Registration

Xcel Registration | Read This

by News & Information

After multiple reminders, it is time to switch gears into a new registration phase.

Registration is required for ALL Xcel Teams.

This year multiple improvements to the Xcel Chassis program allow teams to register online in an easy – no cost to do – format.

That is not not to say that there isn’t a registration fee however.

The fee is now $50 (was $40 until the first tour race) and all teams are required to submit that fee to Doug Borger.

Without a huge explanation the fee is important to the program and quite honestly a bargain compared to other series:

  • ARDC Annual $500
  • USAC Annual $1,000
  • Tobias Slingshots Annual $250

With all that is going on in the world, major sponsors have cut back and in order to offer the purse for the tour race (and make a living) this year Xcel has to collect on the registrations of the teams that have not yet paid in. All other things considered, there are still cost associated with running a series and in order for it to survive, those cost must be offest by administrative fees. A good example is the website you’re using to read this. It costs money to host.

For example, Hoosier has cut the sponsor budget to Xcel in half. That is not to say Xcel is complaining about it, especially since 2/3rds of other series have received no sponsor payout!

You know how terrible the tire thing is, so count your blessings and let’s support them wherever we can. As lucky as we are to have major sponsors, the payout has to emanate from somewhere.

The registration process is no different then in past years, but seems teams aren’t settling their debt as required. We recognize that times aren’t so great and that is why it is just as important to us.

..So, a nudge now after a slew of reminders.

Here is the new information about registration effective immediately:

Teams must register and pay for registration by the weekend of May 27/28th

  • Registration cost nothing online and there is extensive information on the website about why/how
  • Teams can pay for registration by mail or pay Doug Borger at his trailer on any night he is in attendance.
  • Cars not registered by the date above will be penalized*
  • Registration is key to keeping people informed. If Xcel doesn’t know who bought/sold which cars, how can updates and information possibly be handed out. Evidence by the recent article about fire dangers from improper fuel line assemblies.
  • You have asked and asked for accountability as far as making spec information public and showing any changes. We have put hours and hours of time doing just that as well as many other things.
  • Registration is part of putting out standings. Not having proper information creates huge amounts of work for managing the points funds. Database entry is no friend of ad hoc entries. Your lack of registration means that your name and information have to be manually entered each week. Coming from the guy who is writing this and does that entry – that f’n sucks big time.

*Penalties for not registering

If you are not registered by the required date:

  • If you enter a tour race, your registration fee will automatically be deducted from your winnings.
    • This may also translate to the weekly points fund and payout. We are discussing that with the tracks to make it consistent if applied.
  • If you are entitled to ANY winnings from a points fund and have not paid your registration, you may forfeit ALL of those winning and any points you have.
  • Your registration fee for the following year may increase as a penalty. This depends on the severity of how teams respond to this year’s registration.

As always, if you have questions, you can get answers to them by just reaching out. Xcel has been more then responsive in responding to website and other inquires.

If you have questions about registering online, reach out to Keith Inglin

  • Message Keith Inglin on Facebook
  • Email keith@xcelchassis.net or admin@xcelchassis.net

Questions outside of online registration should be directed to Doug Borger 484-131-5319

Fule-Rail

Fuel System Safety Notice

by From Xcel ChassisNews & InformationRules

This season there was an incident related to fuel/fire safety early May 2022 in Iowa.

First: Help for one of our own

Troy Anderson was injured in a fire related crash. After reading from his facebook page, he is in the process of recovering from those injuries including his hands and back.

If you would like to help in his recovery, there is a GoFundMe link, and we are quite sure all donations will be incredibly appreciated.

Special thanks to C.M. Dugan (Facebook Mid-West Division) for the initial information being posted about this.

All teams are advised to review/remediate your fuel systems immediately.

Split Fuel Line

This image shows a fuel line that was replaced recently, but not the correct strength to handle the pressurized fuel system that the engines require. The line split and allowed fuel under pressure to spew starting a fire (that thankfully was quickly extinguished) by the safety crew, but still resulted in an injury to the driver.

The team unknowingly replace the line with new line (that was the same as what was on the car when they purchased it). What they were not aware of is that we use fuel line designed to withstand the high pressure fuel system.

This is not the first fuel related injury, and it is important that we all review our cars for safety in regard to the lines and connections.

If you look at the image for the title of this article note that it shows how to properly fit a fuel line to the fuel rail system. The practice of hose clamping is technically illegal (do to the last fire incident) but more importantly dangerous and must be avoided.

