Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Minthess as well. 

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Revjim & Fixxer "Don't go into the light". J/K

With the Silver Crown always going last I think they have no choice but to run the wall.

I really think that the track would have been fine just being run in because you could see the moisture in it when it was turned.

Now I forgot what he said....

I know nothing about the mysterious art/science of track prep.....

I had to laugh when they tried to get the wave going and everyone booed. I felt bad for the kids as well , they had to be up at 8am to race Sunday.

We will be back if they go back to the old format but I don't know about the friends we brought with. Fortunately we made the 6 hour drive Friday and caught the outlaw show.

Bring back Santa Fe, and LaSalle .

140 cars ? Hell I woulda stayed until 2:50 am Monday morning. But maybe that's just me. 140 cars is almost some tracks whole season and you all got it in one night. I like it. Also for the cost of 1 ticket.

We need more sprint car racing at our home track.

If you were a driver doing Silver Crown only, you spent the whole time at the track for about 18 min. worth of work for the entire night.

And probably caught a pretty good nap in the hauler (heck, could have went back to hotel) in between time trials and the A main.  

That's another issue now that it was brought up.....driver safety. Good ahead and laugh if you want, but how safe is it for a driver to strap in and battle Eldora for fifty laps in a silver crown car at 2:30am?

It's all good. Even a dead clock is correct twice a day so I'll give him credit where it's due. I was at Eldora and I agree with you. Once they cracked the crust of the surface, it appeared as though there was a lot of moisture underneath. I think it would've been good if they'd just turned it over and run it back in. I will never complain when a track goes the extra mile to provide a good surface because we don't see much of it anymore. 

Woudln't  "THE WORLDS GREATEST DIRT TRACK"  Have the worlds Greatest Prep team?  Seems double the tractors and packers would have halved that two hour prep.

And the Worlds Greatest Dirt Track should have had the worlds greatest planning for it.  Not hotlaps at 430 start at 5 and advetised race time of 8 start at 1010.   ALL that hotlap and qual stuff should have started at noon to 1 and the race start time should have been 7 at latest.

Not badmouthing everything about it.  but IMHO it was a futile attempt to USE USAC to showcase his All Stars and quite honestly a ton left before the racing even started and by All Star Feature half our section had left.  I stayed until the *********FUEL STOP************  155am got home at 415.

Don't forget about the "world famous Eldora push trucks" too Chuck. That one has always made me laugh.

Actually the use of the All Stars was the main reason I decided to go. I enjoy wingless and USAC whenever they are at Eldora or in Ohio for that matter but the last time I went to the Saturday portion of 4crown I did not enjoy it as much as I do whenever the All Stars or Outlaws are there. I'm kind of bias towards winged cars I guess when it comes to sprint car racing although I think one of the best races I have ever seen was back in 2012 when USAC was celebrating 50years at Eldora and had a 50lap feature and they did a full invert after qualifying. I think it was Ballou who elected to go to the back because they were giving and extra $100 or something like that for every spot you gained and a bonus if someone came from last to win and everyone put on a show. They also had an NRA 360 feature that was pretty damn good as well. 

I'm cutting them a little slack because I think the concept of the 4 groups of cars is great but the execution this 1 time was not. I am confident that next year they will have a better plan whether it is qualifying a day earlier or starting earlier.

I originally planned on going Saturday but with plans for Sunday early in the day I'm sure glad I changed my mind and went Friday instead. I noticed as I was leaving Friday after the races many of the USAC haulers were already there staged across the street from the pit entrance. Why not qualify for Saturday early in the day (9 or 10 in the morning) and then have all day to rework the track?

Morning Qualifying is a GREAT IDEA!

Breakfast Combos...and 4 Crown Bloody Mary Specials at the Bar...BURP!

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I like winged on the big tracks & wingless on the bullrings

I got this e-mail from Eldora, thought I'd share it:

Posted By: revjimk on September 27 2016 at 09:45:30 AM I got this e-mail from Eldora, thought I'd share it: Friends,   On behalf of Tony and everyone here at Eldora, I want to thank you for attending the Four Crown Nationals on Saturday.   As one of our most loyal guests here at Eldora (our records show your account included advance tickets and/or camping for the event), we want you to know that we, too, planned for Saturday's program - featuring a return to a true 'Four Crown' to go a lot smoother.   An unusual number of wrecks got us behind during hot laps and qualifying, and the larger than expected car count - requiring the use of the upper pit area and crossover gate - intensified the time crunch causing us to miss the 8 p.m. starting time.   And the aggressive track reconditioning effort, lasting 1h38m, definitely tested even the most patient and passionate fans - we know, because we are race fans, too.   Please find below a link to the online broadcast of Saturday night's event. We have edited out the downtime and have broken the event up so that you can watch your favorite division(s). In case you missed it on Saturday night, we have included the interview with Tony about his passion for the Four Crown.   I assure you that our team, together with our partners at USAC and the All Stars, are already making the necessary adjustments so that the 2017 Four Crown Nationals runs off in a more timely fashion.   Thank you again for your support of Eldora and dirt-track racing. We hope you will share this message and video with the friends and fans that purchased their tickets and camping on the day of the show.

Roger Slack seems to have his shit together and my guess is that major changes will occur for next year.   I still give them credit for track reconditioning,  the dustbowl that Eldora was in 2015 is no way to make new fans either. 

How about that link to the race video....is it free and if so,  can you share?  

Someone just recently mentioned it. But the idea of hot lapping and qualifying early in the day seems like a great idea! That would allow plenty of time to re-work the track. And they could also do some sort of pay-for luncheon with driver autograph sessions and visits etc. Gives everyone a chance to fill up, meet some drivers and "stretch their legs" before racing starts later that evening.

Real race cars don't have fenders...

I for one sure hope they don't overreact on the format changes for next year... I seem to be in the minority but I really enjoy the single car qualifing the night of the 4 crown. In my opinion it is apples and oranges to compare these time trials to your typical 30 car outlaw show where everyone is locked down and wide open with a huge margin for error that early in the night.

The track conditions for 4 crown qualifing are always dry slick, very difficult and right against the fence, which I believe adds a ton of excitement and is just as entertaining to watch as the racing itself...

 The reason that I'm sure my opinion must be in the minority is that I also feel the track crew went way overboard with the re-work... although it would seem that most of you do not agree. I can't help but wonder when did everyone decide that the best show at the Big E was to watch a freight train haul ass through the middle most of the night?