I'm
still trying to get the rest of the 2005 season in order. The
LEGENDS car is going to wait now until either the end of the
season, or sometime over the winter. I've been having fun this
summer doing a lot of work to Ron Cooper's 1999 Hyper, which
is for sale.
I also have acquired a large amount of excellent parts and spares
that are for sale. I have a large stock of 1-2 race old tires
in excellent condition. It includes both Hoosier and American
Racers, all different compounds and sizes. This is definitely
the best deal going anywhere right now on tires. Some of these
things still have the heat sipes on the tire blocks. I can sell
them individually for $35.00, or 12 for $300.00. I won't ship
a tire or drive 2 hrs. to hand it off to you. I'm already selling
great stuff cheap and it makes no sense to carry one tire 100
miles and spend $50.00 on gas for a $35.00 tire.
I also have an assorted amount of Carrera easy up shocks, gears,
chains, wheels, nerfs(Hyper), axles, spindles, radius rods,
steering rods and spindle arms. The best thing to do is if you
think you may be interested in some of this stuff, give me a
call at 717-808-0606 or e-mail me at fitzsimmonsracing@yahoo.com.
There's too much to list. Nothing here is junk, it's just a
waste of time trying to sell things that way, it's better just
to throw that stuff out and sell the good stuff. I'm not looking
for any major profits, so everything would be a good deal.
The car being sold is a 1999 Hyper 250. From the pics, you'll
be able to see the car is in showroom condition. It had new
powdercoating done to the frame over the winter, and the body
panels all redone. Everything is straight on the car, and a
baseline setup is under it. It is a four coil car, remote panhard
adjuster, wing adjuster made by Leader Products. Rear mount
radiator, rack steering. It has Hoosiers on the rear, American
Racer's on the front. The roller price is: $4800, less motor.
If anyone is interested in either a motor for the car, or to
buy it separately....I have a fresh Suzuki BAM motor. It was
redone over the winter, and has one practice session on it.
It also has a new piston. The motor comes with the reeds, electronics/ignition.
Motor comes less pipe and carb, but those are available if you
want to deal on those as well. Motor ran strong in practice.
SOME OF MY THOUGHTS ON THE MICRO SCENE........
One of the things I have seen change in just the last 5 years
of microracing is the large influx of younger drivers. 15-16
years old is becoming a norm rather than the exception. A lot
of these drivers are very talented, coming from the Kart of
1/4 midget ranks where they are looking to move up. A lot of
them also have an ungodly amount of money from family and financial
supporters behind them too. It makes it difficult for more budget
orientated teams to compete, especially that new guy that doesn't
have a lot of money to get started and be competitive, or the
older racer looking just to have fun but now finds what it used
to take to run well doesn't apply anymore.
But there is still a place for you too! Microracing can be what
you make it. In all the years I had been involved in it, I was
lucky and had a lot of my financial funding come from MicroRacing.com
when I owned it. That allowed me to travel and not be held down
by one or two particular sponsors. What I found by traveling
around so much is it's a blast meeting people and running new
tracks. No point crunches or pressure, just have fun. I won't
lie and say this sport is cheap, but by limiting your expenses,
and that could be from racing only twice a month to only racing
at tracks with smaller car counts, or maybe planning a family
vacation around an area where there is a track, you would be
amazed at how much you can save. I'm talking to the budget racers
now...not the weekly racers. I've been there too and that can
be a lot of fun, but this is more aimed at the new or older
racer that still wants to be involved in microracing but may
not have it as well as some others.
A myth I loved to blow away....you need all the best most expensive
stuff that so and so runs, all right now to compete. That depends
on HOW you WANT to compete. Back in the day I had some expensive
cars and motors, and a lot of success. Was that all needed?
Then it was for the way I was racing, so yeah it was. Racing
in the Legends series taught me how to bring the fun back into
racing, and the same can be applied to microsprint racing. It
certainly helps to have a brand new car, but...technology has
not changed so much that a 1999, even 1996 Hyper/RTS/KING could
not be competitive today with a decent(but not the cream of
the crop)motor. Again, having all new is great, but for the
budget minded racer, you can still have fun without spending
all that money. The reason I'm bringing all this up is because
I have sadly seen so many people throw in the towel, or get
out of the sport because they cannot afford what the big dogs
are running. They lose the fun. If that is what you are in the
sport for, and only that...to win every week, or throw your
helmet at your wife or girlfriend because you could only manage
a top five, then break out the checkbook. But there is the other
type of racer, the one where a good top 10 finish would be enough
to celebrate. Or, JUST FINISHING would be great. For that person,
don't be misled that you need "all the best", or that
you need the big bore/stroker priced at $5,000.
Let me tell you something....if you are new, or haven't a clue
about chassis set up and cannot get that power to the ground,
I'll pass you at least once with my stock bore/Stroke motor
that is hooking up to the track. I think anyone who has raced
long enough will tell you that. If you are starting out with
no experience, be patient. Start with something good, reliable
and used if you don't have the money right off for that new
car and motor. Learn to drive first, grow with the car, and
when you are ready, move on with another motor or car. The point
is, there still is a place for these older cars. Even in stock
car racing the new cars of today in NASCAR will be racing in
ARCA in a few years.
Microsprint racing evolves like anything else. New guys(or girls)
come in, they're gone and moving on. I think I see more of that
today then ever because there is such a push to get into that
sprint car. There are those who succeed, which is great. There
are those that don't realize the money it takes, and they are
gone in half a year. Some have been around forever, and know
how to balance the money and budget. Some move on to other forms
of racing(Like Legends) where there is still great competition,
but far less expensive to run it. But if you just want to truly
have fun with it....you can. You can still make your dad proud,
impress your girlfriend, or even be the older guy that gets
self satisfaction...whatever your motives are. Just recognize
this....you can only do what you can do with what you have.
Be satisfied with what God gave you and realize that may be
all you will do with it. Once you find that satisfaction in
yourself, you can still have a competitive side and enjoy what
you are doing.
Paul Fitzsimmons
Talk to you later,
You can always e-mail me at fitzsimmonsracing@yahoo.com
Paul
