Legend car racing
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s from the 1930s and 1940s, powered by a Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...
motorcycle engine. The sanctioning body for Legends car racing is called INEX.
Legends Cars are a "spec" series, meaning all cars are mechanically identical, with the exception of 3 styles of car (Standard coupe, 34 Coupe, and Sedan) available with 10 types of body styles. (New cars are currently offered with only 7 body styles, however many used cars exist with the "older" styles)
History
In 1992, Charlotte Motor SpeedwayCharlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
(formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway) officials noticed a need for lower cost racing cars with little maintenance time and cost. They found such a car existed, in the guise of the motorcycle-engined Dwarf Car, a 5/8-scale, steel-bodied & fenderless '35 Ford coupe, which was being manufactured by the Dwarf Car Company in Phoenix, AZ. As the coupe concept wasn't exactly in line in what they were looking for and deeming steel replacement bodywork too costly, they adapted the Dwarf Car concept to fit their needs, creating cars resembling those of the 30s and 40s which competed in the early NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Modified Tour
Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is a stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified division. The Modified division is NASCAR's oldest division, and its one of two open-wheeled divisions...
races. To this day, the primary difference between the two cars is the Legends have fenders over the tires, whereas the Dwarfs have no fenders. The first Legend car was unveiled in April 1992 at Lowe's by track President and General Manager Humpy Wheeler and road racer
Road racing
Road racing is a general term for most forms of motor racing held on paved, purpose-built race tracks , as opposed to oval tracks and off-road racing...
Elliott Forbes-Robinson
Elliott Forbes-Robinson
Elliott Forbes-Robinson is a road racing racecar driver. He is known for his race wins and championships in many different series, including the American Le Mans Series , Super Vee, Trans-Am Series, CanAm, IMSA GTU, and the World Challenge. He is known in NASCAR circles as a road course ringer...
. Legends Cars are produced by US Legend Cars International. (Formerly 600 Racing, Inc.) in Harrisburg, North Carolina
Harrisburg, North Carolina
Harrisburg, a northeastern suburb of Charlotte, is a town in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,819 at the 2008 census.-Geography:Harrisburg is located at ....
. They are the largest mass producer of race cars in the world.
Legend car racing around the world
Although the cars originated from the USA, other countries including Canada, England and Scotland also host championships. Each November, the World finalsLegends Road Course World Finals
INEX Legends Road Course World Finals is an annual automobile race for Legends cars. It usually takes place in November at Infineon Raceway, California. During 2008–09 the race was held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway road course. The World Finals will return to Sonoma for its 14th edition in...
are held in the USA.
USA
Drivers can be classified into four different divisions. The Pro Division is for the experienced drivers. The Masters Division features drivers 40 years and older. The Semi-Pro Division is the novice class, featuring the drivers that are new to the sport or have been inactive in other forms of racing for a while. Finally, there is the Young Lions Division, which is designated for drivers between the ages of 12 and 16.Legends Car drivers who have raced in NASCAR include Reed Sorenson
Reed Sorenson
Bradley Reed Sorenson is an American NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #82 MacDonald Motorsports Dodge Charger in the Nationwide Series...
, David Ragan
David Ragan
David Ragan, , is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He has previously driven the #6 Roush Fenway Racing ford, but is currently looking for a ride for the 2012 season...
, Joey Logano
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas "Joey" Logano , nicknamed "sliced bread" by Randy LaJoie, is an American stock car auto racing race car driver who currently drives the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry in the Sprint Cup Series and the #20 GameStop/Sport Clips Toyota Camry in the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs...
, Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...
, and Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA...
.
UK and Ireland
3 races are held – 2 heats and a final – at a round of the championship, the heats lasting between 7 and 12 laps depending on the circuit, with the final a few laps longer. The grid for race 1 is drawn by lots, with the reverse for Heat 2, and in the final the grid is formed by the reverse of the drivers points in the previous two races – meaning the most successful driver will start at the back. In each race however, all rookies start at the back of the grid.
Historically, Legends racers from the UK have performed well at the world finals, winning Semi-pro (Glenn Burtenshaw), Pro (John Jon Higgins) and masters divisions (Peter Morton).
