatever it is you picked up will work its way through the tire.  In two cases I have picked up debris with race tires.  In one case I found a small bolt and a flat tire after I loaded the Pantera on the trailer after an ORR. In the other case a small sharp rock  embedded in one of the race tires.  I won't run gumballs again.

The second problem is the race tires  don't make inner-liners that will fit a stock bodied Pantera. The third problem is rain or shine the ORR's will run so if you have slicks you ain't running.  And  the fourth problem is race tires were never meant to be run on  3,000 pound street automobiles in endurance races...Today there aren't many if any options left for those who want to run a 15" tire and wheel but there are plenty of exceptional high performance 17-20" tires that get the job done and will pass tech if you follow the rules. Goodyear, BFG, Pirelli, Dunlap, Kumho, etc all make speed rated tires that will pass tech. 

And as Scott said earlier if you are in doubt about your new found 15" tires contact Eric directly.

Hope this helps the majority of you who are thinking about running an ORR in the future.


Mad Dawg Antenucci 
Team Pantera Racing 
The 1st & still the only vintage race team in open road racing 
www.teampanteraracing.com




________________________________
From: "MikeLDrew at aol.com" <MikeLDrew at aol.com>
To: teampantera at yahoo.com; detomaso at realbig.com
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 10:06:17 AM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] From the Horses Mouth - SSCC tire rules from Head of Tech


In a message dated 1/22/09 10 00 46, teampantera at yahoo.com writes:



If you have found a 15" tire you think meets the tech rules I think Scott's previous advise is still the best course to follow....that is contact Eric directly.


Yes, because for all the formal rules published, there are ten times as many informal, arbitrary rules that are made up on the spot, and subject to change from one event to the next.

For example, there is nothing in the rules that states that the tires have to be from the same manufacturer, front and rear.   Yet showing up with two different brands of tires will likely get you sent home, even if they are both with a sufficient speed rating.

Or, not.   Depends on his mood.

Showing up with brand-new Z-rated 17-inch tires from a manufacturer that he doesn't happen to favor might get you put on the trailer as well.   Remember when (Doc Abe I think?) showed up with brand new Z-rated Yokohama tires, and Eric wouldn't let him run, just because?   He offered no valid reason as I recall--just said 'no'.   Doc was forced to drive back to Las Vegas and buy different tires.

Don't get me started....

Mike


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