Routine Weekly Maintenance Checklist for Sprint Cars
It takes a lot of work throughout the week to put forth consistent effort for success on the racetrack. Routine Maintenance is a crucial part of the formula in order to achieve the goals you have for your racing program. As they say, “In order to finish first, you must first, finish!”
Regular maintenance best prepares you for the next race, keeps your driver safe, and also helps prolong the life of the expensive components you bolt onto your race car. The last thing you want to have happen is to be running up front and have a part failure take you out of the race. That is something that be avoided.
Below is a list of tasks you should perform between each and every race. These tasks will help prevent untimely failures and prepare your race car for the best finish possible. One thing I like to do as these jobs are performed is to review your track notes. As you do maintenance, reconfirm what changes were applied to the car. These could be things such as the turns you have in the torsion stops, the adjustments done to your shocks, wheel offset, wheel spacing, remaining fuel load, and even gear ratio. Remember to take the time to visually inspect the entire race car for wear and tear, too.
Trailer
- Clean out entire trailer
- Restock: Paper towels
- Brake clean
- Gear oil
- Glass cleaner
- Mud-off
- Helmet Tear-offs
- Wash drivers uniform/crew uniforms
- Clean helmets
- Fill generator with gas/check oil
- Clean up/Organize toolbox
Clean
- Air Filter, and re-oil
- Breather filter
- Injector Nozzles
- Fuel Filters
- Rear Axle Splines
Clean and/or grease
- Front torsion Bars
- Front torsion arms/front axle
- King Pins
- Torque Ball
- Bird cage bearings
- Rear Torsion Bars
General tasks
- Change oil (3 races)
- Cut apart oil filter
- Square front end
- Reset ride height
- Install torsion Bars for next track
- Check torsion stops for wear
- Reset torsion stops to chosen setup
- Inspect front hubs/spindles
- Inspect brake pads/rotors
- Check/top off Radiator
- Adjust valves
- Inspect Spark Plugs
- Reinstall Air Filter
- Reinstall tach and ignition
- Install correct headers for next track
- Inspect header gaskets
- Tighten all fittings
- Check brake fluid level
- Square rear end
- Check bird cage timing
- Install gear choice for next track
- Check rear end oil level
- Reset fuel level to 10 gallons
- Clean gear change pan
- Fill fuel jugs
- Check tire inventory
- Install wheels and tires to baseline spacing & stagger
- Perform bolt check to torque specs
Following this extensive checklist is a great way to prepare your sprint car for your next race. All the successful race teams out there share one common attribute, attention to detail. Keeping your race car clean with all moving parts in working order will increase your chances for a good finish night in and night out.
