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

Yo' Jokeralec, you don't think CA produces much, huh?  For starters we have 2 time W of O Champ Jason Myers, Tim Kaeding who led the upstart group that left the Outlaws (about a dozen years ago) had more wins than anyone that year, including Steve K.  There's also Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu and CA beats the Outlaws more often over the past few years than the Posse does on their home turf.

They haven't proven themselves in the Mid-West because they haven't raced there enough, Hello.....Don't want to be too harsh but you sound awful new to this sport.  McCarl has won all over the place and I love the guy, but he's winding down and Brownie runs great at Knoxville, the two best in the mid-west are Aussies and not home grown or taught in your area, but they both are awful damn good!  I've been pimping the West Coast in this forum for a very long time, have been to many tracks in the area and realized a long time ago how much talent there was in the area, it was part of my PA debate where I have stated for many, many years that CA was better than PA, only a fool or cheerleader could agrue against that these days....

Look above homie, I listed Carson...Best the Gaerte 3G has looked in a while (and yes I know they sometimes cherry pick shows, but Carson is a threat in the 3G (or any ride) anytime he races).

I mentioned Carson in my post, look way above...looked real real good in the Helms 17 at Lernerville the other night even though he went backwards in the A, he finished 10th, made the dash, 2nd quickest, etc. for second night ever in car. 

While he has been struggling this year you gotta throw Hodnett in this list. The struggle I think is more the team has lost the handle on the car vs Greg forgetting how to wheel it. 

This post brings up an interesting talking point that I have been thinking about for some time and that is the number of former World of Outlaws drivers racing locally.  It seems that the WoO has been goiing through a NASCAR type youth movement.  I don't think the veterans have for gotten how to get it done but says as much about losing their rides with big budget teams.  They fall back to running locally and have a tough choice between lesser rises or not racing.  They take a low budget deal and don't run up front and get a bad rap that snowballs into a downward spiral.  Thoughts?

Stan Meissner

I think the reason you didnt see his name with the outlaws this spring is because he was not eligible because of his age. 

Can someone confirm?

And the mic just dropped ....!

Wait are you the guy who doesn't like Hafertepe?  You're obviously absolutely allowed to not like him (or anyone else), just curious.  I don't know Sam so I have no opinion of him, but I do know he can rub people the wrong way.  That said, he's on fire this year, has had success with ASCS and has raced all over the country including ASCOC and WoO Races.  He's one of the top 360 guys this year and has a history that shows he's a very good driver.  

You definitely can include Reutzel and many others (Clint Garner too) if we're talking 360 guys.  I was going off the top of my head. 

I said California has produced good racecar drivers Tim kaeding in my eyes has fallen off in the past few years both madsens came to the Midwest because they knew that's where the best drivers come out of and if I'm correct no local beat the outlaws when they came to ca this year

Part of that movement is also due to Mr Schatz.  The Outlaw teams do not like to get beat.  Period.  The teams will only do so much hunting and replacing of parts and pieces before the driver becomes the piece that gets changed. If the driver were winning they wouldn't be losing their ride. Regardless of whether it was the driver's fault or the teams fault is irrelevent. 

Mike Kertcher 

I only know Sam as a driver, so nothing to like or dislike personally. Being from the South, sprint car wise, all we really have to follow is the ASCS Nats and ASCS Gulf South. In my opinion Hafertepe and Reutzel are the main ones keeping the ASCS Nats exciting, especially when their racing each other. If either of them are up front without the other, you can almost count on one of them winning.  So yes they are both really good 360 drivers. To me Sam just hasn’t done as much outside the ASCS the last couple seasons that Reutzel has especially 410 wise. Out of the ASCS drivers the past 2 seasons, Reutzel has had the most success running 410's with and without the WoO. So with that said, your list of drivers was a good list, just add Kofoid for up and comers. I just questioned Hafertepe for the above reason.

You're spot on with Sam and Reutzel being the show with ASCS National and I"d agree Reutzel maybe has more success in a 410 lately. Sam did have some success a few years ago. Perhaps I was persuaded cause he's on an absolute tear this year. Anyway you slice it in my opinion there may be more talent and more young talent coast to coast then ever before. We're in a good era for younger drivers. 

I think I get what you are saying. Not too sure about the youth movement as a choice by the wealthier teams as much as it is having a driver that brings $$$$ in one form or another to a team. Former drivers in our area falling back to local teams don't have the huge finances behind them to get a real look, plus, there just aren't that many WoO opportunities available for a helmet carrying driver. I agree with you that many of the veterens can still get it done. Used to be a quality driver with a helmet bag was enough. Not anymore. And I totally agree with your statement that the price former drivers pay is the bad rap of not having it anymore. There was a four or five year stint that Danny Lasoski was taking whatever rides he could get, along with having his own car. Fans wondered :what's wrong with Lasoski?" Then, along came the Big Game/Go Muddy opportunity a few years ago and he was the DANNY LASOSKI all over again. He still is, but now he is again back to square one looking for an opportunity to showcase it.  So is Craig Dollansky. Sometimes they (former WoO drivers) are so eager, they jump into the wrong cars. I knew (and expressed it at the time) that Dollansky made a huge mistake when he climbed in to the Destiny car in order to get back on the WoO tour! Not sure what took place with his leaving the Renfro ride, but he was beginning to come on strong again. Now it seems as though he has nothing. Can he still drive? Damn straight he can! If Lasoski and Dollansky had million dollar personal wealth, or huge family business' to fall back on for finances, they would both be in strong rides and doing well.

Fernando Alonso

Lewis Hamilton

Sebastian Vettel

I think Bill Balog should be in this conversation.

As mentioned above, Carson Macedo has been hot lately.

Follow me on the social medias! ; twitter - 
larryitis   Facebook - Michael Collins 

I'm usually a pretty rational person when it comes to these threads as you can guess by my post count. I'm not saying that you're all wrong, but let's think logically. There are only a handful of drivers that tour the country without club affiliation. By the way, I'm from Posseland so don't think we're all the same over here. Danny Dietrich doesn't race well outside of Central PA. Bill Balog doesn't do well outside of IRA and select TT events. All other drivers that have been mentioned are just hometown love affairs. We all love our hometown guys whether they do well home or away, but chances are that we're left disappointed afterwards. 

Brian Brown, Kerry Madsen, Ian Madsen, Tim Kaeding, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, Kyle Larson

Those would be my picks based on the races they choose, their performance at the end of the day, and their geographical selections.

larry, you know I like me some Northpole Nightmare.  I mentioned him and Carson so I agree with you.   

Well said GT, closest in here to hitting the nail on the head but it is all subjective anyhow, gold star for Posseland....

Thanks for getting the sense of my post.  It wasn't meant to stir up controversy, only to point out that weekly shows and regional series from coast to coast these days practically all have former Outlaw drivers competing with them.  Brooke Tatnell, Craig Dollansky, Justin Henderson, Lasoski, Kerry Madsen, are just a few here in the Midwest.  There are some in every region of the country and I think their knowledge and experience raises the bar for everybody that races with them.  I should probably start a separate thread one of these days but I just put it out there to add to this conversation about the best non WoO drivers.  Certainly the former Outlaw drivers are among the best non WoO drivers and the arguement could be made that they are still talented racers who have what it takes to go back out on the road.

I think in this day and age it's not so much a shortage of drivers as a shortage of car owners with deep enough pockets to make a commitment to a full time deal.  None of these guys has forgotten how to drive but money is so important nowadays.  A lack of resources can put any driver in the position of looking as if their skills have diminished when that is not really the case. 

Stan Meissner