Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: hosehead

I always liked Todd Shaffer's quote after beating the Outlaws at Selinsgrove in 1991. Shaffer was mad that was forced to be number "11T" in deference to Steve Kinser being number 11 that night.

"There's only one number 11 at Selinsgrove, and that's me."

One night at Huset's Speedway years ago, Doug Wolfgang had just beaten a young rookie driver in a heat race. The rookie tried to hold off the persistant charges of Wolfgang by blocking him for about (2) laps. After the race the rookie came over laughing and proceeded to tell Wolfgang how he almost beat him in the heat race. Wolfgang, not amused, replied, "...If you would have blocked me one more time, I was gonna shine your bumper..." CZ

Some from archived notes:

-"It's really a sign of the times, but I still have to think it's a shame that drug traffic and racing people have to make the news again. Racing has taken many lives at many race tracks, but it's too bad that National Champions and other prominent people have to ruin so many more lives just for money. Drugs and racing don't mix and when they do, I'll take up video games to occupy my time.-Duane Davis, Marshalltown, Iowa-April 13th, 1983. (on Kenny Weld's recent bust)

-A historic fan favorite heat race at the Knoxville Nationals in 1984 as Carman Manzardo was able to hold off Kinser for the first 4 laps. Manzardo had recently sold his Sprint Car and showed up at the Nationals to compete with some kind of Modified junky looking race car. When told of he held off Kinser, Manzardo stated "Was that who that was?"

-US 131 Raceway, 1987 WoO Show-Only 7 cars finished the Feature due to track conditions were defined by WoO Competition Director Beryl Christian as "…a mixture of sand and rocks that resembled a mine field…" (First time in WoO history a two-day show was cut to a one day race due to track maintenance problems and unsafe racing conditions).

-Hagerstown, 1991 WoO Preliminary, May 26th-At the checkered flag , Stevie Smith let Sammy Swindell know how he felt by bumping him from behind and then attempting to block his way into the pits. Swindell pitted and then stormed towards the Smith trailer but turned back before reaching it. Swindell shrugged off the incident with an expletive but neither Smith nor his car owner Al Hamilton were happy over the incident. "He tried to stuff me into the wall…" Smith states, and his car owner backed up the claim.

-Ben Cook had once stated his favorite track was Williams Grove Speedway due to the "hot-dogs" usually have to start 15th or 16th and have to work their way to the front.

-When asked in 1991 about the impending WoO invasion to central Pennsylvania, Donnie Kreitz Jr. was quoted as saying, "We'll probably get our asses kicked."

-Earl Baltes was asked about on the seemingly low car count (19 treams towed in that day) for the June 11th, 1993 WoO show at Eldora… "I can tell you one thing, The World of Outlaws doesn't need to bring 30 cars to make me happy. They put on a good show with 15-20 cars."

-1993 Knoxville Nationals Championship: Terry McCarl on his position of the unsafe conditions on the track and the lack of actions by race officials to yellow flag or stop the race. "This is a joke. They cost me a $20,000 race car and the best shot I had at winning the Knoxville Nationals. You know what it's like when it rains on a hard race track? It's like driving on ice. They should have stopped the race long before they did, but what are they going to tell me they are going to do, tell me they are sorry?"

-"Ted Musgrave is going to win a Winston Cup Championship one of these days."-Dave Argabright "Indiana Scene", 1994.

-Reba Louise Lovell and Danny Peace using the words "Honest...hard working"'. In any sentence.

Gotta ton more....

A man shows up outside of a speedway on the east coast, well over six feet tall, and intimidating. He has very little money and yet he says "I'm Jud Larson and I came here to race. Let me in so I can."

Support our troops. Their hearts still believe in us.

Many years ago Jud Larson was to meet A.J. Watson at the hoosier 100 to drive his car in the big race. Jud wasn't known around the Indy area at that time, he walked up to A.J. and asked " Is this here the shit box I'mm supossed to drive," and A.J. answered if your name is Jud Larson it is. At that A.J. asked Jud how he liked his car set up. Jud said " Hell Boss just set it on win and I'll take her from there" A. J. told Jud you don't throw these big cars sideways at the flagstand like you do those midgets and sprints. Jud says hey boss you turn the wrenches and I'll turn the steer wheel. Jud proceeded to lead the race for 96 laps and he broke a shock and Jimmy Bryan got by him for the win. Most of this info came from Joe Scalzo's book Stand on the Gas which is a great read. I got to race with Jud before he made the big time and have talked to many of the drivers who got to race with Jud and we all feel he was the best dirt track driver we ever saw, and we could just hear Jud walking up to A.J. inquiring about his shit box. Have fun at the races. Bud Hunnicutt

We need to start a thread about Larson himself!