This is the correct fitting: Russell Performance 640863 Russell Fuel Rail Fitting Adapters | Summit Racing

You can purchase these from Xcel Chassis if you choose, but they are a requirement.

Some have used braided line, but more importanly, the rules specifically say ONLY BLUE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL LINE*

*After speaking with Doug Borger, he asserted that braided lines are okay, but much more costly. He will allow them but prefers the blue line for ease of recognition.

In addition, MAKE SURE you have a check valve on the breather at the top of the fuel cell. It is there in the event of a roll-over crash and required as of 2022 in all Xcel Modifieds.

It is always time to do a safety review. When you check the other boxes – look for those safety concerns next.

Finally, please review your fire safety gear that you wear and DO NOT SKIMP on wearing those undergarments. Holes and missing items can have a profound impact on your protection level.

The warm weather of summer makes us all weigh in on comfort vs. safety. Please be uncomfortable, but safe.

Xcel Chassis wants this area to be a place where Xcel Modified Teams can come and get information directly from the source. As this area is realized, we hope to make it the place for us to put out information, notices and official responses to anything Xcel. All we ask is that you stop here and look at the new stuff regularly.
That doesn’t mean that we will stop on Facebook or other social media, but that this is intended to be the place (especially for those who aren’t on social media) for everyone to get the message the way it was intended. Please tell people about this area – Thanks in advance!

BEWLEY | 78

Xcel Chassis Cars on the webstie

by Fun and Lighthearted

The website isn’t going to be the same all the time. As we progress through the season, we are going to be updating images across the site. If you are interested in having your car featured (and we hope you are) you can submit your image for inclusion.

Here is what we like:

  • NO IMAGES TAKEN BY TRACK PHOTOGRAPHERS!!!!
    • It isn’t fair that these folks dedicate their time and resources to capture great images and do not get compensated for it. So to that end, we WILL NOT use them
  • Action shots or something different. We like your cars, but having some element of interest make everyone pause and look
  • Multiple cars! The style that we use (a photoshop filter product) lends itself really well to multiple cars and interesting backgrounds.
  • Daytime photos are best.
  • Cars with a lot of contrast will be favored, but as you can see by the image of this article it isn’t always those who will be used.

If your image is submitted, I will do my best (as those on social media have already seen) to send you an image even it we do not use it.

Some of the images that were submitted are now included in the gallery on the front page of the website.

Xcel Chassis wants this area to be a place where Xcel Modified Teams can come and get information directly from the source. As this area is realized, we hope to make it the place for us to put out information, notices and official responses to anything Xcel.
That doesn’t mean that we will stop on Facebook or other social media, but that this is intended to be the place (especially for those who aren’t on social media) for everyone to get the message the way it was intended. Please tell people about this area – Thanks in advance!

weather icon

Weather App Comes to Xcel

by From Xcel ChassisNews & Information

One of the primary things Xcel is focusing on is being able to communicate with the masses in a quick, painless method that will let everyone see the same thing at the same time.

When it comes to that day where there are forecast thunderstorms, we all look to the sky and wonder if the night is work out.

The truth is no one is going to answer that question, it could literally be raining (or snowing) in turn 3 and the rest of the track is fine.

Nothing makes a weather cancellation good, but now at least there is potential to know as soon as someone of authority does.

The app (if that is what you want to call it) is browser displayed, but designed to work on all size screens including a mobile device.

To view it, visit THIS LINK

Couple things to know, there are some lights that may not be obvious.

  • Green = All good to go, no weather
  • Red = Cancelled – Though there might be message below it about makeup
  • Yellow = We are watching the forecast because of potential for bad weather
  • Red/Yellow = Some type of weather happened, awaiting word on outcome

The address is simple to remember: weather.xcelchassis.net, but we suggest you use your browser on you mobile device to put an icon directly on you home screen somewhere for easy access.

A couple YouTube videos will show you how to do that for both types of phone. They are located at the bottom of the page.

Xcel Chassis wants this area to be a place where Xcel Modified Teams can come and get information directly from the source. As this area is realized, we hope to make it the place for us to put out information, notices and official responses to anything Xcel.
That doesn’t mean that we will stop on Facebook or other social media, but that this is intended to be the place (especially for those who aren’t on social media) for everyone to get the message the way it was intended. Please tell people about this area – Thanks in advance!

