I think this highlights what some savy racers do better than others and that's pushing grey areas in the rule book. Obviously the intent of the rule is to prevent horizontal paneling from being placed behind the back of a car for aerodynamic purposes (a pseudo-wing or spoiler). The rule is presuming that the competitor is in fact using a tubular push bar that is some distance away from the back of the car to begin with. What I don't think it says distinctly in the rule book is that push bars must be tubular and not plate to begin with. I don't think the plate was needed for structural strength but that is what it's providing.
If the intent is to prevent aerodynamic advantages, I question whether or not horizontal paneling mounted that low on a car offers any kind of advantage.
Pretty much what Russ said about this push bar, although it may push the limit of legality since it is mounted so close to the body (one of the posts on this thread said a minimum of 1 inch from the body), I don't know if the holes make up for that amount of area. Russ said the purpose of the “no horizontal paneling” portion of the rule is to insure that there is no air seal between the body surface and the push bar surface. .I asked about specific heights for push bars to be mounted off the bottom of the body, along with length and width. I was told it is up to me, but to remember no Aero advantages would be allowed.
I personally don't want to interpret the rule book for others, so I would suggest to anyone who is thinking of building one of these push bars for a Roadster to contact Russ and tell him what you are thinking of building.
Tom G.