Support our troops. Their hearts still believe in us.

Jack Hewitt said after he got back togather with Hampshire, flashy cars don't mean it's faster.And who ever came up with second place is the first looser?

None can ever top Bill Vukovich's uncle Eli. When asked how Vuky could drive so good? "We took him out in an orchard, strapped him in, tied the throttle wide open, and said don't hit no trees".

Next best circa 1990. Ron Shuman after winning the CRA feature at the asphalt Mesa Marin Raceway over the likes of Jeff Gordon and Rich Vogler. "Racing on pavement sucks".

I think it was 'Slick 50'or something,Haud turns over and says,'I thought I had'er saved till I heard the wing crunch.'Classic.

back in the day, a loved family racer , just completes a heat race as he returns to the pit , he is laughing histarically as yells through the window " I just ran over some poor SOB's bumper" dad replies "that poor SOB's bumper , was yours!"

"That man right there is the best sprint car driver in the whole ---damned country!"  1974- Indianapolis-  AJ Foyt  pointing out Jan Opperman in the garage.

Support our troops. Their hearts still believe in us.

Back in the 80's or 90's, in an article in Open Wheel magazine the writer wrote,

"If Karl Kinser put a turd on his hood, everyone else would too."

"Just the facts ma'am", Sgt. Joe Friday, Detective, 
LAPD


Loyal WoO supporter since 1978 

While working on the 7TW and 104+ team from '97 through '99.

At the WoO event in Sedalia, Mo. in '99, our driver kept popping left front tires while rubbing the inside concrete wall. After changing the 3rd or 4th one...crew chief Robert Hubbard keyed up the radio and said to Jeff, "Aaayy..........you might want to move up on the racetrack a little bit. We aint got no more left front wheels."

J.D Kramer after flipping his ride clear outta the park at Putnamville, "I just went into the turn and ran out of talent."

Another famous line I picked up from J.D. refering to a driver's inability, "He couldn't drive a hot nail up a snowman's ass."

"Dance with the one that brung ya." - Robert Hubbard. While playing slot machines at a truckstop in Wells, Nevada, I had a little success on a $1 machine. After playing several others, Hub told me, "Dance with the one that brung ya," pointing at the machine I started with. So I went back to it, and on the fifth pull, JACKPOT....triple 7's....$1,200.

Tracy Smart

"You can get alot from someone with a smile. You can 
get alot MORE from someone with a smile.....and a 
flamethrower."

"Chicks dig a man with confidence. At least I THINK 
they do."

"Only ONE thing keeps me from winning every 
race...TALENT"

During TNN's winter heat series, Dave Blaney was asked what he thought the track would be like come feature time? " Hell I dont know, all I see is dirt in a circle !00 times a year!" was his reply.

Rahmer said to me in VL last year after winning an Outlaw show in May "you got more balls than me to be wearing that." I was dressed in Drag after losing a bet.LOL

Hey, you left out the part about getting a kiss from Rahmer and having the pic plastered all over the Williams Grove message board. LOL

from Parnelli Jones' book "Parnelli"--If you're not out of control, you're not going fast enough.

Roger Rager on the mike at Husets" Thats why i dont come to this shithole". I think im close.

Also " Its kinda like getting dumped out of a pickup in a 55 gallon barrell going down a gravel road"

Anyway thats how i rember it.

Devin Heesch

Another Rager quote--"That's all we had!"---- His response to my question about his bus motor at Indy in 1980.

Support our troops. Their hearts still believe in us.

While I've heard numerous cool quotes in Victory Lane at the Sprint Car races, one that comes to mind actually came from the late Dale Earnhardt.

It was the Daytona 500 that Dale got squeezed in turn 2 late in the race and flipped, the car landed on it's wheels, and Dale actually drove back to the pits. Anyway the TV people were making a big deal out of it and pointing blame and everything. They caught up with Dale in the pits; "Dale, what happened out there!?" Dale's expression and tone never wavered; "I got in a wreck" Like it was no big deal. He was so succinct about it I thought it was great, like the TV people were expecting to hear all this other BS. I guess you had to see it, but it was classic.