Car Outside Mall Race Show

Dirt Track Heroes Show

by News & Information

Took a nostalgic ride to the Dirt Track Heroes Show now being held at the Palmer Park Mall not far from (and on the way to) the long-shuttered Nazareth racetracks.
My older brother used to race at the famed aforementioned small track and as kids us twins piled in the back of the ’72 pickup along with all the tires and toolboxes in a common practice to what would surely be frowned upon these days. Boy some nights we froze on the way home!

Along the way there were the familiar landmarks that told us how we were progressing:

Tobys Cup
Easton Toll Bridge
Cemetery Curve/Rumble Strips
The Dixie Cup
All Seasons Campers

It was a pleasant sunny day and the ride was uneventful. Pulled into the mall and worked my way in for the tour all by myself and in no particular hurry. This was my first time at the show since it moved from the more familiar Phillipsburg mall so I wasn’t really sure how to get in. I ended up going in the main entrance to find some cars scattered about like the old mall show.

After passing on the idea of a mango smoothie, I found the main hall and all along took some images, most of which I tried to get interesting tidbits instead of the same old full-on shot.

I commented on some of the photos, look at the captions to see them. Great opportunity for racers to get their sponsors noted. Happen to see Pop’s Bees & Trees (see image below) on one of the cars. They did some great work for us last fall. Glad to see them promoting racing and that is one of the reasons I called them.

Never get over just how big this RR is.
Left Rear Wheel Drive – driveshaft
Looka at it from the front
Guessing for transponder? Right on front corner
Chrome Racer..
Admit, never had a hot dog here..
Stage ones..
Battery Warehouse – Poker Series Sponsor
Always a cool car when it has this on it
Smith number 1
Smith number 2
Famous car redone in an Xcel
Who else started in one of these?
Really sharp showroom ready car!
Oh the hand lettering style of my youth
The most famous fin in racing
Fastest car I photo’d all day
A relly big-ass tire!
Safety rope – just a guess
These cars are so immaculate
Great guy – images of our cars
Garage where I grew up – Glad to see it live on.

Xcel Chassis wants this area to be a place where Xcel Modified Teams can come and get information directly from the source. As this area is realized, we hope to make it the place for us to put out information, notices and official responses to anything Xcel.
That doesn’t mean that we will stop on Facebook or other social media, but that this is intended to be the place (especially for those who aren’t on social media) for everyone to get the message the way it was intended. Please tell people about this area – Thanks in advance!

Neil from Messick Equipment

YouTube & Xcel

by Fun and LightheartedNews & Information

How this came about

You know when you say: “If I was blah blah blah, I would… “

In the past there have been weekly summations on the website. They were well written, and people generally looked for them.

Truth is, they were a LOT of work to put together.

Well, if I was remaking the website, I would post videos instead. (See how this ties to the first sentence!)

Doug wants to have more interaction and was talking about a weekly podcast/blog.

He thought that he would be able to express thoughts, talk about the race and the winner. Give a preview of the next week and relay any pressing news that people may have missed.

I happen to know a guy (my twin) who has an incredibly successful podcast and let me tell from an insider – it is a ton of work.
Shameless Plug: Beekeepers Corner Podcast

You have to have software, record it, edit it, post it, get the meta data and respond to people and such.

Nope, not the type of thing that is going to work. Nothing against Doug, but his lack of computer savvy is legendary.

Settling on YouTube

Fast forward to the title idea. I discussed the idea of doing it simply with a cell phone and posting the video to YouTube.

We talked about it some and then shot that 2-minute video to see what it would take to set this in motion. I have been working on updates tonight and to my surprise, the thing had 100 views in 2 hours of release. I’d say that was a win.

What is it going to look like?

The goal of all of this is information and some entertainment. To that end, we are going to break this out into two sections. How to’s and Weekly Recaps.

Some of the how to’s on the agenda:

  • How to register your Xcel and where to find all the ID Numbers
  • How to square and measure out the car. Basic ride heights
    • This one is going to coincide with a page on the topic that will remain for new teams to get a base setup and answers to basic questions like: what do I do if the car is loose?
  • Tips for trailering
  • Say it with me: Main-ten-ance
    • Oil Changes
    • Cleaning the air filters
    • Washing the car and how to protect the electronics
    • Checking suspension areas, especially the birdcages for loose components
    • Winter storage tips
  • How to register when you get to the various track – Tour vs. weekly
  • Tips on beating out a body panel
  • Safety around your pit and in your race car garage
  • How to feel the car driving and what to do about it
  • Sponsors and how to approach them
  • More and more ideas including the ones that you tell us

