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

Shane Stewart was about the only reason the night could have been deemed a "success" with all the passing he did. It warranted the nickname "The Show Saver" for his actions in the Race of Champions and the World Challenge. Outside of that, the ticket price is still outrageously high for Friday night.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

I read your column and found it interesting. I always like hearing the thoughts of others who have taken time to ponder ways of improving anything in racing.

I do wish you would have explained your statement regarding the Race of Champions where you stated, "But to think those same drivers would be willing to do this again would be absurd". Was that just your opinion, or were there drivers who said that they wouldn't do it again? I know some of them weren't happy with the "Revenge Draw", but they still chose to accept it. I would assume that would be the case next year. It's still a pretty good pay-out for a single race

I don't think dividing the field into thirds for three nights of qualifying would work primarily because of what was mentioned before in this thread...weather. I think it would be unfair to those qualifying on Friday in case that night was rained-out, no matter what the make-up format would be. Friday night's racing shouldn't be too critical in determining Saturday night's results in case of inclement weather.

I do agree with extending the C Feature on Saturday to 20 laps. I'd like to see the drivers who've had tough luck earlier in the week given a little better opportunity to work their way up the feature ladder.

Like I said, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on improving the Nationals. It's a great event, but as you said, there's always room for improvement.

This has nothing to do with Friday's program, but I would like to see a little change in Saturdays. What about running 20 laps for the C? Also, since the B is always stacked with heavy hitters, why not make it 30 laps if the A is going to stay at 50 laps? With how even the cars are now, this would give the fans a better chance of seeing someone be able to run the alphabet. The extra 13 laps shouldn't be to hard on the track either.

The absurd comment comes from reading the drivers body language more than anything during the draw. I sit just to the right of the flagstand in row 15 and have a good view of the victory lane area where the draw happened. I don't think too many drivers understood the revenge draw format and how it would work going in, and I think a lot of them ran this race as a tribute to Cappy although most of of them put their Saturday night cars out on the line for this race, not realizing they would start at the back, like Steve and Sammy. Sammy went ballistic and walked away pretty upset after the draw. Seemed obvious he was in the dark on that worked.

I agree Shane Stewart was the only reason the Friday show was entertaining and mentioned that in my column. Take him out of those 2 races and Lucas Wolfe and Tim Shaffer walk away to win their races and people leave not seeing much passing/entertainment.

Not sure I would add another "feature" or "scramble" on Friday with 10-20 cars for points. The A-Main is 50 laps on Saturday, so why allow some teams more time and laps to get to the front, when it's better to make them do that on Saturday, ala Shane Stewart and Donny Schatz this year. Most people walk away remembering the last race and if it was any good, and the last two years 50 laps has worked out to be a good/entertaining finish.

Another idea for Saturday is to do away with the D and E main, and run 2 B's and 2 C's similar to the Chili Bowl and STN, and transfer 4, 5, or 6 cars in to the next feature. Maybe only lock in 14, 16, 18 cars in each feature instead of 20 to start with so you end up with your full field of 22-24 cars in the end. You water down the field some of each race making it easier to pass and more cars transfer.

Eric Arnold
Social Media Manager & Track Historian
Knoxville Raceway

I've always thought the C was a little short. Not many laps and a lot of good cars.

If I remember right when Wolfgang ran the alphabet in 90 if not for a last lap yellow flag he wouldn't have made it to the B.

However, with the A being 50 laps, if you make the B 30 and the C 20 the question becomes how many laps can a motor last?

I'd like to see more of the heavy hitters have a chance at making it to the A but if the motors won't last that long whats the point?

As for Friday. Make it a full program for the Non-quals.

Time trials, FULLY inverted heat races and complete features. Award half the points as Wed/Thurs and line up the second half of Sat nights field by points from Friday night.

Give everyone an equal shot on Friday night.