Forum: Racing From The Past (go)
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It's an old story

http://www.hutchnews.com/Todaystop/turns

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

It would be nice to see the old vintage cars out on the track, there is so much history on the old track. We had our cars over there on display at the 50th Hutchinson Nationals, there was a space of a couple hours that nothing was going on. We could have had some track time then, we had people come up all day and say if these cars were running they would come back to the races. After the races were over there were a lot of people hanging around, just to see us start the cars and drive around to load up. With this being the last race on the old track it would be perfect to see.

Warren , It is the sign of the economics of today's racing, It is a shame but that is the way it is, it is also why in OKC the 1/2 mile no longer is used, to tough on expensive motors.

I happened to pick the right weekend to visit my sister in Hutch this summer and got to see the Nationals for the first time since 1979.

Personally, I don't think going from a half to 3/8 would make a lot of difference entertainment wise. It seems like most tracks you see on TV are 3/8, and the track in Houston WAS a 3/8 and the idiots went and made it a 1/4 because "it was more like the other tracks their drivers drove on in the area."

I'm getting off topic, sorry...

The surface of the fairgrounds track has been crap ever since I could remember, and it seemed worse now than ever. After 5 laps of racing it was black, I mean BLACK and stayed that way all evening. By the time the sprints and modifieds came out, it wasn't a competetive surface at all. It was follow the leader from the start. I even mentioned to a guy I was sitting by that Noah's flood could come and in an hour the track would be dry and slick again. Digging it up and putting down a new surface really wouldn't be such a bad idea even though, and maybe because it would be 3/8.

Make the race important again. Stop having every kind of jalopy known to man in the show. But on the other hand, there aren't 100 sprint cars or modifieds or whatever they decided to showcase like it was when there were modifieds, then super modifieds 30 years ago that would show up.

So I wonder...if the track was a little shorter, who would really care, because maybe 40 sprint cars might show up, or a hundred modifieds would show up, because as it was mentioned earlier, it would be less hard on the equipment. And decide to really showcase one or two classes of cars, not every kind of dirt car known to man. The pay is better if there's only one or two classes of cars, so more cars show up, and it's better for that reason too. The chili bowl has one class of cars and is successful, the Knoxville Nationals has one class of cars and is successful, as well as the Belleville Nationals. So if it can be done other places, it can be done in Hutchinson.

Super modifieds won't come back. I'm sorry for those of us who loved them so much, but it's the truth.

Sorry, I've rambled a bit.

mike

Even back when what we say are the glory days the super modifieds. You had to get there early to see the good racing, THE HOT LAPS!

Or how about the photo on this page contributed by David Johnson from 1968 I think

http://www.racingfromthepast.com/kansassuperslap18index40.html

Noah's Ark is setting just behind the wall on this day.

Bank it be it a 3/8 or 4/10.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Yeah, some banking would be nice. And how do you explain to your wife that we HAVE to get there early and see the hot laps. Sometimes the hot laps are better than the racing. When I was growing up in Tulsa the hot laps were always awesome!

Off topic-Warren, my mom has decided to sell her house in Great Bend and move back to Texas. I guess the winter y'all had this year finally did her in. She's thinking of settling in Seguin (right east of San Antonio), where one of my sons lives, and my other son and I live only about a half hour away. She wants to watch her grandbabies (my grandsons) grow up some. She's only 76, in great shape and will have a long happy time in Texas. But remember a while back I started the thread about how much I miss Kansas? I don't know if I will any more if my mom moves down here.

mike

I have not attended Hutch since 1988, Curious on how many classes do they run now, I have seen where they run on Friday and Saturday nights now , do they still run Sunday afternoon?

If memory serves me well, which it doesn't, there were at least two classes of stock cars, one of which finished Friday night after everyone's heat races. Saturday there were stock cars, two classes of modifieds, and 360 sprints. Nothing on Sunday. It was typically hot that weekend, so it was good that there wasn't any Sunday racing.

Slightly off topic...A couple of years ago a friend of mine wanted to drive to Waco to Heart of Texas Speedway to see the ASCS sprints, as he'd never seen them before. They must have had five classes of stock cars, most of them indistinguishable from each other,plus two classes of modifieds, so the track was doo doo when the ASCS guys came out for their feature. Once class had a passenger riding along.

But what made the whole thing cool is that it was Gordon Wooley night! I didn't realize that he was from Waco! So they had him in the passenger seat of one of the two seater stock cars for that feature. I suppose he could have whipped most of the guys there that night, even at his age. He still looks good.

My wife works with a woman who's dad owned midgets in the KC area for years. I think his name was Verle Wells. Gordon frequently drove their midget, and when she passes through Waco she gives him a call. She was over one night telling me who had driven her dad's midgets, and it was quite an impressive list, including Wooley, of course, Harvey Shane, and Cotton Farmer.

Off topic I know, but I hope interesting to you guys.

mike

Thanks to you, I got to see what it was like to watch a top flight 100" show there from the infield.

