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

what if Whitney doesn't run full time, Reinke goes back to Knoxville, Scott Young doensn't run much, Kurt Winker runs 2 or 3 times a year, Todd Hepfner stays away to run the family business and so on. Joe Roe is done, Kim Mock should be done, Raymond Hensley is done, Todd Daun is done, and etc....

it's just not the way it used to be. so much talent lost. Donny Goedon is a great driver but in a below average car, John Haeini is pretty good, Scott Nietzel is pretty good.

the only really good shows in Wisconsin were at Antigo, Dodge County and Oshkosh would have been good. coincidentally Tatnell, Logan, Winters, and Wayne Johnson were at these races. i'll also say Seymour was a really good show. great track.

that's another thing, the track preparation at many of the shows i see are just pathetic. Charter sucks, Oshkosh really sucks, Plymouth has sucked lately, and Wilmot has always sucked.

the IRA is always boasting about what great car count that they have. don't get me wrong i'll take quality over quantity any day but the quantity is getting bad too.(unless you go to Plymouth where everyone with a wing shows up).

how bad is it gonna be or get? are we gonna want to keep going? i mean Kurt Davis "won:" a race! that's gotta be a sign.

Here in Minnesota we have limited options. Drive to Knoxville every Saturday night which is out of the question or wait for Sprint specials to come our way. We can see probably some of the best Late Model racing in the country at least three times a week close to home but we don't have weekly Sprint shows. We're happy whenever we get to see a special event. Consequently, I've been very happy with the IRA and the niche for an alternative 410 series that comes to our area. Where we live forget 50 Sprints, we're happy with 24, 30 is great and 40 is awesome. On the other hand we're bummed out if a big Late Model show only draws 70 cars. It is what it is and half the fun is getting together with family and friends. If a good race happens to break out it's a bonus. I couldn't count how many Sprint shows I've been to that had around 15 360's on hand and five support classes of up to 40 cars each. You sit through a few nights like that just to get a whiff of some methanol and you'd probably agree with me that we've got it pretty good.

Sounds like you're a very discerning fan who expects numbers and high quality for your entertainment dollar. Have you ever thought about buying a motorhome and becoming a racing nomad?

Stan Meissner

I'm pretty happy with the IRA. The car counts have dwindled a bit since they first started coming "up north" in 1999. Superior which is about as far north as they go used to get 30-35 cars every time. This year if memory serves me correct it was more like 26 or 28. They start 22 in their features which I like. They always have a b-main. Too many cars can make it a long night which gets old fast. I would have to agree with Stan in his statement, 30 cars is great.

It's usually $15-$22 to get into an IRA event and they typically put on a good show. Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota can't really ask for much more. The shows I saw this season which was about 7 or 8 I couldn't find much to complain about other than Brainerd being pretty cold. Whitney, Reinke, Neitzel and Goedon are always fun to watch. Any time Scott Winters showed up he made things interesting.

Charter is the only track in southern Wisconsin I have been to and I would agree their track prep is sub par. If you want to take a road trip and see great track prep and great racing come on up to Superior or Cedar Lake. Superior is always wicked fast. Tacky red clay at it's best. Cedar Lake always provides mulit-groove racing. Rice Lake has been a good show also.

I wouldn't say things are bad, just not in their hay days of a few years ago.

Crap....I forgot all about Bill Balog. Now that boy knows how to stand on it! He's clean too. He doesn't run the entire tour, but he hits most of them and usually runs top 5 or 10.

There are more cars down in the southeast part of Wisconsin so I think the people down in that area have come to expect more. Like I said, up here we're happy just to get a decent Sprint show whether it be IRA, ASCS or some of the specials down at Jackson. Sometimes I'd swear that some of these Sprint fans never pickup a newspaper or have a care in the world. It's tough out there just fielding a car on a local or regional level so I can't fault any of the racers attempting to run in the "working man's clubs" like IRA. You stop and think about it, these guys budgets are stretched about as far as they can go, they're weekend racers so they're risking their ability to make a living just getting into one of those things. One bad night and a guy could be out of work for a long time with a pile of bills. What for? Our entertainment and their enjoyment of going fast. When I think of it like that it's a miracle anybody would want to run one of these things. I can't say anything bad about them because I'd never have the means or the will to do it myself.

Stan Meissner

Stan you have summed it up with that last commit. Strange wings who ever you may be If you r man enough to do the work it takes to do this racing deal I have a car just waiting for someone of your talent because you must have it sense you think I dont. Oh ya bring a check with you for the expenses of the team to. This game is easy in your eyes so come along and join us because IRA needs a new star like you that is better than the rest.

i'm comparing the state of the IRA the way it is now to what it used to be. everything used to be better. that's all. and if you don't see it, well go figure.

btw, is this Kurt Davis? can i get an autograph?

No offense taken. It's a lot harder to communicate what you really mean on a message board than it is over a beer with a grin on your face. These message boards have probably caused more ill will among people that would get along great in person than any invention ever created. I always give people the benefit of the doubt online and I'm sure your aim is true.

