Why Sprint Car Exhausts Are Changing

[@wg5768]

I agree with Brad. Keeping heat off from the tires and shocks. The 90 degree bend in the pipe must impede exhaust flow.

[@scottleggejr]

EGT off methanol is really low relatively speaking. Not saying this is not the case, just adding some possible doubt. 🤷‍♂️

[@KimiWallrus]

​@@scottleggejrDefine cooler. I don't know the number but I'm guessing 200 degrees delta @1100 gas vs meth? It's for heat especially with mufflers. Mufflers retain heat as a restriction anyway.

[@gregmccormick21]

We did this on Swindell #1 car for California races back in 2010.

[@stefantrnacek1394]

I think it is fir taking the eye off something else. I remember running Supertrap mufflers mounted like that back in the 90's.

[@timjohnun4297]

Yeah, heaps of Aussie cars had super traps mounted like that, back in the day. I think that had more to do with the length of the actual muffler though?

[@BretBunton]

When I raced, I set my new carbon fiber kick panels on fire from not having turn downs. Also melted my left rear and it went flat during a red because I didn’t shut my car off soon enough. Heats a real challenge.

[@govtfunded]

Back in the 80s we used to run SuperTrapps at an upward angle directly in front of the rear tires. McCrearys seemed to like it...

[@michaelvickers1202]

The pipe is blowing into turbulent air behind the wing board and reducing drag when sideways making it a DRS system and stabilise air flow in traffic plus all the heat reducing bonuses.

[@innerbalancedogtraining5547]

Could it create REALLY dirty air for the cars behind chasing him, by creating vortices or similar aerodynamic disadvantages... just a thought.

[@oneninerniner3427]

Nope don't believe it'll help aero at all. too far away from the wing. And dirty air, there is already plenty of that.

[@michaelvickers1202]

@@oneninerniner3427 exhaust gas flow and aerodynamic wings work together on every race car or motorcycle built today,Sprint car wings are high drag and inefficient design so blowing into the vacuum will change drag coefficient significantly,look up Kenny weld race cars he pioneered Sprint car wing technology.

[@tobynokla]

Something to think about ... The 57 team has something that none of the other teams has. A driver that is currently leading in wins/points in NASCAR, If we think that the engineers that work for HMS on the NASCAR team have not "tinkered" with the 57, I think we would all be mistaken. If nothing else it is extremely smart. Make them think you are doing something to X when its really Y that you are changing. I say watch the 57w over the next few races to see just how good Mr Goodyear is on the track, last night was only his 2nd time in that car. We all know the top tier drivers are great and don't have a huge difference in talent, but one "little" tweak could be a huge advantage that all of these drivers could take advantage of. If *nothing* else it is great for the sport and makes for some good debate!

[@CodyHoover-vi9me]

Nascar engineers would never give Goodyear the same tech thats in larsons car ever. especially his first time in the car. Kyle's car is certainly better than any other driver but so are his skills behind the wheel.

[@tomlusty8376]

Those mufflers are Glasspacks. Silva is into the retro Hot Rod scene. Coming next is a long antenna with a Foxtail attached. Fender skirts to follow.

[@HillBrosRacing]

I think it’s done for the cooling. Shocks, tires, axle tubes. It’s also possible that the back pressure of the muffler helps the engine performance

[@oneninerniner3427]

No you never ever want more back pressure. Scavenging yes.

[@keystoneroots]

This has been done on sprint cars since the 70s and 80s…. No clue why it’s all of a sudden some new ground breaking development

[@raykaufman7156]

I was thinking the same thing. They were originally laid down when mufflers were installed. Maybe to keep the weight lower...or just keep the muffler boxes from filling with mud...lol

[@frankisfunny2007]

Innovation, and creating new ideas in motorsports bring intrest in the sport. Same with creates a level of competition brings a sense of character. Which is what the spirt needs. I think this is a shock to modern sprint car fan because everything is so same-y when it comes to parts.

[@sprintcarsandguitars959]

think about it,you got guys that tap the rear of another car and there front wing is bent. thay can't even come up with a dam bumper too protect the front wing!. back in 86 we ran a tilted up muffler and a supertrapp before the muffler too dial in the back pressure on are gamblers.

[@CurtisBarros]

@@raykaufman7156 that and getting ripped away from the car when the nerf bar gets hit, and your night is over. that will start happening when everyone follows suit.

