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

1/ Getting Old ?.....2/ New Rules have Evened The Competition ?.....3/ WOO told Donny to Slow Down ?......4/ The other Teams are Catching Up ? 

5. Who the hell cares?

My first impression is some of teams have caught up , as now the two best crew chiefs Lee Stauffer and Ricky Warner are working hard to beat one another . I know Lee Stauffer is really putting in the hours to keep Brad Sweet in the winning mode . But never count out Donny Schatz and Ricky Warner as the money months are coming up , especially Knoxville where they know the setup .

It is a Pa deal in order to get Lee a job it was made to allow him to lead points and recieve the DOLLARS he was wanting so Tony allowed Rickie to make this happen

Its getting more obvious all the time why Smoke is getting away from the over rated chevs.  A year too late perhaps.

Luna's Ford engine style that won 2 WoO titles and 3 
Kings Royals before a weight rule against the best EVER
in their prime and now DOMINATES super dirt late model
racing is no longer allowed/wanted in a WoO sprint
car.... Was Luna a miracle worker?

If Donny's Chevy is underrated what would you call all of the other Chevy's that are beating him right now? Of all the stupid shit you've ever said, this one takes the cake.

Easy, Cooler weather and softer tracks,  Once the shake n bake dry slickies come into play. You'll be lucky to beat him.  EVER!

I think you're on to something.......Donny has had other years when he didn't start the season off in a winning fashion to fit his normal standards. But as you stated.....the warmer weather which coincides with the big money races is when the #15 team is at their best. Also, we'll have to wait and see if the other teams that are showing some might can keep up the pace they are currently running at. I think between Donny getting better and the other teams wearing down, it will be the same old same old..... 

They may be slumping right now, but there's no doubt they will figure it out. I think the biggest issue is the format. He hasn't ever been a great qualifier and this format makes qualifying much more important than it was before. Once they figure out how to time better and get faster in heat races, he'll be right back to winning every other race.

Didn't know Schatz was running Fords this year?   That would explain why he isn't as fast...

I wouldn't be writing any epitaphs yet. He seems to have a pattern of doing OK 1st half of season, winning Knoxville, & then damn near running the table

First off these are not Chevy and Ford engines.  They are Brodex, All Pro,  Donovan, Crower and on and on engines.  Not a oem part in them.  Second these winning streaks do not last forever.  Have ever heard of Petty, Foyt and on and on.  Donny will win alot more races but will he dominate?

Who cares.

You're wasting your time. Somehow he can't get it through his head that the engines now days literally don't have a damn thing to do with any auto manufacturers. They're purpose built racing engines with purpose built racing parts therefore like you said, there's nothing "Chevy" or "Ford" about them. I don't know what it matters anyway in regards to sprint cars because sprint cars have always just been sprint cars. Yes there was a time when you could find shit at a junkyard to go racing with on Saturday and that time has long since passed but these cars have always just been sprint cars. I could totally understand a late model or any other stock car fan who used to watch them when they were actual cars that were turned into race cars not being able to get into the Late models of today that look really stupid and nothing like an actual car but to be so hung up on the engines being used in sprint cars baffles me. I just don't get it. 

Historically, when the weather gets hot, so does Donny. Give it time.

Tires also may be playing a roll. The team decided in Florida to make a commitment to run the new tire and stay with it all year. Said they were doing so to build notes on the tracks they visit with the new tires. Obviously thinking long term with that plan. Not sure at what point (maybe it's already happened) they'll decide to go with what conditions dictate but they decided before the season started to stick with the new tire no matter what to gain experience and build notes on performance at each track.  

Guaranteed they will stick with it and it WILL pay off long term. That's what makes Donny and the 15 team what they are. They don't spring for the flavor of the week like damn near every other team does. They run pretty much the same stuff now that they've ran for many many years and they don't go changing a bunch of shit around when they hit a slump. They are always thinking long term just like they are with this new tire and right now, they're getting beat pretty regularly but the day will come that they're going to be light years ahead of everyone else who couldn't see beyond their own noses and once again, Donny will make everyone else look stupid and the rewards that they'll get from what their doing now, will be much more long term than the success the others are currently enjoying while Donny isn't running like his usual self.

winna!!!!!!

It'll be interesting to see A) What happens when weather heats up and B) What tire they go with when re-visiting tracks (the ones they hit a couple times). No joke Schatz and Warner have a 3 ring binder full of notes for every single track they visit. Helps he's been on road for 20 years, but the dearth of notes they maintain and consult is unreal. No doubt filling more binders as they take notes with new tire. 

Something to keep in mind is past and current success allows then to maybe sacrifice "right now" success for long-term success with the new tire. Fledging teams or teams that need right now results don't have same benefit. He can R&D to see long-term success. 

You have a point about fledgling teams and while it's tempting for them to try and catch lightning in a bottle, it rarely pays off. A perfect example of this is the GKR #48 driven by Danny Dietrich and the Premier Autoworks #21 driven by Brian Montieth. Both teams didn't set the world on fire right away but they stuck to their guns and instead of going after new drivers and switching around crew chiefs all the time and chassis manufacturers, they built those teams to succeed long term and look at them now. It's been proven time and again that the teams who are able to find continuity with drivers, crew, equipment ect. more times that not stand the best chance to achieve long term success and in many instances, to dominate. As with any rule there are always exceptions but that's just the way I see it.