The top teams that are running...
The top teams that are running up front and winning a lot of races understand how important it is to hang a body correctly. I can guarantee you they spend valuable time ensuring they are getting the most out of their bodies.
The teams that are consistently running up front understand that the only way to do this is to ensure that every part bolted on to the car is working together. They know you can't have the best chassis on the market and be lacking 25 horsepower, yet still expect to win on a consistent basis. Not to say you won't get lucky every now and then, but the point is everything has to be working together to ensure that you have the best opportunity to win that A-main.
The body on your car is no different. It can either help you achieve your goals of winning or hinder it. The worst thing you can do is just to assume that a body is a body and not invest any time into ensuring that it is mounted perfectly.
I had a situation this year with our team where we struggled on the larger tracks. It seemed we could run top five at any place that wasn't a half-mile or bigger. But as soon as we unloaded at the larger tracks we struggled. We decided to have the body looked at before we went to Iowa Speedway because of the amazing speeds we were going to be experiencing there. We found that the body was 1 inch high and not fitting the templates perfectly. So we cut the body off and had it rehung. We went out and finished Seventh at Iowa. I attribute a lot of that to the body. Before, we had been punching such a large hole in the air and even though we run mostly short tracks it was still hindering us.
 Here we have laid out all...  Here we have laid out all the pieces of the body we'll be putting on our project car. By having a rulebook, we'll know exactly what is deemed illegal with the body and what isn't. |  Having the right tools is...  Having the right tools is essential for proper body hanging. These boxes are just filled with rivets. |  Having plenty of Vise-Grips...  Having plenty of Vise-Grips and clamps is a great way to hold the body together while you are double-checking your measurements. |
It doesn't matter if you're running dirt or asphalt, or the size of the track. Even if the fastest you're going is only 60 miles per hour, there's still speed to be found in the aero department. Stick your hand out the window next time you're traveling down the highway and put it parallel with the road and feel how little resistance there is with the air. But take your hand and tilt it straight up and feel how much harder it is to travel down the road.
Being able to use a sheetmetal...
Being able to use a sheetmetal brake is extremely important when you're hanging a body. Even though we're hanging a fiberglass body, we still used this tool a lot.
I'm not saying that all your problems lie with the way your body is mounted. But it's another place that you might be able to find a little speed this preseason. We were hanging our body on our project car recently at Leavitt Racing Components in Mooresville, NC, and I discovered eight tips when hanging a body. These tips will go a long way ensuring that your body is not only hung properly, but also that it provides you with the best opportunity to win the race.
It amazes me the amount of teams that will slap a body on the car without any consideration to any of the rules of the body. How can you know how wide the front nose can be without knowing the rules? I suggest getting a rulebook and then writing down all the important numbers in a notebook. Keep that notebook for when you're doing bodywork on the car. The numbers will include minimum roof height, front nose width, tail height, and more.
There are a few tools that are a must-have if you're going to be hanging bodies in your shop. Clecos are a great tool to have because they allow you to hold the body together without having to waste any rivets. You'll also need a ton of clamps. Clamp the body in place before you start welding any pieces to the chassis. And even though we were using a fiberglass body, the tool we used the most was our sheetmetal brake. It's a must-have for any shop.
 You want to get the most out...  You want to get the most out of your body. For our roof, we're trying to get it as low as possible. Notice how Bob Newling of NewFab is checking the roof height. He is taking a sturdy measuring stick and running a level off of the top of the roof. Once his bubble is straight, we have our roof number. |  While you're piecing the body...  While you're piecing the body together, always keep a tape measure with you and double-check all of your heights regularly. |  We used jackstands placed...  We used jackstands placed around the car to help get the required ride height. |