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

I saw three drivers walk down there.  All three of those drivers ran the feature race. By running the race that tells me they felt the track was ok to race on. If a driver felt the conditions were dangerous then they should park it.  If they truely feel they can't see and the track was extra ordinarily dangerous in their opinion and they ran anyways, I question their intelligence.

So ask yourself this. Was the driver just bitching or dead serious about not seeing?  If they were dead serious then they are pretty god damned stupid. 

The track didn't look good even before warm ups. The bottom groove was no mans lands because of the way it was watered and the top became a dust bowl. Maybe Fisher didn't care because of it being his last race. I' m sure next year things will be very different. Scott Gobrechit will make it work.New clay going down along with seating improvements started already. This place can become a jewel if the fans and teams give it time and support the track. PS-anyone hear what caused the issue with McIntyre and Marks after the race? All I know is McIntyre did a 360 in turn 4 and once it gathered it up without being up to full speed, he chopped Marks off coming off of two and heading the backstretch. Marks gave him a bumper tap on the cool down lap and McIntyre returned it. Marks then headed to the pits and it appeared that McIntyre was going to slam him at the pit entrance. 

He was dead serious but he's a racer and you know what racers do...they race! He had a decent starting spot and felt he had a good chance to win. These are the same racers who strapped in and gassed it up the very next night after a fellow driver was killed right before their eyes. Danger is a huge part of what they do so unless it's pretty much suicide, they're gonna strap in and race despite knowing that the track surface may cause accidents. We all know how these guys are. Most of them will go out there anyway because they're confident enough in their skills and their approach of the situation that they'll be able to overcome it. 

You hit the nail right on the head sir. People wonder why Central Pa tracks can't seem to pull decent car counts and right there is why. Even the regular $3500 to win purses have a steep drop off. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if anyone wants to know why the Knoxville Nationals draws so many cars but the Williams Grove National Open only draws 45-50 on average, look no further than the purses. At Knoxville, your car is making money every time you're on the track. Even the consolation races pay half decent. The National Open on the other hand, look how far the purse drops off. Just ask Brian Brown. He said he'd never come back here again and that was the reason why.

Track prep definitely sucked.  Got there at 1:15 for a 2:00 start and the track was soup.  Finally started putting cars on the track for heat in the motors and they were sliding down the track sideways.  So they had to push start them in the infield.  Constant badgering on the mic to the drivers/teams is not professional.  Make sure they understand the rules at the driver's meeting and that when you announce for them to stage they got xx number of minutes to report.  Done.  Keep threatening them like children and doing nothing, well, you get what you deserve.  Susky definitely needs to learn how to run a sprint car show, so hopefully new mgt. will get that done.  And that was certainly bizarre watching the cars disappear in turn 3 and then magically re-appear at the exit of turn 4.

And as someone was saying earlier, what the hell was the purpose of watering the inside of the frontstretch and the infield.  Everyone around me had the same dumbfounded look on their face.

Good luck next year.  Hope to see Speedweek there!

Parked after the World finals.

Well I would find it very hard to believe that a guy who has been around as long as Lance would not know what the payout is.  That being said, just because you do not know the payout does not mean that the racers and owners do not.  They do know what it is and the opportunity to race and maybe win 10k outweighs the negative.  Also since you stated what third paid - what did 24th pay compared to a regular show?  What do you care what Michael Heffner can pay his driver and crew chief, he can and thats all that matters.  Did he make any money when he rented out the track a couple weeks ago?  No and the same expenses applied then as wel l(except entry fee however they paid a towing fee so that would cover that).  Does MCR make money when they go to test and tunes - no and the same expenses apply there as weel. Not knowing MCR, the opinion around the pits is they do just fine and I do not think it takes everything they have when they field top of the line everything and out spent everyone in the 358 ranks.  So sorry, I do not feel bad for MCR - they knew the payout, took the gamble and knew the back pay and if they didn't, well they are not doing much research - pretty sure the purse structure has not changed in a few years.