In 2010, Simon Belcher and John Mickel
John Mickel
John Mickel , is a stock car racer and commentator. He has raced in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Pickup Truck Racing with TorqueSpeed...
finished 4th and 5th respectively in the World Finals Pro Division, with Dean Brace finishing 3rd in the Semi-Pro Finals
Scotland
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
meeting. 2007 saw all of the races took place at Knockhill, but the series has organised “away” rounds at Croft
Croft Circuit
Croft Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near Dalton-on-Tees in North Yorkshire, England. The tarmac circuit is just over long and is based on the lands of an airfield, but has long since moved on from being a basic airfield circuit...
and Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
in recent years. The series observes the same race format rules as the UK Legends, however the races are 8 and 10 laps long for the heats and final respectively.
Legends are available for race or track hire at Knockhill.
Northern Europe
Legends have been racing in Finland since 1999 and Legends Trophy series have existed since 2000. The first cars came to Finland from defunct Swedish series. Since then, over 60 cars have been imported to Finland. Legends is currently the most popular racing class in Finland with over 40 cars in the grid regularly. In 2010 SeinäjoenSeinäjoki
Seinäjoki is a city located in Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bruk iron and gunpowder factories founded in 1798. Seinäjoki became a municipality in 1868, market town in 1931 and town in 1960...
Vauhtiajot street racing event saw the record breaking 54 Legends cars in the entry list.
The most successful racer in Finland is Pasi Matintupa, who won the Trophy three times in 2005–2007. In 2007 Rory Penttinen won the Legends Car World Finals at Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills...
in pro class.
There's also an ice racing
Ice racing
Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, All-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on carefully groomed frozen lots...
series for Legends Cars in Finland. Earlier Legends have been raced in rallycross
Rallycross
Rallycross is a form of sprint style automobile racing, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit, with modified production or specially built road cars, similar to the World Rally Cars, although usually with about stronger engines, due to e.g. their 45 mm turbo restrictor plates. It is...
and rally sprinting too.
Legends Cars Baltic racing run a FIA Northern European Zone cup, consisting mostly of Finns and Estonians. 2007 was the only season of this series. Currently in the FIA Northern European Zone there are Legends cars championships in Finland, Russia and Denmark, but no NEZ series.
Central Europe
Legends have been raced in France since 2004. and have supported the French Grand Prix at Magny Cours; also in Belgium and Spain.Mexico
A Legends racing series has been announced in Mexico for 2009, consolidating a true ladder system for the NASCAR Corona SeriesNASCAR Corona Series
-Cars:In the first season only General Motors, as Pontiac, and Dodge participated in the series. Ford made its debut in 2005 with Mustang, since 2006 Fusion is the car of Ford. In 2009 Toyota started its participation with Camry...
. The series will be open for drivers 12 years and older, and is marketed as being the step before the NASCAR Mexico T4 Series
NASCAR Mexico T4 Series
The NASCAR Mexico T4 Series is a semi-professional four-cylinder racing series in Mexico. It is promoted and sanctioned by NASCAR Mexico, the Mexico City-based NASCAR office....
.
Australia
For a number of years Legends raced on Australian oval tracks, surviving as a minor category, as the popularity of oval track racing "down under" is not what it is in the United States. Mainly Legends was a Speedway category racing on dirt and clay ovals, but also briefly became a tarmac category, racing as a support category with the Australian NASCARNASCAR in Australia
The American stock car racing category NASCAR raced in Australia from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. After strong initial interest, particularly in Melbourne at Australia's only Superspeedway, the Calder Park Thunderdome, the category collapsed in the early 2000s and has defied several attempts...
series, mainly racing on the Calder Park Thunderdome superspeedway. Phil Ward, a former Touring car racer, recognized the potential for this type of economical racer, and developed the Aussie Racing Car
Aussie Racing Cars
Aussie Racing Cars is an Australian motor racing category. Essentially a motorcycle powered Silhouette racing car class, it was created by former Touring car racer Phil Ward, influenced by the American Legends category....
, with a focus on road racing. The Aussie Racing Cars retain the same Yamaha motorcycle engines. The classic Legends style bodyshape of old Fords and early Holdens have been gradually supplanted by imitations of modern road cars for commercial purposes. The category has visited many of the major events across Australia including the Clipsal 500, ING Australian Grand Prix, Gold Coast's Super GP and Sydney's brand new street race, Sydney 400. While high grid numbers have long been a feature of the class, calendars have fluctuated wildly as category management has clashed with event promotors. Another very similar category Future Racers also emerged during the 2000s technically very similar although the bodywork was more Sportscar in nature.
