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

Winning a track title does not mean being there every  week in central PA.. Not easy to win one at any track out east.. Doug Esh won a ton in that car.. That car has history and a winning history. Its tough to see that car struggle.. Maybe I am wrong lets see how the car does the rest of the year.

Bowser made 2 shows and ended up 24 in points for speedweek.

What are you trying to prove to me? I’m well aware of the results. Erdley also didn’t win a track title in that car. Port Royal track champ in ‘15 was Wolfe and Erdley didn’t even finish year two in that car. I know Holtgraver struggled bad in that car.

I’m not sticking up for Bowser. My only point is that car isn’t as great as it’s being made out to be, and whoever made this topic wants to rip on Bowser without having the nerve to come right out and say it.

Erdley didn't finish year one in that car if my memory is correct. He may have won a track championship in the Lisi #11. Esh was really fast in that car, won some races at Port but also tore it up a bunch of times. Niki Young was so-so in that car, think he won a race or two but not many. He drove it longer than anyone else I remember, 3-4 years maybe?

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I think it's more equipment related than anything. Keep in mind Lernerville pays what? 1500 to win a weekly show? There's still good drivers there that put on a good show but they are almost all low buck guys. As for LM's, didn't a Lernerville regular just stomp the WOO LM's there a few weeks ago? Flinner has raced at Port Royal at least twice this year.

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Doug Esh was fast in the 98. If the owners were more concerned about racing instead of mowing grass, they would have done much better.

He was fast, no doubt, but I think the owners may have been concerned with the number of cars he completely destroyed. 3 in one month I believe. The team never recovered the second half of the season from that.

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Im not so sure about him destroying 3 cars in one month. If they worried about that though , why did they carry a spare motor wrapped in shrink wrap , that they wouldn't even put in the car? For show?

Doug Esh won 2 races I think...maybe 3 and he did do better than anyone else. Erdley only ran parts of 2 seasons in the car and he never won a title at Port in the 98. That car has never done much anywhere outside of Western Pa. 

Word on the street at the time was that Doug walked away from that ride based on their maintenance program not being up to par. He was fast in that car. Shame it didn't work out.

Erdley finished 2015 but didn't run the whole season. He was very consistent in the car thoughout the entire year though.  The year after in the 2016 opener Erdley and Esh got tangled together and Erdley went for a wild ride into the entrance road off of four and that was the end of that.

https://youtu.be/dwNvVISYWhE?t=67

Here's one.  Memorial Day weekend. Esh wen through the tin in turn one at Port.

https://youtu.be/CEKmudZy7wo?t=84

I also think that this was the crash that Lance happened to be helping in the pits (was he helping Dadetto at the time?) and helped to pull Erdley out.  If I'm mistaken, surely someone will correct me. 

Marks was also involved in this one as well.

On a side note, I just watched the highlights from Lernerville (Props to the WoO for posting those. Much appreciated) last night and I hope Williams Grove, Port Royal and Lincoln did too because THAT is how you prepare a race track. Goes to show, a track doesn't need to be a sheet of glass for it to be wide and multi grooved. That cushion in turns 3 and 4 was gnarly. That's the kind of surface where you get to see sprint cars do what they do in all their glory. I hope we see something similar this weekend. My apologies to Greg Wilson.

Yup , ask Erdley, he unintentially crashed Doug. Spectacular crash , but didn't hurt the car much. FAR from destroying it.

Esh pulled Erdley from the car .

I was just giving you an example of a big crash I remembered while he was in the 98. I didn't say Esh wrecked it himself or that he totaled the car. Settle down.

What I remember about the night Doug Esh went thru the first turn tin.  It was on a restart and Jim Shuster was a lapped car and pulled up the track as Esh was going by and sent Doug for a ride.  The car was in surprisingly good shape for going thru the tin. Heck the top wing was still on an looked in decent shape.   But good old Shuster "Shustered" Esh.

From what I understand about the 98 deal with Bowser, the owners supplied the engines and trailer...cars are his.  What he ran as his own car.  Not sure why everyone is under the impression this is some huge dollar team.  Do a little research before you make yourselves look incredibly dumb.  Struggling during Ohio Speedweek is nothing to be ashamed of, happens to a bunch of teams.