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

I've been a Sprint car zombie for 30 years. Attending my 1st LM nationals this year, and it has opened my eyes! It's refreshing to see heat races that are actually races! For any die-hard Sprint car fans that haven't attended a LM nationals yet you need to but it on your must attend list! It will not disappoint!

I am also a sprint car zombie and will remain a sprint car zombie. Too much sheet metal for me and I don't like the way they back the cars into their pits stall. It's weird.

You mean it actually opened your eyes to be able to see passing in racing like they do in the late models rather than the lack of passing that goes on at a sprint car show!  

Pissing contest....... commence!!

There's a lot of passing at a sprint car show. Especially when the lead cars are passing the lapped cars.  It actually make the racing pretty good.

I love watching sprint car races, but late model racing is usually much better racing.

Best part is you can go to the rest room and then go get a beer and only miss 1 lap of green flag racing!

My home track Cedar Lake Speedway is a long time Late Model track that has a handful of Sprint Car specials each season.  I have become a bit of a Late Model fan by osmosis having attended quite a few of the big specials including the USA Nationals many times.  CLS is a 3/8 and the Sprints even spread out during the Heats on the shorter tracks as compared to the half miles.  Features are generally pretty good with the Sprints but Heats tend to be an excercise in taking single car photos like I would in a hot lap session.  Four and five wide is not uncommon with the Late Models throughout the entire evening.  If it's side by side racing I'm looking for I'll take Late Models, Modifieds or the UMSS Traditional Sprints (a notch slower with limited motors but great racing).  If I'm looking for rocket type machines that the fencing and walls are barely able to contain I'll opt for winged 410's. 

The thing I keep in mind about speed is that the Sprint Car legends of my youth who ran the old Sprints without roll cages or wings never turned a lap as faster than today's open Late Models.  Speed isn't everything in racing and I think to a large extent the necessity of always chasing more speed is pricing owners out of the sport.  I don't know about anyone else but I'd rather watch a 30 car show with cars a tick slower than an 18 car 410 show. 

Stan Meissner

You take the wings off those Sprints and you'll see lots of heat passing.  I was watching eldora on race monitor. After lap one.  Each car was 1.2 second behind the other.  Its like a air dam to the cars behind until all the air is dirty. 

Alright, now we have not only the vocal minority of non-winged fans, but also late model fans!

Let's get UMP and IMCA fans to unite too.

I agree hotfoot, last night's feature was fantastic also a thumbs up to the Knoxville track prep crew, 31 car , 100 lap feature and no dust. I have been saying for 5 years now the Knoxville Late Model Nationals is the best dirt track race of the season. I am glad more people are figuring this out.

The worst president of my lifetime:
Ronald Reagan

I agree with you. 

If someone said "late model racing is the best form of racing on the planet" i don't think you could make an argument against them.  By definition, the racing is as good as it gets-cars always running side by side and passing during all phases of the race-almost every race.  Track conditions are much more forgiving for good late model racing.   The same cannot be said for other forms of racing--dirt or pavement. 

I lean towards sprint cars as my favorite to watch just for the speed and the names associated with it.   However, I have not ever been to a bad late model show-ever.  Just went to one last weekend and the racing was absolutely insane through the entire set of 6 heats and 2 B-mains.  Can the same be said for the winged sprint car races that I have attended?  No.  I cannot comment on non-winged because we are in a dead zone for non-wing cars. 

If any of you out there still has your head buried in the sand thinking late models are no fun to watch because they are slow, you need to get to a couple of races and watch.  Especially in bull rings. 

Someone made a reference to yellow flags for late models.  I think you may be confusing this with modifieds.  There is no comparison.   And, by the way, it is possible to have good racing with fenders on the car.

Agreed.  A great sprint car race is probably more thrilling than a great late model race, but who knows if you're going to get it?  You're almost always guaranteed a great race with late models.

lol this is HILARIOUS!!!! what about stand in line to get some dirty nachos

Keep It Real

Late models are twice the size they should be but those guys are constantly looking for an advantage under the hood, chassis, tires, shocks etc.  Something the sprint car guys could learn from.  Less tire and more engine always makes it more interesting.  A decent rule book on engine specs and tires less than 3 three feet wide work well.

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?

I watch them both every week. These kinds of things are relative as there are people out there who watch pavement racing who would tell us all we're morons for watching dirt track racing and there are people who are into bird watching who can't understand why anyone, anywhere likes to watch cars go in circles. Quite frankly, I get sick and tired of hearing Late Model fans trying to tell sprint car fans that sprint cars are follow the leader and take too long to get pushed off. Sprint cars due tend to spread out more but they also tend to be much more unpredictable from my experience. I don't think it would be possible for a late model to do what Don Kreitz Jr. did last year when he ate up over a second a lap over the last 6 laps to steal the win from Montieth. Some people like side by side racing and that's fine. Like I said, its all an opinion and personal preference just like some folks prefer Coke over Pepsi and hot dogs over hamburgers. Me personally, I could give a shit less if I ever watch another late model race. They just don't do it for me. To me, sprints are far more exciting. I think sprint cars produce a lot more edge of your seat action. As far as late models being adaptive to a wider range of surfaces, from my experience, that isn't true. I've seen MANY nights at Port Royal where the track slicked off and the sprint cars were running 3 feet from the outside fence and then the late models come out and everyone runs around the bottom and the middle while the few who try to run the top, go backwards. But it is what it is. To me, the side by side thing gets a little mundane. I like to see guys making moves, bold moves and there is no other form of racing that I've seen, where the cars are as capable of that as sprint cars. Even with all the rule changes, there are guys such as Schatz, Jac, Hodnett, Dietrich etc. who will make moves to come forward that just take your breath away. But that's just me. I get sick of hearing people argue winged vs. Non winged, late models vs. Sprint cars, modifieds vs. Sprint cars, Posse vs. Outlaws. Just go do what you enjoy. If that's watching sprints, I'll see you there. If its watching late models, go enjoy yourself and introduce someone new to our sport of DIRT TRACK RACING. Life is way too short to argue over these things. 

You are correct.  Midgets also are underrated, as they provide some great racing as well.

That is not even remotely true.  Sprint car races usually have as many, if not more, cautions than a late model race.  And clean-up of sprint car crashes generally takes longer, as well.

Duh, you missed the point. It was sarcasm about the slower speed of the late models. Had nothing to do with cautions.