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

After the Nationals things tend to get a little sleepy around this place and after the last month I guess it makes sense as the boys have been hard at it.

Maybe I should bring up a few things to keep things a bit alive?  I mentioned a couple things last week that people disagreed with, let's review them.

I thought that some of the top 10 in the B should have raced on Friday.  Since only one transferred that wasn't in the top 4 I dare say that many of them should have.  Friday was hardly the most stout field and since Stevie has been beating the boys back home pretty regularly this year he most certainly should have run Friday.  He has a Fast car, a great car owner (Fast Freddie) and he's had a good year and some past success at Knoxville, why not?  Two of his buddies from Central PA got in, why couldn't he have?

I mentioned a few weeks back that Saturday's Nationals was never my favorite and often the most boring of the 4 nights due to a lack of up front passing etc.  I say this having witnessed nearly 20 of them live and a few more on the 'net'.  How did that turn out this year?

The top 3 finishing cars in each Feature started as follows;  E Main  1-2-4; D Main 2-1-3; C Main 5-1-3; B Main 1-3-2; A Main 1-2-5
 I would like to acknowledge the hard chargers in each of those races though, Josh Schneiderman passed 13 in the E, Dylan Peterson passed 11 in the D, Austin McCarl passed 11in the C, Tim Shaffer passed 12 in the B, and Greg Hodnett 13 in the A.  Each of these guys seemed to be way ahead of most of the others as far as passing in their Mains.  To break that down, not counting those five drivers who were on the move there were only 9 other drivers to pass more than 5 cars in their Features all night long.  The A and the B each had 4 drivers that passed more than 5 cars, out of 24 that isn't a whole lot and they were the races with the most movers.

Thursday Night in my opinion was hands down the best racing.  Heat race winners from 6th (twice) and 8th as well as TMC winning the A from 9th and Brian Brown making the top 5 from the last row.  If only Kevin hadn't got hurt, prayers still heading his way, hopefully from many of us.....

I paid for the Cushion ($200.91 Canadian) and have virtually no complaints.  I missed the C on Saturday and got the last few laps in duplicate or something like that but overall I was very pleased and will buy again next year if not there in person.  I had a friend watch Saturdays action and he's fairly new to the sport.  We have been to 3 races at Ohswegen in the past and most of them were very good.  While live is always better he certainly thought the lack of passing (his words) was due to the size of the track and that everyone seemed to be going the same speed, he also didn't like the single file starts.  Just some thoughts from a newbie.

Will certainly get the PPV of Fred Rahmer's Legends Race at Lincoln Speedway a week from tomorrow and I am most excited about watching the Kokomo Smackdown for 3 Days on Aug 27-29, likely the best racing I'll see all year long, try it out.....

Mike, you can't buy the ppv next year. You need to watch it live. 

As as for not much passing, there wasn't, but it wasn't one of the yawners, either. Although Schatz was never seriously challenged, he didn't run away, either. 

I know you are a hockey fan. So has every Stanley Cup been a barn burner? Ever been some boring ones? Are hockey games better in person or on tv? 

I was at Knoxville. My 29th. I thought it was a real good A main. One of the best ever? No. But a good one. Darn glad I was there. You could feel the crowd tense up with hope & anticipation  every time Dude or Madsen closed in on Donny. The tension and excitement  was there even if the passing up front was not.

And saying the car that finished 2nd started 2nd overlooks the fact that he fell to 4th before coming back to finish 2nd.

I enjoyed watching Madsen hammering the cushion and you could easily see his arms working the wheel as he tried to close the gap to Donnie.  Clean air makes so much difference because Donnie was so smooth and it was obvious how much work Kerry had to put into it just to stay within striking distance.

I also watched Hodnett work his way up through traffic on the low side.  I would like to see Greg start closer to the front one of these years.

I was around in the 80s when Kinser went on a similar run of Nationals wins.  People back then were wanting anyone but Kinser.  In his heat race in the 1981 Nationals he started 10th (full invert) and was in first going into turn 3 of the first lap! There was nothing worse than an open red when Karl got a chance to tweak the car. 

I love the Nationals and cannot wait until 2016.

Oswald, I have seen lots of boring hockey games, regular season and in the play-offs.  Heck, I was at game 7 with the Oilers and Flyers back around '86 and it was a lousy, boring game, mainly because my team lost, arghhhhh.  There is nothing like being there, especially for hockey and maybe sprint car racing.  I just somehow wish there was more passing these days, seems like there was lots more even 15 - 20 years ago.  Heck, non-wing has more passing in a heat race than some Outlaw shows have all night and that ain't no lie.....

Wait.  You're a Flyers fan?

You're spot on with the non wing comment. If the wings didn't have the added safety element, I wish they'd take them all off. 

Been a Flyers fan since '72, seen them play in 8 or 10 rinks, have had lots of guys from my hometown play for 'em, got lots of stories to tell, lol.....

