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

Opening night is looking good for Knoxville Raceway, with finally some nice warm weather with out the 50 mph wind gusts.

As always should be a steller line up for a "regular" Saturday night.

Who takes home the championship this year?

410, 360s, and 305's

Based upon schedules my prediction below;

Justin Henderson

John Agan

McKenna Haase

Keep It Real

Knoxville Raceway is one of the best tracks in the country , go to Knoxville Raceway , fans .

Don't bet against the dude. I may not be old but I have been around long enough to see him win his fair share and consistency is key.

410s - Lasoski (I'd be okay with that not happneing though.)  It would be cool to see someone totally new. I have Craig Dollansky as my darkhorse. Sounds crazy saying it but they have been mostly forgotten about. Looked quick on practice night. I think they figure things out and seriously contend

360s - Thats tough. I see Garner is listed as 360 according to Knoxville profiles. If so he will probably win it. Moro looks fast but don't count out someone like Ryan Giles. He showed speed last year and huge signs of improvement. Does he plateau or continue to improve?

305s - I'll go with Kline. White lightning has been pretty dominant in the 305s. Mckenna is probably the car to beat but she just has to be consistent.

I'll be totally wrong with my predictions but hey its fun to make them.

Garner would be the obvious choice but will he be around all season?

Keep It Real

Unless something has changed in their team, Hesmer's (Marshalltown Iowa) and Park Machine (Newton, IA) are big backers/supporters of this team.   Pit crew help, sponsoship $$ I would imagine and Engines.

But, you just never know, Clint could end up at Huset's due to proximity to his house (but, he's lived there for a long, long time and has raced at Huset's what, maybe a handful of times over the last 10 years.

I'm more surprised at Dusty Zomer making the tow to BAKERSFIELD, CA for this weekend.  That is a massive road trip (I don't care if you win every race, that's a lot of windshield time in the hauler).

410's - Lasoski probably, darkhorse would be Heskin

360's - Garner is the team to beat until proven otherwise

305's - Haase or Devin Kline (toss up)

Heskin winning it would be awesome. Last year probably wasnt quite what they wanted compared to the year before but the competition level was so high and a little bad luck sure didn't help him.

As for Garner I see no way hes not at Knoxville. Yes its a 4-5 hour drive but if thats where your backers are from and if thats where you race best at you're gonna make that trip. I'd rather drive 4-5 hours every Saturday to win or get top 3 than to run middle of the pack 30 mins from home. Its all about winning at this level and not about how much money it is to win.

Knoxville is a great track but it would be nice to see non-wing racing there besides winged . What about  it MS JACOBS , it is suppose to be the mecca of racing .

I don't know much about Knoxville Raceway but I'd be willing to bet that if non winged shows were a financial success at Knoxville, they'd have them. 

They have tried non wing shows. Never really drew a good crowd. It is a 410 winged crowd. 360 nationals did not draw well till they moved them to the weekend before the 410 nationals. 

Now you're gonna get into it with Iowa fans?

I talked to a few Knoxville old timers & they seemed to think wingless cars were too slow, not really interested

But Ultimate Challenge wingless race at Oscaloosa seemed to have a decent crowd the 2 times I went (week between Kville 360s & 410s... lots of out of towners around for the week tho)

They had a USAC race on Sunday smack dab in the middle of the 10 days of Nationals, it was BY FAR the lowest attended race of the week.

Once the newness of non-wing racing wears off in PA, you will see the same type of thing.  The fans (by their attendance) dictate what types of events at put on at ALL tracks.

Sorry , I don't agree with some comments here , non -wing racing won't wear off anywhere . While I love all forms of racing , right now non-wing racing is the most exciting form of sprint car racing whether it be slower or not . As far as Knoxville  they did not market , advertise it well or do enough to try to get it to succeed . As said ,it did well at Oskaloosa but should be brought into both tracks again for the 10 days of racing of the Nationals or during another time . As far as Pa , the popularity of anything non-wing is gaining more shows in the sportsman , midgets , and low budget non -wing sprint cars at New Egypt in NJ . Many fans from Pa are traveling to Indiana , Illinois, Ohio, and CA to view non-wing racing . If we had enough drivers that would go non-wing racing in Pa--NJ -NY  a non-wing circuit could be started but there is not enough tracks, drivers that do not have enough guts to take the safety of the wing off .

So, Bob, are you gonna take your challenge and promote a wingless race at Knoxville? C'mon, time for you to put up or shut up..........................hopefully shut up once and for all.

It's tough to promote a wingless event at Knoxville because there just aren't any wingless cars near by to draw. And a one time draw will usually not produce enough cars. It's tough to make a long haul to a track that only a few wingless guys have ever raced on. How many winged guys raced at the wingless show at Oskaloosa? Quite a few I'd bet because they were already there and so were the fans so it worked. I have seen a couple wingless shows at Knoxville and the racing was close and enjoyable. Just where do you fit it in to Knoxville's already busy schedule? I don't think you can.

And still doesn't draw all that well even being the weekend before. To me the racing is just as good and sometimes better at the 360 nats. 

Dave Boy

Not bashing or arguing here, just want to point out that Garner is definitely not a mid-pack car at Huset's. He's as good, and arguably better then anybody there. Always a contender, even with limited starts over the last number of years. He ran once there last year and finished 2nd. His backing, Midwest Excavating, is a Sioux Falls operation. However, I do agree with you, he'll likely stick to K-ville. If Al Parker is the "backing" that you're referring to, then you've a good point. Again, not bashing, just wanted clear up a few things.

It can be done to have a non-wing show at Knoxville , but putting it in there schedule and in Oskaloosa is the tough part . Terry Mc Carl would like to have one back at his shows Monday or Tuesday . Sunday would be the day for Knoxville but they may not do it now because of there Sunday Capitani Classic

My first introduction to Garner was when he ran the Verhey #17v car at Husets in the 360 class.  He was wicked fast in that ride... and it was a beautful looking car to boot!