[@hawkifish]

I'll throw this at you... He was the only one to make it 50 laps in the Knoxville Nationals on 1 right rear, that I know of. Keeping the extra heat off of the tires might have made a difference

[@420Jspec]

He did that last year to tho and with the old black car at that

[@mitchell-wallisforce7859]

As someone who believed in the wing aid theory, I'm leaning more and more towards it just being simple heat management and this comment pushed me over the line. In hindsight, having your pipes point right at the shocks and tires, heating them up to absurd temps, seems pretty dumb lol

[@alancrowder2919]

I think it's to keep the fumes away from the drivers. Noticed Larson w a scarf attached to the front of his helmet. The heat factor is secondary, JMO. Great video Toby!

[@sprintcarsandguitars959]

we did that in the 80s,also there were a few down tube cars in the 60s.

[@chadzeiders8293]

Its all 4 I believe!! But especially #4, they got something else they're tweeking on that's not seen

[@ImpalaSS08]

Its for heat management

[@darrellwhite3261]

I think it's done for cooling and as a distraction for something else that is a little more in the grey area

[@LongLiveTheChaz]

I like the shock heat idea.

[@Mudrat24]

The length of pipe from the collector onwards is very important for scavenging .

[@ANotSoHotRodGarage]

Probably just to try and tone them down a little, more and more tracks are being built around and everyone wants to cry about the noise. But I will say when I was a dirt late model crew chief I always thought about how the left rear has the exhaust blowing right on it

[@jimwhite7607]

It’s all about the gases and how to keep the gases away from the drivers sample as that plus some headers help horsepower

[@cliffphillips4655]

That was that very well done in the 80,s in Australia. Muffers had baffle plates used to change Norse level .Toby talk to Brock tatnel or skip Jackson 😂cliff Queensland Australia cheers 🇦🇺 🏁

[@dptp9lf]

First of all, down force is a huge thing in drag racing and has been proven but they are producing much more power and flow so... Seeing the actually mufflers/resonators on the 57 car reminded me of my old stock car racing days. On one car we had 180 degree headers with long resonators which made the car really quiet. One benefit of that was that you could hear the other cars much better and could anticipate what was happening behind you like maybe someone coming up on you etc. Of course we didn't have radios so nowdays that's maybe not an issue. Just my thoughts...

[@oneninerniner3427]

The only thing sprint car drivers can hear on their raceceivers is the officials. They can not hear anyone else talk or talk to anyone.

[@cliff4695]

I've been saying it ever since I saw them, it's a distraction. There is something staring you right in the eyes but everyone is looking at the exhaust. Silva has something secret going on and nobody is even looking for it 😂😂

[@jonkluver7912]

Right. If you don't want people to look at the front suspension in the pits, cover up the rear with a tarp lol

[@raymond3803]

Kudos for finding that picture of Wolfe. Damion Gardner had similar exhaust headers on his silver CRA car a few years back. Brad Sweet has surrendered the lead more this year. Then the previous 5 years combined. Why not just ask Paul Silva using the *_Charley M_* approach? kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnvSZmOXfqp1ndU

[@adamgrim9495]

They ran them in the 80s and 90s, look at Tony Stewart’s USAC silver crown and sprint car from this era. The benefit, I believe, is tuning the power curve. Lengthening the exhaust changes the power curve of the motor

[@DiogeneDeSin0pe]

I think this could also be like a "Blown diffuser" shooting the hot exhaust to the sides of the wing to seal it.

[@SAVikingSA]

wait until people "discover" the Kenny Weld Back to the Future car

[@jimrussell-wl9pc]

Jerry,Kenny,Greg weld, the old Olympic stadium in KC Missouri,many old memories

[@boblemon8337]

Youve forgot about back pressure on the engine. You can pull a few more ponies with good back pressure.

[@rayisland23]

Look at the Offy powder cars from the 50's and 60's with the long pipe going up and over the tire and shocks.

[@innerbalancedogtraining5547]

I agree the heat is one reason to do it for shock temp stability and reducing tyre degradation etc...but if you know anything about Top Fuel or Funny Car drag racing you know the ENORMOUS effect upswept pipes have on downforce. i know its 950hp sprintcar vs 11,000 hp Top fuel but the concept is almost the same. If a top fuel car drops a cylinder the car will veer, sometimes violently in one direction because of the differential in downforce generated by exhaust gases.

[@randycollett1746]

Were there changes in noise limits that necessitated larger mufflers that didn’t fit lower down?

[@marktaylor1498]

Also a lot to do with packaging a exhaust to meet noise regulations into a small space is a factor

[@ASMSC24]

Will you be at cot this year?

[@bravoA-su8xm]

moving the powerband

[@motormaker]

Perhaps, he is running an engine tune that benefits from a touch of back pressure.

