Accidents happen. The key...
Accidents happen. The key is to build your car to give you the best chance that it will still be driveable if it does take some damage.
Some racers still consider them a crutch, but they are catching on in a big way at all levels of Dirt Late Model racing, and even many of the big names are using them. We are talking about "tearaway" rear spoilers, and they can potentially be the difference between a wreck-damaged car that's still capable of salvaging a good finish, and one that is undriveable.
We briefly mentioned tearaway spoilers in last month's issue (Aero Importance), but thought the idea was good enough to go into more detail this time around. The concept of the tearaway spoiler is if you brush the wall with the right-rear corner of the car-or hit another car-only the rightmost 12-inches or so of the spoiler is lost. While not ideal, this is definitely better than losing the entire spoiler. When damage like this happens, the rear sheetmetal often gets significantly bucked up, but if the majority of the spoiler is still in place it is possible for your crew to beat the rear sheetmetal back down into reasonable shape during a caution so you won't lose too much track position and can still continue racing.
Tearaway spoilers aren't just...
Tearaway spoilers aren't just for inexperienced drivers. In fact, top-tier dirt driver Scott Bloomquist was one of the first to begin using one.
Most racers using tearaway spoilers simply build them as two separate spoilers that are connected with a rivet or two. It doesn't really matter as long as the connection isn't too substantial. The standard spoiler is built as normal and runs along the rear decklid but stops about 12 inches short of the right rear corner. The tearaway is essentially a spoiler in miniature that fills in the gap. It is the same height and made of the same materials but isn't nearly as wide.
You might think a tearaway spoiler is the equivalent of training wheels for an inexperienced driver, but you'd be mistaken. Scott Bloomquist, in fact, is widely credited with being one of the first drivers to use the device.
Build and brace (if necessary)...
Build and brace (if necessary) your center sail panel so it will function effectively as an exterior sail panel in case the tearaway does come off.
"It started from me seeing guys hit the wall at Eldora," he says. "They wouldn't always hit it hard, but if it was enough to lose the rear spoiler then they were instantly junk. But you can afford to lose a little bit of spoiler and still win, so we started working with ways to put them on our cars.
"We just use one sail panel to separate the big spoiler from the tearaway. The tearaway spoiler is just riveted and everything else is bolted in place, so it is easy for it to give way. And on our cars, the tearaway portion of the spoiler is only about a foot wide because 12 inches of damages is about the biggest mistake you need to make anyway. More than that and you are going to have bigger problems to deal with."
A close-up of the tearaway...
A close-up of the tearaway portion of a spoiler. You can see it has the same provisions for adjusting the spoiler angle, but there is only one bolt attaching the tearaway portion of the spoiler to the middle sail panel.
Here's a view of another-this...
Here's a view of another-this time from the rear. Approximately 12 inches seems to be the consensus among the professional ranks. The idea is to make the tearaway portion of the spoiler as small as possible so you still have plenty of spoiler left over in the event it is torn off. But the tearaway also has to be large enough to absorb a minor impact with the wall and leave the major portion of the spoiler undamaged.
One precaution you will have...
One precaution you will have to remember is that by moving the center sail panel just about all the way to the right-rear corner of the car the main spoiler may become too flexible. If this is the case it can be easily braced like this. Whatever bracing method you use, make sure you can still adjust the spoiler angle easily for quick tuning changes at the racetrack.