PLASMA CUTTING ON THE PROFESSIONAL RACING CIRCUIT

Whatever the sport, it?s a remarkable accomplishment just to make it ? let alone endure ? in the big leagues. Throw high speed into the mix, and the accomplishment is all the more remarkable. Despite rules aimed at making professional racing safer, it is still a high-risk sport. A sport that has seen its share of tragedy: the lives of star drivers and up and comers taken all too soon after one wrong move, one bad bump, one mechanical malfunction.

Professional race car driver Ken Schrader knows the risks all too well. He?s witnessed the damage to lives and cars firsthand. Yet, he endures, leaving his mark on the racing circuit for more than a quarter century now and becoming somewhat of a role model to new drivers along the way.

Racing is something Schrader started early, beginning with go-karts before he even entered kindergarten. By the time he turned 16 (the legal driving age in most states) Schrader was more than ready to take on Sprint cars, racing as often as he could on tracks throughout the Midwest. Nine years later, he started racing stock cars in USAC events before moving up to NASCAR?s top circuit in 1984. He raced five times that year and in 1985 joined the circuit full time earning Rookie-of-the-Year honors and winning four Sprint (formerly Winston) Cup races over the next six years.

Talent, timing, and business savvy are a big part of Schrader?s success. So is passion. Schrader has a true love of racing which is why you?ll find him driving just about anything with wheels. ?Any thing, any time, any surface,? is a phrase you?ll often hear Schrader repeat. ?I love the time that I get to spend behind the wheel, and as long as I can, I?m going to race whenever I get the chance.?

Dirt or asphalt; car, truck, or bike; half mile or 500 mile. Really, it doesn?t matter to Schrader, which means that even though he?s ?semi-retired?, he and his 15-person team always have a race to get ready for. The team works hard to make their rides fast, but they also need to meet the many safety and performance rules mandated by governing bodies such as NASCAR and ARCA. One such rule requires all race cars to have a steel plate installed between the driver?s door and the roll cage. The plate is added to reinforce the door so it better protects the driver in a crash.

Keeping up with all the rules and regulations could get complicated, but for Ken Schrader Racing it?s no problem. The team relies on equipment like a plasma cutter from Hypertherm (Hanover, NH). ?It?s definitely a handy tool to have around,? says team general manager Brian Bell. ?It was like Christmas when I told the guys we were bringing one over.? Before plasma, the team used oxyfuel to cut any metal that needed cutting. While the oxyfuel was certainly capable, it was a tedious and messy process. ?The oxy took twice as long as plasma just from a grinding and fitting aspect,? notes Bell.

Oxyfuel cutting works by creating a chemical reaction between the oxygen and the steel. However, the process is limiting. For starters, oxyfuel can only cut carbon steel, not stainless or aluminum, and isn?t really suited for cutting the thin metal Schrader and team most often cut. The learning curve for oxyfuel is also greater. You need to have a fair amount of experience to be any good at it.

Plasma, on the other hand, is much easier to use. Plus, it is ideal on thin material. This works out well for Ken Schrader Racing, since most of the material they cut is under a ½ in thick, though today?s air plasma systems can easily cut metal up to 2 in thick. Plasma can also cut any type of metal, even if the metal is rusted, painted, or dirty. Another benefit of plasma is its simple operation. You don?t need to pre-heat the torch or use an external gas. Many systems work off of shop air. All you need to do is plug the system in, turn it on, and cut.

Over in Ken Schrader Racing?s North Carolina garage, a Powermax 45 is connected to an old 4 x 4 cutting table. Most of the time, the system is used to mechanically cut out sheet metal, which is then welded to the car. However, when the team needs to cut by hand, it can. ?Switching from a mechanized to a handheld torch is no problem at all. It?s a matter of unplugging the machine torch and popping the hand torch on,? explains Bell.

The ability to quickly switch out the torch ? and use the system in both a mechanized and handheld fashion ? gives the team maximum versatility. If a member of the team has a wrecker to cut apart, they can quickly do that, or if someone wants to take the system down to the track, they can do that as well. Bell says their plasma system often makes the trip to the track. ?Typically at the track, we use it to make last minute modifications like cutting a little off a body panel, or adjusting a support rod between the body and chassis. At the end of the day, plasma saves us a lot of time. Plus, it is quicker and cleaner. There?s no slag, no grinding, When you?re done, you?re done.?

New technology introduced by plasma manufacturers make today?s systems lighter and more powerful than ever before. Some systems weigh just 20 lb and don?t require a complicated power set-up. Regular household power or even a generator will do just fine. At the same time, these newer generation plasma systems are more affordable, making plasma cutters a good choice for anyone, whether a professional or a hobbyist, who likes working on cars.

Ken Schrader Racing isn?t the only team to discover the benefits of plasma. More and more teams including Richard Childress Racing, the team behind legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt, also use plasma in their garage. And, as any true race car driver will tell you, time saved in the garage equals more time doing what they love best: racing around a track, wherever that track may be.

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