Legends Million
On January, 22nd, 2010, it was announced that US Legend Cars International would host a Million Dollar purse race at Charlotte Motor SpeedwayCharlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
, on July 15–17, 2010. 301 Legends Cars were on hand for the Inaugural "Legends Million" event. The event was televised live on Speed Channel with Daniel Hemeric of Kannapolis, NC, taking home the top prize of $250,000.
The event was hosted again at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the name of The Legends Big Money 100 on August 1-2, 2011. The winner was Kyle Plott of Marietta, Georgia. He held off Nascar driver David Ragan, a past Legends and Bandolero champion, to win the 100 lap race.
Car specifications
- Cost: $12,995 (currently US Legend Cars International is offering a $1000 rebate on new cars, bring the price down to $11,995.)
- Wheelbase: 73 in (1,854.2 mm)
- Overall Width: 60 in (1,524 mm)
- Overall Length: 10 in 6 in (3,200.4 mm)
- Height: 46 in (1,168 mm)
- Engine: Yamaha 1250cc (sealed) or 1200cc (open)
- Horsepower: 140 hp
- Weight: 1300 lb (589.7 kg). with driver
- Tires: 205/60R13 Federal SS595 (Pavement)
BF Goodrich Comp TA HR4 (Dirt: also allowed until 12/31/10 on Pavement) - Wheels: Width: 7" / Diameter: 13"
- Suspension: Coil Over with Bilstein Shocks
- Frame: Full Tubeframe with Integral Rollcage
- Harness: FIA approved Five-Point
The cars have very tight specifications to ensure cars are quite similar with each other. All cars utilize the same parts, engine and tires. The only adjustable areas on the cars are: Camber angle
Camber angle
thumb|100px|From the front of the car, a right wheel with a negative camber angleCamber angle is the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle; specifically, it is the angle between the vertical axis of the wheels used for steering and the vertical axis of the vehicle when viewed from the front or...
, Caster angle
Caster angle
thumb|250px|θ is the caster angle, the red line is the pivot line, and the grey area is the tire.Caster angle or castor angle is the angular displacement from the vertical axis of the suspension of a steered wheel in a car, bicycle or other vehicle, measured in the longitudinal direction...
, Ride Height, Tire Pressure, Spring Rates, Wheelbase, and Gearing. All of these adjustments are also strictly regulated in the INEX rule book. The overall similarity in the cars, ensures good racing, at a low cost. It also puts the race in the hands of the driver and the setup of the race car, instead of being about who can spend the most money.
Available body styles
- 1934 ChevroletChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
CoupeCoupéA coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time... - 1934 Ford SedanFord Model B (1932)The Model B was a Ford automobile with production starting with model year 1932 and ending with 1934. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48...
- 1934 Ford CoupeFord Model B (1932)The Model B was a Ford automobile with production starting with model year 1932 and ending with 1934. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48...
- 1937 Chevrolet Sedan
- 1937 DodgeDodgeDodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
Coupe - 1937 Ford Sedan1937 FordThe Ford line of cars was updated in 1937 with one major change — the introduction of an entry-level 136 CID V8 in addition to the popular 221 CID V8 unit. The model was a refresh of its predecessor, itself based on Ford's V8-powered Model 40A and was the company's main product. ...
- 1937 Ford Coupe1937 FordThe Ford line of cars was updated in 1937 with one major change — the introduction of an entry-level 136 CID V8 in addition to the popular 221 CID V8 unit. The model was a refresh of its predecessor, itself based on Ford's V8-powered Model 40A and was the company's main product. ...
(no longer available on new cars) - 1937 Chevrolet Coupe (no longer available on new cars)
- 1937 Dodge Sedan
- 1940 Ford Coupe1937 FordThe Ford line of cars was updated in 1937 with one major change — the introduction of an entry-level 136 CID V8 in addition to the popular 221 CID V8 unit. The model was a refresh of its predecessor, itself based on Ford's V8-powered Model 40A and was the company's main product. ...
(no longer available on new cars)