[@charlieposey5078]

1) Directs heat away from tires and shocks 2) Prevents exhaust gases from contaminating the tires and affecting their grip. Admittedly this is purely theory, as I've done no testing, empirical or scientific to bear this out, but considering the lengths guys will go to in order to prep a tire, if it were to be the case that exhaust gases contaminate the rubber in any meaningful way, one would think it would be well worth it to direct your exhaust away from the tires.

[@lefturn99]

#4 for the win.

[@GNaron]

How bout just plain old noise abatement? Or it could be a just empty box? Whatever it is, it's pretty big, where else could it be mounted on a sprint car?

[@donaldkey8839]

Kyle was complaining about the sound of the engine was too load at one time

[@terryatpi]

Top fuel engines add 1000 lbs of downforce at max rpm.

[@shawnwright323]

They all ran it that way backnon the 80s to mid 90s..suppertrapp mufflers

[@riccocool]

Its the heat and probably fumes too.

[@5130digger]

This is nothing new as Steve Kinser did it on the car that he brought over for the first WOO event in Austrailia they ran at PCR & the mufflers that he used on that car where Super traps. Where you can adjust the back pressure in the exhuast system with adding or removing baffle plates.

[@joeyager8479]

We did it with our midgets because it was the only way that we could fit the muffler inside the nerf bar.

[@Tom-mk7iq]

Longer header lengths.

[@428eliminator3]

Sometimes it's as simple as a guy with a new baby needing an excuse to go to the shop with a "new idea"

[@strumbum946]

Keep heat off the fuel tank. Cooler fuel = more horsepower

[@Hombre632]

The 3rd reason is most likely the correct one…

[@ldnwholesale8552]

You can mount a bigger muffler that has less impedence. Not new, I saw this in the 80s. More so on midgets that have nowhere to fit a muffler Road race cars tend to find some ugly exhausts as well, mufflers running down the outside of the sill, ends being pushed into the ground to fool db meters. Been there and done that

[@horsepower711]

Only problem is that the places mufflers are required only one brand and part number is legal to use.

[@callummcleod6362]

Heat. And keeping fumes away from the driver

[@paulygood6665]

There has been talk that this will get banned. Everyone will have to run the same set up. Just like NHRA did with the lay down headers on top fuel funny cars

[@jerequallio9052]

This is nothing new. Like others have mentioned. Back in the '80's alot of cars had Supertrapp mufflers and they were turned up like the 57's .

[@keefegorge]

You know what they say about conspiracy theories.....

[@lchbbq]

been done several times over the years. nothing new

[@joshmcclennan1562]

Exhaustgate2024 😂😂😂😂😂

[@sprintcarfan87]

I think that he's screwing with other teams. Upturned headers are not new. I remember them from the 90s.

[@Hotrodclassic]

I think they better check the 57’s cockpit…, Its being I- RACE CONTROLLED FROM Europe by Formula One driver Max Verstappen…! FIND THAT CAMERA AND CONTROLS…! LOL ....! 😂😂🤯🏁🏎️

[@Keepnthem]

This ain’t nuthin new. We did it 35 years ago.

[@JTB75]

Most all drag racing door cars run their headers out the front fenders and they turn straight up kind of at the angle that’s on the 57 car, the reason they are doing this is because of downforce, I’ve seen guys puts their cars on scales and get on the trans brake and the amount of downforce that is made is over a extra 100lbs, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for sprint cars

[@innerbalancedogtraining5547]

110% it will work on a 950hp sprintcar, nowhere near as much as Top Fuel or Funny Car but a tangeble difference nonetheless

[@jeffdillard8789]

Old shit everyone did that in California in the 80s

[@AbstractZombie-ed8fj]

Not everything needs to be "changed" LEAVE IT ALONE! IF IT'S NOT BROKEN DON'T TRY TO FIX IT!

[@bails956]

They will go to cats soon, not mufflers

[@oneninerniner3427]

Hmmm, probably not with methanol though.

[@Ottos_ScLm_Race_videos_2009_on]

Also stink from the exhaust.

[@TomWohlford]

Its heat on rear brake

[@jeffe1779]

Some engines depending on how they’re built needs some back pressure

[@horsepower711]

That has been proven to be an old wives tale.

[@oneninerniner3427]

Not back pressure, but scavenging. If you are adding back pressure you are killing off power.

[@justinbryant6676]

Longer tube's and shorter tube's creat change the power.

[@Hotrodclassic]

I think they better check the 57’s cockpit…, Its being I- RACE CONTROLLED FROM Europe by Formula One driver Max Verstappen…! FIND THAT CAMERA AND CONTROLS…! LOL ....! 😂😂🤯🏁🏎️