Brisca Stock Car Racing
Brisca Stock Car Racing
Report by Lonely Furrow Photography
When you hear the words “stock car racing” do you think “banger” racing? Well, if you do, think again.
Banger racing is predominately old scrap road cars smashing into each other while pretending to race around a quarter mile oval circuit. The winner being the first car to complete a set number of laps or more commonly the last one moving.
Stock Car racing, apart from the circuits, is completely different. An F1 stock car is a purpose built, single seat, open wheel race car built to withstand full contact racing at high speed. These unlimited horse powered machines have large front & rear mounted bumpers which enable drivers to “persuade” the car in front to move out of the way.
Fighting your way to the front in stock car racing is not only allowed but actively encouraged. Whether it be a gentle “nudge” as the cars enter the corner to facilitate an over take or a full blown, last lap, last corner lunge to take the win.
The British Stock Car Association (BriSCA) dates back to the mid 50’s and was formed by a group of race promoters and track owners. By the late 50’s the Stock Car Racing Board of Control was created and racing, as we know it today, was born.
Cars have changed radically since those early days. The first cars were “stock” road cars but by the 60’s drivers had started to build cars with fabricated chassis and race tuned engines. The image below is a replica of John Chisholm’s 252 car that won the world final in ’73, ’74 & ’75. He was the first driver to win 3 world titles in a row since the first world championship in ’55.
Winning the world championship is the pinnacle of the sport and carries with it the gold roof which the driver displays for the following season they can also adopt the number “1” if they choose.
Other successes within the sport are displayed by roof colour or markings. The overall season points champion has dual silver stripes, the European champion has Red &White checks and the British Champion has Black & White checks.
Roof colour is also used as a grading system for the drivers. White “top” drivers are normally novice and inexperienced drivers that start at the front of the grid and the grading system then goes Yellow, Blue, Red, and finally Superstar signified by yellow flashing lights on a Red roof.
Drivers are frequently up or down graded based on the previous months results although some drivers are allowed to keep their roof colour if they have not competed in enough meetings during the season.
The image above shows 445 Nigel Green, the 2017 World Champion (Gold roof) passing the 515 Frankie Wainman Jnr car. The 515 car has the Black & White checks showing he was the 2017 British Champion.
The cars are constructed on a steel chassis with roll-over-safety cages with aluminium sheet body panelling, There is no limit in engine capacity or number of cylinders but engines must be naturally aspirated.
The most common engines used, due to their reliability and availability, are American Chevrolet V8 engines in both small block 5.7 litre and big block 7.4 litre varieties, producing upwards of 740 bhp.
The power is delivered through a gearbox with two forward gears (one for racing) and reverse, and use a heavily modified Ford Transit axle with a locked differential.
BriSCA F1 Stock Car meetings are held on quarter-mile, oval tracks, either tarmac or shale and consist of 2 or 3 16 lap “Heats” (depending on number of entrants) with a “Consolation” race for those drivers who didn’t qualify for the meeting final from the Heats.
The meeting final is a 20 lap race although the special events (such as the world final) are held over 25 laps. The final race of the meeting is the “Grand National” which is an all season competition with the points collected resulting in a one off race at the end of the season for the ‘grand national champion’
Over the years Brisca F1 Stock Car racing has been dominated by a (sometimes not so friendly) family rivalry between the Smiths and the Wainmans.
Stuart Smith Snr & Frankie Wainman Snr started the rivalry back in the early 70’s through to the mid 80’s. Stuart Smith Snr picking up 5 World Championship wins between ’72 & ’85. After Stuart Smilth’s retirement the battle was resumed by his son Andy Smith and Frankie Wainman Jnr. Andy Smith won his first WC in ’94 and Frankie Wainman Jnr picked up his first in’98 but the rivalry really took off in the 2000’s.
Between 2005 and 2010 Smith & Wainman won 5 of the 6 WC’s (Andy winning out 4 to 1) with the other WC being won by Andy’s brother Stuart Smith Jnr.
Stock car racing is definitely becoming a family affair. There are multiple Father & Son racers while Frankie Wainman Jnr’s son (the imaginatively named Frankie Wainman Jnr Jnr) and daughter also races in F1. The image below shows 212 Danny Wainman (Frankie Wainman’s brother) passing 422 Ben Riley.
The image below shows 21 Mark Gilbank in action on the Northampton shale.
Most Stock Car meetings have support races from a selection of formula that come under the Brisca umbrella. These include Brisca F2 Stock Cars which are predominately powered by 2 litre, V8 Ford engines, Brisca V8 Hotstox and the junior formula Brisca MiniStox for 11 – 16 year olds.
The Brisca F2 of 578 Mark Gibbs.
Brisca V8 Hotstox in action.
Brisca Mini Stox action.
If you’re interested in watching Brisca Stock Car racing there are a number of tracks around the country with venues at Birmingham, Buxton, Ipswich, Hednesford, King’s Lynn, Manchester, Northampton, Sheffield, Skegness and Stoke-on-Trent. More information can be found at www.briscaf1.com
Lonely Furrow Photography is based in Lincolnshire. You can see more of his work at the links below.
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