Hobby Stock Rules

1. General

A. It is highly recommended by the Bedford Speedway to have your engine sealed prior to the start of the season.  Unsealed engines are at risk of teardown at the track.  For more information, contact Todd Bechtel at 814-793-3478.

2. Cars

A. Any 1955 and newer rear wheel drive, domestic, complete bodied production car. No jeeps, 4-wheel drives, front wheeldrives, station wagons, compacts, convertibles, sports cars,sunroofs, T-tops or trucks.
B. No former racecars permitted.
C. Cruiser body styles are defined as follows: Chevy Impala, Chevy Caprice, Older Body Style Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Bonneville, Ford Ltd, Ford Crown Victoria, Plymouth Fury, Mercury Marquis, Oldsmobile Delta 88 or 98, Buick Electra, Park Avenue.

3. Bodies

A. Must be a complete stock body or stock appearing body.  All body panels must be steel.   If using a stock appearing body, all lines and bends must match oem body.  We will be strict with this rule, so do it right the first time.
B. Stock type plastic nose and tail will be allowed. Example: 5-Star, Performance Bodies, etc. Must look stock.
C. Car numbers must be at least eighteen (18”) tall on both doors…NO
EXCEPTIONS. Legible roof number is also required. Number should be a
contrasting color than color of body for scoring purposes.
D. No rub rails permitted.
E. Motor, transmission and rear end mounts must be in original location.
F. Tow hooks, front and rear are mandatory. Hooks must be visible and able to support the weight of the car.

4. Interior

A. Must remain stock. No boxing permitted.
B. No fluid reservoirs, tanks or radiators in driver’s compartment.
C. Interior should allow for easy access to driver from either side of car and be clear of material or construction methods that could cause injury to driver.
D. No batteries permitted in driver’s compartment.
E. Fire extinguisher within reach of the driver and safetly mounted is recommended.
F. Interior must be gutted of all flamable material and upholstery. Where rear seat was located, a metal firewall must be mounted to separate the driver’s compartment from the trunk. Fender wells must remain stock in rear.
G. No mirrors or radios.
H. Complete original fire wall in stock location and must be completely enclosed. No open holes. Complete factory floor pans from front fire wall to rear fire wall.
I. Steering column must remain in stock location right to left and front to back. No steering quickeners of any kind.
J. Pedals must be in or close to stock location. No extending the pedals rearward. Driver seat should be in the same location as original.

5. Roll Cage

A. Must have a full six-point roll cage (preferably built and mounted by a chassis shop).
B. Roll cage must be welded 360 degrees with gussets and welded to frame.
C. A minimum of four (4) bars must be used in the driver’s door. Passenger side must have two horizontal bars. Each bar must be a minumum of one and one-half (1 1/2″) in. diameter with a minimum thickness of ninety-five thousands inch (.095″).
D. Roll cage must be padded around areas where driver may come in contact.

6. Wheelbase

A. The minimum wheelbase is 108 inches for cars with a full factory frame and 110 inches for car with a factory unibody.
B. On uni-bodied cars only, a homemade frame may be constructed using steel rectangular tubing only with a minimum specification of 2″ x 3″ .120″ wall thickness. The 3″ dimension must be in a vertical position. If using this option, it must start at the rear of the front stock OEM sub-frame and continue all the way back to the front of the OEM rear sub-frame. The proper construction of this frame option will be up to the discretion of the officials.

7. Weight

A. Cars must weigh a minimum of 3400 pounds with driver after race. Cruiser body styles with the 400 cu. in. engine must weigh a minimum of 3600 pounds with driver after the race. No exceptions. Track scales are official.

