Intercontinental Lubricants of Brookfield, Connecticut, manufacturers and marketers of premium quality lubricants, breaks the news that it is offering not one, but two super performance break-in oils

It is a right of passage that nearly everyone must go through, and then regret later: buying a used car. We have all seen it happen to people we know. They purchase a used car and later find out it was a lemon. It can be a very dangerous game because of the unforeseen costs that come along with a used car. How can you trust the person selling the car? Is the car in as good as shape as the seller says it is?

It has been the topic of Dirt Tech numerous times: Dirt track racing is often as much about protecting your car from the elements to ensure that it will finish the race as it is about outright speed.

Transporting racing fuel, pump gas, and alcohol is an activity that gets little respect. Gasoline and, to a lesser extent, alcohol do not receive the respect that the amount of energy they are storing should get. From a safety perspective, we need to exercise great care when transporting and storing any fuel. And as fuel costs continue to rise we need to make sure we are getting all the value from the fuel we are using. This means that any activity we use to transport the fuel should provide a stable environment so we do not take anything away from the fuel that could affect our on-track performance. Using poor fuel transportation and storage techniques can take away some of the power producing components of the fuel.

Is there anything worse than being under a ton of stress? We have all felt it, whether at our jobs or dealing with family members. Whatever the case, how you handle stress determines how hard it is on you. Your racecar is not much different. Sometimes your vehicle will be under stress and you might not ever see or hear it, but your performance on the track will change greatly.

It is a right of passage that nearly everyone must go through, and then regret later: buying a used car. We have all seen it happen to people we know. They purchase a used car and later find out it was a lemon. It can be a very dangerous game because of the unforeseen costs that come along with a used car. How can you trust the person selling the car? Is the car in as good as shape as the seller says it is?

It has been the topic of Dirt Tech numerous times: Dirt track racing is often as much about protecting your car from the elements to ensure that it will finish the race as it is about outright speed.

Editor's Note: The electrical system on a car can present a confusing dynamic to many racers. With that in mind, we've asked the writer to address some common missteps found in motorsports.

The Saturday night racer faces some very real issues with the fuel systems in their cars. The demands on the fuel system can make or break a racing program depending on the level of preparation that the racer places on the system.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I hate brakes! I hate the fact that I have to lift my foot off the gas pedal and slow the car down as I reach the corner. I would rather keep the gas pedal mashed on the floor and not have to worry whether or not my brakes are still going to be functioning at the end of the race. But I don't live in this fantasy world. Like many of you, I race on short tracks, where brakes are so crucial to not only how well you stop but also how well your car is handling.

Stock car racing and automatic transmissions aren't two things that you normally think of going together. But you can find automatic transmissions at racetracks across the country, and they are helping to provide some pretty good competition.

Over the past 10 years, few types of race vehicles have produced as many Cup regulars as 600 Racing's Legends Cars. They have become wildly popular around the country, not only because of their vintage look, but because of the rules set in place by the Legends sanctioning body, INEX. The rules are written in such a way that setup is important, but the cars themselves are built in such a way that the driver is most responsible for when the car ends up in Victory Lane.

They say you can't have your cake and eat it too. Sometimes that's true, but there are times when you really can have both. We recently sat down with Weir Schankel of Van Alstine Manufacturing. Van Alstine produces tools to help maintain and modify tires, and its grooving and siping products are very popular among racers. Because of its relationship with several of the top racers in the nation, Schankel has worked with many of these racers on developing their tire programs.

It's a novel concept that can pay dividends to a race program: A racer can change the look of a car in an afternoon or design a radical graphics package that can be applied over and over again if the car gets damaged in a crash. Or, in the matter of a few hours, the look of a car can be completely changed if a new sponsor comes aboard.

In competition on dirt, more so than in any other form of motorsports, the battle is not just against other drivers. Dirt racers also have to battle the track by keeping it out of the various mechanical systems on the car. Dirt can ruin a very expensive engine, transmission, rearend, brakes, and the cooling system. And dirt seems to find its way into the various systems of the car no matter how hard you try to keep it out.

One of the biggest challenges facing racers during summer months is keeping a racecar's engine as cool as possible. It is important that teams keep a close watch on water temperature throughout race day. However, racers often lament overheating problems but have no idea the type of radiator on their car.

There's nothing more frustrating than discovering there is something major amiss with a race engine, whether at the shop or at the track. The worst part is the realization that there is nothing you can do outside of heading to your engine builder. That, of course, requires using valuable time to pull out the engine.

I often wonder why dirt track drivers don't lose their minds, because a dirt track is never the same. Teams venture out for practice on a wet, smooth track, but by the time the feature rolls around the track is hard, dry, and usually has a few ruts in it. Keeping up with the track can be frustrating. This is why dirt drivers who keep a close eye on their shock setup and make the needed changes throughout an event will run up front.

Too often racers will receive an engine package from their engine builder that has been dyno tuned for maximum power and then are afraid to touch it on the racetrack for fear of messing it up. But top teams understand that conditions in the engine dyno room are carefully controlled to help any engine produce peak power. Fuel flow is steady; plenty of fresh, clean air is fed to the carburetor and every possible variable-including humidity-is monitored and accounted for. That level of control just isn't possible on the racetrack and sometimes-often actually-adjustments have to be made in compromise.

Short track racing is filled with excitement and drama. For the fans, one of the most anticipated occurrences is a big crash. This typically draws "oohs" and "aahs" from spectators. But it will elicit a completely different reaction from teams represented in an accident, as team members will be faced with a small dilemma concerning their car. Do they buy new body panels to replace ones damaged in the accident? Or do they repair the damaged pieces?

Maintaining and building a racecar involves many different components: chassis, body, transmission, brakes, and the perennial favorite-the engine. If we look at the various components of engine building, we can break the engine into logical sub-groups or systems, including the ignition, exhaust, intake, and oil system. Then within the various systems are the individual components that make up a particular system.

Every now and then, a new design or advancement in technology produces a new and innovative part for short track competition. At first glance, it might appear that bumpstops fall into this category, but in truth they are nothing new. Bumpstops first broke on the scene in the late '80s and early '90s. NASCAR quickly outlawed them because of the potential complexities and to help smaller teams that might be unable to adapt.

In dirt racing, cleaning your car can sometimes be as damaging as anything you can do to it on the track. If you aren't careful, water can invade the hubs and ruin your wheel bearings, cause electrical problems, and even contaminate the fuel system. But washing your car is a weekly chore that's as routine for most dirt racers as loading up to go to the racetrack.

The typical racer understands that he has to protect himself from the worst happening during an accident. He will do so by purchasing a helmet, a seat, and a good set of belts.