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

Mine is Daryn Pittman. Have to admit is was the car that drew me in at first. Loved the Black & White monochrome look of the Great Clips car. Actually, probably love the current design right now (no sponsor on top wing) even more. 

Pushing me over the edge was watching him win at Skagit in 2017 during the second night. I was watching him closely durning the race and with about 10 laps he was back in 5th. Gradually moved up to the front for the win. Was shocked to see it happen. Was super cool to be focused on just his car as he inched forward. 

I love that he competes and often doesn't mind trying a different line late in a race. Why settle for a spot in the current order? Is it worth it to try a different line even if it costs you a few spots? It seems to be for him. 

As I've paid closer attention there are more and more reasons. He travels with his wife and two kids. Ran into Mandy Pittman and the girls at their merch trailer and spoke with the Mrs. for a bit. They home school the girls so they can stay together through the season. Too cool. That said, I have to admit that it feld weird to be wearing a shirt with her last name on the chest. How weird must it be for her to see someone waring a shirt with her last name on it? 

Lastly, my heart broke for him this year when Johnson was killed. Watching him go into a horrible funk over that next month was awful. He had to be dying inside. When he finally won another race this year a month later he was just about in tears. 

So, who do you pull for and why?

Currently?  Lucas Wolfe.

His old man was my original favorite driver when I was little, and the favorites I've had after him either hardly ever run anymore (Paulus, Wilt), or don't run at all (Leppo, Stevie Smith).

I dont know any drivers or watch enough live races but have appreciated Pittmans post race interviews. Seems like a level headed and humble guy.

Seems to me that Shane Stewart also travels with his wife and daughter. Is this right or wrong?

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

Yes, Shane travels with his wife and daughter. He is also a level headed and humble guy. He's always willing to talk with fans. 

You can tell an ass... but, you can't tell 'em much

So I went to the World of Outlaws race at Placerville last week and got the chance to go into the pits and talk to the drivers before and after the race. Most of the racers were nice and made small talk if they weren't busy. So after the race I was standing actually waiting for one of our local races when I turn around and see a guy in plain clothes and wouldn't you know it, it was Donny Schatz! I said hi and we started up a good converstation and about the race that night and also talked about the pros and cons of double file restarts. He was very easy to talk to and surprisingly no one else was waiting to talk to him (I think because he was no longer in his racing suit). After he was done talking he kindly said "well nice talking with you" and walked back into his trailer. I know people might think he isn't he most outgoing talkitive guy, but I do think he is just a shy guy who keeps to himself and I must also say that he is in great shape now! 

Another cool thing that happened is that I got a chance to talk to Kyle Larson after a cart race he was promoting a few weeks ago near Chico. I asked if he could take a picture with my son and he said yes. I then asked if he remembered me and my dad from when he started racing sprint cars when he was a young teenager. He took a second to think and then said that he did remember my dad and I talking to him in the pits after the race in Tulare and other local CA races. He still is such a humble, nice guy, and still supports his racing roots in California and loves racing sprint cars of course! I really appreciate people who don' t let their fame and wealth made them think they are better than other people. Unfotunately there are racers out there, ones I have been watching since I was young girl, who will just ignore or talk on their phone when fans are standing there waiting to take pictures or talk to them. To me that is just rude and they might as well just go back in their trailer. 

The fact that we can meet and talk to the drivers is a specialy priveldge that comes with sprint car racing over other forms of racing! When I was walking around in the pits with the Outlaws the other night I had to pitch myself thinking, "wow this is just soo amazing to be surround by this caliber of racing talent not far from where I live and be up close and personal." There aren't many woman like myself who have grown up going to races and truly love the races for what it is in.  I don't get to go to as many as I used to, but I appreciate those that I can soo much more and really enjoy watching the others on the computer. I mean for my birthday present to myself I go to the Trophy Cup in Tulare!   

Looking forward to the new Golden State King of the 
West series schedule! 

Winged sprintcars = the fastest and most exciting 
racecars on dirt! 