8. Engines

A. No big blocks permitted.
B. Cruiser body styles may use the Chevy 400. Hobby Stock cars can have a maximum 350cu. in. Chevy, 351 Ford, or 360 Chrysler.
C. Cars must use engine that did or could have come in that car.
D. Exhaust manifold, carburetor and intake must remain stock. No “Ram Horn”, center dump type exhaust manifolds. Intake manifold must be OEM
cast iron of 2 or 4 barrel design with no porting, polishing, machining,welding or acid etching. No Bowtie intakes.
E. Must use stock fuel pump.
F.  Hydraulic cams only.  No solid,
hydraulic roller or mechanical roller camshafts permitted.
G. Stock OEM heads for all makes.   World Products head part # 43610-1 (assembled) or  part # 43610 (bare) will be acceptable for Chevy. These World heads are commonly known as the stock replacement or ”S/R” head, not the S/R Torquer.  Maximum valve size for the World heads will be:  1.94” for the intake and 1.6” for the exhaust.  Minimum combustion chamber size for the World heads will be 63 cc.  Minimum combustion chamber size for OEM heads will be 60 cc.    No Vortec or any other aftermarket heads will be allowed.   Stock or stock-type stamped steel rocker arms only.    No cutting, grinding, welding, porting, port matching, polishing or acid etching of combustion chambers or port runners.  No Bowtie intake manifolds.
H.  Stock crankshafts and rods as manufactured for the block used.
Aftermarket crankshafts and connecting rods will be allowed but must be as follows:
Crankshaft:
Chevy:  Eagle pn. 103503480 or Scat pn. 910442
Ford:  Scat 935W10

Connecting Rods:
Chevy:  Eagle pn. 5700BBLW or Scat pn. 35700
Ford:  Eagle pn. 5956 or Scat pn. 25955912
No other aftermarket crankshafts or connecting rods will be allowed.

I. Gasoline only with no additives.
J. Engine must remain in the stock position.
K. Engine can be claimed by a competing driver for $1500 plus $250 for the supervisor. Driver making the claim must have finished within the top five in the featue and on the lead lap. Claimer must forfeit his/her engine to the claimee as part of the deal. The track also has the right to claim an engine if necessary. Claim must be in cash and done so by the competing driver within five (5) minutes following the race. Carburetor is not included in the claim. Engines that are sealed by the tech inspector are exempt from claiming and protest.
L. Driver being claimed, driver making the claim, Chief Pit Steward and track representative as deemed by Pit Steward will be only people allowed in the tear down area.
M.  Stock two barrel carburetors with no modifications. Venturi size will be checked with a calibrated go / no-go guage . Two barrel carbs. can be mounted to a stock four barrel manifold using an adapter plate no thicker than 1 inch. Any adapter or spacer may be no more than 1″ thick.
N. Oil pans must be stock appearing.
O. Flat top or inverted dome pistons only.  Pistons must be at zero deck height or below the deck at top dead center.
P. Stock type ignition only.  GM ignitions must be stock or stock type HEI.

9. Fuel Cell

A. Thirty-two gallon maximum safety approved fuel cell in a twenty (20) gauge steel box supported by two (2) one-eighth inch (1/8”) by two inch (2”) steel straps top and bottom to safely secure fuel cell.
B. All fuel cells must be mounted securely in trunk area of car.
C. Fuel line must run under floor of car. If fuel line runs through interior, it must be encased and sealed at both ends.
D. Fuel shall be subject to testing.

10. Frames

A. Must remain stock
B. Suspension components must remain as manufactured by the auto manufacturer for the body being used.
C. No adding of any suspension components from different makes or years.
D. If a car is used that is manufactured without a full frame, frame must be tied together.
E. Stock or stock appearing springs are mandatory.  Coil springs must have a pig tail on at least one end.  Springs can be no shorter than 11 inches and no smaller than 5 ½ inches in diameter.  Front left and right side springs must match.  Rear left and right side springs must match.  Tolerance on coil diameters when checking spring matching will be .015” dia.  No weight jacks.  Shimming of springs will be allowed but the spring mounts must remain stock and in the stock location.
F.  Stock or stock appearing shocks only.  Shocks must be steel and have stock type mounts.

11. Transmission and Rear End

A. Transmission and rear end must remain stock and must match the make and model of the car (i.e. Ford/Ford, GM/GM, Chrysler/Chrysler, etc.).
B. No dog type or triple disc clutches permitted. No aluminum or exotic metals in clutch or flywheel. Stock OEM style single clutch disc mounted in the stock location with a
stock flywheel diameter.
C. Automatic transmissions allowed. Must have a working stock torque converter. Transmission must shift through all gears starting out in drive and will be checked.
D. Blow proof bell housings for standard shifts.
E. Rear ends may be locked or factory limited slip.
F. No aluminum drive shafts.
G. Drive shafts must be painted white and have a safety hoop. Safety hoop must measure a minimum of six inches (6”) in diameter and (1/4”) thickness by one-inch (1”) width.

