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

The atmosphere is by far my favorite part! Just walking around town and soaking up the fact that everyone around you is a sprint car fan! I moved to Knoxville from Des Moines two years ago and Nationals is even more amazing then it was before!

I'm always amazed that such a large number of fans can show up in such a small place without one cross word or argument. Even with all of the alcohol and smack talking about how "my driver is better than yours", it's all in great fun.

I enjoy riding my bike around the track and the local motels and parking lots during the day while watching the crews work on the cars and catching up with friends.

Knoxville has helped me meet some great people over the years via this very message board (and others). About ten years ago or so, I chatted for a couple of years with some guy out in SoCal, before I learned that he was in a wheel chair and couldn't speak. Hoseheads MB and chat was what he lived for. He would soon be making his first trip to the Nationals. Shawn McDonald turned out being one of my best racing friends that I've met, a true inspiration, even if he DID pull a brutal joke on me one year (yeah, I still remember it Shawn!!!).

Then there's Colin Lowry aka "RebelBubba", another one that I chatted with for several years on here and the old HH chatroom. He grew up in NorCal and wanted to experience the Nationals. Without ever meeting him, my family and I invited him to come out and stay for a while at our place in Missouri to see some racing here before going to the Nationals for the week. That was about 6 or 7 years ago, he has become a great lifelong friend of our family. He will be coming our again this year.

This year brings a new chapter. Michael aka Michael 98a and I have been trading messages on various message boards for years now, but have never met and Terry aka racer84 is coming to the USA from Australia for the first time and none of us have ever met, they will both be staying with "RebelBubba" and I for the Nationals this year.

There are more of you out there that I consider good friends (you all know who you are) that I met here or some of the other message boards and I am sure we will meet once again at the Nationals this year.

I know that this has been a long winded post, but to me, that is one of the traditions of the Nationals that I really enjoy. Great friends, great times and great racing, all people who I wouldn't have ordinarily known without the internet, all brought together for one week, once a year.

Member of this message board since 1997

The Wheel of Fortune in the Arizona Barn. How those guys worked on their race cars with all of the gambling & drinking going on always amazed me. After they took the Wheel of Fortune down/away there was still plenty of craps and other gambling going on in the Arizona barn. My friend would win money - give it to me - and after a while we would head to Dingus to spend it all on beer.

Watching Sammy Swindell skate in the skating rink.

Watching drivers and others around 3 or 4 in the morning driving their little mini bikes - drinking beer and having a grand ole time.

No one seemed to bother the Texas barn - except when they used it for anyone who crashed to store what was left of the car. Then there would be a trail of folks coming by.

No bus rides back then - just fun and booze and a lot of good food (and wet t-shirt contests). The guys from Jeff. City, Mo. were great cooks. The guys from Kansas City had the most beer. Some of those guys never got to see the races (passed out first). Signs up surrounding the camp grounds stating that "this is popping corn - not sweet corn". The near by corn was generally striped clean - and was really good. (the camp grounds were surrounded by a corn field then - except for the rail road track).

Okay - I'm going back to the early 70's - but those are my memories - other than trying to time it to when there was hot water in the showers. And of course the great racing. Racers showed up from California to Pennsylvania. This was indeed Indy to sprint cars. One of the the "big 3": Knoxville, Manzanita & Ascot. I know - now there are many racers from Australia there... and I pull for them. I just don't get to go anymore.

Have fun for me, too. And tip a few for me, too.

Oh yes - one more thing. They used to paint the drivers and car numbers on all of the local merchant windows. Do they still do that? It was fun going around the square to see who was listed with whom. I know - there is so much more. Thanks to MSPN for mentioning John Bankston's favorite watering hole. Damn - but I sure do miss that lad....

Have y'all driven by the local football field? It might have changed - but it is really a neat place. It is near the old "Ice House" where we used to go. And then there was Red Rock Dam... and lake. Too many memories through the years. I think a lot of racers quit camping out on the site when someone screwed with Opperman's torsion bar setting and almost sent him into the fence. A lesser driver would have been done for the night. As far as I know that ended the Ohio barn and some of the others.

Again - have a great time and tip a few for me - and enjoy the hell out of yourselves... I sure used to.

Dingus

Having people camp in our yard from all over the US for 10 years was a lot of fun and we meet a lot of great people along the way (even from PA)........LOL.....Getting together with friends you haven't seen since last year is half of the fun.

