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

Do you like the Kings Royal format?  I dont.  Just seems off when you can be bad at qualyfing on a hard to pass track, start up front of a heat, lead a few laps and grab a great starting spot in the A main.   I'm not sure what they should do, if anything, I guess.  Just seeing if anyone else is annoyed by the format too.  I'm sure this has come up in previous years.  

I like it....it's unique, and mixes things up. It's better than set quick time, win your heat from the pole, win the dash from the pole, win the A-Main from the pole format that a lot of WoO shows end up being these days! 

When in doubt, gas it!!

+1

I love it.It's the way Earl started it 84 for the first Royal.And was doing it for the big late model shows before that.

The wheel of misfortune makes it a great format. That way you can't alway sandbag time trials the way you used to. 

I should note. I like it for a nice little weekly show. But for big money, it sort of sucks IMO because it is rewarding the wrong people. Why even have time trials if it is just going to hose you later? I mean, I love Jac, but timing 23rd, starting pole of his heat and winning and then getting outside row 1 for the A.  Meh. No thanks. Backing up to only 14th from there was prob his best accomplishment of the night, no? Simply put, for that much money I dont see need to have guys timing middle of the pack starting in the front row of a heat and gettinga front row of the A main spot for it.  Get rid of something:  either the timing or the inverts/wheel of disaster. 

Brad Sweet had no problem winning his heat from 5th. Plus with the wheel it's all change, they could've spun a 0 and started straight up

I hope this topic is close enough for this thread. Is the Joker's Wild and Knight before point races for the WoO because they follow the WoO format and the Actual KR  just show up points because it isnt a WOO format, or are all 4 point races?

 I Find it funny that with all this royal pomp the only one who can show up on schedule is the Joker.

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

It looks like the Jokers Wild and Knight Before are points races.  Points updated after Attica (event 42) and Jokers Wild (event 43), and didn't with the two Kings Royals.  I don't think Kings Royal is show up points but don't quote me on that. 

I like it also.  Sat. you saw one of the best races you will ever see.  Every track can not do things just like the other tracks.  It gets boring.  Knoxville has made alot of changes to friday night nationals race.  I know the purist( a rare breed today) want nothing to change.  The WOO show to me is a bore with same thing night after night.  Why not draw a 0, 1 or 2 invert for feature  to be  drawn just before feature.  Then what do you do with dash?

As a fan I have no skin in the game. I just want an entertaining race with passing and this format provides that. As for Haud timing 23rd, winning a heat and starting on the front row? Great! It was a great story line. He's a legend and huge fan favorite at that track, and this is his last race there. Who wouldn't be happy seeing him win a heat? I'm not even a Haud fan but I think that was awesome. The Royal is 40 laps and Eldora is the kind of track where you can pass a lot of cars in 40 laps if you are hooked up.   

A

I've always loved the show, so that part of it has never been an issue for me.  It almost always produces excitement at feature time.  However, from a drivers perspective, it's not a fair format.  Top 6 in time trials have a big mountain to climb on a one-groove track.  For that reason, I've never been a fan of inverts for shows that start and end on the same night-------unless points are awarded and finishing positions in heats are disregarded and drivers don't "lock in" with a top 2 finish..  I think the format for the Knoxville Nationals is perfect----but that is a multi-day show.  The WoO have the best format for rewarding the cars that unload fast and perform all night.  (speaking of course of a normal 1-night show and not a special event)

Want to hear the irony in the complaining about the WoO format?  I've seen numerous folks on this forum complain about politics and voice their absolute hatred for socialism.  Yet, the Outlaw format is unfair because it doesn't give the slower guys a shot!  That is irony at its best!  I'm not for socialism, and also think the guys that unload fast, time fast, and race fast, should start up front and let everyone else catch up!

That said, I love the King's Royal and always will-----no matter the format they choose.  

No format is perfectly fair. There will be somebody who does not like it regardless of what you do. Drivers & owners know what the format is before they leave home, if they do not like it they need not go. Until I hear a majority of drivers & owners complain about the Kings Royal format I am fine with it 

Inverts have nothing whatsoever to do with "socialism". Its an attempt to make an entertainment product more entertaining, to draw more fans & make more $$.....

Definately always been a great show and produced a good feature especially in recent years. With the track reshaped/reconfigured I don't think drivers who qualify well are not in quite as a disadvantage as they once were when it was a put it on the wall and let it ride style track, but it still is in a way unfair for a 1 day type show.  But, since it is just a 1 time type event and one of the crown jewels of the sport I am fine with it since it since that adds to the appeal of the event in that it is different. No points are on the line, the format is the format, and it has been unchanged for the most part for years.

Championship wise I agree with the Outlaw format and I think the racing the past few years speaks for itself. I want the champion to be the champion with no excuses. Past number of years you have seen guys be able to come from the back to the front, drivers win from outside the top 10, and typcially there is always a good battle for the lead with cars engaged with trying to make a pass. I think the thought of having the good cars race each other from the beginning and racing to get to lap traffic is better than having the lap traffic mixed in with them from the beginning.

The Nationals format is the best there is because it incentivizes you to put yourself in a tough spot. Good drivers in tough spots is always entertaining. That's why the people (usually Posse supporters) who want to tweak  the format are completely wrong. 

The old Eldora format (which automatically inverted the top 36) did not incentivize you for being fast in qualifying, so you had guys sandbagging their time trial to get a higher starting spot in their heat. Now with the wheel of misfortune concept, you might roll a 0 or 2 which rewards the fast guys. Or you might roll a 4 or 6 which rewards the slower teams or those who went out late. Either way, you can't game the system. So it's a huge improvement. 

As for the Outlaw format, the racing is better now than it ever has been, so it's not only the fairest system, but also hasn't hurt (and maybe helped) the racing. 

Maybe the guy writing the cheque ( that's how we spell it up here) wanted to see it go to a team that wasnt always winning elsewhere. Putting some money into the 2nd tier races in Hope's that cash would up their game.

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

I agree 100%.  

Agree, especially with your statement about wanting "the champion to be the champion with no excuses."  Well put.  I also don't have an issue with the King's Royal format at all because it is a unique event.  If I were a driver that timed fast and got put in an early heat after being inverted, and the track was lock-down fast and heavy, I'm not so sure I would be a fan.     But, they all know the rules, they all make the trip, and they all covet the win!

Let me correct myself------I know how the invert idea came about, and you are correct.  I was speaking to some specific comments I read from some about how it didn't give the little guys a chance if there were no inverts.  I should have clarified that. 

Even though they have a time and place (Knoxville Nationals---because timing fast is still rewarded) the invert's time has come and gone when it comes to regular shows.  From a driver's perspective, a format that penalizes you for timing fast, is a bad format----unless you're slow.  It seems to work 90% of the time at Eldora.  Presently, the track configuration is perfect for multi-groove racing all night, so faster cars can put on a great show by beating the inverts or coming through the field in a 40-lap feature.  In the old days of Eldora, even with the one-groove conveyor belt track, guys that had cars like Jac, Sammy, Steve, and Wolf, could hammer cars that were inferior to theirs and could give you the illusion that there was multiple lane racing.  There wasn't.  They were just passing----in the words of Brad Doty--------the equivalent to today's 305's.  The World of Outlaws were smart enough to see the old invert system they were using was not going to work any longer.  I'm glad they did what they did.  And I'm glad this invert system at the King's Royal still works and produces great racing 90% of the time.