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May 05, 2015 at
04:17:26 PM
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Joined:
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11/30/2004
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1461
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Sometimes the guys that have worked the track almost every day for who knows how many years know what is possible and what isn't just by looking at it.
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May 05, 2015 at
05:18:41 PM
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Joined:
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11/18/2006
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226
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Reply to:
Posted By: Oppermanfan on May 04 2015 at 09:11:59 AM
I was wondering if anyone else thought that Knoxville gave a very poor and pathetic effort to get the races in on Saturday. I understand that it rained at a bad time but when the tractor was working on the infield it was kicking up dust. They said over the scanner that they would try to run the track in for 30 minutes and see what it does. They did start but no where near 30 minutes and just gave up. Many drivers wanted to stick it out and race, they had already missed two weeks. Very disappointed in their efforts. I was talking to a guy that drove over 600 miles to bring his kids to their first Knoxville race, his comment was, if they don't care anymore than this I ain't coming back.
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quit bitchin you live with in X amount of miles of the best well maintained dirt track in the world an for the guy who drove over 600 miles to say "they dont care" then he has no idea ...an generally when talkin to people after a show is called they like to double the amount of miles they actually drove...I drive it weekly from nebraska if it rains it rains so be it
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May 05, 2015 at
05:56:44 PM
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Joined:
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11/07/2006
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5748
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True story. I live 25 miiles north of St. Paul in a town called Forest Lake. Must have been close to 15 years ago my son and I decided to make a run down to Knoxville. We checked the weather and there was something like a 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms. It's close to six hours windshield time and we don't get very many opportunities to go there so we jumped at the chance. I drove down with my son and his ex in the back seat. We got about 25 miles out of Des Moines and the sky turned black so we pulled into that rest area just north of Des Moines. One of the racers pulled in at the same time and called the track and told us that the races were cancelled.
It was still early so we figured if we made a beeline north we could watch some Sprint Car racing at Jackson. We got about half way to Jackson from I35 and started seeing haulers going in the opposite direction. Never a good sign. Not long after that we got hit by rain so we turned around and headed towards home. As we got close to the Twin Cities we passed by Elko Speedway, the local paved track that put dirt down a few times, and the track lights were on and the ground was dry. When we got home we found out that Cedar Lake got their weekly Late Model and Modified show in. I think this was a few years after CLS dropped their 360 Sprint program that helped hone the skills of a young Donny Schatz and ressurected the career of Roger Rager for a few more years.
My point is that if you follow this sport you're going to get burned by the weather every so often. It ain't the end of the world, when we got home we had a few beers and licked our wounds and vowed to try it again another day. Anyone who thinks track prep is an easy job ought to get to know some of the people who do it personally and you'll get an earful. It's a lot like farming without the crop insurance. Take your best guess and cross your fingers. Sometimes as they say you're a hero and other times a zero. I can honestly say that I have been to hundreds of races since that time and don't barely remember a damn one of them but we remember every detail about that trip and still laugh ;)
Stan Meissner
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May 05, 2015 at
07:14:07 PM
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11/30/2004
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2010
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Stan, I learned many years ago that when the weather forcast says "scattered showers" that means it is only going to rain where I want to do something outside. I drove to Knoxville 2 out of 3 saturdays so far just to watch it rain. The other was canceled before I got out of bed. 170 mile round trip for me. If John McCoy & the Dunkins said it could not be done thats good enough for me. I'll keep driving over every week. I never turn around or leave the track no matter what till they are offically called off.
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May 05, 2015 at
07:59:42 PM
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Joined:
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08/04/2010
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275
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I remember many times at Knoxville sun would be shining, then cloud up packing the track, then pour on hot laps.
Meant one thing, head to Shorty's Steak House in Pleasantville. Made a rain outs tolerable.
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May 06, 2015 at
05:20:40 AM
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11/07/2006
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5748
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Reply to:
Posted By: oswald on May 05 2015 at 07:14:07 PM
Stan, I learned many years ago that when the weather forcast says "scattered showers" that means it is only going to rain where I want to do something outside. I drove to Knoxville 2 out of 3 saturdays so far just to watch it rain. The other was canceled before I got out of bed. 170 mile round trip for me. If John McCoy & the Dunkins said it could not be done thats good enough for me. I'll keep driving over every week. I never turn around or leave the track no matter what till they are offically called off.
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170 wouldn't be bad but we're around 600 round trip and that's a bit of an excursion. Got a cousin who's husband works on Heskin's car and the Tatnells live nearby and have known the family for years so it would be nice to get down there more often than we do. Just takes so much time to make that trip that we have to pretty much devote the entire weekend to it when we go there. Not much else gets done on the weekend when we make that trip. Leave Saturday early afternoon, usually grab a room and don't get home until mid day Sunday. Son has little kids now and him and his wife both work all week and she wants him around so it's harder to get out than it used to be. One of those NSL at Jackson might be our only option for a while.
Stan Meissner
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May 06, 2015 at
11:00:44 AM
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11/11/2014
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51
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Reply to:
Posted By: StanM on May 06 2015 at 05:20:40 AM
170 wouldn't be bad but we're around 600 round trip and that's a bit of an excursion. Got a cousin who's husband works on Heskin's car and the Tatnells live nearby and have known the family for years so it would be nice to get down there more often than we do. Just takes so much time to make that trip that we have to pretty much devote the entire weekend to it when we go there. Not much else gets done on the weekend when we make that trip. Leave Saturday early afternoon, usually grab a room and don't get home until mid day Sunday. Son has little kids now and him and his wife both work all week and she wants him around so it's harder to get out than it used to be. One of those NSL at Jackson might be our only option for a while.
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hey if you love sprint car racing you are devoted and follow the sport, tracks are few and far in between, and let me tell you the people who run these tracks and let sprints come in week in and week out are some of the most devoted fans there are and would love to see the racing go on, we cant complain when stuff like this happens we need to build the sport instead of rag on it, its the greatest sport to watch and some of the best drivers in the world run these things...... if you want good racing and are in the area of Jackson or are closer to jackson maybe look into Huset's on sunday night lots of class's and a fast pace moving event with 410's weekly where you will see alot of guys that you would see at Knoxville
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