This Ultra Heat is Right on Track…

First Impressions
Man is the roll impressive. Very controllable but excellent drive. The Track Ultra Heat looks like a no-brainer benchmark ball.

Our Tester:

Justin Kleinspehn (Righty)
Style: High Rev
RPM: 475 rpm
PAP: 5 & 1 1/4 up
Average Speed: 19.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 40 x 5 x 30
Intent: Quick roll with a quick transition at the breakpoint

Thanks to Greg Bickta and Perfect Aim Pro Shop for drilling our equipment.
Thanks to Limerick Bowl in Limerick, PA.

Buy the Track Ultra Heat at PerfactAimBowling.com.

“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”

Test Pattern:
THS: 40ft, 23ml

Value
A
The value proposition is simple. The Track Ultra Heat is a middle of the road smooth, controllable but punchy hybrid. It’s very versatile and covers many conditions plus or minus medium. It has a classic core shape that was successful 20 years ago and still today.

Specs
The Track Ultra Heat uses the Modified Tri-Core wrapped in the DR-6 Hybrid coverstock.
15 pound = RG of 2.50, diff of .038
14 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .045
Coverstock finish: 500/1000 abralon plus powerhouse factory polish

Overall
THS: A
You can probably tell already how impressed we were with the Track Ultra Heat. Track goes for a hit by combining 2 successful elements, the DR-6 Hybrid cover and the Tri-Core. I’ve always found a few core shapes to work tremendously well with lots of versatility, not only in ball roll but in the type of bowlers that find success with it. The light bulb shape like from Columbia’s Messenger line and Storm’s Turbine core. The round shape with the flip puck like Ebonite’s V2 core and Storm’s Fe3 core from the Hyroad. Then there’s the somewhat egg-shaped core like Columbia’s Resurgence and Capsule cores and Track’s Tri-Core. Suffice it to say these core shapes have proven themselves over and over. The DR-6 Hybrid wrapped the Emerald Kinetic and the HX-10 before that. You’re never sure what a combination will look like until it hits the lanes but this one works very well.
The cover has grit underneath that Powerhouse factory polish so it does have some teeth. The core just has that sweet recognizable roll. You can see the ball revving up in the midlane while the cover carries it downlane. I’ve used this terminology before but the core and cover have this beautiful push/pull dance as the core finally dominates and drives towards the pins. Honestly, it’s a thing of beauty. I’m not much a fan of skid/flip where the transition is extremely quick because you sometimes aren’t sure where it will break but when it breaks loose, you know it’s gone. With the Ultra Heat, you know you’re going to get backend motion but it’s so easy to read where and when it’s going to happen.
Because of it’s smooth but still punchy nature, the ball can be effectively played from in and out. Once you get too deep, it doesn’t completely punish you by crapping out. It just hits a little softer likely leaving a corner. You also get forgiveness equally with misses in and out. Misses on sport shots will be exacerbated in one direction or another depending on the length and shape but at least you know what the ball is capable of.

Final Thoughts
The bottom line with the Track Ultra Heat is that it has a sweet, versatile roll. The simple but successful core shape is a great one to have in the bag and with this hybrid cover, it will offer a ball that can be used on many medium conditions, both house and sport. We didn’t get a chance to test on sport but we’ve seen this core before so no doubt the shape will make sense. The out of box cover may come in to play as the lanes breakdown but with some surface, this ball could be a go to even on fresh medium conditions.