MCR out spent everyone in the 358 division........LMAO........Hell the 5 of Chase Dietz won more than that #16. Im sure there are teams that spent way more to go fast.

The 16 is in a constant state of correction in nearly every turn of every lap. Spending money to make that car fast is a hazard to the other competitors.

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

Try the 5 of Chase Dietz finished every race and didn't tear gear up 50% of the time he was on the track.  Talk to any 358 team about the money that was in the MCR motor and combined with how much they spent to fix the 16 every week.  Dietz finished races and doesn't tear gear up, MCR is the polar opposite.

Jealous much microsprint6 ? ....LOL your reply surely shows you have no idea what your talking about and its all jealousy .

You hammer Sid Walters for assuming info and yet you "assume to know"  how much money they spend and how much is in their motor. Simple question to you- How much is in their motor ? let all us internet owners know. I'll assume you have absolutely no idea but let your jealousy blind you. If not, simple, tell us all how much money is in the motor !

While your at it I'd also like to know how much Godfrey Racing Engines has in Dietz motor  and how much Hammaker racing Engines have in Doug's motor.

"Tearing Gear up 50% of the time" .....That one is really funny and again shows you are clueless. I went and checked the finishes for the #16 car at the grove and other tracks( go ahead and check the track websites for yourself ) ... guess what , not one DNF with finishes of 11th,3rd,3rd,5th,1st,2nd,7th,6th,4th,8th and they DNS the last feature race of the year due to no brakes.

Lincoln Speedway.....14th,7th,6th,3rd,13th,13th,1st,10th,3rd,8th,7th,3rd,6th,6th,3rd,1st,4th....again no DNF's

Trailways Speedway....2nd,7th...again no DNF's

Susky Speedway.......5th....Again no DNF's

2nd in points at Lincoln, 3rd at the Grove, 4th in the Nouse series and 3rd overall in the Central PA 358 series. Probably all but 2 other teams would like to have a year like that.

31 races and NO dnf's..... if you don't like the team for whatever reason so be it. Evey team has fans and haters, that's racing. But at least be honest and don't make shit up. It only makes you look small.

by the way I am a fan of Matt's and the team.  

I sit on pins and needles waiting on the info of how much money is in their motor :) Don't forget about Chase and Doug's motors also..LOL :):):) 

microsprint6,

Can you at least tell us what engine builder they use ?

Well it is pretty obvious you are in the MCR camp.  Going back to when he started, it would be a safe bet to say he has torn up a lot of equipment over the past two years, but you are right I do not follow every week so that part is pure speculation and seeing how personal you are taking that - I apologize to you so you can sleep better tonight.  I look back at his history more then one year.  It is obvious you have are jealous for the Godfrey team and seeing that you are a MCR fan, that makes sense.  I do not keep the detailed stats like you do (which is actually quite sad that you do), I do know he has plowed through equipment over the past couple years - his own and many other people that were in his way.  I am not much of a 358 fan so in this arguement, you do have more info then I do.

I do not know what motor builder MCR has, at least four teams at the Rahmer Legends race alluded to the fact that they get outspended 2 to 3 times by MCR.  That is racers talk so maybe it is blown out of proportion but you have to admit that they spend money and if you don't your crazy.  I did not hammer Sid Walters but he was saying MCR basically lost their ass by running third last week and it was implied that they did not know the payout, which again has to be wrong. If you have the money, great - that is your money and you can do what you want and you shouldn't be offended that you can spend more then other teams.  The original post stated that MCR spent a ton of money to race at Susky and only made 1200.  My point is they are doing just fine and if they weren't - they wouldn't have been there.  Never once did I say they are bad people or the kid can't drive.  He actually is quite amazing for his age but he does run rough - which a lot of young guys do.

