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

They are a key part of any good sprint car team.Who are they?

Obviously Ricky Warner would be everyone's #1. I'd put Lee Stauffer up there too. One guy who may not be on the list but is VERY underrated is Jim Shriner(spelling?). He worked with Justin Henderson when he drove the Sorokach 35 and several others. Right now he's with Dylan Cisney. It seems like every team he goes to gets faster instantaneously. Cisney has been very fast the first couple of weeks at Port. Last year, aside from the week he won, he struggled pretty bad. I'm sure there's 100's of other guys just like him across the country who get it done without anyone ever knowing their names. This is a great topic.

Undoughtedly, hands down,one of the best ever was Jim Russell. 

Crew chief Fred Grenoble for Doug Wolfgang on the 29 Weikert sprint car.   He and Wolf were a winning combination for several years running a true outlaw schedule where they traveled to all of the $10,000 to win or better races instead of running for points.   Unfortunately Fred passed away in 2014.   A very hard working guy who kidded about getting married or finding steady girlfriends during the winter, only to divorce or break up come spring when race season got going.

Guy Forbrook.. Lotta wins for the cars he's wrenched on..

The unbeleivable, remarkable, ageless, consistent, hands-on and timeless crew cheif in central Pa. posse land goes to Davey Brown Sr. hands down.  Others to consider, Ralph Heintzelman, Dick Hench, Rea Smith, and the drivers that did their own crew chiefing ( Pete Swarmer, Leroy Felty, Dick Tobias) Sorry guys, just had to jump on my way back machine. Good topic though. 

"You will never know it was your "Day" until it's over"

Karl Kinser....best ever bar none! Also on the list of some of the best......Kenny Woodruff and Gary "Deuce" Turrill.

Ryan Hand for Greg Hodnett.

Joey Batts for anybody that stands still long enough!

Paul Silva is making a great name for himself! He WILL be one of the all time greats I would think.

Rob Hart

Robert Hubbard

Dean Bruns

Maybe not best ever but I would think at least worth honorable mention.

 George Fisher seems to have Dale winning races.  Scotty Martin also has Shane rolling pretty good

do it in the dirt

Karl Kinser was as popular as his drivers Steve and Mark .He had fun racing and was a genius but racing has changed as everyone can buy almost the same equiptment and it costs too much to consider it fun.Scott Geerkin,and Guy Forbrook would be up there along with Davey Brown.Right now Werner is on top.There are some drivers that are as good as their crewchiefs.Veteran drivers like Schatz,Swindell,Lasoski, and Steve  make their team look even better.Its amazing how good the drivers over 55 are and still can win if things are right.In Nascar some of them make so much money they can retire rich at 35.

Very difficult to say these days since everything is regulated right down to the angle of the valve stem in the cylinder head.  There might be a genius we have never heard of because all he is aloud to do is buy the few parts that the rule book allows since said parts are manufactured by companies that sponsor the series.  Mr Warner is truly amazing though

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?

Fred was a great man, but he was not the main man behind Wolfgang at Weikert's.

That would be Davey Brown.  Davey, hands down, is one of the best, even at his current age. 

....... maybe the best driver/wrench combination ever ............................... Sammy Swindell

dttfowtm ...  
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statutes.

They are a key part of any good sprint car team.Who are they? .....................

What defines a good crew chief??????

Local wins and or championships?

World of Outlaw wins and or championships?

Allstar wins and or championship?

Other sanctioning bodies wins and or championships?

Experience and or time in being in the sport?

Number of wins won in a year or years?

Big races won in a year or years?

Money won racing in a year and or years?

Anything else?

Wolfgang fits right in there with Sammy. Without a doubt, remove the crew chief completely and go racing and the cream of the crop would have been Doug, Sammy and Bobby Allen.....IMO.

An overlooked point is having the ability to communicate with the driver, you can have the best equipment money can buy, but you can't buy that "chemistry" needed between driver and crew chief.  

Win totals are what everyone looks at, but an overlooked stat is the amount of DNF's a team has in a course of a year. In order to finish first, you must first finish. 

All of the crew chief's mentioned are great at their craft. Very good topic. 

Other Crew Chiefs worth mentioning:

Kevin Lovey's, Tyler Swank, Daryl Turford   

Being a great crew chief is not about what parts you buy, It's how you use them. What bar/ shock combo & how they are adjusted. Even with everyone using the same parts there are millions of combinations and adjustments that make one car handle better and therefore be faster than others. Knowing what the track is going to do and making the right adjustments is what makes a great crew chief.

If any part in the world was legal everyone would still buy what the biggest winners used, so they would all be running the same stuff anyway.

If you think sprint car racing is over regulated and you're not seeing the best, stop going and stop posting an sprint car message boards.

Kenny Weld was not only a great driver but did most of the work himself,although Ed Stauffer did join him in his vbig years with Weikert,and had one year with the legendary Ford MAN BUD GRIMM.

DICK HENCH COULD TAKE A CAR THAT MITCH TWISTED THE NIGHT BEFORE AND WIN FRON 12TH OR 18TH.