REPRINT FROM CIRCLE TRACK

By TOM HINTZ

Racers soaking their tires in bizarre potions to improve their performance is nothing new. Finding a substance that actually works,remains effective beyond qualifying, is undetectable to durometers or "sniffers," and increases tread life in the process is something else. If you have been around short tracing for long, chances are your snake-oil sensors automatically sound the alarm at the mention of these mysterious fluids. But when Circle Track looked at Track Claw our sensors quickly fell silent.

Jerry Bailey of Brothers Research has many years in the chemistry field, and when a racing friend showed him the softening agent he was using, he realized he could make something better. In fact, the product of this undertaking was never meant to be sold to the public but was developed as a favor to his friend. Soon Bailey discovered how hard it is to keep a performance secret in racing, and rather than deal with all the racers who were showing up on his doorstep, he decided to market Track Claw.

Jerry first tested the tire softeners already on the market and found most to be some form of solvent that evaporated away at normal racing tire temperatures. Track Claw also uses a solvent but only as a carrier to apply the chemicals to the tire. The flame-proof solvent, which does not attack the rubber, evaporates completely leaving no residue or odor.

NOT A SOFTENER

While most traction compounds are meant to soften the tread, Track Claw is designed to strengthen the tire. Jerry reports, "I've tried to tell track officials this chemistry is not tire-softening technology. It has nothing to do with softening tires. This is tire strengthening.

What we've done is try to figure out a way to go in there and react with the rubber to make it stronger."

When asked how Track Claw works, Jerry explains, "With most tire softeners you're breaking tile tire down with a solvent to make the rubber softer.

Along with breaking the tire down you get a tremendous amount

of wear because you have made the tire softer.

ON-TRACK TESTING

Like our readers, we at CIRCLE TRACK have heard this tune before, so we

decided to test Track Claw ourselves to allay our increasingly wary sensors. We enlisted the help of a few highly experienced (consistent) asphalt and dirt short track drivers and had them discreetly apply Track Claw to new and used tires as per-label instructions.

All of them noticed an improvement in lap times and tire wear.Two of teams were able to run matching sets of tires on the same night, on the same car, with one treated with Track Claw and the other "au naturel." Both teams found their lap times dropped (usually in the 0.2- to 0.4-second range on 1/3-mile tracks) with the treated set, with virtually equal reductions on asphalt and dirt. These teams also reported a noticeable reduction in wear. The third driver applied Track Claw to

"already dead" tires, and though they seemed to bite much better than expected, they were still were still worn out at tile end of the race.

When Jerry first began testing Track Claw, he was concerned about damaging new tires. Jerry states, "We have tested this product in every kind of racing tire we can find. It doesn't hurt tile tire at all." Throughout his testing the results have been the same. Better wear and improved traction.

Will Track Claw make a semi-feature car in a feature winner? Based on our anecdotal evidence, probably not. But it may help that "semi" car make the show or move your car up a few spots. Track Claw seems to improve the performance of the tires, but you still have to drive the

car. Perhaps the most telling endorsement from our test racers was that each one quietly asked, "Where can I get more of this stuff for next season?"

Circle Track "1996 Racing Product Of The Year"

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