[Dean]

Straights, or corner speed is important for one reason most competitors forget.

There are workers, fixed objects and other cars out there!

The number of stock cars that can stop in a straight line from 60MPH in under 100 feet is damn close to if not zero. GT3 = 113ft. R tires may increase that number, but I would be surprised if it was much into double digits. But that is ideal conditions with full ABS. A spinning car with tires locked is going to take quite a bit longer to stop. Yet our courses are 100ft from a chain link fence, and competitors at Stead, and worse at some other locations.

The forums I have been reading have people commenting that cars are getting faster, so the numbers should be bumped up. This is silly. Physics hasn't magically changed. If anything, things have gotten worse, not better, and courses need to be even slower than in the past...

It is not uncommon today for sports cars to make .1 to .15 Horse Power and more per pound. Tire technology has progressed to where 1 lateral G is possible even on street tires, on a stock suspension.

And yet many cars still weigh 3000 lbs, and when things go wrong, have the same dang inertia as a 70s mustang. In addition, with the advancements in tires, many have sacrificed progressive failure, and recovery characteristics for maximum grip. And in a sport where running at eleven tenths is extremely common, complete loss of control may well be more common than in the past

As somebody who has spun at about 80MPH twice at an autocross, and nearly missed a fence, and chaired an event where a worker was hit, I rather go slower and safer please.