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

This is correct. Cars are also kept at Carl's shop and he builds and maintains them himself. 

Nah. Erdley moved over into Esh ,not knowing he was there. Mike apologized.

I believe there are several reasons Lernerville has a tough time competing when the Outlaws come to town.

Lernerville has hosted some great talent over the years going back to the great Lou Blaney.  That has continued, but not with the consistent level as Central PA because of the lack of high dollar car owners.  There just are not that many people wanting or able to front the dollars like Central Pa has had over the years.  (i.e. Hamilton, Weikert, Dyer, Trone, Harz, etc.)  Central, Pa. certainly does not have the wealth of car owners in the past, but they continue to have a pretty healthy stable of drivers and owners with the financial backing that are capable of running with the Outlaws and giving them a run for the money and also taking it as well!!  

This leads me to my next point which is the long storied tradition of Central Pa. sprint car racing which dates back to the late 30's and Tommy Hinnershitz.  Lennerville has a siginifcant history as well, but is behind by about 30 years.  My guess is that Lernerville would be at least a little closer with a longer existence.

Let's also look at the sprint car circuit that has developed over the years in Central, Pa.  The number of races that is possible is astounding and that has contributed to not only the development of drivers, but also bringing in outside talent dating pretty far back.        Yes, the guys at Lernerville could probably race as close to that amount, but at the current moment Lernerville has owned the Friday night scene for years and Mercer is all but closed for the year if not longer. Sharon and PMS only run Sprint specials every now and then and Tri-City is only open every now and then.  With no other tracks, (to my knowledge running on a weekly basis in Western, Pa.) it is difficult to get the seat time necessary to come to that level.  Yes, there is some very good talent, but not on the level of challenging the Outlaws every time they come to town and seat time is an important factor.  For them to succeed, they need to be on their game and then have a couple of things go there way.

Lastly, is the financial end of things.  Lerneville has always boasted about featuring the top 3 divisions, Sprints, Big-Block Modifieds, and Late Models.  With 3 headline divisions, it is impossible to pay the sprints similar to the Central, Pa. tracks.  There just is not enough money to go around and turn a profit and keep the track operating.  Also, with 3 headline divisions, the few car owners with deep pockets(If there are any) is spread out over the 3 divisions.  I ceratinly would not want Lernerville to change its current Friday night line-up as I enjoy watching all four divisions, but let's face facts, having 4 divisions each Friday nights with 3 of those divisions being high dollar car investments, makes it difficult to bring a payout that would attract car owners with deep pockets.

By all means, I am a devoted Lernerville fan and have been attending races there for over 40 years and in no way look down on the track the drivers or anybody else at this speedway.  I have supported the track 100% and will continue to by a Lernerville Fan.  It is my Friday night home, but I just want to clarify some of the thoughts about competing with the Outlaws.  I root for the hometown drivers every time the Outlaws come to town and consider the Ed Lynch Silver Cup Victory one of the Crowning moments in the History of Lernerville.  I certainly hope that that the current group of drivers can some day rise to this level.  If they do, there is a great chance that I will be there and celebrate with them.  If I was one with deep pockets, I ceratinly would be backing someone in the sprint ranks at the track!

Might make a difference if the top teams in PA would attend. $25,000  to win not enough, or don't they want to look bad?

The same can be said for the Ohio guys.  36 cars for a one day show that pays $25,000 to win in the middle of summer with perfect weather.  Where was Reutzel?  Blaney?  Jac?  McMahan?  Macedo?  I get that the Central PA guys weren't there, but those Ohio/All Star guys should've been there for this race.

Lernerville has respectable local talent today, but the days of Lynch, George, Hawley, Felmlee, Cassella, Smith, etc. are gone.  These were guys who could at least compete and put a car solidly into a big show.  Hobaugh and Flick are up an comers, but have a long way to go to try to defend home turf.

Semi off-topic: Don Martin quit rolling over in his grave. The place looks pretty good now. A couple years ago under WRG ownership, she was looking pretty sad.

On topic: Its a real long 200 miles between Western PA sprint cars and Central PA sprint cars. Hard to believe they are in the same state. 

You're right.....some of the All Star guys should have been there, also. Especially where they were scheduled to head for PA in the first place.

Always very easy to spend someone else's money and proclaim that a team "should have been there."

It has never been easier to contact a team in the age of Facebook/Twitter and offer some financial assistance so they can get to races they "should" attend.

Of course it is. But that's not a prerequisite for voicing an opinion. If it were most forums would be pretty empty.

I don't remember Doug going thru the tin twice at Port but the wreck in the #98 is with Jim Shuster. I just watched the wreck on the 2013 Thunder in the Pa mountains tape.  Erdley is three cars behind the wreck and hugging the inside rail and Doug is on the cushion like always. Plain as day him and Shuster.  

Doug was the last guy to run and win in the #98.  He got the most out of those HP Engines. That team was building something. 

Posse representing well so far in hot laps tonight at Lincoln!  Hope they give the WOO regulars a good run. 

Lernerville track champion AJ Flick goes to port royal and upsets the posse, including Dewease

It was a very popular win with the Port fans. I hope nobody starts a bunch of shit and ruins his excitement over it.

Congratulations to A.J for the win.  But he did get lucky the caution on lap 18 came out because Lance got him on the inside  between turns one and two and led him all the way down the backstretch and thru turns 3 and 4 and the caution came out before the lap was completed. But sometimes you need to be lucky. 

AJ got the  luck and then made the most of it by running hammer down on top an holding Lance off for 7 laps , so he earned it. No doubt. 

Agreed. Had it stayed green, I think Lance would've drove off but after that caution, A.J. did everything right and Lance couldn't get back to him again. Good to see him get one. He's been steadily improving since he started coming east and more recently, he's looked really good. 

He earned that one. No doubt about it. Great job AJ Flick.

The kid is a racer. Glad to hear he won one.