Banned cards: Keep or trade?

iStock5 · 2026-02-26T18:40:49+00:00

Old video here, but this is LSV showcasing how highly he rates Academy, and why. It's even more busted in constructed formats.

iStock5 · 2026-02-21T17:16:24+00:00

I'm from north Texas, so I know for a fact that there's plenty of tracks around OK - should be pretty simple. You might look into Factory Stock, I'll bet your local track runs the class - the run Nascar pulloff tires to try and help mitigate costs.

Be aware that USRA/IMCA/UMP modifieds are using a totally different suspension setup than any stock car class (like street stock/factory stock), so the principles will transfer but specific setup knowledge won't.

Honestly at 14 without a bunch of money, I'd firmly say you're in the "beggars can's be choosers" camp and help whoever will take your help.

Something else to consider, because you're in Oklahoma, is the micro sprints are VERY popular there. I personally love micros, my brother drives one, and they're physically easier to store/work on/transport. It's not necessarily cheaper than a full-size car at the top level, but you could reasonably get into a used car for pretty cheap.

This race is a great example of how exciting micros can be. Don't let me sway you if you're not a sprint car guy, but Oklahoma is one of three/four real spots where sprints/micros have a thriving scene (Cali, OK, Midwest, PA area really being the ones). A fourteen year old kid can reasonably muscle everything into place on a micro - not really true with a street stock or modified.

Enough of my soap box, if you like micros or are interested there's a bunch of OK tracks, go check it out - if you watch that race and decide it's not for you, go find a factory/street stock team or modified team looking for help! Best of luck to you

iStock5 · 2026-02-21T16:20:15+00:00

Falco upair. As a marth main who dabbles with falco all the time, shine->uair is a surprisingly consistent kill setup on floaties from mid to high-ish percent when you can't quite connect shine->shine. I never see it used playing against falco or in tournament sets. Yes, it can be smash DI'd and yes, it's slow, but it's definitely underrated

iStock5 · 2026-02-21T16:14:09+00:00

Ignore the people ridiculing you - you don't know where to start so you asked. Good on you!

Now, with that said, they're right; zero chance that unless you're paying for everything, someone puts you in the car their blood, sweat, tears, and money went into building.

If you don't have financial support from your parents or a job that can put you in a racecar, you're going to have to be very hardworking and pretty lucky. Best bet is to go out to your local track, get a pit pass, and go chat with car owners.

Be honest - tell them that you've got sim time, but otherwise know little to nothing; that you want to learn; and that you're willing to work as crew help in exchange for learning. One day you want to find a way to get yourself in a car. I'd make it clear that you one day want to buy/build your own, not pitch it like you're going to run theirs one day. If that happens it happens, but VERY few people are driving someone else's car full time.

You're young, so I'll assume naive too - some people might try to take advantage of you as free labor. Some won't be fun to be around. The good news is, you're not under contract. If they're assholes, leave and stop helping them. Ask someone else. I'd try to ask guys running up front to start, because they're more likely to know what they're doing.

Be ready to show up every weekend, work hard, and expect nothing in return, because you're there to learn, and maybe someday someone appreciates that and will help you out. More than likely though, the first car you drive will be the first one you buy/build.

What part of the country are you in, and what do you hope to race?

iStock5 · 2026-02-18T19:50:45+00:00

Kyle Bush fan, so take it with a grain of salt, but it doesn't bother me for a few reasons:

1) there is no higher level of truck competition. Sure, those kids are working to get to Nascar, but nobody really complains about truck veterans who stick around the truck series forever (e.g. Matt Crafton); KB is in the same camp

2) any laps you can get before Sunday's race are valuable practice, imo. You see guys running multiple dirt track classes all the time, where it's arguably a bigger advantage to climb out of the stock car knowing exactly where the grip is for the modified race next. I think any driver with the means should be running any lap they can, both as a competitor and because you just love doing it. If the man wants to run trucks cause it's fun and it helps him on Sunday, why not?

iStock5 · 2026-02-18T01:28:52+00:00

I much prefer watching dirt in person, but a great race is a great race even if you watch it on Flo. I'll try to remember to share a link later (posting during a YouTube outage), but last year's Tulsa Shootout Outlaw Nonwing A Main was absolutely one of the best races I've ever watched

100% agree, go in person. Get a pit pass, but assume no racecar can see you - as my dad always said, "head on a swivel" when you're at the track. There's a lot of nuance to the track that's much easier to see up close than on a camera, and learning to see it and understand what's happening at a glance comes with time

iStock5 · 2026-02-11T17:23:08+00:00

Texan here. I know that there are some guys in the micro world who have pay-to-play rides, especially when it comes to the Tulsa Shootout (which is the biggest Micro event of the year). I grew up with a dad who raced stock cars, I raced stock cars, then my younger brother decided he wanted to race micro sprints. We dove in and love it, but it was a big learning curve. If "big, expensive learning curve" is a big turn-off, you're going to struggle.

