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

I see Hornets will be racing at Bristol on the dirt. Can someone tell me what a "hornet" is. Never been to a track that has them (a hope I never am). Strictly a Sprint car guy. Knoxville weekly. Usually avoid thacks that advertise a bunch of junk, back gate padder classes.

Then you don't want to be at bristol this week. I think there 4 cylinders. The announcers keep saying there's over 12 or 1300 cars. 75% of them are junk. Pretty sure they said the joint is sold out also. I just can't imagine sitting through all that crap.

They're like souped up Dodge Neons for the most part, at least the ones i've seen. Just be glad you've never seen one race.

There like a wasps,  but I think they nest in the ground!

It sounds like a recipe for a fatality to me if they are running on the same track as the sprints and late models.  If so, they should have full cages and containment seats and drivers using Hans.  

They have roll cages and all of the safety stuff but I see them up where I live and they are front wheel drive and tip over easy.  When I used to take photos I got a sequence of one barrel rolling.  They are known to tip over on their own so there will be some Hornet wrecks at  Bristol. 

Stan Meissner

Sounds like the old Corvairs, unsafe at any speed. I imagine Bristol will make everything as safe as possible for all divisions that race there. We all need to remember that racing can be dangerous boys and girls.

     In our area they are simply called front wheel drives. The hornet name probably comes from the sound over over-revving the little 4-cylender motors. I'd guess top speed to be about 65 mph. Blown engines will probably be the order of the day.

Why do people sit around on their computer just looking for something to bitch about?

99 percent of these bitching threads could be answered by a simple internet search.......

Different classes are for different budgets. On Pavement the "hornets" were 7 wide for the Short Track Nationals at Bristol.

I tell it like I see it.

Murphy they said last night those hornets were getting around bristol at 99 mph

OK. They must be *Outlaw* hornets if they're only a little slower than a sprint car!  

Up in Minnesota where I live most tracks run six or seven classes for their weekly shows.  If someone doesn't like the other classes they would have to avoid attending all but the biggest special events.  It's impossible to watch weekly Sprint Car shows up here without sitting through several hours of Stock Cars and Modifieds just to see ten minutes of Sprint Car racing.

We have the choice of sitting through all those classes, watching PPV Sprint shows like the All Stars or driving 300 miles to Knoxville.  I sat or I should probably say stood and photographed all those classes for seventeen years. Sometimes people who live in places where they have Sprints only shows rip me for staying home and watching PPV instead of "supporting my local track" but the older I get the more I avoid those shows unless family is going to be there.  I am not interested in watching six or seven classes and seeing Sprint Features last but I still do from time to time as I know people involved in the local scene.  Of course 300 mile trips and motel rooms aren't a weekly thing and at some point I decided why put in ten or twelve hours of windshield time to watch something that will be on PPV when I can work in the yard all day, grille and tune into PPV at race time without any travel expenses. 

Stan Meissner

I have my doubts.  Hornets have small tires and low HP on dirt.  My wild guess would be 70 mph.  I think the 99 mph was just a wild guess,  or poor math.  

The hornets in our area are compact front wheel drive. They are for some there very first race car and several have young drivers.A top hornet car would be around $1500.Much better suited to 1/4 mile or less.They pay same pit pass and purse is low and some have more pit crewthan than the top class.One of the top promoters told me his lowest paying class is usually a good money maker due to pit passes or back gate reciepts. They are also good track packers.

Entry classes are local with most living in close proximity to their weekly tracks.  They bring in a lot of relatives and friends as opposed to some of the other classes where teams tend to travel further.  
 

Confession, my son and his Buddy built a Hornet for an annual enduro race that pays $10k to win.  That's right, your eyes aren't fooling you, an Enduro pays more than any 360 show around here.  My granddaughter even decided that she wants a shot at the $10k and wants to drive this year.  

The guy who owns the Enduro car has acreage out in the country and carved out a dirt track behind the barn.  Every fall they have a barn paty, hold a race and my son in laws hard rock band (these guys are good, have opened for nationally know acts like Buckcherry and Brett Michaels of Poison fame) plays the barn.  Matter of fact I stopped taking racing photos in 2016 but have taken pics at the barn party since hanging it up.  I'm not a Hornet fan but I guess one could say that I dabble in them a little bit.

Stan Meissner

As a kid i watched jalopies turn a half mile dirt track at 33 seconds and run 3-5 wide in heats and A main.

The slower the cars the easier it is for them to run close together.

Was not bitching. I watch sprint cars. Knoxville runs 3 classes of spints. As a retired person & an old guy i want to spend my entertainment budget on things i like. I like sprint cars. I seldom go to other shows. 4cly class around here are called sport compacts, don't know of any track near me that advertises "hornet" races. If you don't like these kind of threads why read them? I don't like watching race cars that "race" slower than i drive on the hyway. Sorry if you are offended by that!

Theres a few snobs on here that scoff at anything that's not sprint cars. And to each their own. I personally enjoy pretty much everything that hits the track, including gasp modifieds, and yes hornets/FWD. I've seen some very entertaining hornet races, those guys aren't afraid to beat and bang and they'll "send it". I'm one of the people that stays to the end of every show I go to, in fact I couldn't tell you the last time I left before the last race was over, probably been at least 5 years.

So, I also generally dislike most front wheel drive classes.   However, I respect the drivers for racing what they can afford.   Many years ago, I drove an entry level stock car and I know how proud I was of my car.     

My concern is that many of the front wheel drive cars have home made roll cages, and are generally a rolling safety issue.   I do not think that most of these cars should be running a fast half mile track.    

Finally, some of the front wheel drive cars have it figured out.   They have professional cages installed in their car.  They have gone through their engines to make them race ready.   It would not surprise me if the race winner was approaching 90 mph or higher at the end of the straingt away.   

If Vore's is involved tech is on point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Fhk0v5t1w&t=130s

I tell it like I see it.

Hornets are pretty much crap, IMHO, but at one race I  went to, they were the most entertaining class (for about 1/4 of a lap!)

Calhan, Colorado, bone dry & rubber down, no passing. I might have been there for ASCS, with Sammy making an appearance. He ran away & hid, no competition for an old pro like him.

But in the Hornet race, this girl won on a last turn, door banging pass for her first win ever. She was ecstatic....

So I guess its good for the locals to have fun!