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Topic: Top 4 All-Time (Mount Rushmore) of Sprint drivers - your submissions?
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Page 2 of 2 of 29 replies
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December 31, 2015 at
08:35:55 PM
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SRPINT CARS
1. Steve Kinse
2. Doug Wolfgang
3. Sammy Swindell
4. Leland McSpadden
MIDGETS
1. A..J. Foyt
2. Rich Vogler
3. Tony Stewart
4. Mel Kenyon
CAJ
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December 31, 2015 at
08:53:00 PM
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This is tough one ,as I 've been there for alot of goods ones, no wrong answers here just individual preference:
1. Steve Kinser
2. Kenny Weld
3. Jan Opperman
4. Doug Wolfgang
HONORABLE MENTION : Mitch Smith , Ray Tilley , A.J Foyt , Bobby Hersh ,so many good drivers I've seen in my life , maybe need to put them in by era's or locations.
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December 31, 2015 at
10:17:57 PM
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1. Foyt
2. Andretti
3.Branson
4. Bettenhausen
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December 31, 2015 at
11:37:52 PM
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You really need to split this up to before the World of Outlaws, and Outlaws and wing drivers...
Thanks Laudarevsonhunt for this list.
hinnershitz
foyt
kinser
schatz
the best of their era's
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January 01, 2016 at
12:51:23 AM
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This message was edited on
January 01, 2016 at
12:54:43 AM by raidersam67
Reply to:
Posted By: MissouriSprintFan on December 31 2015 at 04:38:43 PM
Opperman, Swindell, Wolfgang, Kinser. My reasoning, these guys did it with wings, without wings, and rolled into tracks they had never been before, run by the rules of that track, and took home the money. Real Outlaws. With all due respect, Hinnershitz, Foyt, Andretti, and others from that era almost exclusively ran without wings. Also with respect, Schatz, Mark Kinser, and etc, have ran almost exclusively with wings and by WoO rules. You, also, have some outstanding USAC stars (Hewitt, Vogler, Kruseman, Darland, and etc) that have ran almost exclusively without wings. Hewitt might be an exemption. Others from the era of racing both types that deserve honorable mention, Ferkel, Shuman, Bobby Allen, Kenny Weld, Hooker Hood, Bobby Ward, Bubby Jones and some I know I'm forgetting.
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schatz is top ten...but def NOT top 5...he hasn't proved he can win in NON wing and on pavement.
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science
gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
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January 01, 2016 at
07:11:00 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: kossuth on December 31 2015 at 05:09:42 PM
This is a toughie, and I don't know if you anybody could come up with a list and even a majority could agree with. IMO you have two very different eras where you can't really compare the drivers because the cars were just so different.
1. In the pre 1970 era you had the Offenhauser engines with a much narrower rear tire and little to no aero.
2. From the 1970+ era aero began to be introduced along with wider rear tires and the higher HP engines.
Andretti, Foyt, Betenhausen and many many others to throw into the mix along with Swindell, Kinser, and Schatz.
Some random thoughts:
As good of a driver as Foyt was, I don't think he would be in the top 4. Being I don't think if you timewarped an AJ Foyt from 1970 he would adapt well to a 2015 sprinter. My basis for this opinion is he didn't run well later in his career in Indycars once aero became a serious part of the equasion. Just my opinion though.
Mario? I would possibly consider him for the top 4. Again very tough call. He was competitive all the way to the end in both aero and non aero dependant cars. So using the same theory with Mario as with AJ, I think a 1970 Mario would be very tough in a 2015 sprinter.
Schatz? No idea.
Kinser? I would say he would be me only 100% sure lock. Just due to the fact of how competitive he was during the transition time.
Sammy? I would say 50/50 yes. Doesn't have as impressive a record but similar situation to Kinser.
This is an interesting discussion....
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Good points about comparing drivers from the different eras. My first races were around 1960 watching wingless, cageless Sprints with the narrow tires. Many of today's fans are into 410's but when the 360's or heaven forbid the 305's take to the track they get up to use the restroom and grab another beer. Those fans would scoff at the old 1960 era Sprints of my youth that turned slower laps than today's 305's.
This observation about the differences in the speed is from a fan standpoint but how about from a driver's perspective? I would have to think that on a track like Knoxville for example where today's track record is in the mid 14 second range and was 22.7 in 1961 there would be a huge difference in driving style. Fact is the legends of the 60's that are enshrined in the HOF never turned a lap as fast as today's Knoxville 305 drivers. I have never so much as sat in a Sprint Car but have a front row seat watching drivers work the wheel from behind the viewfinder of my camera. These cars push the limits of today's tracks to contain them and are so lightning fast that they require a high level of concentration and lightning quick reflexes.