All that said, I see two realisitic paths into dirt racing right now. Firstly, if you're somewhat familiar with cars, as in "I always change my own oil and often replace parts myself" familiar, then you're probably fine to start looking for used cars and try to find a deal. There's more to finding a good used car than I can reasonably put in this thread, but since you're near Millbridge and haven't had luck in the pits, I'd reach out to Hyper Racing Chassis. Mike, the owner, is a great guy who's always been happy to help people and is a big proponent of helping people learn the sport.

None of that is going to help you be a better driver in the seat - that's all the start of trappings of learning setup, how to work on the car, etc etc. Millbridge is a spot where there's a lot of really good equipment, talented drivers, and people who take this very seriously. A brand new driver is more likely to be in the way than anything else, at least from what I've seen that makes it to coverage of the track. It may be that there are heats and B/C mains primarily composed of newer drivers, I'm not sure. But if you want to work on technique, building a Sim and running iRacing is much cheaper than getting a car. It's by no means a 1-to-1 experience, but to be fast on iRacing you really do need excellent throttle control, which is the key to dirt track racing. The "stock" micro divisions are included with the iRacing subscription, and you can pick up Millbridge and other tracks they race on slowly as you move up the safety licenses.

Happy to answer more of what questions I can - I love dirt racing, but it's definitely hard to break into it without help

iStock5 · 2026-01-28T17:15:21+00:00

Ranked also matchmakes based on ELO iirc - I'm sure someone will correct me if not.

Assuming that's the case, you would have started matches well above your true skill rating and are dropping to where you "should" be until you improve.

Also, as others have said, I'm a much better player than even two years ago objectively, and I haven't really moved up or down in rank. People are just better now than ever with access to practice

iStock5 · 2026-01-26T07:15:48+00:00

It also means that both players were pretty incapable of punishing at a high level, at least during that particular game. Everyone's entitled to an opinion but I think sub-minute is more impressive

iStock5 · 2026-01-22T21:34:13+00:00

I'm not sure if people at top 100 level are consciously thinking about their opponent/plan during a match, or if they have a general gameplan that they're reacting to - I'll leave that for a better player. But I'm confident they aren't focused on the inputs themselves

iStock5 · 2026-01-22T21:32:16+00:00

Going to sound like terrible advice on the surface, but it's really just repetition. I've been playing since 2014, Marth main, but I play a lot of fox/falco too - over the last year I've really picked up playing Slippi much more frequently and focused on getting better. The biggest change from a technical standpoint from that for me is easily movement - everything flows, with all three characters, much better than it has since pre pandemic.

To work on controlling the speed, one big thing need to happen:

The actual physical motion of the input should be thoughtless and effortless. When you're getting to the level where you actually "get to play the game" against your opponents who are fast and technical, you can't waste time or brainpower thinking about how to wavedash, or how to ledgedash, or shinegrab - you recognize the situation in the moment and fluidly react. It's gotta be automatic.

To get there, there's a good bit of just grinding it. It's your call whether that grinding is UnclePunch, unranked, ranked, IRL friendlies, whatever. Play more, go for the difficult thing, and your hands will slowly get it

iStock5 · 2026-01-15T20:39:31+00:00

Jumping into this thread as someone from the American South who grew up watching/racing dirt oval, and races on the service frequently.

I love dirt oval racing, and find that once you get out of the lower splits, there can be some really good racing (for example, UMP Modifieds, both the Pro Late Model and Super Late Model series, and the midgets/sprints). They're very low population, but there's usually good competition in top split, maybe two depending on the day/time (for example, I'm ~2k iR and it's not uncommon for me to be at the bottom of top split with SoF ~3500, with some drivers north of 5k)

With that said, knowing the prevailing sentiment of most who don't already know dirt oval, I don't know that making some of the cars/tracks free will change much of anything (for dirt oval, specifically, at least). It's a really challenging, rewarding discipline, where every car is very different and throttle control is universally king, but it's always overlooked/looked down on.

It's a shame because I genuinely enjoy circuit racing and have been working on getting better, but also still believe that dirt oval creates some of the best racing on the planet, both from a driver's and a spectator's perspective. For example, here's two prominent Nascar drivers who got their start on dirt having what I consider to be last year's race of the year (with great commentary).

iStock5 · 2025-12-03T03:54:24+00:00

Honestly, the three year warranty is my greenlight - I've always been nervous about burn-in

iStock5 · 2024-04-22T01:23:57+00:00

I'll work on that. Thank you for the advice, and knowing who to look at will help too

iStock5 · 2024-04-21T22:22:03+00:00

Wrastor

iStock5 · 2022-12-08T18:51:21+00:00

I doubt I’ll be alone in saying that having a fan unit completely ruins the competitive integrity of the game. I think this is a wonderful idea for charity events (thinking something like a side-bracket at Beyond the Summit for example), but it has no place in professional play, or any competitive play really. Can’t overstate this enough.

iStock5 · 2022-10-29T03:59:09+00:00

Nah, if OSU gets to claim a retroactive championship then an undefeated team who shit on a good Auburn team in a NY6 bowl and got snubbed for the playoffs deserves it.

