IMCA recently announced that new, OEM-replacement GM Metric frames from Speedway Motors will be legal. These aftermarket frames aim to solve the problem of finding junkyard ones, which have become increasingly scarce. It’s a similar action IMCA took several years ago for the stock front clips on modifieds.
“This is definitely a positive for the chassis builder,” said racer and Shryock Racing Components owner Kelly Shryock. “No longer do we have to deal with bent and rusted frames — sandblasting them and cutting off old pieces. Now, you can stack them in a box until you put them together.”
A faction of racers wanted IMCA to allow more conventional fabricated frames.
“A fab frame would take away from what the stock car class is meant to be about — the stock frame class that so many people are now into,” Shryock said. “The last thing you would want is to have a car with a new fabricated chassis that would be faster than what we already have out there — not everyone can afford a brand-new car. Now they will still be competitive whether they use an original [OEM GM metric] frame or the replacement frame. This program most definitely worked first with the IMCA modified division.”
IMCA considered alternatives to a metric chassis, too.
“They even set up a chassis on a Chevelle frame — but IMCA aborted that,” said Shryock. “The Chevelle frame front end geometry would make that chassis a little better than a metric frame. But that would also have outdated a bunch of cars. Hats off to the IMCA for staying within the boundaries to keep the cars in their classes competitive.”
Paul Burger, of B&B Racing Chassis, helped with the engineering of the IMCA GM Metric frames.
“I can’t express how nice of a piece this is,” Burger said. “I knew the internet blew up with this announcement a few days ago. Why? Nobody making those comments thought it through. [IMCA’s Brett Root’s] vision is the best one for the sport. The new frame won’t obsolete the cars out there or be faster than them. Someone will always have that perception, though — that’s human nature in racing.”
B&B Racing Chassis has already built one stock car with a Speedway Motors frame.
“We will have a second one built by the end of the week,” said Burger. “In two weeks, they will be on a track being tested. We’ve sold six so far — even though they cannot be in IMCA competition until October 1.”
Car builders can purchase the kits now from Speedway Motors:
- 78-88 GM Metric Chassis Stock Car Frame, Front/Rear/Kit, $699.99
- 78-88 GM Metric Chassis Hobby Stock Car Frame, Front/Rear/Kit, $899.99
Burger believes racers will embrace the OEM-replacement GM Metric frames from Speedway Motors.
“Three years from now, they will be praising Brett and Speedway Motors,” Burger said. “This past week I got a taste of what it is like to be Brett Root — and I can tell you I don’t want his job.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
