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

I've got a new column up at http://www.openwheeltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=187&Itemid=1

Another Great column Kevin

Sorry to hear about your father's passing Kevin. Condolences to you and the family.

I am lucky enough to work at one of the best tracks 
anywhere.

Are you "Back home again in Indiana", yet, neighbor??

man I'm only 26. always been into dirt track racing, but never got into it thick - thick meaning on forums and websites and stuff - until after 2000 - always been into it and went to SFS - but my REAL spectating started in about 2000. with my interest in other regions coming a short time later....

in other words. i know utterly nothing of anything Kevin Eckert EVER talks about........

but yet.............

I absolutely love reading this stuff. i read as much columns and blogs and stuff as i can - and yet - this is my favorite (right on par with Don Hubbard's sooner circles). i cant much explain it. i think its written damn well. very clever. colorful. sharp. pointed. loaded with info and cool lil tidbits.

i love readin this. i know nothing of most the stuff talked about - but its written so damn well its as if you were there - in another time - experiencing it. i could go on and on. but to shorten this up - great stuff man. GREAT STUFF!!!

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

Just a little perspective, since you mentioned that your interest in other regions only came in the past 10 years. Everything Kevin wrote about the Reading (Pa.) Fairgrounds was true. If possible, Kevin understated the impact and importance of the place on eastern racing. This may be hard to believe now, but guys like Bobby Allen and Kenny Weld raced Modifieds at Reading in the 1970s because the purse was far away the largest in weekly racing. As much as Williams Grove is the signature track of the East now, Reading was at least as famous, if not moreso, during its existence.

OKCFan12 - that's possibly the best post you've ever written - IMHO. Kevin is indeed an artist that colors his canvas with words delivered and driven by a deep-seated, flat-out passion for open wheel racing's past, present and future.

I first met Kevin at the second Chili Bowl - that'd be 'bout 22 years ago - when he was just some skinny kid with a big, curly blonde head of hair and an even bigger smile that sauntered up to Greg Stephens' video van early in the afternoon and eagerly asked "So who do you think will be here tonight?". We struck up a conversation and I am honored to say we have been friends since. When you watch a race sitting with Kevin he offers up no-holds-barred opinions and remarkable insight into the history and backgrounds of the drivers, cars, crews, car owners, tracks and track condition/prep - you name it. And to sit around a campfire or hotel room after races with our friends and listen to Kevin go on a Yuengling Bros. Cherry Wheat Ale (or whatever his and brother Steve's flavor-of-the-week is) fueled rant about that day's racing, past races or the current state-of-affairs of racing in general is truly priceless. I'm looking forward to next week's Chili Bowl and more stories from Kevin...

Phil Taylor

home-theater-systems-advice.com

thanks. i'm trying to cut the dumbass posts out but by bit! lmao!

me and another "hoser" Wescoe will be Chili Bowl bound next week as well. ya'll should go to the Bean Bag thing - it would be really cool to meet ya'll and many other "hosers" there.

what strikes me about those columns is how much the fella knows about every region. he can correlate any place/race/town - even a hole in the ground (literally!) with something to do with a racing past. as he lives in Indiana (or i at leats get the impression he does) - i did figure he would know much bout that area and east into OH and PA. but when he went to the USCS Speedweek - he spoke as much history of all that (tracks/towns/personal experiences) - as he does further north. and i get the sense he could do that ANYWHERE. goin a lil further on the towns thing - i've never heard of half the towns he mentions - but yet he can list damn near every celebrity, sports star, or any famous figure who came from there. its remarkable. and yeah i can tell - everything is very unabashed and colorful. just the right amount of it - nothing ever detrimental to the overall point.

there i go on and on. yep I'm a fan lol. can ya tell? as i said before - really great stuff. i look forward to reading it all through the 2009 race season too. as i will be chasin sprint cars around oklahoma and surrounding areas - i look forward to reading of all those races Kevin goes to - its so detailed its as if you're there. not to mention he is in Open Wheel Heaven. Knoxville 360 Nat's, Chili Bowl, and Short Track Nationals are my favorite races of any year ------- but man i got a really strong itch to see an Indiana Speedweek. in many of the Open Wheel Times Columns - he will list of all the choices of where he could go each week. several winged events in Ohio, PA, or half a dozen non wing shows in Indiana. lookin at results i knew there was a lot of racing up in that area. but i never seen any PR or column or anything that really listed where all you could go up there for open wheel racing every week. well maybe not every week but many. and thats yet another thing i find really really cool about the writings. and also Hoseheads in general.

How much would could a wouldchuck chuck if a 
wouldchuck could chuck would

Kevin does live in Indiana now, but he grew up in Pennsylvania as a Modified fan. That is the reason he knows the incredible details about Pennsylvania racing that he does.