These are cool stories.  I remember when I was like 14 or 15 me and my step dad went into the pits for an outlaw race at Husets.  I'm not sure what I was really expecting but I guess part of me thought it would be cool to get to talk to the drivers without big crowds around.  Not that I tried to bug any of them but it was pretty obvious that they weren't in the talking mood.  Even passing a driver and nodding at them wouldn't get a response.  I will admit at the time I was a little disapointed as none of these guys were friendly but as I've gotten older I now completely understand they were working and not there to socialize and technically I was in an area I really wasn't supposed to be in.  However as drivers were getting ready for the A-main we were standing by Mark Kinser's car (this would've been the Mopar car when he was pretty much unstoppable) and he was talking to someone with his helmet in his hands and he looks in my direction and says "Hey buddy, how are?"  I looked all around and nobody else was really around and I looked back and he's looking right at me and with eyes as big as saucers I said "Uh good."  And he says "Good, thanks for coming out to watch us tonight." and I said "Yeah, uh good luck".  I don't remember if he won or not but I remember thinking how all those drivers were too busy to acknowledge me but the one that did kicked everyone's a$$ lol.  It was pretty neat for a 14 or 15 year old kid.  Something I'll probably never forget.

I have various favorites for various reasons, no one Big Hero

Its good that we can talk to most of these guys, its a "down home" kind of scene, no big celebrity BS, but I don't really judge them by how friendly they are in the pits, as somebody said, they're busy, concentrating on their dangerous & intense jobs. 

As long as they're risking their lives for our entertainment, good enough for me. I don't expect them to be my buddy....

I have been going to the races for many years and oddly I don't really have a favorite driver. I  really don't have any drivers that I dislike either. I do have a favorite kind of racing though and obviously it is hands and feet above any other form of racing in my opinion. Sprint cars...... 

Same here, nobody i dislike at all....

Freddy Rahmer. Works very hard at the track and home to field a competative car. Shows improvements eacj year and already a track champion once with WOO and ALLSTAR wins. Has great mentors and loves the sport. Always a Rahmer fan from Father to son. 

But like others on here i  like quite a few i love to watch like Wild Child, Jason Johnson, Lance Dewease, Greg Hodnety, Strve Buckwalter, Stevie Smith, Tony Stewart etc. Think i csn only remember one driver in particular that i was not a fan and still not. 

My favorites have always been Darrel Dawley and Doug Wolfgang.  Both were from South Dakota and I always pulled for drivers from there. Darrel ran mainly in the Midwest but I believe if he wanted to be a full time racer all over the country and with the right backing he could have ran with anybody. We all know what Wolfie accomplished.

      I believe Dawley would top my list as well. Growing up in Rapid City we used to see Sioux Falls drivers from time to time. He and some other top dogs would come out west and show the locals the fast way around Black Hills Speedway.

     I always root for the underdog. You just have to know that the guy in second is trying his hardest.

Just this year I've become more of a fan of Danny Dietrich. 

I've always been a Monteith fan, and still am. My wife started sort of rooting for Danny Dietrich for whatever reason (I think she liked how he is always posting on twitter). Earlier this year she wanted a shirt but was too shy or whatever to go over to his trailer so I went over. Before I even got to his trailer to ask about a shirt he came out of the trailer and greeted me. Keep in mind this was right before the feature, probably less than 10 minutes before they pushed cars out. He got the shirt for her and thanked me and all that. I was shocked, I didn't have anything against him before, but I had never seen a driver actively pursue talking to fans. I've always followed him on twitter and he seemed like a nice guy, he just likes to stir things up.

He also lives pretty close to me, and I buy all of the parts for my sprint car at RUPW as well. With all of those factors in mind I've started to become more of a Dietrich fan myself, as well. So I'm probably the only Brian Montieth/Danny Dietrich fan in existence -- although I tend to follow Danny a lot more since he and I tend to be going to the same races (I go to Lincoln usually, but will go to Port anytime they have a big show). 

On a National tour I have no favorites on the WoO, but I am a big time Aaron Reutzel fan and can't wait until he runs the Outlaws. I've followed him for a long time (ever since I lived in the Midwest) and think he is going to be a force on the Outlaws just like he is on the All Stars. It's been great to see him have the season he is having with this really being his first full time season running 410s.