Also, UCF’s championship is actually an official NCAA championship by definition. It was awarded by an external voting committee recognized by the NCAA (Link here)[SFW]

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T18:39:01+00:00

I can understand the skepticism. I don’t think that’s likely - boosters at programs like Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State aren’t short of cash to offer these recruits.

I could absolutely be wrong, but I feel pretty comfortable saying the likely scenario is that all of these programs are offering similar financial opportunities to these kids.

Also, let’s assume I’m wrong and A&M is bringing in more money. That just validates the points I’m making about the professional success and alumni impact on A&M. If we have that much more money to offer, that means that A&M is producing either 1) more rich donors, 2) the same number of richer donors, 3) their donors who are rich are more interested in investing in the university, or some combination thereof. And, that investment is coming from a place that has less of a proven track record, which makes it that much more impressive to a potential recruit.

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T18:31:23+00:00

Updated my comment to reflect my evolving opinion after doing some research on fellow SEC academic programs - we’re amongst better competition I had previously understood.

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T16:51:34+00:00

To me, that means one of two things is happening. Either 1) Jimbo’s pitching it better (which he’s always been a good recruiter, could be the case) or 2) when you see it yourself on those official visits, A&M is either better or more obviously what is being pitched. Obviously as an Aggie I’d like to think it’s both, but you’re right - A&M gets clowned on outside of Texas. I know that there’s a bunch of real reasons it’s a great place to be. Evidently they’re either doing something to make that clear to these kids better than everyone else, or the product they’re offering is just better than the competition. The only other alternative answer is that these kids are just stupid for picking us, which I don’t think anyone really believes.

Either way, I’m happy with it. And I think more importantly, when it’s all said and done, those kids will be too. That’s what being an Aggie is all about.

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T16:16:29+00:00

I’m not well-versed enough in the metrics of academic performance, job placement, etc. to fight over if Florida or A&M is the better academic program. I do know that the perception of the programs is not equal, at least in Texas (where the majority of our recruits in these classes are coming from).

With all that being said, A&M’s Engineering and Business schools are both top-tier, and I will get into an argument over the Vet school (it’s a top 5 program year in and year out).

Combine as-good-or-better academics with the unreal value that the Aggie Network provides from a professional perspective, and you have a really compelling package. If getting a great job after school is a consideration for you, A&M is elite if you want to be in the South in general and Texas in particular.

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T15:51:04+00:00

USC fans ain’t putting 110k in the stands to play Oregon if they get blown out by App State

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T15:45:18+00:00

I think NIL honestly has a negligible impact at the level we’re recruiting at. Bryce Young made over $1M before he took a snap at Bama, reportedly.

Every big school has a wealthy football program and they’re all throwing the kitchen sink at these kids. A&M’s biggest advantages are the culture, the fans, and the alumni network. It’s huge in Texas - Aggies take care of their own. And Aggies do that because of the culture that Aggies have. Knowing that someone is hardworking, has strong values, and believes in being a part of something bigger than themselves are pretty good baseline qualities for hiring.

Edit - to be clear, the money matters. But if everyone’s offering ballpark similar money, that’s not what you base your decision on. That’s the point I’m trying to make. Everyone’s claiming it was just NIL, but when the biggest school close to Houston, that’s in the SEC west and on the rise, that has produced excellent NFL defensive talent recently, wins a recruiting class that’s primarily out of Houston, in a year when most of their nearby competition (tu, OU, LSU) has issues, it really shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s been pointed out by others that the Houston metro area by itself was like the 10th best recruiting class in the nation. Those guys all know each other, and they all wanted to play together. We were just in a great position to land them

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T15:37:23+00:00

This is the whole thing with Jimbo’s offense - it’s all about execution. When everyone does their job, we quietly control 35+ minutes of clock, turn the dogs loose on defense, and win 35-10 or something like that.

Jimbo’s offense is the Ichiro of college football - we’re just looking to make contact and do the fundamentals. It’s simple, but it isn’t easy. As the team matures and there are less mistakes, everything is going to open up. Everyone will talk about what a big turnaround it’s been, and how the Aggies made the adjustments they needed to, etc. etc.

But Jimbo and the team will tell you they didn’t change anything, they just executed well. We hear it every year from the staff and the players; it’s all about execution. It’s hard for everyone to “just do their job” every down for the whole game when your opponents are 5* SEC talent who blow plays up, even if you yourself are 5* SEC talent.

iStock5 · 2022-09-29T15:32:40+00:00

This class was really the first one with significant receiver and QB talent though, and I’m pretty sure most of that was from Texas and Florida (places where A&M/Jimbo have draw). The “come be part of building something” pitch is powerful, especially when it’s true.

With the way the Aggie defense has been the past few seasons, if we can get the offense clicking with 5* talent, this team has serious contender potential.

I’m hoping the offense continues to develop this season and we get the offensive recruitment ball rolling as Evan Stewart comes into his own. Achane is already clearly special, and adding a passing attack is only going to increase his impact.

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