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

I think Holmes and company got a taste of victory Lane and have some confidence they can get back there regardless of the competition.

I checked Sprint Car Ratings and found this:

http://www.sprintcarratings.com/DriverResults.aspx?DriverID=2167

I think the answer to his recent success is seat time.  74 410 races versus 58 last year.

To be clear, I'm not calling it a "crown jewel", but the hype machine does and I was repeating it. Kinda like how "The Month of Money!" Is overdone.

Every racetrack seems to have a "big" race once a year, hoping it will evolve into a super big event over the years. It reminds me of every small town in my region that has a once a year town party. I had a friend ask me with a straight face if I was going to Boxelder Bug Days.

The big race syndrome goes through all classes now, and the hype and hyperbole are over the top. Imagine your excitement when they announce the annual Outlaw Extreme Hobby Stock Nationals that pays 800 bucks to win!!!!!

As we wallow forward through these "taking it to the next level " days of sprint car racing, more tracks will be trying to get into that elite level of hyped event. For example, Husets Speedway seems to be trying to buy their way in. Perhaps there needs to be something between a regular over-hyped traveling series race with freshly-coined cool name that pays the same as last weekend's race and the "true" crown jewel races. Can we call the bigger, higher purse races with some history to them "Premium Races"?

Agree 100%. I have only missed two National Opens in the last 30 years. This year I attended my 4th Knoxville Nationals and was at Williams Grove last night. Is the Open on par with The Nationals or Kings Royal, no but given the history, the time of year, plus the atmosphere and the packed grandstands, it is a Crown Jewel of sprint car racing. Yes, The Grove could use some facility updates, and the racing is not always great, but if you ever attended a National Open as a fan, you walk away feeling the vibes. I love how people love to bash Williamss Grove, but let's compare for example, the old beat up Williams Grove or say the Diamond of Dirt Tracks, Lucas Oil Speedway. What event had a better experience for the fans, last night with a standing room only crowd, or the recently completed Jesse Hockett-Daniel McMillin Memorial Race with a half empty race track. Just sayin'.

JUst read an article on the history of the Scaget Dirt Cup It listed first winner as 1972. They did however call it a Crown Jewel of sprint car racing. (I was horrified when I read that. It reallly upset me)

the tuscarora 50 is the biggest race in pennsylvania.  i live about a mile from williams grove.  i decided to keep going down williams grove road on friday night instead of turning left on lisburn road just to see what the camping crowd was like.  if i hadn't done that...outside of the noise from the cars...i would have had no idea the "biggest race on the east coast" was going on.  

port royal makes their crown jewel race an event.  it's right in the center of town and during the fair.  the tuscuarora 50 is port royal and vice versa.  ask people around the neighborhoods here and nobody would know anything more than a regular friday night race was going on.  a fair number of people probably don't even know a winged sprint car from a late model.  i would love to see williams grove be more active in the community.

people laughed at me last year when i said we left before heat races.  congrats chase dietz...but outside of that...i didn't miss anything.  

and just to be clear...i think this whole split is unfortunate.  it has watered down sprint car racing and i agree everyone needs to be honest about their motives.  williams grove has taken a bigger hit since each series has chosen a home field in pennsylvania.  woo is lacking the drivers people want to see.  i still think this will come down to whether woo decide to tighten its grip on the true crown jewel races at knoxville and eldora.  that's how irl outlasted cart.  

The King's Royal is not a crown jewel.  It is a goofy one-night show with a big first place.  That does not constitute a crown jewel. 

The Grove hasn't produced very good racing for as long as I can remember.   But hey, at least they didn't leave the cars that unloaded fast out of the feature because of weird mystery inverts.  (Mystery inverts are SO "crown jewel"  I would consider the Grove much more of a Crown Jewel event than the KR even without the 6-figure payday.  

I don't get this WOO fans not liking HL and HL fans not liking the WOO. It sure does piss you of that only two WOO drivers have won the Kings Royal in the last six years doesn't it?  Did you dislike it as much before that? Most everyone agrees that knoxville is the top one. You don't have to keep hating on all the others. Sprint car racing goes from Febuary to Novenber not just late April to the middle of August.