Well written and respect all of your opinions. 

1.  The B main--I agree with you.  Maybe the top 5 or 6 taking the guaranteed spot--but beyond that, there are usually some very tough cars in the B.  I would run Friday if I were in that 6-10 spot.  JMO-I understand their thinking.

2.  I thought the A was pretty good like a few others have stated.  I have been every year since 2002 and I would have to say this A main ranked right there in the top 4 or 5.  (for reasons other than where the top three started)  Like an earlier responder eluded to, there was constant exchanging of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th spot and a couple of cars moving fast through the pack. 

3.  I thought the E-main was the best one that I have ever seen.  Most cars in an E in 10 years.  And a car moved from the back of the field for a transfer spot.  How many times has that happened?  Usually, the best racing is in the C and B on most Saturday nights and it started right out with the E and D this year.  (Not the highest quality cars of the night, but still very good racing) 

4.  Missed Thursday night--everyone I talked to at the track said it was awesome

Don't completely disagree with everything you say.  I do feel that I appreciated the Saturday night show more than you did though.  Can't wait for next year.  All I keep telling myself is "Keep coming every year and the next time he doesn't win will be the 2nd best Nationals that I have ever been to".  (Not to disrespect Donny--just will be a win by an underdog)

Me too, except the whole "since '72 thing", because I would have been -11 years old. At least you got to experience those guys winning two Stanley Cups.  Being a Philly fan, I have the 08 Phillies and a whole host of disappointing failures surrounding that.  I'm glad Bob Clarke could help out and basically make the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise with one trade.  Ugh.  If only Lindros wasn't concussion prone (damn you Scott Stevens).  I still maintain, even though I was a little kid and the nostalgia factor might be playing tricks on me, that watching them in the Spectrum was better than at the (insert current bank name here) Center.

Sorry to get off topic. Carry on, people.

Bobby was/is my hero.  The combination of the greatest player to the worst GM in hocky history I think(read that carefully, I am not saying he was the greatest player ever, just the greatest to become the worst GM, lol).  My ex threw out my game worn Mesh Bobby Clarke sweater when I went to Australia for the whole winter the second time, oops.  Those two dates of them winning the Cup, May 19th and May 27th are still celebrated by me.  In my part of Ontario back then they were hated and it wasn't easy being a Flyers fan, trust me.  They twice eliminated the Leafs after being down 2-0 and I am a little unbearable if poked as this place knows so I had a lot to say to many of my friends (Leaf fans who peaked early).... 

PS  The guy that gave me the Clarke sweater (Doug Crossman) introduced us at the Ren Center in Detroit and I was stunned he was so small....

Egras, Paige P. would have blown all those cars away in the E, she is that much faster than them but she had some bad luck.  I think she would have moved way forward in the D also, she is a gasser.  Too bad about Thursday, it had good heats and a great finish, easily my favorite night of this years epic, other than the Kevin deal....

Yeah-couldn't tell from where I was sitting who it was that wrecked.  Was disappointed when I saw it was her.  Saw her in Beaver Dam for the first time and she did look good.  She was definitely hit with bad luck.

Lets talk about the mid nineties.  No NASCAR fake money needed to keep a bunch of WoO cars traveling.  No weight rule.  A fast Mopar.  A faster Ford. (Something for a car guy that could care less what town a driver uses for his mailing address)  Corporate sponsors on almost all the full time traveling cars.  Live TV, a rule book allowing true talent and fresh ideas to shine, new track records twice a month, the most talented drivers telling NASCAR to shove their circus instead of crawling up their butt crack aw the good ol days, CRAZY stuff like canted valves and of coarse Mrs Hillenburg ah the good old days

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?

Wasn't that about the time Steve Kiser went to Nascar?

Didn't know Nascar money was counterfeit!  Have you told the feds about Nascar using fake money?

I bet if you ever get a job at a Chevy dealership your views on the great ford motors will change. 

We're the parts for those ford sprint car motors made in Canada like a lot of other ford parts are?

Were not we're. Damn auto correct. 

Ok now lets talk about the mid 2010's: It's not the mid 90's anymore. If you don't like it, find something else to do. 

As normal, your memory is a little fuzzy.

The Mopar car wasn't fast until Karl Kinser took it from an also ran to a front runner.   Mark and Karl got the keys to the Mopar in 1999.

By the time the Mopar was fast, the "Fast Ford" was an also ran lapped car when it managed to finish the race.

Do you realize that as track records get faster and faster the likely hood of lowering it even more is less likely?

There is a point where it takes a huge increase in power/traction to gain another 10th of a second.

You're exactly right on everything you said. But, I'd caution you against using such things as common and facts when engaging this guy. He's got a fetish for Ford and he's one of those people who aren't happy unless they have something to bitch about.