Billy Alley was always my favorite. Down to earth farmer from Nebraska, family man, loves sports. I've never seen someone have the immediate success at Knoxville as he did. Best 360 sprint driver hands down at Knoxville during those few years he ran. Like 360s, the first year he ran 410s in the Gifford 17G he won the points championship. The accomplishmnets in the short time frame were amazing. Gifford stepped away from racing and results got hard to duplicate with other teams. If I won the lottery he would be the first guy I'd offer a ride to with a no pressure, run when you can, local type of schedule. 

Drivers not racing any longer: Wolfgang and Tim Green.  Talked to both alot(and I was a kid then) and both of them were always polite and very accessible(sp). 

Drivers racing now: Brady Bacon and Donny Schatz.  Both very nice.  Lots of people have said Schatz was/is rude and Ive never seen that. 

Obviously like Terry McCarl, growing up watching him at Huset's was a blast.  But I have always considered him my 2nd favorite.

Back in 1997 my dad took me to my first ever sprint car race (I was 7 years old) at the Sioux Empire fairgrounds for Cheaters Day.  He taught me the game where we would each pick a car we thought or wanted to win and then would see whose pick finished farther ahead.  Well the A feature rolled out and with my favorite color being yellow I naturally picked a yellow, white, and blue number 15 that caught my eye.  The 15 ended up winning and I've been a fan for life, I lucked out as that was WoO rookie Donny Schatz.  I've been blessed to wittness dozens of his wins and all 10 of his Nationals triumphs since.  Still have the shirt of his I got at the 97 cheaters day race sitting in my room.

There was an article about that  (Donny) a few years ago in Knoxville newspaper. Basically, he's intense, he concentrates & is not in a mood to chat with fans near race time. I don't blame him at all, I wouldn't want anybody bugging me either. I'm sure he's a different guy when the pressure is off

I've heard other players hardly even talk to big league pitchers in the dugout between innings. Let them relax, concentrate, focus....

as far as Mark Kinser is concerned, you could'nt be more right. was sitting in Circus Circus one night after a Vegas outlaw show in 02 playing slots, turned around to see who that was behind me having so much fun, he looked at me and said "hey buddy, whats happenin' " i had gone into his pit that night, he appreciated that & we proceeded to throw a few back and gamble & BS for hours, what a gas. that dude had stories to no end. very humble gentleman. as far as favorite overall driver still racing & local, i have to go with TK, but if Kyle was still doing the same, lets just say we'd all be happy. how privilaged are we to watch these kids go from 14 years old racing local, to going national only a few years later, especially here in Ca. we watch Dom & Gio, Cory, Carson, Netto, Kofoid, Sweet, Larson, the Carrick bros & any others I've forgotten racing on the weekends, only to have them go race where we can only read about it or ppv. it would be selfish to wish for them to not go. either way, we here have an abundance of talent to call our favorite driver, and young fans that can relate to these younger stars

Darryl Dawely was my first real favorite. Absolutely loved watching the guy race. Always went straight to his pit after the races. Those who knew Darryl know he wasn't much of a talker, really, but his fans knew and accepted that. So Darryl is my all time, followed closely by Wolfgang. With what Doug accomplished in such a short career, and doing so in so many different rides, it's hard not to believe that Steve Kinser didn't really have much over on Doug, except for the fact that he had Karl. The few years that Doug had the real formidable rides under him to compete with Steve and Sammy he literally kicked their butts. The years he didn't have top rides he was still their biggest threat. He was always too humble when he spoke of those guys as the Big 2 and himself as the Best of the Rest. But that was Doug. He's still humble to this day, but he does have a lot of pride in what he accomplished, I can tell you that. It was definately the Big 3!

Favorites currently slinging mud, Donny Schatz (we are witnessing a legendary career), David Gravel (because he could beat Schatz and, well hey, my passion is deer hunting and the guys got a hunting sponsor, honestly that’s what got me to watch him), Sheldon (hell, he’s a Haud, what’s not to like) and the Shark boys cause I love an underdog. 

As far as my all time favorites, none of the above hold a candle to my admiration for Doug Wolfgang, for many of the reasons already mentioned. And I can’t forget the man and team that got me hooked on sprint cars, Fran Bruns and the Rawhide Racing Team from Madison, SD , Bonzai’s brother. Hung out in their shop many a night and rode in the old Suburban on a few trips to the track. In the late 80’s early 90’s in local 360 circles they were the team to beat....Tonight We Ride!