Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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Everyone remembers the feature race but after watching Jac win his heat at Kings Royal with everyone on their feet cheering each lap, I got to thinking that's a race I'll remember for a long time. Does anyone else have a preliminary race like that that just stands out?  

Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser ended up in the same heat race on their prelim night at the Nationals in 2015. Sammy had qualified well so he started 6th and Kinser started on the pole. Sammy ended up passing Steve during the heat race to take the lead. I looked for a picture of that pass online forever, but never found one, which is a great shame because I figured it would be the final time that the two of them raced in the same heat at the Nationals and it was.

Ask Frank

Wolfgangs heat at Knoxville where got collected in someone elses wreck.  That and issues the next night set up his alphabet run on Saturday

Easy #1 for me.........................David Gravel's ridiculous first lap in his heat on prelim night at the Nationals.........2017?   It was the 2nd leg of the 500 pt. night.  

#2 in my mind was the battle between Dude and nephew Browny in the B-main at the Nats followed by the family shoving match in the pits.  It was for the transfer spot.  Dude got it.  Browny fell short by one spot

I saw Gravel testing the fluff during the parade laps and thought he might bomb it in there going into 1. That he did.... Very memorable for sure.

Robert Bell setting "Quick Time" on his Knoxville Nationals qualifying night....tho he was the first one out.

Donny Schatz at the Knoxville Nat's toying with the "B" main field in 2013 on Saturday night. He won the "B" and the "A" featch that night.

Wolfgang's last Nationals,  qualifying nite was awesome !!! Especially the way he ran at the Spring Outlaw Show.

Joey going from 6th to 1st as he exited turn 2 on the first lap of his heat in the '02 King's Royal. He went on to do more memorable things in the feature, but that was pretty damn cool. 

Would have been 1999 or possibly 2000, back when they did "fully inverted" heat races.   Sammy was in the Channel Lock car and lined up 10th in his heat race at the Nationals.

Put it above the cushion going into turn 1 and had second place exiting turn 2 on the first lap.   Took the lead in 3 & 4 and led all 10 laps of his heat race.

I've never been a Sammy fan but in his prime that guy could wheel a sprint car as good as anyone ever has.

It was a feature race, but one of my favorite memories was watching Tim Kaeding at Handford in 2003 lapping great drivers at an Outlaw race in his local 7 teal ready-mix car! The Outlaw drivers were pretty embarrased that night that a local guy really beat them good! Tim Kaeding has gone on to win many more Outlaw races and he always races all out! 

Another great memory I have recently was about 2 years ago when one of our favorite local drivers, Shane Golobic, won the World of Outlaws race at Placerville! He was able to pass one of our fellow CA drivers, Carson Macedo, on the last lap. He was soo darn excited and I wanted to be the first one at his pits to congraulate him since I had been watching him since he started racing and also watched his dad race back in the 80's at Baylands Raceway in Fremont, CA. Ironically, everyone was standing near Kyle Larson's pits waiting to get an autograph which was right next to Golobic's pit. Little did they knew Kyle had to leave right after the race to get to a Nascar event. I told those people to turn around and congratulate our local driver who just beat the Outlaws! I have a good feeling Shane will go onto race across the country and join the All Starts and World of Outlaws one day.

Looking forward to the new Golden State King of the 
West series schedule! 

Winged sprintcars = the fastest and most exciting 
racecars on dirt! 

1988 Kings Royal heat race where 17 year old Jeff Gordon held off Doug Wolfgang & Steve Kinser for the win. The race itself wasn't as memorable but when Jeff exited the car he jumped up the trailer ramp door in excitement. That always stuck with me. A few years later during an interview he admitted it was that very heat race win that convinced him he could race for a living. 

Does the old "Race of States" on Friday's of the Nationals count as a feature?   

If so,  the 1986 battler between Wolfgang and Dumesny is one I still remenber.   

If not,  the Saturday B main from 1990,   Wolfgang goes from last row to  win the B main without a caution might have been the best crowd reaction for non Main event in all of racing.   

Mine wasn't even really a race. I remember Billy Boat turning a 17 second lap during qualifying at Ascot on the final night of sprint car racing at the track. I never thought that anyone would go that fast in a traditional sprint car at that track. It was a real memorable and exciting event.

1980something.  Watching Steve Kinsers hauler pull into the pits during heat races at Millstream after he had won the A main at Eldora just 3 hours or so earlier. Sammy and a few other outlaws made it to Findlay in time to run heats, but Steve didn't.  He missed qual and heats, tagged the C and won it, tagged the B and won it.  The cheers and buzz was amazing from the time his rig pulled in until the A main.  Since this isn't about A main races, I'll leave that to another day/thread, but it too was amazing. 

Saw a B-Main in 2015 at Lernerville during the Silver Cup with a 3 way battle between Cole Duncan, Joey Saldana, and Jason Sides going 3 wide multiple times, and exchanging the lead. Think Duncan won with Saldana ending up second. 

Wow, that long ago? I was there, incredible (Schatz, not Bell )

That was my last Nationals visit... time flies!

Well it was heats AND feature, but the first time Friday at Knoxville Nats became one big "Last Chance Showdown"... great racing all nite!

Sarah Fisher beats Slammin Sammy in a WoO heat at Tri City. IIRC she was in a light blue car sponsored by Mead. 

US Dirt Nats heat at I55. I forget the particulars but there were 6 cars under a blanket for the entire race. 

Within hearing distance of Tri City Speedway

Agree.  It changed Friday night from a "meh" event to a must see event.  I love Hard Knox night at the Nats!  Didn't Danny Lasoski waive his B main guaranteed spot that year and endup in the C or D for Saturday night?   I believe that was the last time anyone waived the automatic top 10 start in the B.  ???

I think you're right

Nobody took the "Front Row Challenge" either for the last few years so Oskaloosa dropped that idea...."bird in the hand"....