114 terms from the pits, the shop and the tax folder — explained in plain English, with sources. Dirt, asphalt and RC.
Tight
Tight is when the front tires lose grip before the rear tires, so the car won't turn and drifts up the track no matter how much steering you add. Also called a push, or understeer.
Time Trials (Qualifying)
Time trials are timed qualifying laps run against the clock rather than against other cars, usually two laps per driver, with the resulting times setting heat race lineups or, at some tracks, the feature lineup.
Tire Prep (Traction Compound)
Tire prep is a chemical applied to a race tire to soften or condition the rubber for more grip. Many classes ban tire prep outright and penalize it; whether yours allows it is a rulebook question.
Tire Truing
Tire truing is machining an RC tire on a lathe so it runs perfectly round, to a chosen diameter and profile. ROAR's on-road rules allow truing but ban the scaly texture a lathe can leave on the contact patch.
Toe
Toe is the angle the front tires point in or out relative to the car's centerline, viewed from above. Toe-in means the leading edges point toward each other; toe-out means they point apart.
Torque Spec
A torque spec is the manufacturer's specified tightening value for a fastener, given in ft-lbs or in-lbs, that produces the intended clamp load when the fastener is installed with the specified lubricant and thread condition.
Touring Series
A touring series is a racing series that travels track to track on its own schedule and rulebook, bringing its cars, purse and points standings to each host speedway instead of running weekly at one place.
Tow Money
Tow money is a small payment a track makes to a car that entered and competed but did not make the feature, intended to offset the cost of hauling to the track rather than to reward a finishing position.
Track Prep
Track prep is the ongoing work a dirt track crew does on the racing surface — watering, ripping, packing, dragging and shaping — to build grip before the show and hold moisture in the clay through it.
Valve Lash
Valve lash is the deliberate clearance between the rocker arm and the valve tip in a solid-lifter engine, set with a feeler gauge so the valvetrain still has room when the engine heats up and grows.
Valve Spring Pressure
Valve spring pressure is the force a valve spring applies to the valve, measured in pounds at two points: seat pressure with the valve closed at installed height, and open pressure at full lift.
Weekly Show
A weekly show is a track's regular points program run on the same night most weeks of the season — hot laps, heats, consis and features for the track's house divisions — and it is where track championships are won.
Weight Jack
A weight jack is a threaded adjuster at one corner of a race car that raises or lowers that corner's spring, moving load diagonally across the four tires. Turning one is what racers call putting in wedge.
Wheel Rate
Wheel rate is the spring stiffness the tire actually feels after the suspension's leverage — spring rate times motion ratio squared. A 400 lb/in spring at a 0.7 motion ratio delivers about 196 lb/in at the wheel.
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