12. Tires, Wheels, and Brakes

A. 15 x 8 steel racing wheels only are permitted with a 3″ offset on all four corners.
B. The following tires are acceptable:  Hoosier 500 size 8.0-27.0-15 or American Racer Dirt size 70/205-15 (Hard).
C. Reinforcing of wheels, especially the right front is highly recommended.
D. Oversize lug nuts are required.
E.  All four wheels must have working brakes and should be stock for
the model and year of car.  Brake and clutch pedals must remain stock type. No “hung style” racing pedals.  No driver controlled brake
adjusters.
F.  Tire grooving will be legal until June 2011.  After such time,  all tires must be stock, as factory.

13. Mufflers

A. Mufflers are mandatory and must be clearly visible to the tech inspector.
B. Maximum decibel level permitted is 100db at ninety feet (90”).
C. Exhaust not permitted to be directed towards ground. Exhaust must be parallel to ground.

14. Safety

A. All cars must be equipped with an aluminum racing seat of high back type only. Seat should be securely fastened with a minimum of 3/8″ bolts to the roll cage and or frame in six spots. No floorboard installations. Racing style, five (5) point seat belts must be used and correctly mounted. Seat belt cannot be older than 3 years.
B. Fuel cell must be mounted in the rear of the car and surrounded by a 20 gauge steel box.
C. Two (2) one-eighth inch (1/8”) by two-inch (2”) steel safety straps are required to support the fuel cell.
D. Approved fire resistant driver’s uniform is mandatory. Fireproof gloves, socks and shoes are highly recommended.
E. Full faced helmet with lexan face shield- Snell 90 or newer.
F. Complete original fire wall in stock location and must be completely enclosed. No open holes. Complete factory floor pans from front fire wall to rear fire wall.
G. Driver window net is strongly recommended.
H. Doors must be welded shut.
I. All glass must be removed. (No broken glass allowed in door wells, trunk or inside car. This will be checked.)
J. Screens are mandatory in windshield.
K. Cars must contain shock resistant roll bar padding on all bars within 18″ of drivers body.

15. Things You Can Expect to be Checked and or Removed on a Regular Basis in Tech.

A. Suspension front and rear
B. Carb. And intake
C. Oil pan
D. Engine cubic inch
E. Etc.

Hobby Stock Safety Check List
Download this printable checklist here

___ No fluid reservoirs, battery, radiators in driver compartment

___ Good metal firewalls between driver and engine plus driver and trunk with no holes

___ Good racing driver seat mounted firmly to frame (not floor)

___ Five point seat belts mounted properly, meets SFI 16.1 and less than 3 years old

___ Six point roll cage, gusseted and welded to the frame. Min. 1 ½” o.d. tubing.

___ Minimum of 4 bars of 1 1/2″ diameter in driver door. Three bars in pass. door. Minimum thickness of bars is .095″.

___ Two 1 ½” bars must go rearward thru firewall to rear frame in Street Stocks

___ Roll cage padding around areas where driver may come into contact

___ Protective windscreen with at least two metal rods near center of windshield

___ No open fuel lines in drivers compartment (Can be encased and sealed at both ends)

___ Front and rear tow hooks capable of supporting cars weight

___ Racing fuel cell in a steel box supported by two 1/8″ X 2″ steel straps

___ If car is a unibody, the frame must be tied together in a sound way

___ Standard shift cars must have a blow proof bellhousing

___ Drive shaft painted white with a safety loop in front. Hoop must be min. 6″ in dia. By 1″ wide and ¼” thick

___ Mufflers installed

___ Good driver fire suit, meets SFI 3.2 and less than 5 years old.

___ Full faced helmet Snell 90, 95, K98 , 2000 or newer

___ Oversized lug nuts and studs (1/2″ dia. Minimum)

___ Any ballast must have a minimum of 2 mounting bolts a minimum of ½” diameter. All must be painted white with car number on them