The cars of the 60's were a handful for entirely different reasons than the sheer speed of today's cars. The way I think of it is that the cars of the 60's had to be muscled around the track and today's require more in the way of reflexes and finess. To take it a step further, today's drivers are lightweight compared to those old crew cut wearin' beer drinkin' ex marine types that drove these things in the 60's. It's very hard to compare a driver from my early days watching races to what it takes to drive one of these things today. The drivers of the 50's and 60's often used the same chassis for 10 or 15 years and were nothing like the rockets operating out of semi trailers that resemble a mobile shop complete with spare frames and motors. The super stars of the 60's towed up and down the highway with pickup trucks and open trailers.
I wouldn't even attempt to draw up a list that spanned the different eras.
Stan Meissner
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January 01, 2016 at
07:23:14 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: StanM on January 01 2016 at 07:11:00 AM
Good points about comparing drivers from the different eras. My first races were around 1960 watching wingless, cageless Sprints with the narrow tires. Many of today's fans are into 410's but when the 360's or heaven forbid the 305's take to the track they get up to use the restroom and grab another beer. Those fans would scoff at the old 1960 era Sprints of my youth that turned slower laps than today's 305's.
This observation about the differences in the speed is from a fan standpoint but how about from a driver's perspective? I would have to think that on a track like Knoxville for example where today's track record is in the mid 14 second range and was 22.7 in 1961 there would be a huge difference in driving style. Fact is the legends of the 60's that are enshrined in the HOF never turned a lap as fast as today's Knoxville 305 drivers. I have never so much as sat in a Sprint Car but have a front row seat watching drivers work the wheel from behind the viewfinder of my camera. These cars push the limits of today's tracks to contain them and are so lightning fast that they require a high level of concentration and lightning quick reflexes.
The cars of the 60's were a handful for entirely different reasons than the sheer speed of today's cars. The way I think of it is that the cars of the 60's had to be muscled around the track and today's require more in the way of reflexes and finess. To take it a step further, today's drivers are lightweight compared to those old crew cut wearin' beer drinkin' ex marine types that drove these things in the 60's. It's very hard to compare a driver from my early days watching races to what it takes to drive one of these things today. The drivers of the 50's and 60's often used the same chassis for 10 or 15 years and were nothing like the rockets operating out of semi trailers that resemble a mobile shop complete with spare frames and motors. The super stars of the 60's towed up and down the highway with pickup trucks and open trailers.
I wouldn't even attempt to draw up a list that spanned the different eras.
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One more point is the money it takes to run one of these cars today. We read stories in books and magazines about the drivers of old and how many came from humble beginnings. A lot of them started out in the old Supermodifieds and pre-war coupes that used to run at the local tracks until some owner noticed them and put them in a Sprint. In other words I'd venture to guess that if a lot of the legends of the sport were young men in today's world they couldn't even afford to get into Sprints. Today a lot of these drivers start out in family operations and have a family owned business backing them. Sprint Car owners aren't going around to local tracks noticing some young kid in a junker class and risking their equipment because the driver looks like he has natural talent and might be good in Sprints.
It's a different world today. Even a guy like Steve Kinser woud struggle to get started in Sprint Car racing today because he came from a working class family. It's likely that a lot of them would never have gotten into the sport if they had to do it all over in today's world. That's another reason that these all time lists drill down to nothing more than opinions and speculation. 
Stan Meissner
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January 01, 2016 at
09:48:11 AM
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Reply to:
Posted By: Sprint fan kevin on December 31 2015 at 08:15:51 AM
Good thread. Something to provoke a little positive thought. Is there a wrong answer? Lol.
mine would be:
Steve Kinser
AJ Foyt
Clarence "Hooker" Hood
Jan Opperman
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Being from Memphis I'm really liking this one. Sammy is/was great but I'm a much bigger Hooker fan.
Overall though here's what I'm thinking.
Kinser - the all time king
AJ Foyt - maybe the greatest of all time?
Hooker Hood - gotta leave my Memphis guy in there! Hundreds of wins in his career.
Tony Stewart - first to win USAC triple crown, excellent on dirt and pavement, only driver in history to have
Indycar championship and multi-time NASCAR champ, excellent support for sprint car racing as car owner, track owner, and now All Star CoC owner. Even Mark Martin called him the AJ Foyt of this generation.
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January 01, 2016 at
03:45:33 PM
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#1 Opperman
#2 Steve Kinser
#3 Wolfgang
#4 any one of about 15 drivers could fill this spot. I would say one of the old timers like Hinnerschitz or Jud Larson. But it would be difficult to leave off Hewitt, Foyt, Weld and Ferkel among others.
I would not want to be the person making the final choice if this was to actually be built!
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January 01, 2016 at
05:38:43 PM
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I agree with an earlier poster-there is no right or wrong-only opinions. I am not going to vote for someone I didn't see race-I am going to put together a list of 4 I think were the greatest I ever saw:
1. Kinser
2. Sammy
3. Doug
4. Donny
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