Get Involved
There are many ways you can get involved with mini sprint racing with Eldridge Racing or Granite State Mini Sprints directly.
Ways to get involved:
- Sign up for blog updates, follow us on Twitter, or Facebook and show your support
- Visit the Promotions page at EldridgeRacing.com and purchase goods from various supporters.
- Attend races as a spectator
- Join a pit crew and help in the pits
- Sponsor a car by making a contribution
- Purchase a car and become a competitor
Sign up for blog updates, follow us on Twitter, or Facebook and show your support.
By signing up for blog updates, following us on Twitter, or becoming a fan on Facebook you show that you have an interest in Eldridge Racing and the behind the scenes look at what goes into the preparation and effort behind every race. Blogs are sent out once a week only after a competition event. They may include preparation, in car perspective, and brief overviews of the experience. They may also include a short update on new sponsors and promotions at EldridgeRacing.com.
Visit the Promotions page at EldridgeRacing.com and purchase goods from various supporters.
As a part of the sponsorship program at EldridgRacing.com, various merchant supporters have provided coupons and special promotional offers to our visitors. New offers are added almost on a weekly basis. The Promotions page is geared towards giving something back to our fans in the form of money saving offers that you can take advantage of while visiting EldridgeRacing.com. Show your interest and support by using these great offers.
Attend races as a spectator
The most important part about competing in a sport is the spectators. Our #1 goal week to week is always to put on a good show for our fans. In order to keep tracks running at optimal performance, it takes fans to fill the seats and keep the lights on for us to compete. Tracks spend a lot of time and money in preparation to operate and provide a nicely prepared clay surface for us to compete on. Races are held on Saturday nights typically starting at 5:00pm. There are also a few races that are held on Friday nights and start slightly later. Ticket prices vary from track to track and are typically around $10 for adults and less for children, teens and seniors. The Eldridge Racing schedule with the Granite State Mini Sprints can be found on the Schedule page. The respective tracks, links and their directions can also be found there as well. Please visit the track websites for updated track admission, start times, and rain cancelations.
Join a pit crew and help in the pits
Most pit crews will welcome an extra hand in the pits. I know the three of us from Eldridge Racing can use all the help we can get as we are short handed already. You don’t have to be a motor head or suspension specialist to help. There are many things to be done including setting up tents, and pit areas; unloading and loading the cars on the trailers; checking tire pressures, refueling the car, making setup changes after the heat...ect… Joining a pit crew can be a great way to get involved and start learning more about mini sprints.
Sponsor a car by making a contribution
You don’t have to break the bank to become a sponsor for an Eldridge Racing mini sprint. There are many levels of sponsorship to fit every budget. Benefits of sponsoring a mini sprint from Eldridge Racing can include product or company exposure, direct sales from our website, and enjoyment to be involved. Different levels of sponsorship are available between the three Eldridge Racing cars and are handled on an individual basis. Levels of sponsorship can include purchasing needed components like, race fuel, hauler fuel, tires, safety equipment, engine components, exc. Other opportunities include adding a promotional offer to our promotions page. We also welcome your ideas and feedback and will consider all offers.
Purchase a car and become a competitor
Ever want to become a car owner, or even a driver but felt it was too expensive to race. Granite State Mini Sprints offer a division of mini sprints to fit the short budget and get people involved in racing open wheel. The 500cc class is just that. With the mini sprint chassis having a long life span, most racing today are 250cc mini sprint chassis from the early 80’s fitted with a 500cc engine from the same era. These engines are still in use as vintage flat track race engines on the west coast. Engines consist of the following:
- Honda FT 500 1978-1983
- Honda XR or XL 500 1978-1982
- Yamaha XT, TT or SR 500 1976-1981
- Suzuki DR or SP 500 1981-1983
In essence, the motor is kept completely stock with the exception of an aftermarket cam. Megacycle cams in San Rafael California (http://www.megacyclecams.com/) offer a great selection of cams for the 500cc engines. A complete list of rules for the 500cc Granite State Mini Sprint class can be found on their rules page at http://www.granitestateminisprint.org/rules.htm . Competitive used 500cc mini sprints can be purchased for around $2000 and up. Purchases usually include extra components such as tires, wheels, gears, and other accessories.
The cost to run a 500cc mini sprint is also reduced considering we can run the same springs, bars and shocks at all the tracks and you typically don’t need a lot of spares. Tires being the most expensive part of most race cars can last a complete season or even more running on clay. The cars also run on pump gas reducing the fuel cost unlike the more expensive methanol the larger 600cc mini sprints use. About 15 gallons will last the race season.
http://www.microracing.com/ offers a great starting point to ask around and find a used mini sprint. If you contact someone at http://www.granitestateminisprint.org they can also help put you get in touch with someone selling their used 500cc mini sprint.
During the later part of the 2009 season, Drew Eldridge #57 has been also testing the Honda 400ex engine as an alternative to the older 500cc engines. Though not yet accepted as a valid replacement, with few upgrades and tuning the 400ex may become an extremely competitive engine. More testing will be conducted during the 2009 off season by our club president. If using the 400ex engine interests you, please contact Granite State Mini Sprints to express your interest. Their contact information can be found on their Contacts page at: http://www.granitestateminisprint.org/contacts.htm |