Not in the camp or part of the team at all. I started taking my young son to the races this year and he picked the 16 car based on color. That's how 5 year olds do it. I took him in the pits at the Grove one night after the races to get up close to the car. Matt saw him there and came over and talked with him then let him run thru the trailer and finally sit in the car and got his picture taken. So now I'm a fan. They were ready to load up and go home and waited an extra 20 minutes or so for my son. Hard to find that these days. And then when I finally got my boy to leave Matt told him to wait a minute... Got in the trailer and gave him a T-shirt and checkered flag to take home.

So yes, I and my son are fans of Matt and cheer for him every week.

Last year was his rookie season and was up and down with results. This year he has been fast and consistent. Are you gonna beat him up 10 years from now over his rookie year?

guess the 17 yr old kid isnt an old pro like yourself?

besides one slider for the lead this year at the grove, ive never seen him run anyone dirty.

a good young racer that comes from a family that puts money into the sport, leave it up to the internet racing "fans" to find a problem with that...smh

Good call, the Red Sea parted all year for him...except for Nouse.

the car is all over the place on entry more often than all the cars around him...add that to the extra speed of a 410 and you have chaos.

some Internet fans said he is ready to move to 410...are you one of them?

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I've seen the kid several times at Lincoln this year. Did seem alittle wild at times but it's the 358 division.  Many of them are learning, and I certainly didn't take special notice.  So I totally agree with you, people just bitch just because. 

What Matt and his family did for your son is absolutely awesome.  Making fans at a young age is the only way to grow the sport, and Matt gained two fans that night.  As for kids picking a car because of the color that's damn straight Lol. My 4 year old daughter is a huge Hodnett fan (white and blue with a running dude on it).  My oldest loved Chad Layton because of the running jalapeño on the side panels.  

Wish all the drivers the best because it's hard to get new blood into this eve more expensive sport. 

I appreciate  all comments to my original thread , even though we've gone away from it but thats ok . As  some  have stated earlier that the work has begun at Susquehanna for next year . It was nice to see a large crowd there as it was the only race in town . I do hope fans support this track as much as they did on closing day . While as stated by many on here it was a difficult racing day for all . But I believe in what I am hearing that eventually this track will become the number 2 track as far as  the facilities go , and racing will be good as well , which is the one reason we all go to the races . Port Royal , Susky , Selinsgrove , Lincoln and Wms Grove is the order I put them in far as the actual  facilities convenience , but I  know people will differ from my opinion .

Dude you must be on crack or something. How the hell can Lincoln be next to last on the list? The facilities at Lincoln are pretty damn nice. The bathrooms kinda suck but they're plenty good enough and can fit a lot of people at one time. Furthermore, did you ever take a peak around your blinders to see that Lincoln has a PAVED PIT AREA???? No other track does. The Grove put down millings which is sort of pavement but Lincoln is the ONLY track in Central Pa that has a legit paved pit area. I suppose you missed the sandbox in the infield for the kids to play in too. Also, unlike Selinsgrove (which for some reason you have listed at 3rd) you can see the whole track no matter where you sit. A lot of the seating is cement which can be hard on your ass but that's why the make blankets and seat cushions.....or do you think that it's an atrocity that the Speedway doesn't provide these things free of charge for the fans? Either way, Susky 2nd? REALLY? Maybe it will be but its not yet. Looks like you listed the tracks according to your personal favorites and not objectively based on the criteria you claim you used.

 Hi Mr. Fixxxer, yes Lincoln is ok but needs seating , restroom , make track wider, yes its pit area is paved but Port will do that in the future as well , they have put better lighting in pit area for next year something all tracks need , again yes Lincoln is Ok but its time to put more money back into improvements . As far as Selinsgrove the seating is good , but I grant you the vision is not good in turns 3 and 4 but that will be improved down the road but it won't be this year as I am sure they need to turn some profits but are looking at what they can do . And Susky seating will be greatly improved , thats why  I ranked Susquehanna where I did . No , I didn't list them according to my preference just what I thought will have or does have more feasible comfortable facilities .