Part 2
Timing plays an important role in scoring an engine. The Camping World Truck Series and ARCA series both allow the Ilmor Engine NT1spec engine, which will be mandatory in the truck series next season. Recently, Triad Racing Technology, a supplier of Toyota NASCAR engines, sold off all of its Toyota engine assets, possibly in response to the new rules. Rule changes, coupled with the rumors of the R07 being replaced in the near future, may soon cause an influx of used engines on the market.
Where and How to Buy Used NASCAR Parts or Tools
Formerly, the best way to score used parts or tools was visiting a race shop auction (often the ones going out of business). Those are more scarce because used-parts houses have sprouted up over the last decade. The major used-parts sellers include
Hendrick Motorsports Raced Parts, Circle Track Warehouse (formerly 2nd Chance Racing), and SRI Performance (formerly Roush Racing Used Parts). All, with the exception of Hendrick Motorsports, are located in the same town as the majority of the NASCAR teams: Mooresville, North Carolina.
How do you steal parts that top-level teams have devoted millions of dollars to perfecting? You buy them used. These AutoMeter 5-inch tachometers sell for around $100.SRI Performance is the largest, with 30 employees in a 40,000square-foot facility, literally across the street from Circle Track Warehouse's 20,000square-foot building.
SRI Performance acts as a thrift shop, where its appraisers visit local shops or parts are dropped off. Items are sorted, inspected, cleaned, tested, and tagged. Most electronic items are tested and everything is given at least a basic inspection for breaks, damage, and so on. Any broken or worn items are discarded.
Pricing begins at roughly 50 percent of retail. SRI Performance says it doesn't necessarily base pricing off demand but the condition of individual parts. Higher-mileage items sell for less.
SRI will trash any worn or unrepairable items and fix those that can be fixed. Radiators and trans coolers receive soda blasting, a flush, and fresh paint.
Circle Track Warehouse is a much smaller operation, with owner Bryan Rogers, his wife, and one on-call employee. Bryan said he buys parts almost every day: "I generally have about 10 to 12 shops I deal with weekly. Other shops prefer I call them monthly or yearly."
A stack of lower control arms at SRI Performance gives you an example of how plentiful the suspension components are.He purchases and inspects everything he sells, but doesn't do the same prep and refurbishing as SRI Performance. In the case of high-end items like scales and driver A/C units, those are sent back to the manufacturers for inspection and recalibration. These methods, according to Bryan, allow him to sell parts cheaper than the competition.
One of the largest teams in NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, simply sells from in-house through Hendrick Raced Parts. When cars return from a race weekend, they're torn down, parts are tagged, and placed into cabinets. When the cars are reassembled, parts are checked for dates and miles. If an item has exceeded its usage, it's sent to Raced Parts for resale. "Every component has a predetermined life, and we push them to less than 50 percent," said Mark Anderson, manager at Hendrick Used Raced Parts.
Mileaged Out
All NASCAR parts have a lifespan. For big teams, their lifespan is a fraction of their true use, but once they reach the teams' predetermined amount of race time, those items are considered "mileaged out" and sent to a used-parts warehouse. Everything off a crashed race car is sold, no matter the mileage.
"Certain components on the race car can only go a certain amount of laps," said Karl Altomare Jr., engine tech sales at SRI Performance. "Sometimes what team A thinks is mileaged out, team B—the lower-grade team—can use for an entire season."
For top teams, an inexpensive item like spark-plug wires are only raced once. "When you have millions of dollars tied up in a race team, you don't want to risk it over a $300 set of wires," said Alex Cummings, marketing specialist with SRI Performance. They sell used for $45 a set and can be used on most small-block applications.
Teams often switch sponsors, which means products, parts, cars, or branding of a competitor must disappear. Metalworking tools and welders are a common purchase. SRI recently sold a batch of 16 welders from a single team.
Some of the most common items sold for street applications are suspension parts, which include the double-wishbonestyle arms, spindles, and rear trailing arms.Late last year, Richard Petty Motorsports switched over from Ford to Chevrolet when it partnered with Richard Childress Racing. Therefore, it sold all Ford cars, engines, and parts to SRI Performance. That was the last major team to sell a fleet's worth of parts in 2018.
The most common mileaged-out components are driveline expendables like axles, third members, and brakes. They are typically rated for 600 to 1,200 miles, which is one or two weekends. "An ARCA racer will run that same part for several years after that," Bryan said.
Ford 9-inch housings can be found for less than $100 and locker assemblies $100 to $150. The third members are around $600 to $1,200, depending on the condition and quality of components.
"We receive anything a shop has," Karl said. "We've received ice makers, microwaveswhatever is at the shop, they bring in to sell." When Micheal Waltrip Racing closed its doors in 2015, SRI received the bulk of its team, including a complete gym used for the pit crew.
Ultimately, the best method to purchase parts is to visit the showrooms in person. Items come in and go out of the shops quickly, meaning shop websites aren't regular updated. Salesmen are often the best resource for scoring parts that are out of stock. They know where the demand is and keep on the lookout.
The end of the year is a good time, as shops are clearing house. Circle Track Warehouse sponsors a blowout sale every December (Charlotte Racers Expo) because it makes room for an influx of parts it receives.
The parts houses are less like crows waiting for scraps from failed teams, but instead, repurpose items for budget-strapped teams struggling to survive. "These used parts keep a lot of smaller 'budget teams' on the track," Karl said. If you visit any of these parts houses, tell them HOT ROD sent you!
The SB2 geometry is similar to that of a small-block Chevy, but the oiling system and head design are its major advantages over older engines.
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