Dingus

The bus rides need to come back........The wet t-shirt contest were fun..Bobby Allen use have his camper parked right there so he would have a front row view...LA Banker being welcome to Knoxville.....Osky is hard on people....Taste great less filling in front of Dingus on Saturdays

And if I have not mentioned it yet..................DINGUS

Sleeping in a tent for last 10 years for a week. that's the tradition for me and my brother. Seems like getting rained on is a tradition also hope it's dry this year. Seeing friends I only get to see once a year. Drinking lots of beer!! It's also a blast to watch the crews work on their cars.

Listening to different announcers from around the country , or from Australia or NZ. Miss hearing Jack Miller. Hope he can make it back.

50/50 tickets! You've got to get them. Some one is going home with a lot of money Saturday night. I think they gave away about $27,000 a few years ago on Saturday alone. This year could go BIG!

Seeing highway 14 look like Woodstock (race shirts instead of tie dye) for a week in our sleepy little town.

Member of this message board since 1997

For my two brothers and myself it was four days golfing in Osky in the morning, Shooting snooker (pool) at the Red Rooster all afternoon, and then heading for Knoxville a couple hours early to people watch. Did I mention that beer was involved for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Great times. Now we do it in CA at the Perris Oval Nationals instead of Knoxville because I'm a teacher and my principal won't let me have the first week of school off!!!

The last line of the National Anthem should be "Let's go Rac'n"

I'd rather be in Knoxville.

Couldn't have said it any better. Just wish Jesse could be there.

Is this heaven?  
No, it's Iowa....Knoxville, Iowa.

I'd rather be in Knoxville.

I think it was 91 or 92. He was just sitting in the stands watching with some people he came with on Saturday Night.

I was in High School, couple of buddies of mine that sold concessions through the grandstand sold him Pepsi and Popcorn his exact words "Wow these are %$#(*# loud"

Yes, they are $%&* loud. And the smell of those fire-breathing alcohol motors is sooooooo intoxicating.

I. Can't. Wait!

Is this heaven?  
No, it's Iowa....Knoxville, Iowa.

This will be my 17th Knoxville Nationals and I am 21 now. I have seen Steve win 3 times, Lasoski 4, Schatz 3, Mark 3 and Kraig once. The only two A mains I have missed is caused by rain and having to go back to work/school. Of course Blaney was a good one to miss and Schatz last year.

Where to begin!!!! Fly into Des Moines the week before, picking up my rental and driving into town straight from there. First stop, a quick look around the track, then off to my home base for the next week with my wonderful friends who live right in the middle of town. They've had me as their guest for 15years. Osky races... hangin out in the pits before and after the races.... Catching up with some folks I only see at the Nats.....Partying under the stands and in Turn 3 till sunrise......Hangin aound before the races watching all the rigs pull in.....Souveneer shopping.....Buying the Nationals Official Program.....Trying out all the good food....Talking racing and BS'in with fans from all over the world....

Knoxville Natioanls attendee since '95
Favorite Tracks...River Cities, Knoxville, Cedar Lake
Favorite Drivers...S.Kinser, T.Kaeding, K.Madsen, S.Smith
Proud Canadian 

Carol14, it always amazed me too to watch the guys trying to work on their cars in the Arizona Barn with all the partying and gambling going on. Remember the old upright piano that sat in the northeast corner? I also remember Darrell Dockery always had a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll attatched to the top of his roll cage. One year he rolled on a qualifying night and destroyed Mickey, so they had a funeral for him and made a trip to Des Moines to find a new one for the next night.

Also carol14, and I hope you are who I think you are, in probably '69 my mother took a picture of me and your dad at the Nationals (he was one of my favorites, as he would venture up to Marshall, Missouri on occassion and usually clean house) then in probably '72-'73 she took another of us together at Topeka on Wednesday night before the Nationals started on Thursday. Ironic thing was, and she had no idea why, she had the older picture with her that night and showed it to him. He got a good laugh out of it.

the only tradition i have is what i posted earlier and i am so proud of my daughter that she is so into sprint car racing. this past week her asking questions about whats going on and things to do make me excited just to be a fan and im glad ive created a new fan for years to come.

No doubt. Day after the Nationals is the worst of the year. The only way it could be worse is if it snowed. Saw my first Nats the year Kinser came from row 7(?) to win it.

I have never heard a roar there then when Swindell's fuel bladder failed and Lasoski raced past him to win his first.

I love the neighbors who always treat us so well and allow us to park in their driveways, our neighbors in the stands who come from all over.

The popcorn chicken is absolutely the bomb, but the track pork tenderloins are good too.

It will be hard to suppress my yell when that first heat race gets the green flag on Wednesday night.

Is this heaven?  
No, it's Iowa....Knoxville, Iowa.