Philip Morris and Peyton Sellers (Left to Right)

WHAT LIES BENEATH

One driver-and one motor- are rising above the rest at Motor Mile Speedway

JW Martin

The car, the crew and the driver have all been great so far this season. But it is what lies below the hood of the number 26 Clarence’s Steakhouse Chevrolet that has been garnering all of the attention.

Dodge built engines have become a focal point of conversation between competitors and officials in the Late Model garage at Motor Mile Speedway.

So has Philip Morris.

Oddly enough, the two entities coincide.

Although Morris races a Chevrolet body, every victory has come with a Dodge built powerplant this season –an engine he has had for two years. After his third straight dominating win of the season, MMS issued a rule change, implemented on June 14 that was an effort to quell complaints of excessive horsepower made by the Dodge built motors. Morris was one of only two drivers in the Late Model garage area directly affected by the new rule, and while his power had been restricted, Morris’ performance was not.

Now Morris has six wins in a row; a new track record under the current ownership, and a streak that is still active as of July 11.

The unprecedented success has led Randy Merriman, director of competition at Motor Mile Speedway, to take additional steps to quiet competitor complaints and restore a more tantamount revue among racers.

In other words, the track has lowered the boom on the Dodge engines yet again.

“Part of being race director is to make sure that the competition is equal,” Merriman explains. “Right now, it’s not equal.”

The problem with the Dodge built motors, according to Merriman, is that the engine is capable of turning up to 30 to 40 more horsepower than its built counterparts. The advantage is substantial over competitors who are running similar built motors under a different manufacturer.

In theory, the solution to the problem of excessive horsepower is a restrictor plate.

Placed between the intake manifold and the carburetor, a restrictor plate, quite simply, restricts the amount of horsepower the motor makes. The device slows both acceleration and top speed, thereby equalizing the engine’s performance to smaller engines incapable of such discharge.

But in this particular instance, the use of a restrictor plate on a single brand of motor in order to maintain equality isn’t an exact science.

“With the restrictor plate, I don’t want to put cars in front of [Morris], I want to put cars with him,” explains Merriman. “And that’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Thus, the rule changes are based on trial and error.

“I don’t want to take to big a jump and put ten cars in front of him, that’s not fair to him. I’m trying to be fair with everyone in doing this,” says Merriman.

With the first rule change, track officials placed a .020 restrictor plate on the motor, but Morris went on to claim two victories in the twin events quite handily. Merriman followed up by placing a restrictor plate .017 smaller on the Dodge built engine –for a total restriction of .037 more than the average motor- which went into effect for the very next race, the Landmark Builders/Dublin Developers/WDBJ 150. While Morris led only 40 laps of the event, the record-setting victory that ensued still left question marks surrounding the status of the Dodge engine.

“I think if [the track] ever wants to end his winning streak, a major change to his motor will have to be made,” said Forrest Reynolds, who has finished second to Morris in the past three events at the speedway.

With two separate restrictor plates already issued, and both a failure -according to some competitors- a third plate could be pending. But where is the balance between the freedom of engineering inside the rules and the restriction of that freedom for the betterment of the racing?

For Philip Morris, the answer is total parity.

“I think that the limit is gonna be when NASCAR just says we all gotta run the same motor. They’re talking about a spec motor, and they’re talking about it in the very near future,” says Morris. “That’s kinda the direction it looks like we’re headed to. [And] I don’t know if it will be the greatest for racing.”

Merriman says he foresees no such rule ever being invoked at Motor Mile Speedway. Morris, meanwhile, is taking steps to alleviate the current problem that has emerged over the Dodge engine.

“Track officials are doing what they think they need to do, and we’re on the same side as far as wanting the car count here,” Morris explains. “I mean, I want the car count here, too.”

So for the June 28 event, Morris enlisted the help of friend and 2005 National Champion Peyton Sellers. Sellers was tapped to pilot a second Clarence’s Steakhouse entry, equipped with a Chevrolet engine. The hope was to establish a good base setup for the racecar, in hopes that Morris could switch over to the machine for the remainder of the year, discarding the Dodge motor at MMS altogether.

“I compared the Chevrolet, and horsepower wise, it’s just as good, it’s just gonna take a little while to get the Chevrolet to handle as good as the Dodge,” Morris says. “I think it will probably be better for me to just finally get in the Chevrolet, and then that way we can just focus on winning races.”

According to the car’s performance throughout the practice sessions and the race, it will indeed take a while before the Chevrolet will show dominance rivaling that of the Dodge-powered racecar. Sellers fought both tight and loose conditions throughout the June 28 race; finally parking the car and settling for a nineteenth place finish.

With Dodge built motors and parts hard to come by and extremely expensive, competitors don’t have the luxury of buying Morris’ edge. That leaves the driver and track officials two options: more restrictions or a motor change altogether.

Until a decision is made, Merriman and Morris will continue to struggle to find the balance between fairness for the individual, and fairness for the group.

“Is it fair to Philip? Probably not. It’s a weird balance…but this is what I have to do to maintain the level of competition,” Merriman said.

“You know, I just wonder what has to happen for it to stop,” Morris said. “I guess I gotta stop winning.”