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

Pops and I, with my nephew in tow, headed east to check out Tony Stewart's All Star Super Sprint program at Mercer Raceway Park. On the way there, we did the math and realized we had not been to Mercer since 1977 or so...I remember watching some racers with the names Paul Pitzer, Bobby Allen, Kramer Williamson, Dub May, Rick Ferkel, Johhny Beaber, Fred and Jim Linder to name a few.

When we arrived, the first things I noticed when pulling in the parking lot were the big, brown press boxes that sit above and behind the granstands. They extend 3/4" of the length of the stands and have big windows looking like luxury suites. I didn't remember them being there so to make sure my memory wasn't off, I asked a couple of track employees who thought that they were added about 20 years or so ago....

The place is very cozy, with the track being tucked in the middle of the grounds, everything up close. We were able to find a seat in the Non-Alcohol section right at the top....which was almost directly behind the flagstand. I noticed right away that there were people sitting in lawn chairs between the track fence and the main gravel walkway in front of the stands. There is a wide strip of grass between the track fence and the gravel walkway some fans use to set up their camping chairs or lay blankets and watch the race....or just lay there and sleep! Over the years I've seen cars and parts and rock fly through those front stretch catch fences.....that is way too close to the action for me!!! 

The track is not banked very much and reminds me of Fremont...except for the fact that turn 1 and 2 is wide and sweeping and 3 and 4 is small and very tight....and odd shape for a track for sure.  It's cool to watch the cars really back it in to power off of the really tight fourth turn....It was also neat to see the Mercer County Courthouse dome, poking just above the treeline behind the backstretch pits.....

There were 36 or so All Star 410's and 24 of the 305 sprints....and stocks, (yawn)......and mini "lite" modifieds that looked like small versions of the big block eastern modifieds..They must be built on a legends car chassis and they use a motorcycle engine.....or weedeater engine!  Just imagine a swarm of mosquitoes flying around your head and you know the sound! They were interesting to look at...but when they raced it was a waste of time...alot of time!

I will say the paint job on one of the 305's caught my eye.  The 88 had the Johnny Lightning theme going on. Imagine Al Unser's 1972 dirt champ car...Then put that paint on a down tube sprint car with a wing on it! Nice....Blue with the yellow thunderbolts...so cool.  

Time trails were interesting......Page Polyak showed some speed, timing 6th or 7th...The fastest drivers were in the 13.6 to 13.8 range.....Kemenah was second quick but Blaney blistered with a new track record of 13.2 something......The heats were mostly follow the leader as the track dried quickly and only held moisture along the inside groove by the rail and infield tires. If you didn't make a pass on the start...it was follow the leader the rest of the way. Some tried up high, but the loose dust just didn't afford any grip at all. Lee Jacobs made a swift move into the second spot at the start of the first heat...and that was all the passing....Blaney got passed in turn two exit by Spithaler for transfer spot in his heat....but I guess Blaney went to the dash because he had fast time? Or maybe last transfer spot was 5th spot? Unsure...couldn't hear announcer very well....Kemenah passed Paulker in heat 4 low out of turn 2 for 2nd ....and a spot    in the dash...and that was all the passing in the heats....

After what seemed forever.....including the dash draw, dash, 305 main,....then the b-main.....then sparingly water the top of the track...(even though it could have used 400 truck loads of water)....have the mini modified mains....Then and only then, we had an A-main to watch!   

Lee Jacobs started at the front and lead the way with local Eric Williams applying heavy pressure. With about 6 laps in, Williams spun in turn 4. Kemanah had been on the move and was now in second spot. He patiently applied pressure as the race resumed and passed Jacobs in....bottom of turn 2 for the lead......Behind Kemenah, Jacobs was fighting off Blaney and Sodeman Jr. when Darrah joined in. Eventually Darrah passed Jacobs for 2nd and Blaney would slide off turn 3 and lose  a few spots. Sheldon Haud provided some passing action from the rear as he was, for awhile, able to move up around the outside groove and made it up to 12th or so from the back.

All in all, happy for Chad, a better feature than I thought it would be....that being said, it was very dusty and dry.....too many support classes....and I can't hear the announcer clearly. They always start announcing the driver names and then run out of time before the green drops!  Driving the Oscar Meyer, Valvoline Oil, Frank's aluminum, Huggies diapers, j&j chassis, Hoosier tire shod numer 99, hailing from Fairbanks, Alaska, the speedy polar bear,......then they give you the driver's name.....but then the green drops and you only heard one or two guys!   And the support classes? When will tracks realize that having a travelling group come to race at your track is not the same thing as a regular Saturday night local show?   Have 1 support class, move the thing along and let's go home! The fans are there for the traveling show, driving from far away to see it and paying $25.00 for a ticket!  We don't want to see every Saturday division you have!

