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

I've been watching sprints and all types of dirt racing for 40 years and I've never, ever seen a driver intentionally drive ABOVE the cushion and make it work like Gravel did Thursday night in his heat race! 

Anybody else notice his lines?

I seen Joey do it at Eldora one year to win the royal. A couple of drivers tried to follow him after he passed them, and it didn't go so well for them. He had the inside of his left tires hooking into the berm/cushion with his right side tires in the wet/rough stuff. He had an amazing performance that night.

...

Steve Kinser did it at the Nationals his qualifying night back in the late '80's or early '90's. I'd have to pull my videos to find which year. Back when it was a full 10 car invert in the heat races. He went four wheels over and took the lead on the back stretch. That's not hearsay....I witnessed it along with everybody else that was there. Believe me, the crowd was buzzing over that feat!

Levi Jones driving for Scott Benic in USAC 4-Crown about 7 or 8 years ago.  This wasn't just running in the moisture higher than anyone else.  Track was pretty tacky that night and cushion was a little lower than usual. In the heat and feature he had to drive over and past the curb entering and bounce back over it on exit.  Absolutely dominated that night. No one else even tried  til late in the feature when he had it pretty well ironed out by then and had checked out. Was pretty amazing to watch.

It helped that the push trucks had gone out and packed it in slightly before the heats and Gravel being in heat 1 it was still packed. Had you been in the later heats I don't think he would have been able to make it work as well good paying attention on Gravels part.

Hes a cool cat. Was it tulare this year that he drove straight for the wall lap after lap and made it work?

Luna's Ford engine style that won 2 WoO titles and 3 
Kings Royals before a weight rule against the best EVER
in their prime and now DOMINATES super dirt late model
racing is no longer allowed/wanted in a WoO sprint
car.... Was Luna a miracle worker?

There was a guy that raced at skagit speedway named Tom "iceman" wagoneer. He would do that same thing gravel did and always made it qirk. Takes alot of guts to run that high.

You must have not watched Joey in his prime at Eldora. Used to do it all the time. Also, Andy Hillenburg at Eldora the night that he got injured badly. I believe he started at the back of the B and was up in the top 5 within 10 laps. Not sure I've ever seen a car that fast at Eldora.

Hell thats Haud's normal line !!  LOL.  

I don't think a single car passed Gravel all week, kind of impressive.....

Blazer, I'm glad you remember Kinser doing that. I've had countless people try to tell me it never happened. They say no way he was leading on the backstretch. I was there, I saw it. It was impressive as hell. A lot of courage. Not only being completely above the cushion, but all it would've tamen was one car jumping the cushion and it would've been disaster. Watching Gravel the other night reminded me of that night. 

I was thinking the same thing!

Back when Eldora had a cushion & banking in the early to mid 90's Joey & Kevin Huntley would do it. They would scope it out during the warm up laps as they were getting lined up for the heat race and when they did that you knew you were in for a treat. 

Damn right it was impressive and you and I and probably close to 20,000 others know it to be fact! I'll take that drive of Kinser's  one step further.....a year or two after he made that move, he tried it again. He went four wheels over in his heat again from row five.....problem was in turn two a car near the front got to far up on the cushion and got into Kinser. Kinser's #11 jumped into the air like a cat came down sideways and jump/skidded to a stop in the back stretch. Karl was there in an instant....I think steve even jumped out to assess the damage. Karl made his way back to the work area and when the car arrived he proceeded to duct tape the axle, frame and shock together like a sprained ankle! No Shit! Steve proceeded to re start the heat, and with the car literally bucking underneath him, he got it to smooth out enough to handle and ran the sum bitch to second place! A friend we met through the Nationals back then has that axle assembly, duct tape and all hanging in his shop! 

I was there for the the second Kinser story your talkping about! He made contact with the 6M car of Tim Munson. Steve is very lucky he didn't end up ass over tea kettle that night!! Also remember TMAC making the same type of move at the Nationals also but don't remember what year that was either?

40 years of watching and you've never seen that? I'm 30 years old and I see it all the time. It's works most of the time too. Just gotta get it pitched in right and for damn sure don't lift. 

Absolutely.

I said to my brother as they were lining up the heat, "Look at Gravel testing the outside. I think he's gonna go way up there early to try and make as many positions as quickly as he can."  Gotta go where they ain't especially at the Nationals heats when your starting towards the back.

Wolfie did the same thing he was going to be in first coming outta turn 2 or he would be turned over in turn 2 most of the time he was up and gone

Terry did it more than once, before they played around with the cushion after qualifying, always impressive....

Is there a video of this heat race to watch somewhere? Where? Thanks

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!