You might have heard the saying, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” This was relevant across the auto racing series and leagues across the country, particularly NASCAR. Back in the day, the teams had the wiggle room of designing and building their own parts. And this is where the Indigenous ideas, which almost bend the rules, were implemented by the team to make their cars go faster.

However, this privilege is lost now with the arrival of the Next Gen race car that promotes parity racing. Well, the same cannot be said for Indoor Auto Racing events, as Matt Roselli rolled out a bizarre chassis design on his race car at the PPL Center. The race cars used in the Indoor Racing are similar to the ones used at events like the Tulsa Shootout and Chili Bowl. His creation now has fans questioning the legality of it all.

The TQ Midgets used in Indoor Racing have 750 cc motorcycle engines and have a roll cage similar to that of midgets competing on the dirt. But Roselli opted to work his magic on his ride before heading into the first event of the year at PPL Centre. Usually, the pilot area is designed to be in the center of the racing machine. But Roselli opted for something different.

“✨ New year, new racecar ✨Matt Roselli is sporting a custom-made car this weekend#IndoorAutoRacing.” This was the caption of the post he shared on Instagram along with his new design. The pilot area was shifted to the left-hand side of the race car, while the power unit was in the center. Not only that, but Roselli also made significant changes to the chassis and the body design that further highlighted the changes.

Well, this creation by Matt Roselli quickly became the major attraction at the racing venue. However, the fans online were left questioning if these changes were race-legal.

Fans react to the newest invention by an Indoor Auto Racing driver

Usually, the racing series and sanctioning bodies are pretty firm on the ground rules they set about the design of the race cars. But the important thing to note is that these cars are specifically made just for racing, and it seems like Roselli was allowed to run with his new creation. However, witnessing the unique yet bizarre setup on a TQ midget car took this race fan by surprise. Reacting to the race car, the fan wrote, “Is this legal?”

Could we possibly see midget cars opting for this designed model in series like High Limit or the Outlaws? Well, given that the car was allowed to run in an indoor setup, it just might work out on a dirt track or other racing series. Although a lot of fans were skeptical about its race-legal status, this fan predicted a big change for midget racing with the new design. “Supposedly if it passes indoors it’ll be legal for outdoors as well.”

The amount of skill and resources that go into building a midget car is indeed a huge undertaking. Drivers and teams do not have a lot to work with; there’s a power unit that is restricted, and the rest is the roll cage. So it’s natural to get that slightest advantage on the track; they have to be creative with their racing set-up. This is exactly what Roselli attempted, and a section of fans appreciated this effort. “Gotta love anyone who tries to build a better mousetrap.”

This was indeed a new sight for a lot of young race fans, but what if we told you a former NASCAR and IndyCar driver inspired this unique design? Smokey Yunick was known for his inventions and often promoted driver’s safety. He was perhaps one of the first drivers to install a side seat on his race car. He rolled out this new car during the 1964 Indy 500, and since then, many drivers have been inspired by this design. “Baby super modified 😳”

Meanwhile, this race fan was simply dumbstruck to see that an Indoor Auto Racing car could be customized the way Roselli did. “Wild. I love it.😍” It is indeed hard to see such inventions or custom designs make their way into NASCAR. At least not until there is this idea of parity racing and the sanctioning body controlling how the teams set up their race cars.