Some of the weekly recaps on the agenda:

  • Who won and how they accomplished it
  • The good, the bad and the ugly of this week
  • Points standings
  • Xcel Drivers News
    • Introduce new teams
    • Who had a wedding, birth or celebration
    • Who did we say goodbye to
    • Highlights of our drivers’ accomplishments
    • In other classes and personal life like graduations and such
  • Poker series and Redraw Challenge news
  • Sponsor recognition
  • Rules infractions and penalties
  • What we ate at the track and on the way home
  • When did we get home this week
  • What can we shameless plug you to purchase this week
    • Who is expected to be where for you to buy parts if needed
  • Where are we next week and any meetings or such to relay
    • Any special payouts for the coming race and the sponsors who are paying for them

If you want to get a feel for the style of this, our inspiration is Neil from Messick’s Equipment.

He has over 100k followers and does a great job from a to z explaining all facets of buying, owning and using a tractor. One guy walking around giving information and building his brand.

Don’t forget to smack that subscribe button!

Gearing

What is the gear at [insert track name here]?

by From Xcel ChassisNews & InformationTrack Information

Almost weekly there is a request on the Xcel Facebook page of someone asking for the base gear for a given track.

Teams are always quick to respond, and the racer has never been left in the lurch that we know of.

You can help: Read on to find out how

We are looking at checking things off the box and this week we found this task on our list, so we are checking it.
Doug provided information on his charts, and I painstakingly typed them into a table for both the Yamaha and Suzuki programs.

The Suzuki one is fair as far as completion but could use some help. I am waiting to get to our race car trailer (at Korey’s House) to get the Yamaha information we have.

If you have a default gear that isn’t crazy off the norm, please email it me at keith@xcelchassis.net and I will update the missing table information.

Here is a link to the XCEL GEAR CHART PAGE. It isn’t in the rotation yet so the only way to get to it is right here.

Xcel Chassis Motor Seals

Help: Xcel Seal Information

by From Xcel ChassisNews & InformationRules

Part of registration is to have your Xcel Seal information posted.

Many are not clear on what that means so on a recent trip to the Xcel Chassis shop, we took a few images to clear things up.

CPU Serial Number

The CPU serial number is in the corner and it is not a sticker, but STAMPED into the plastic casing

example: The CPU serial number for this image is SN9178

CPU Serial Number

Xcel CPU Seal Sticker

This is required on and Xcel Chassis CPU. It is the barcode sticker and you are responsible for submitting the ID number for this sticker.

example: the Top sticker number here is 1036101

Xcel CPU Seal Sticker
Xcel CPU Seal Sticker

Xcel Motor Seal Number

The Xcel Chassis Motor Seal is on both the Yamaha and Suzuki motors. It is inserted into the top of the motor and will feature this blue seal. You are responsible for listing the seal number.

example: The top number seal in this image is 6786851

Xcel Chassis Motor Seal

Motor Serial Numbers

There is another post dedicated to how to identify and report serial numbers for both the Yamaha and Suzuki motors LOOK HERE to view that post

R

Help: Registration Serial Numbers

by From Xcel ChassisNews & InformationRules

Registration is on-going and many have asked where they can locate the serial numbers.


To help, we have these two images that will help you narrow down where you are looking.
We realize that your motor is in the car, but hopefully it is clean and easy to get the numbers since most have been in the shop working on cars at the time of this posting.

HERE IS A LINK to the page where registration starts. PLEASE read the list and make sure you have all the parts prior to opening the form..

Suzuki Motor Serial Number

Yamaha Motor Serial Number

Yamaha Serial Number Identification Image

Xcel Seal Information

There is another post dedicated to helping you find the numbers on Xcel seals and the CPU serial number. LOOK HERE

Fire Suppression System

Fire suppression systems – an update

by From Xcel ChassisNews & InformationRules

The end of 2021 rules meeting it was discussed that teams are slated to have a fire suppression system onboard for and Xcel Modified.

Those systems will be standard on the new 3/4 modified for 2022, but Xcel has determined that the system will be not mandatory until 2023 for the Xcel Modified Series cars.

Teams are strongly encouraged not to wait until it becomes a mandatory rule and purchase the system (at a reduced rate) from Xcel for the 2022 Xcel Modified season.

Xcel has secured a number of fire suppression systems at an incredible discounted price for teams to purchase.
Each system is priced at just $250. The are available for purchase on a first come first serve basis and there isn’t any guarantee that the price will not increase with the next order.