Would NASCAR ban your base?

[Terry43]

One of my fantasy electric football teams is the GTO. I owned a Pontiac GTO, but I wanted a Dodge Charger, or Plymouth Road Runner.

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Dodge Charger with enhanced aerodynamic features would start racing in the 1969 season. It sported a shark-like nose cone on the front that dipped down to the ground and a rear spoiler that stuck nearly 40 inches off the back lid. It looked bizarre because it was so "radically different" from any others on the track.

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/1096794/the-interesting-story-behind-nascar-banning-the-1970-plymouth-superbird/

Radically different, but very smart. it was designed by,

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...Gary Romberg, a legitimate rocket scientist, who worked for NASA on the space program during the 1960s. Before helping out with the Saturn B-1 booster rocket for America's space agency, Romberg worked for Boeing as a flight test engineer, and he knew a thing or two about making things go fast.

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/1096794/the-interesting-story-behind-nascar-banning-the-1970-plymouth-superbird/

The Dodge Charger and Plymouth Road Runners were very fast. The Dodge Charger was the first car to go over 200 mph at Daytona.

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The 426-cubic inch Hemi V8 engines in the winged Dodge Charger and Superbird lit up the super speedways. Petty won 18 races while Pete Hamilton, also part of the Plymouth team, won three. Bobby Isacc won 11 races in his Charger and would win the championship that year. Three other drivers (Bobby Allison, Charlie Glotzbach, and Buddy Baker) won another six races. Baker's 1970 winged Charger was the first NASCAR to go 200 miles an hour (at Daytona). Of the 48 total races in the 1970 NASCAR season, 38 were won by winged cars.

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/1096794/the-interesting-story-behind-nascar-banning-the-1970-plymouth-superbird/

 Then NASCAR decided the Dodge Charger and Plymouth Superbird had an unfair advantage.

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They were so dominant, in fact, that NASCAR dropped the ban hammer on the lot of them for the upcoming '71 season. While they didn't eliminate the wing outright, they did restrict the engine size so drastically (going from a 426-cid down to a 305-cid) that it all but neutered the aerodynamic design

Read More: https://www.slashgear.com/1096794/the-interesting-story-behind-nascar-banning-the-1970-plymouth-superbird/

Electric Football Leagues have done the same thing with bases. Leagues impose weight restrictions. The Tournament of Champions (TOC) 45-page rule book states that bases must be made of plastic. Why not wood, metal or cardboard? Why not coil springs?

Even the size and shape of the base is restricted by the TOC and the TOC doesn't allow ITZ's sideways bases. 

Innovation for innovation's sake is part of the fun of electric football. Leagues welcome innovation in figure design (accept the TOC rules state the figure must be anthropomophic) but the base — the very engine of the game — remains neutered.

Enjoy the Journey   T43.   electric football forever

[Terry43]

4 hours ago, Terry43 said:

Why not wood, metal or cardboard?

This video demonstrates how to make electric football bases out of cardboard! 

Enjoy the Journey.  T43.  ⚡🏈♾️

[Daryl Collins]

While I am coming around to other bases and continuing to inch towards weighting them, I am a bit of a purist towards bases and the Fab Five. Tweaking bases is only something I’ve actually tried in this year. It is a whole nother facet to explore. I still enjoy seeing what other coaches do. If you play solitaire, sky’s the limit!

Journey On!

[Daryl Collins]

P.S. I know it had its problems, but I always wanted an AMC Javelin!

Journey On!