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

Good discussion. A few observations/suggestions of my own.......If you are late to staging you simply don't get to race. Happened at Knoxville with the 1200 pound nationals over 20 years ago. There is a track in TN where the field comes out of the infield in turn one and takes the green the first time around. Those are mods of course and it wouldn't be possible with sprint cars but it just goes to show that some promoters DO care about getting the show moving. Scrap time trials all together. Any rookie or incompetent drivers start at the back. This stopping on the track shit has to stop as well. No second chances EVER. No work area. No rebuilding cars after a hear race crash. Its a 20 lap race feature, not the Rolex 24. I think some of these drivers stop on the track just to get on FLO or DV. I share everyone's frustration which is why I don't go much any longer. Scrap all interviews until the night is over. I like the sports cars now where everything is on a schedule. My IMSA weekend at Road America was refreshing because I knew when each race would start and end and there is ALWAYS action on the track. There are endless entertainment options these days. That along with the greenie freaks and tracks becoming Walmarts sort of paints a picture where there is no more sprint car racing. We will probably all be dead but its coming. These 6 hour race programs don't help.  

Normally, I don't reply to diatribes, but way too much inaccuracy here. 

1. Being an employee of the track for many years, I can assure you that everyone wants to get things done in an efficient manner.  There is always room for improvement, and it's always being addressed.  More moving parts and people than you may understand.

2. John McCoy has been the Race Director in charge of the night's racing program since Ralph Capitani retired.  So all early and late nights in that time frame have come with him on the headset on race nights.

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The question remains then, "What has changed?" We understand John has been at the helm for years but multiple people are noticing a difference. We also understand there are many moving parts but when cars are not in staging that's a race director problem. So he can and has done it well in the past but that doesn't mean that we can't lose focus. I do. I'm human. And all these double duty cars are almost a bummer. Kinda sucks for the up and comers too. I trust the powers that be will look into it but I post this here hoping we are not complacent to the point where we don't believe any problem exists and say "Well that's just the way it is."

Was there for the June WoO races.  Saturday night they moved the show along quickly.  Even went to 3 cars qualifying at one time.  Cause weather was in the area.  Thought it was cool to have the show move along quickly.  Only been to Knoxville one other time and that was the WoO fog race.  Still cant believe they were able to get the track raceable after the downpour they had that night.  Love the track and all the people I interacted with while there, but they should listen to the fan base and try to find some way to speed things up.  

I agree with earlier comments...next race should be staged and they should have 2-3 pace laps to get everything in order and drop the green.  If a team isnt in staging tough!!  

Every couple years we get one of those "What needs improving for sprint car racing to grow?" type threads. Each time, people- me included- say "get the show on the road!". A One of our local tracks, I-90 Speedway at Hartford SD is the best at staging cars fro the next race, to a point. They have the cars for the heat races slined up ready to go in the pit area off of turn 4. As the cars from the last heat race are pulling off the track on the back stretch, the next heat is entering the track onto the front stretch lined up and ready for the green. They typically do this for all their heat races, including for the sprint cars! It works well.....
Then the B-main and A features come around and all that discipline simply seems to vanish. I don't get it. Does the lien-up man leave after the heat races?

I wish the tracks ran every event like there was bad weather coming. As it is now, consider asking someone if they want to try something new and go to the races.
"What time do they start?"
"Oh, usually sometime between 7;00 and 7:30, sometimes as late as 8:00."
"What time do they end?"
"Usually between 10:30 and midnight, but sometimes later."