Welcome to Western Pa. home of the endless back gate padding support divisions!!

nice write up no nerfs would be nice to have your facts straight before you write.

1 chad 3rd in his heat but makes the dash because he was 2nd quick and finished in the top 5 same reason blaney made the dash rest of the dash was the top two finishers in the heats.

2 chad wasnt on the move he started 3rd  since cody got moved back a row for beeing late to stagging and williams spun out running 2nd so i dont think passing one car as being on the move.

3 support classes at attica, fremont, eldora,learnerville have 3 or 4 with the allstars so it nothing new but orrville said by the contract they could only have 2 classes when the sreies races the next day.

4 you say your from rittman oh so you trip is only hour and 20 min. so its not that long of a drive fremont is a longer drive than that.

5 in another post you said the format needs tweeking and you dont even know what it is.

6 if you were a sponsor on a race car at the track and the announcer didnt say your company you would be pissed.

jmo have a nice day

Couldn't agree more with you concerning too many support divisions. If there are 3 divisions, chances are I stay home...4 divisions, not a chance. Too many other things I can spend my money on versus getting home at 2:00 am.

Glad they have a non-alcohol section, great thinking. Unfortunately racing and beer drinking go hand in hand!

I can't remember the last time that Attica had more than 2 support divisions for an Allstar show. I could be wrong, but I don't remember them running the dirt trucks at an Allstar show. The late models and 305's, yes.

...

Sorry Butch s...didn't mean to irritate anyone with my comments....

My response below....

1  Some nights...depending on the quantity of cars, the transfer is 4th, not 5th. I was unsure because I couldn't hear the announcer....I was also questioning if the fast timer still makes the dash if they don't finish in a transfer spot...My comments in another thread about the format were in response to another's questioning if it was fair that two slow qualifiers could start on the front row of the feature....

2 Chad was gaining on Williams and Jacobs before Williams spun.....while pulling away from those behind him....Not on the move????? It was hard to pass on that surface and after he passed Jacobs no one caught him after that.

3 I don't remember 3 or 4 support classes at Attica or Fremont All Star races.....You are right, it is nothing new...and it still makes an evening drag on way too long...it's not necessary in my opinion. 

4 My Father is over 70 years old with all of the difficulties that come with living and coping with your aging body....Since he is getting to the point that he may not be able to go to these races much longer.....we are attending as many as we can....any time we get home later than necessary it is a problem. One that can keep us from attending some races in the future....and spending our money to support the tracks and drivers that we love to watch....

5 See 1 

6 That is why the cars are painted with sponsor names and labeled with sponsor stickers. Maybe the announcer could say all of this before the cars start pushing off....when the cars are in the staging area? Otherwise, it's just noise that is drowned out by the motors.... 

I don't mind criticism butch s, especially if it is constructive.  

I did get Kemenah's heat race finish wrong...in my notes I have him finishing third, but I typed 2nd by mistake....

Yes there were three support divisions last night. One of which was an additional 25 limited sprints we call Outlaw Sprint Warriors. If you were there to see sprint cars you saw 61 sprints along with two other divisions. Since you do not like stocks cars, or modlites, you were on your way home before 10:30 during which time you saw the All Stars do hot laps, qualifying, four heats, a dash, B Main, and the feature. Add in hot laps, three heats, and a feature for the OSW cars. Yes the track was dustier than we would have liked, but it was still racey, and competitive. All in all I am really happy to see the All-Stars healthy again. After all Mercer was one of the tracks integral to the beginning days when Bud Miller from 10 miles down the road founded the All-Stars. Thanks for being part of the show last night.

Mike Dutko

Mercer Raceway Park Announcer

MIke, he does make a valid point about not being able to hear you. I usually come over to your track once a year when you have an Allstar race, and I have to strain to hear you every time I visit your track. This is in no way a critisism of you, as it's difficult to hear you through the track's PA even if there are no cars on the track. However, I do realize that an upgrade would be costly.

...

Mike,
It's Blake Anderson.

I appreciate the input! We are working with an old amp. The volume balance is very touchy. Any more and it cuts out. Unfortunately I can't hear the outside speakers from the enclosed booth. Blake Anderson, the All-Stsr announcer did tne majority of their announcing. I had a blast working with him. 

no nerfs

1 format has been top 5 with 4 heats since forever and this year is the first year in at least 10yrs they have a 5 heat race format with 41 or more cars

2 chad passed lee when lee made a mistake and chad didnt run away like you make it sound like, cody was right there at the end.

3 everybody forgets the compacts that dont run fremont anymore other than that i will give you only 3 classes at attica.

4 my dads 90 and cant even go anymore its part of life not an excuse to complain about how many classes they had, all the ads said all the classes that were racing.

5 see 1

6 sponsors pay money to have there name on the car so why is it a problem to announce them, cause without them a lot of cars wouldnt be there.