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

Clyde Knipp (who?) joins WOO Tour (Part time til he graduates from HS):

https://www.facebook.com/clydeknippracing/posts/1018647998176781

Never heard of him but big props for having the balls to go out on the road with the pros. The toughest gig in all of sprint car racing is going out there and beating up and down the road with those guys. He'll take many ass whippings but he'll learn more in 1 month running against the best drivers and teams in sprint car racing than he will in an entire season running anywhere local. Best of luck and hopefully we're seeing another star in the making. I remember in 1997 when I was a kid I went to an outlaw show at the Grove with a friend and a very cool looking #15 car caught my eye and when Bruce announced it was Donny Schatz I was like "who the hell is that?" Nobody is asking that question these days are they? Best of luck to the entire team. Looking forward to getting to see them race here in Posse land.

Checked out his FB page.  Looks like he has 1 year of sprint car experience with 11 Top 10 and 2 Top 5 finishes last year.  Seems like a pretty BIG leap to be making so soon; time will tell.

I remember a young unknown named Schatz who did the same thing.

Knoxville Natioanls attendee since '95
Favorite Tracks...River Cities, Knoxville, Cedar Lake
Favorite Drivers...S.Kinser, T.Kaeding, K.Madsen, S.Smith
Proud Canadian 

Anyone know if Clyde dropped off the tour already? Didn't see his name listed in any of the reports from the Texas/Arizona swing.

he is back in high school,he will be back out after graduation, he has a big hill to climb but more power to him i wish him well and he will learn for sure

I believe I read the original plan was to rejoin the tour late April or May once he is out of school.  I'll give all connected to him credit for having the guts to jump in head first but the story I got was they borrowed a motor to race in Florida and that someone connected to the team was selling their house to finance a new engine. Couple that with the fact they were as much as 3 seconds off the pace and I'm thinking they set the bar a little high. 

Difference being that Schatz was already winning and running consistently up front with the old WISSOTA Sprint series. 

Stan Meissner

I hope Clydes parents have deep pockets. Kudos to the dreams of a young racer. To find success you must first try to achieve. Personally I feel the kid will fail immensly & just hurt his overall desire to want to race if you never get to feel what winning feels like. U must build a few houses before you build a developement.

Like wise you must have the ability to win & consistency to place accordingly to your competition before trying to test some of the best..

He should race PA, OH, Midwest, and Cali before running with WoO

I agree. The family has the funds and good for him. It's hard to discourage a person who wants to race if they have the funds. But what's he going to learn in the racing department running laps nearly by himself.....getting lapped in heat races?  Couple that with missing the key Feature races in a large field and he learns even less. He needs to run where he can do the most learning. He wont get that covering the changing conditions of running different tracks every night. That he can do later in his career. He needs to get comfortable and fast in one maybe two track locations. My other concern is his safety and the safety of the other drivers in the field. Trying to stay out of the way is sometimes more dangerous than being in the way. Steve Kinser once told a young driver to not try and get out of the way but to hold a line. That way it was Kinser's job to get past without worry that all of a sudden the lapped car makes a bad move. Makes sense.

As much as I want to root for a kid like him going out against all odds to live his dream, if he's 3 seconds off the pace and getting lapped in heat races, I gotta call it like it is and say that maybe this isn't the best idea. That is just entirely too slow for him to really learn much of anything on the track and he could potentially be a danger to himself or others. That aside, being in the pits picking the brains of the best sprint car drivers on earth is still a good thing but maybe, like another person said, it would've been a better idea to come to PA or Ohio where he can still race against and gain valuable knowledge from some of the best drivers and mechanics in the sport without having to run a new track every night. Who knows, maybe he'll improve quickly and be a little more competitive by July or August. The fact is, it isn't my money and it isn't my ass in the seat so it's none of my business and I still wish him nothing but the best. Whether or not it's smart or stupid, it still takes balls to make the leap like he did.

I just checked. He was 3.81, 1.41 & 1.28 secinds off the pace for the 3 bites of WoP @ volusia. Certainly improved. I rode down the last 2 nites. He looked decent but I can't imagine making that leap with that little experience. Best of luck. 

Agree,he did show improvement by the third night. He seemed much more comfortable by Sunday night. After the spin the first night during hot laps, I was a bit concerned for his and the other drivers safety. Volusia's a fast place for your first time in a 410!!!

He should not be on the Outlaw tour. Hes goin to cause a big wreck and the big guys are gonna get upset. Almost took out Clauson in a heat race in FL. He should go home and and practice racing locally before goin on the road.  If parents got deep pockets go to allstars and learn first before goin big time. Makes no sense to me. Getting lapped 5 laps in a heat race his not good. Go home and learn first young man. At least Schatz won on a local level before he went on the road. Just my 2 cents worth.

if he's funding it then it's nobodies business but his own! Good Luck Clyde.

It is the business of everyone on the track.  The racing industry is filled with well funded kids attempting to be racers and causing mayhem on the track.  That mayhem may result in the serious injiury or worse of experienced drivers.  He should take his funds to an environment in which he will learn, progress, and not be a hazard to others.  Did you ever hear of David "Salt" Walther ?  Well funded and no talent.  or George "Skip" Walther ?, his Dad bought him a ride in a hydroplane, he died in that hydroplane.