Companies support racers’ need for speed

Ask Brandon Bracelin about his 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and a broad smile illuminates his face.

When he bought the white car 2 1/2 years ago, it was just your average stock vehicle, though in good shape coming from California.

Now, in the lingo of auto enthusiasts, Bracelin’s got a 383 stroker under the hood. The retooled engine can generate up to 300 horsepower at the wheels, and a top speed of about 135 miles per hour.

Bracelin unleashes the horses occasionally at Eddyville Raceway Park, but otherwise tests the car’s performance using a chassis dynamometer at Midstate Machine in Des Moines.

If you live in or around Des Moines, chances are you have at least one motor-head in your neighborhood – that weekend racer who’s always got his face under the hood.

A handful of machine shops and specialty racing stores in Greater Des Moines cater to this growing cadre of enthusiasts who love to get their hands greasy.

Of course, hot rods, or loop scoopers as they’re known locally, have been an issue for the noise they generate downtown and the safety concerns if they’re raced on the streets. West River Drive, the Sec Taylor Stadium area and the downtown loop along Grand Avenue and Locus Street have been three problem areas.

The loop, however, has seen reduced loop scooper activity since the police established a task force, said Mike Freilinger, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association.

“The information that I have is that we’ve seen a dramatic drop in the level of problems in that area,” he said.

At Midstate Machine, owners Bill and Karen Robertson figure two-thirds of their business is divided equally among auto enthusiasts and racers who want to improve their race-car engines’ performance.

Thanks to people like Bracelin who enjoy working on their cars year-round, “the business doesn’t slow down in the winter like you think it would,” Karen Robertson said.

Since buying the machine shop eight years ago with a staff of two technicians, the Robertsons now have seven people on staff, with business growing each month, they said. Their average customer spends about $2,000 on an engine rebuild or modification.

In Ankeny, JR Motorsports has been supplying high performance race parts and engines since 1998. It was founded by Everett Sather, a co-owner of the Boone Speedway.

“We’re a national company now,” JR Motorsports President Dave Johnson said. “About half our business is from Iowa and the rest is from all around the country, but particularly Florida and Texas.” The company employs 30 people, with satellite locations in Cedar Rapids and Boone.

With about 48 racetracks, all but one being dirt tracks, Iowa is definitely a big motorsports state, Johnson said.

About 80 percent of JR Motorsports’ business comes from closed-course racers, the remainder from drag racers or street cars.

In Iowa, “there’s racing for every kind of budget, from figure-eight cars to modified class cars,” Johnson said.      One of the venues for testing street rods in Iowa is at Eddyville Raceway Park near Ottumwa, which has a Test and Tune session each Friday night, Johnson said.

One area racer said racing and related businesses must be one of Greater Des Moines’ biggest industries.

“If it’s got four wheels and a motor, someone’s probably modifying it,” said Tim Taylor of Waukee, who races at the Dallas County Fairgrounds in Adel.      Personally, he has $4,000 invested in one of his engines, and another $2,000 in chassis work.

“It’s one of those things that never stops,” he said, while waiting for more machine work to be done on his spare engine. “You really have to have an understanding wife. … If you budget a race car, you better figure on spending double what you budgeted.”

COMPANY’S INVESTMENT A GREAT TOOL FOR RACERS

Racers who’ve built the ultimate engine but can’t wait to get onto a racetrack now have another option besides illegally racing on the street.      Midstate Machine of Des Moines recently invested $60,000 in a chassis dynamometer. The electronic device measures a car’s performance while it’s standing still, using a sophisticated roller system allowing the drive wheels to spin.

“The customer then drives his ‘stationary’ vehicle as he would on the street or racetrack, and the performance is recorded on the computer,” said Jesse Robertson, the dyno technician.

Previously, people had to travel as far as Kansas City or Moline to use a chassis dyno, he said.

The device has already been a great boost to the Midstate’s business, co-owner Karen Robertson said.

“We have already had a good response to it,” she said. “Our business has just shot up from it. People can get their engines rebuilt here and then put it on the dynamometer to test the performance.”   The company charges $50 for a single “pull,” or $125 for an hour of testing.

Organizations such as the Mustang Club of Des Moines have also rented the device for an entire racing session, in which a simulated race was held matching each car’s performance.

“Other companies with dynos have rallies,” Robertson said. “We haven’t gotten to that point yet.”

Brandon Bracelin, a customer who has tested his rebuilt engine on the dynamometer more than once, said racing his car on the device is actually more fun than running it on the street. Not to mention safer.

As a detention officer with Polk County, Bracelin said he can’t risk a ticket or accident by street racing.

“I think the main thing is you’ve got to be careful,” the 22-year-old said. “You don’t want to test it on the streets and worry about hurting someone.”