Speedworld Rules Officially Announces, Changes to Thunder Highlight New Rules

What does it all mean? Well, allowing the next generation Civic into the class allows the teams more options when they are going out to find cars. How will they run? It remains to be seen. Keep in mind, only one “second generation” 1992 to 1995 Civic has won at the track since it was allowed in the class (Tim Webster, 2013). Some I spoke with said the car would be at a disadvantage due to the weight of the car, which is generally heavier than the previous two generations and some say the power of the car will be able to hold its own with the other cars in the class. Keep in mind, neither the Thunder or Lightning classes at Scotia Speedworld have a weight rule. On the same side of the coin, it is hard to find a Civic that hasn’t rotted or is on the way there for a decent price to build, giving the teams an extra generation of cars to look at when making their selection to build a car.

The tire rule is a first among Mini Stock/Four Cylinder classes in the region. A majority that were at the Scotia Speedworld rules meeting in December loved the idea of the tire. In fact, most traveling teams that go to New Brunswick tracks already race with the INEX approved tire, so to an extent, it has been tested. At this point, the cost is effective as well, with tires costing between $20 and $25 used from the Legend teams on average. With some teams currently going out, buying new sets of tires and getting them buffed and shaved, albeit against the old rules that a tire could be claimed by the track for $30, this will also lower those costs that lower budget teams that couldn’t afford to run out and give some TLC to their tires in the past. The Legend drivers will also put a bit of money back into their pockets after they are done with the tire. There is no set number of softness on the durometer rule, but Lawrence Hopper tells me that the current INEX durometer rule for the tires will be a guide for next season. At the end of the day, it is making the division closer, takes the guesstimate out of tires and at the end of the day will come down to more handling and driver ability than a guy or gal getting beat on tires each week.

Drew MacEachern, a veteran of over a decade in the class, tends to agree. “I like the new rule changes,” says MacEachern. “It will give us more options to find solid cars to build and the tire rule will bring costs down for the teams. It will also bring us closer together, tire wise and will bring us to a level playing field.”

Complete Scotia Speedworld Thunder rules can be found here.

The Legend and Bandolero classes will require either a fire suppression system or a 2.5 pound fire extinguisher with a metal bracket under the seat of the driver for 2014. The classes will also require a kill switch located in the rear window of the car (left hand side on the tin work) that will kill both engine and fuel pump should it need to be shut off because of an accident. The rule change is stated below.