The acoustics of the walls made it sound as if jets were flying toward you and then the sound would turn to the rumble of v-8 engines as the field stormed through.

That was a few Sundays ago ,LOL , Some good stuff at Hutch back then it was where a good sunburn just went along with a good day of racing when it was an event and not just another race and yep those acoustics were great.

Ya know something else that made that race for me , it was the NCRA logo with Hutchinson, Ks. Button they use to give away , got one for every year from the late 70's up to 89 I believe, C Ray just had a box of em and you could get one , pretty neat deal , not much but a small pin on Button, but it just was the fact that ya got one and was able to wear it and take it home to say you were at the Hutch Nationals, The nearest thing to that today is the Chili Bowl Pin and it costs about $7 and it is not near as big, Yep a Sunday day race with a good ol sunburn and a NCRA logo Button and some great racing , that was some good stuff.

The Hutch track IS too large. Even way back during the supermodifieds days it took forever for the cars to get around it. On the large tracks the cars spread out very quickly and everyone just gets lined out and they begin to follow each other. Very little passing. The idea of a 3/8th Banked track would make for a far more exciting race! I too would like to get back to no more than three classes of cars per show. We just don't need five or six classes until the program goes on until one in the morning! Promoters need to get the people in for a good couple-three hours of racing and then GET THEM HOME! As a sprint car fan it is very frustrating to watch usually three sprint heat races go by ever so quickly, and then have to sit there for hours watching bombers and Taxi Cabs wreck and Tow! Yellow flags galore for hours! And then after all is said and done, somewhere around midnight, they FINALLY bring out the sprint cars for the A-Main! By that time it has been Sooooo long I can't remember three or four hours before just who won the heat races. If promoters continue to keep the race fans up all night, they will continue to lose them. Late models and modifieds. 360 sprints and 305 sprints is all you could ever need. Late models and 360 sprints can provide the need for speed that the fans love, and the modifieds and 305 sprints can add the support classes and also provide a way for new drivers to get in at a more affordable cost. Remember when Dodge ran the late models and the supermodifieds every Saturday night? Let's get back to some of the old formula's that worked so well .

Jetstardude-Russel

AMEN! Dodge had the best format, the best of both worlds. The Late Models and the Supers on one program.

There have been races I have just gave up on at midnight. Namely Salina Speedway when they were open.

And what has happened to some of the tracks? Used to be AFTER the races some tracks were so tacky it would suck your shoes off walking across the track. Now it seems some tracks it gets so dusty you can't even see the race or enjoy it in comfort.

Warren Vincent
Cans 4 Kansas Heroes

Jetsterdude:

That's exactly what I was talking about when I went to Waco. Way too many cars in way too many classes. So how and why did it get like this? Is it to get more people involved in racing by continually lowering the quality of cars necessary to get into the business? At least when the ASCS comes to Houston they have only one or two support classes, usually good ones, too. I don't like sitting there all night either. I like the way the WoO does it. When they decide it's time for them to race, the support classes stop and they race. If it looks like it might rain, they might run off their races in less than an hour. I remember several nights in Houston when they were done and we were in the pits meeting and greeting drivers, and the support classes were still racing.

When I was a kid in Tulsa, there were "rookies" (6 cyl.) and modifieds. Races started PROMPTLY at 7:30, and we were generally walking out of the place between 9:30 and 10:00. This after 8 or 9 heats, two trophy dashes, maybe a consy or two, two B features and two A features. It wasn't a matter of the quantity of classes of cars there, it was a matter of the quality of the races those cars put on.

Someone tell me how it got how it is now with the number of classes of cars. I still think that's what ruined the track for the nationals.

mike

This is my 2 cents on the question why so many classes, Promoters try to make most of there $$$ on the back gate anymore, is it right , probably not, but it is fact that they do, was at a track Sat. night here in Okla. and ran 6 classes but were over with at 10:15 , the track I was at , only had 15 cars in each class and that helped him get over early, now if you have 25 in each class then your probably lookin at a late night, I know back in the 80's Lanny Edwards tried the 6 to 7 class a night racing and found out it did not work , lost the fans because of the races lasting till 1 am , then figured it out in the 90's run around 3 to 4 classes get the people out of here by 11pm at the latest and it has been pretty successful at OKC the last 4 yrs. Your car count grows with the classes you have and you can get 3,000 people every friday night .

I never really had a problem with Hutch being a 1/2 mile back then, guess cause I only got to see it once a year , but I can relate to what your saying jetstardude, The 1/2 mile at OKC was fast and high speed but seperated the haves and have nots in the $$$ dept. and made for spread out no passing racing , the 3/8th at OKC now is fast and passing happens about every race and makes for much better racing than the 1/2 mile , heck the only thing the 1/2 mile produces was some vicious wrecks in my opinion, the 3/8th's we have now has much better racing.

Forgive me, my super modified friends...I went to an IHRA drag race in San Antonio tonight. Please don't kick me off....

m

Let me guess....you scalped those tickets you had for the Final Four, went to the races, and put the rest in the bank. A true die hard race fan.

GO HAWKS!!!