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

Keep It Real

EARL FREAKN WAGNER by far number 1 then Mike Brooks.

I vote for Randy Smith of Mount Ayr, Iowa. Knoxville Track Champ 79,85,87,88,91.

Knoxville Nationals A mains 12, best finish 2nd '79.

Raced in the last two Masters Classics Winning in 2008.

Part of three generations of Smith family drivers at Knoxville. Hank, Randy and Chad.

Earl Wagner ( R.I.P.) drove for Hank Smith and had his biggest win at the Western World in '73.

My top three DMJ Terry and Kurt Winker10w

i would have to agree with ford on that and hube very good point

what ever happened to Dennis Moore Jr.? wild and crazy, he's my pick..

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...

Keep It Real

When was Kurt Winker from Iowa?

For those of us who remember him, Earl Wagner (RIP) would be hard not to list 1st! Then followed by Terry McCarl, and Randy Smith.

Can't remember Earl Wagner or much of Mike Brooks except mainly for his comeback years in the orange 77. But for the guys I remember it was Randy Smith then Terry McCarl. No other Iowans I remember watching are in their stratosphere.

It would be hard not to put Mc Carl 1st, like it or not. He's got the stats. Then I'm picking The Rim Rider, Randy Smith. 3rd I'd say Earl (with much respect). He was before my era but has won some big races around the country, not just K-ville. Mike Brooks would be very close and no doubt the best Knoxville native. Just for the sake of arguement if were going to include 360 guys Dave Hesmer was flat awesome and would be in my top 10.

#1 Earl Wagner (would of loved for the WoO to be around in those days, he would have been a champion) #2 Randy Smith (Always had good equipment, but not the $'s behind him to make him a national threat..but he can STILL flat out drive..the Masters Classic ) #3 Tmac, (no explanation needed here, but he needs that BIG signature win..ie Nationals or Kings Royal) #4 Mike Brooks ( flat out raced with balls, spent too much of the earlier years in other type of cars, but when he went sprint racing he was amazing..he won a lot, and when he wrecked, he did it right!!!)........worst sprint car driver ever from Iowa was me and a tie with my buddy.......and Hawkeye Stroebel........

Keep It Real

1 Earl Wagner He was one tough customer. You was either a Helms fan or a Wagner fan back then. I was a Helms fan.

2 Randy Smith

3 I would go for T Mac but his dad Leonard would be right behind.

Telling my age I seen Knoxville progress since they started the super-modified races until now. Can remember them being down to 11 -12 cars and thinking about closing down. They asked the crowd what they wanted to do. The fans voted to raise the price of admission by 50 cents and give all the money to the drivers. (That was a lot of money back then)With the raise in purse money that started to bring in th Kansas City drivers like Woodside and the Welds.

oppermanfan:

Gotta vote right down the line with you. McCarl has won in more places than any of the others ..... the competition and car numbers is tougher now too. This is a different age I know that .... but winning all over the country even if you have a cargo plane transporter is ....'winning all over the country' On to Daniel 'Bombshell' I mildly disagree ....he was a VERY popular driver when he raced .... with parts and chasis' vendors !!!

R.A.

S.H.S.

In the history of sprint car racing? First of all, the obvious number one and two are Gus Schrader of Cedar Rapids (born in Newhall, Iowa) and Emory Collins of Lemar (born in Sibley, Iowa). Collins and Schrader dominated IMCA. You can flip a coin between the top two. I would place 1971 Knoxville Nationals runner-up Earl Wagner third (his Western World win makes him more than a regional racer). Terry and Randy can fight over fourth and fifth.

Billy Dusenbery was the MAN back in the day. Would have loved to see him race on a bigger budget! Witnessed him do things that just made your jaw drop...like taking down the fence Flintstone style, and still winning the 410 feature with a worn out 360. Kevin Doty lived in Burlington for quite a while, and speaking of Flintstone style, nobody who was at Godfrey the night he drove by some of the best in Cahill's car with ALL four wheels on the railroad tie fence will deny this guy a top five either. And don't forget about Johnny Babb, and Danny Young. Bobby Mincer & Jeff Mitrisin are pretty high up there on my list, but my top also includes Bob and Noodles Anderson! RIP and Happy Birthday Noodles!!!

I have trouble we are having this discussion without the name Robert Bell surfacing?!?