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

People love a winner until He wins too much.Its great for the sport that he promotes dirt track racing has great interviews and loves what he is doing.But his Sunday job pays the bills and hopefully Chip lets him keep doing it. It would be hard to do what he is doing at a half mile like Knoxville as the dirty air and the cars are so equal that most features are won off the front.Nascar has gained many fans from the dirt track purists as Kyle is something special and even when thing dont go right seems to say the right things.Nascar is still boring until the last 20 laps but He has certainly helped it as its popularity has dropped.I find it hard to beleive it gets the TV coverage it gets from practice to race time .

Lee?

Getting confused with Paul maybe? 

I have been fortunate enough to have watched Kyle for years now. Seen him win a lot. But the most extraordinary win I witnessed was the Gold cup a few years ago. In the Paul Silva #57 Kyle lapped up to 7th place and the second place guy was a half lap behind. Oh yeah his name is Donnie.

We need more sprint car racing at our home track.

Paul Silva is a champ, no doubt.  I honestly believe that Kyle could climb in half the cars he just beat and still win the race, he's that good and as a gambling man I would make that bet....

Umm, Schatz won from 21st (or so?) a few years ago....

You're so hard on Posse fans.... enthusiasm & partisanship makes it fun

My first ever sprint car race was at Clinton County. After the race, I was mentioning to a guy that fans didn't get excited or seem to care who won. He told me about WG  vs. Outlaws. My next race was National Open when Sammy won. People were going crazy rooting for DeWease to catch him, but when he didn't, Sammy go a big ovation (Did they chant "Sammy, Sammy"? I fergit...)

But i agree that throwing beer cans is unacceptable, & booing Schatz is stupid. But who cares? I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank....

Yep, witnessing history

that is a fact to behohld.  won two years in a row here in Chico...

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...

There's nothing fun about people going out of their way to be an asshole. Enthusiasm is great. Disrespect is stupid. There's a huge difference.

the greatest sprint car driver on the planet, bar none...  https://speedsport.com/sprints-midgets/other-sprint-cars/larson-makes-five-row-lincoln/  

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...

One of the biggest crowds I ever saw last nite at lincoln. What impressed me the most was the AK87 catching him on the bottom and Larson having the sense to move to the bottom and drive away the last 6 laps. Smart kid!

The excitement and passion that Larson shows for sprint car racing is very refreshing and really exciting for the fans. His mention that he looks forward to going up and down the road some day is I'm sure a very sincere statement. The only thing in his way of course is his day job. That day job can become a trap because there are so many millions of dollars for him to earn over a career. No one can fault him for looking out for his familie's future security. And that's NASCAR.

He is a racing talent to be sure. Is he a Foyt or Andretti as far as an all around driver? Maybe so. For sure they had an advantage to showcase their total all around driving skills that aren't available today for a driver like Kyle. Is he a  Kinser, Swindell, Wolfgang or Schatz? Agian, maybe so. Still, he'll have to earn each and every win. Some of those wins are going to come real hard. So far the PA wins look to be pretty easy, becuase he's had a relatively open path, especially last night.  The second the A Main strung out at all, Larson went to the cushion and proceeded to drive by every driver in front of him for the lead. Bottom feeders every one of them. Only towards the end when the track rubbered down did he go to the bottom. During the Feature there were other drivers that ventured out to the cushion, but I couldn't tell by the PPV if any were really going forward or not. There were areas where that cushion was as close to the wall as one will find it......scary close to the wall. That's where the best drivers will go to win when they have to, and that is where Larson went. Much like the other night when he went through every rut and hole there was to get the win without appearing to back off. He will most likely never compile the number of wins that a lot of drivers have, but the manner in which he gets his wins will define his true talent. And what a talent it is!

The thing that is most remarkable about Larson is that you can actually see a difference in how he drives the car. The angles at which he drives the car into the corners is usually a bit different than the rest. 

Im not sure why it took these 5 races to make the whole sprint car universe  realize he's extraordinary but I'm glad we're all on the same page now. 

He went to the bottom because he knew Krines was coming. Smart move. He said the bottom wasn't good for him but knew from watching videos that Krines was running the bottom and he just hoped he would hit his marks.  Great to see him acknowledge Krimes' run. Great race to watch! And yes, the top got hairy. Montieth and Campbell were both running 5th when the wall bit 'em up high.

i don't see anyone stopping Laron at Grandview tonight but Ill be there to watch this awesome driver while we can.

Yep, Schatz won from 21st.     Larson started 21st and went to 5th last year.    It wouldn't be hard to convince me that he could start 10th and win it.   I would love to see that happen too.    I'm hoping that the Nationals is actually turning into a more competitive race now.   Johnson had the same speed as Schatz last year.   I think Brownie was as fast as Schatz and actually passed him on lap 44 a few years ago.   With Gravel having a great year, Stewart coming on strong (3rd last year for him) and Larson added in on top of that it oughta be good.   And of course we can expect Donny to be as tough as he always is...

All good points above.  To expand upon:

1.  If Kyle Larson's accountant told him "you're all set, you can retire and do what you want" and he jumped in the 57 next year full time for the WOO, he would clean up on everyone---even the "unstoppable" Don.  He has made short work of the 15 this year when they meet on the track. 

2.  Larson would be a favorite for the Nationals if he decided (and contractual obligations will allow him to) run Saturday night.  (Not THE favorite--don't get me wrogn)  With the fierce battle for 1st, many missed the fact that he had come from about 10th after the break, moved up to a battle for 4th and was only a straightaway from the leaders taking the white flag after passing 5 or more cars.  He was the fastest car on the track last year on Saturday night.  

3.  He does take angles and lines no one else does.  All sprint car drivers have the amazing ability to gather up a car when it looks out of control.  He has the ability to gather up a sprint car thats out of control, not lose any speed, and pass two cars in the next corner---all while once again looking out of control.  

4.  I agree with someone who stated Kyle could win in about 1/2 the cars in the field.  Give almost any random driver the "keys" to the 57 and Kyle the "keys" to about any other car in the field.  I would put money down on Kyle winning before the other driver---or at least coming out ahead of the 57!  Not to take anything away from Silva--as it is obviously an awesome piece being rolled off the trailer each night.  I think it would be fun to see Kyle jump in one of the cars that has not won on the WOO tour yet this year.  I would put money down on a podium finish.  

5.  No matter what side you're on, this is great for all forms of racing he is involved in.  He is doing something that has not happened a whole lot in the racing world over the last decade----generating a buzz!   If he is going to show up at a track, it will be full.  Nascar on the other hand?  I know a lot of (past and present) diehard Nascar fans that have a new found interest in watching the races because they find him exciting.  

Agree completely.     A driver like this doesn't come around often.   You could put him in the same group with Foyt and Smoke very easily.   I'm also very grateful that he not only races sprints but has supported the sport as a car owner too, just like Smoke and Kasey.    

Correct me. Isn't Lee Staffer crewing the 57 in central pa. I was under the assumption for speed week they hired Lee.  ???

True

Some people don't have to go out of their way!