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

West coast Outlaw Kart ace Holly Shelton will drive Kunz midget full time in 2016. Watch out boys!

Is Holly a female?   Sometimes it's hard to tell by the name - but I am always interested in backing the new female racers.  When I wanted to race women were not allowed on the dirt tracks or in the pits, even -  so I raced sports cars.  I admire and support the female racers in all forms of racing - especially in the "roundy round" scene.   Thanks to Kunz for supporting a lady racer.   We do have potential greatness.

I hope she/he does well but to think they are in the premier midget ride in the country because of talent is mistaken. Somebody (likely daddy) bought that ride. I may be wrong but I'd say I'm not  

She may have got the ride because of talent top 3 at cycleland the last 3yrs might have helped.. And more then likely might have got the ride because of Rico and Kyle speaking up just a thought ......

Kunz needs to give each car a different number!

Or will she be "Pink 67"? "Pink 71"??????

Holly is a female. Extremely talented and the nicest girl you could ever meet. I don't think anyone buys a ride with Kunz. 

I'm sure she is quite talented and has worked hard (along with her supporters to get where they are. And I admire that in anyone who succeeds. I also know that you don't run KK's operation on midget purses even with Toyota backing. I'd guess she's been spoken highly of by some who know her along with bringing some $ to the table. I've heard 6 figures. 

Well we shall see. I don't know her driving history and bring some cash may be required. IDK. But the trend is all pretty good drivers getting these rides. Can't remember one of Keith's drivers that can't keep up. Good luck to her

Kunz always has 1-2 drivers that are paid to drive all the others are rent a ride. Kunz openly admits this. I don't think it is a bad deal you get a top flight car and crew chief that are the best in the business and has to be cheaper then going out and buying all the equipment yourself and trying to figure it out. Best of luck to her in 2016.

Pretty sure atleast Rico's first year was paid.  I've been told 6 figures as well.

I totally understand someone wanting to get a jump on the learning curve and go out and buy experience. I'm not saying it's all bad but the problem with it is that it raises the bar ($) for everyone else. And chances are those that buy their way in arent truly passionate about that division and are gone in a year or two. 

Sorry but you guys are dead wrong with the assumption that this ride was bought by her father. Haters that don't know the facts.

It really dowesn't matter if money or sponsorship has to come with driver to run this car. Its done in Nascar, Formula 1, Indy, Sprint Cars, and so on. I dont' even recall seeing her Father as the one who has to put up anything to secure the ride, but I would be really surprised if she has a free ride, and nobody has to give anything for it.

yes and no. people want to run kunz' stuff cause its the most used path to the upper levels of racing...larson, bell, rico...all have used their performances in KK's cars to move up. thorson is on his way. KTjr tried but, IMO, all he has is solid backing and not enough talent to excel in the upper levels of any class. it really doesnt matter how good KK's cars, motors or setups are if you cant drive the car to the potential that is given to you.

if you have access to the backing, why not go for the best. and they are the best. it would be like TSR putting a rent a ride car on the road with ricky warner as the crew chief. all the tools are there and if you dont produce, its on you.

I agree. I'm just not sure it is healthy for a blue collar sport to have corporate $ & rides bought. it has hardly made NASCAR a white knuckle , edge of your seat spectacle

So we have one thread theory-crafting on how to gain more exposure and lamenting the limited number of "corporate" sponsors in dirt oval racing and now another thread wondering if corporate dollars belong here or not.  Dirt racing needs as many sponsors as it can get. The more money coming into the sport the better, doesnt matter if its coming from a publically traded corporation or your local ready-mix concrete company. 

What is concerning to me is the concentration of "corporate" brand sponsorships among the cars with a NASCAR affiliation. You could argue the only corporate brands that are primary sponsors on WoO cars are [3/4 being on TSR, KKR,LMR] : GM Performance (15), Great Clips (9), Go-Pro (2), American Racing Custom Wheels (29), the other primary sponsors being smaller, regional operators. 

Gone are the days of Quaker State, Pennzoil, Fedex (Swindell), Amoco, Mopar, Parker Store, Peterbilt, Ingersoll Rand, et.al. sponsoring sprint cars.  And an underrated issue thats hurt motorsports worldwide is the ban on tobacco advertising.  Whether you fall on one side of that argument or another, the effect the ban has had on motorsport is striking.

With regard to "ride buying," racing has been, is, and will always be the domain of the wealthy. 

I don't totally disagree with what you say about dirt racing needing $. But its a viscous circle. The more money that comes in, the more $ you need to remain competitive. And then the more money you need from sponsors. And as you pointed out, This is more of a problem when the corporate $ is concentrated towards a few cars. 

And your last sentence regarding racing having always been a domain of the wealthy I'm not sure I agree. Arguably the most successful sprint car owner & driver came from less than a wealthy background. They got there with talent & hard work. That would be Karl & Steve. And to go back further than that (and I'll admit it's speculation) ,I'd guess only a few of the past stars came from wealth ie: Foyt,Andretti, Unser, petty, Pearson,Yarborough etc... All of those guys would have a hard time making it today without some backing. 

KTjr tried and not enough talent? Thinking you missed the boat here. Didn't he finish third in the final midget points after leading the points for a spell? And hasn't he just signed a deal to run the full ARCA schedule?

With all due respect to KT and you, he is definitely an above average driver, who as this thread is suggesting of KK's midgets, is paying a very high price per race to have that ARCA ride.

That's the current state of moving up the ladder, and that's ok.  Congrats he got the backing.

USAC National Midgets and even POWRi National Midgets require a lot of funding to run the entire series.   No one that runs competivitely in these series are middle class.   There is nothing wrong with people spending the money on the things that they want.   When I saw a bomber show up in an enclosed trailer, I knew that there were absolutely no class' left that were completely the domain of the middle class.