Stan Meissner

I really liked watching the IRA when they came to Jacksonville and a few times at Knoxville, but I really hope they schedule 34 Raceway in Burlington again. They were going to have a sick car count for the May 5 show this year that was rained out, including I think Lasoski, Dollansky, and Chad Hillier among others.

lucky you.   that's exactly what i mean.   those races and tracks you mentioned would be great ones.   as per my post about poor track prep and dwindling quality,  going to to IRA races here in Wisconsin is not nearly what it used to be.  

Look at the expense of the sport because that is the problem with state of the IRA. You are a smart person to figure that this is Kurt Davis and if you want an autograph come on down and see me, I will be glad to give you one like I do with all my fans. All I was commenting on was the statement that included my name, maybe I took it wrong but what did you mean by it so I wouldn't't take it wrong?

If you look at the overall state of the IRA, outwardly it is pretty good.

There are some good drivers up and coming. There is a large 360 group that is feeding the series, car counts average 30.

I agree, it isn't what it used to be, but is anything? I remember when:

1) a 40 -45 car count was the norm for an IRA show

2) there was 63 cars at Wilmot for a WoO B sides show

3) most tracks the IRA went to was standing room only

4) fuel cost a 1.50 a gallon

I could be worse and someday it probably will be. But you need to enjoy it while you got it. I took it for granted in WI, there are many weekends in the summer I wish I was back chasing the sprints and fenders across the state.

Big Daddy E

hey Eric, how's it going. Shirley said that you came back for a few races in September. didn't see you at all this summer. hope everythings good.

acutally drank with Butch and Shirley last night at Players. we had our first rec. basketball game last night, and boy was i thirsty.

btw, Ohio has gotta kick ass compared to Wisconsin as far as going to some good sprint car races. what do you think?

2 big issues with the IRA that need to be solved.

Scoring and payout. Why travel across the state for $2,000 or less. The IRA may need to start putting some of the money that goes into the point fund into the purse.

Scoring at an IRA event is like sitting at a blackjack table in Vegas. You never know what your going to get and usually it is usually not right.

Oh almost forgot electronic scoring would be helpful.

Hey Kurt, I"ll take one of those autographs, Don't let someone like that no name up above get to you. You are one of the reason's the IRA is one of the best racing series in the country. You are a true racer. Love to watch you and better to chat with you at the races. And with the state of the increased prices in everything from food to racing parts, I look for more owners parking their cars or staying close to home next season, all we can do is enjoy what ever we have next season whether it's 30 car fields or 18 cars. See everyone next year.

everyone says that IRA needs electronic scoring but that doesn't solve anything you still need people up there watching to make sure that cars being lapped are being lapped... yeah it might help come down to determine a winner but it doesn't help when you have half the field lapped. i have helped score sprints before and its not as easy as it looks... drivers complain... fans complain well if you think you can do it better then you go do it... i don't mean to sound like i am in high school but theres my two cents worth

i do not mean to be a smart ass but the electronic scoring shows laps complete does it not? if a car has less laps it must be laps down right? the scoring program gives a table that shows the position of each car taking into account the number of laps completed does it not? just asking. not trying to say scoring does not have it's difficult moments but the advent of electronic scoring has been seen as a great help to most.

If you are using transponders, (electronic scoring), and you can't tell who is lapped and who isn't, you need different people in the scoring tower...CZ

who cares about all that. if you got crappy tracks and 3 good cars and drivers, the transponders don't mean jack.

There's a simple solution. If you don't like the IRA you don't have to go to their races. I was satisfied with the IRA racing I saw during the 2007 season but what makes one person happy isn't necessarily going to turn everyone else's crank. We're giving you permission to not go to IRA races if you want to spend your entertainment dollars on something else. There are so many choices in life and you've already made your point so the logical next step that's gonna' make you a happy camper is to move on.

Try some Late Model, Modified or even asphalt racing and report back to us in six months and let us know if it made you happy. H*ll, try golf, fishing or mountain climbing but for god's sake please stop b*tching about something that you have the option of walking away from. If beating your head against a tree hurts, duhhhh!!!, stop beating your head against the tree. If you don't like IRA races and can't find anything good to say about them stop moaning about it and revise your friggin' 2008 schedule.

If your intent is to offer Steve Sinclair some advice about how to make the IRA better he'll listen to you so you don't need to keep beating up on them. If your advice isn't economically feasible to put into action he'll tell you that and you can make your schedule accordingly. The IRA like any other club has to structure their purse around what these tracks are willing to pay for an IRA show and do their best to entice a following of drivers with what they're able to put on the table. The IRA doesn't have a home track so their existence depends on being able to walk the line between keeping it affordable for the promoter and keeping their drivers happy. That's not an easy task in this economy.

Pick up a newspaper, oil is damn near $100 a barrel, people are foreclosing on their mortgages in record numbers and they're worried about their jobs let alone their entertainment. Do you think that just maybe those things might have an effect on short track racing? I know that no racing organization is perfect but they're all doing their best to work through some difficult times. We as fans don't owe them our blind support so we've got the option to do something else but I don't see any good coming from beating anyone into the ground on a message board.

Stan Meissner