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

one of my favorites for your list

Jack Dover

Bring back Santa Fe, and LaSalle .

This is a fun post to read.  I think the answer to this is what do you think is truly a "Top shelf sprint car driver"?  The only question I have with your guy's list is where is Jason Meyers?  He dethroned Schatz two years in a row in his prime and basically just walked away.

My answer to what is a "top shelf sprint car driver" is there is only two.  Schatz and Kinser.  My thinking is, what was sprint car racing before the World of Outlaws?  This was before my time but what I keep hearing is before then it was a feeder series to the Indy 500 (I really have no idea that's just the way I understand it).  Since then the World of Outlaws have been the undisputed top series in sprint car racing.

Was or is A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jan Opperman, Bobby Allen, Jack Hewit, Rick Ferkel, Babby Davis Jr., Mark Kinser, Stevie Simth, Jac Haudenschild, Danny Lasoski, Joey Saldana or Kyle Larson better than Steve Kinser or Donny Schatz?  Maybe, but in my opinion, not in sprint car racing.  Many of these guys had lots of success but not the longevity of these two.  

It reminds me of an interview I heard with Richard Petty, where they asked him about David Pearson saying if he'd run as many races as Richard Petty he would've won more.  Petty's response was something like "I can look back and say I should've won 300 races and I think I should've but we're talking about what happened and I won 200 races.  Ifs and buts mean nothing in the history books.

Sammy Swindell has won over 500 features

 but so many great drivers it makes it tuff.

i saw all of the afore mentioned drivers

drive and they where all just great drivers.

with or with out a wing. At one time before the

woo west Memphis riverside speedway was a hot 

bed of sprint car racing

I think a lot of "passing of the torch" from one generation of drivers to the other deals with age break through and making an impression at a big race.

I remember at the 1974 Nationals a guy named Sammy Swindell ran well. Made a name. Steve Kinser, Randy Smith, Shane Carson, Wolfgang  all sort of came on at the same time. They also came on at a time when chassis were starting to be factory built and race parts were beginning to be focused on sprint cars, with sponsorships. Cars being built were with more planning than good friends that liked to race putting one together out in the farm machine shed. Race fans liked watching the young guys take on the "Big Guns".

I am not going to mention names, but there are many sprint car drivers that get a lot of recognition that I can barely ever remember seeing them win. Let alone a big race. Some talk about early outlaws traveling all over and winning. I don't remember that happening too often at places like Knoxville, IMCA, USAC. People like Opperman, Leavitt, Chuck Gurney, Roger Rager won in various organizations. Going out west and taking on the CRA guys was tough. I remember the first time I saw Dean Thompson race, holy cow! For those who never got to see cars sliding into turn one at Ascot, with Eddie Wirth, Deano, Buster Vernard, Rip Williams, Walt Kennedy, Jimmy Oskie, Steve the Kid Howard, Bubby Jones, Ron Shuman, Leland McSpadden, Brad Noffsinger...missed something big time. Plus the cars looked like a million bucks. The PA guys always held their own as well. Any big race you went to Keith Kaufman was there. If you never saw Pancho Carter, Sheldon Kinser, Larry Dickson or Gary Bentenhausen in a sprint car you also missed some great racing and possible comparisons for considering .... racing greatness.

Don Maxwell, Jan Opperman, Bob Trostle, Bobby Allen are the ones that developed the four bar chassis in to what it is today. It was their trial and error and hard work in the development of sprint car chassis and design, before the WoO of course, and the factorys, that opened the door for the chassis builders to begin business in earnest. That in turn then also opened the door for the parts industry to get involved, because the volume of customers was taking shape for that design. It was pretty plain to see that the design was going to be the mainstay for sprint cars. Independant suspension designs were tried from time to time, but could not function as well or be set up as seasily as the four bar. Sammy worked with independant suspension quite effectively, but could never get it over the hump. So, as you can see, those guys that came on at a time when chassis were starting to be factory built, in reality came on before that, and it was the factory built chassis that came on thanks to them.

Sammy helped develope in board brake along with 

nance speed equipment And TILTON engineering

I was also wondering about Jason Meyers.

But considering longevity and big race wins I don't think he makes the cut.

Bring back Santa Fe, and LaSalle .

      Hard to disagree with that logic. Who else would you put up there as being better than all the rest, but just below you're superstars?

haha

Nothing gets blood pressure pumping faster than a good 'ole Greatest of All Time (GOAT) list, in any sport.

murphy.  there's a guy out of pa. his last name is andretti.

Keith Kauffman

   I pointed Andretti out in regards to the post by madsen on page 2 of this thread, when Madsen thought only two drivers belonged on the top shelf.... that being Foyt and Stewart.  Andretti actually one-ups both Foyt and Stewart.......Andretti won the F1 title, when F1 was killing or maiming on average two drivers per season.

Regardless, the initial intent of the thread was designated sprint car drivers. And while all three were good, well.......?

Aldo, or his twin brother?

     True, but you have to kind of look beyond that. It's like when you look at a list of the greatest songs of all time. A fair amount of what's on that list is stuff that's fairly current- popular now but could slip into obscurity in 10 years. Achey-Breaky Heart? No way! Layla is still on most people's list, Stayin' Alive, not so much. (I'd put a smilie emoticon with tonge hanging out here if I had half a clue how to.)