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

Do the fans only have to pay half price for their tickets since they can't see anything beyond the front stretch?

www.harleytrikes.com

No because typically when you are there it is not really an issue sight wise. Yeah you get some dirt on you but really it's not that big of a problem. Seems that ever since races became broadcasted online we can always set our calendars to Ohio Speed week for all the dust jokes by the arm chair track preppers on social media & the forum. No, nobody lost keys to the water truck, yes they do maintenance throughout the week, there are no refunds, yes you get dirty at a dirt track who da thunk it. Depending on the weather conditions throughout the week it can be dustier than usual, it's the type of clay that's in the area. Been around for decades

Dustin Jarrett did a really good job announcing I thought. 

+1 on both comments above this.

Being from Ohio Muskingum is the dirtiest track I've ever been to.Track faces the west and with any normal summer wind you are gonna eat plenty of dirt.

Television lighting always makes it look worse than it is in person.  It was kind of weird that it took them a half a lap to throw the yellow for the car that exited in 1 & 2.  It's almost as if they didn't realize they were a car short.  Crazy night but it's dry and as pointed out a type of clay that produces a lot of dust.  I have seen races like that up here in Minnesota a few times.  One year, think it was 2007, we lost track of everyone as they went barreling into the first turn.  When the dust settled there was a pile of bent Sprint Cars.  One of our local tracks mists the track between races and that seems to help when it gets dusty.  They don't soak it but just mist it enough that it only adds an extra lap or tow as they line up.  Sometimes if needed they will chop it up before the feature, water and pack it if misting isn't helping. Boone Iowa has a reputation for being fast at reworking their track during the IMCA Boone Supernationals.  They have enough equipment standing by to rework the track without causing significant delays.  If a track fan do that in ten or fifteen minutes like they do it's really the best solution when conditions require it.

Those aren't arm chair track prep, just the way I have seen some tracks solve the dust problem.  

Stan Meissner

The Muskingum race looked phenomenal, what you could see of it on the youtube highlights. 

A

Excellent advice!!  I have visited most of these tracks over the past 35 years and you do need to bring goggles or safety glassess.  I just wonder how many of the people commenting on the visibility have ever been to an Ohio Sprint Speedweek show?  The type of dirt is definitely a factor as well as the conditions for that day, but as a rule, I keep a pair of goggles in the truck for each and every race I attend.  WIth that being said, the competitive racing in the area ranks with the best anywhere!!

I watch most of my racing on tv these days but I took the camera out of mothballs and went to a race last Saturday night.  A friend offered me a ride on his ATV and he wanted to try some outside shots.  It was still heavy during hot laps and we got a pretty good clay shower from the 360's.  Later on it dried out and got dusty but it would be tough to see through a camera viewfinder with hardware store goggles.  I was wearing sunglasses but have never used goggles and rarely see people wearing them.  When it's dusty like that it lights up dust particles so they look like Christmas tree ornaments from flash after dark so I left after the Heats.  Made the hour drive home in time to catch the WoO and Knoxville 410 Features.  I dont bring goggles so therefore I am not a bonified Sprint Car fan.  Just an old guy who wanted to "get some camera laps in" and shake off the rust before the Outlaws come to town next month.  

Stan Meissner

Applying to Speedweeks but also sprint car racing as a whole, it's sad that the biggest paying race by far got the lowest car count. I know it's a long week, and location matters blah blah blah, but when you pay nearly double and get less cars than everyone else, it makes you shake your head. 

The OH Speedweek races in southern and eastern Ohio (south of Sharon and Wayne County) don't normally draw as many cars as the northern and northwest tracks.  There have been exceptions (Atomic pulled 50+ for a mid-week show several years ago) but generally that's the way it works out.  The guys from up north don't seem to want to make the long haul south, and there don't seem to be as many southern teams to keep the car count up.  One thing to consider is that the weather for Portsmouth was questionable early in the day, so that may have kept some teams away.  With the purse for the Knittel Memorial going up next year (more than $1k to start) I hope the weather is good so we can find out if there just isn't interest from the north to go south.

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