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

So far I have only seen one signing (Brent Marks) that will affect any races that I plan to see. I may even see more cars at some races. HL doesn't seem to have races scheduled during Pa Speedweek so he will likely be at some those as well as early and late season races. It is a little foggy here right now but I don't think it is because the sky is falling.

Most Outlaw drivers welcomed time off with their 86 race schedule yet this whole thing is about some teams wanting to race ouside the series more than 4 times?  Who races more than 90 410 events per season?  That has to be a very short list.

Stan Meissner

There is going to be like 30 fulltime teams onthe road. The outlaws could never support that many teams alone. This will be the best year of sprint car racing so many races to watch. 

Stan,

The problem with the Outlaws schedule is that it is spread too thin throughout the year. They generally run 2 races then there are 4 - 5 days off and about 1000 miles to go to get to the next race. That's fine if you fly home (Donny & Carson) but not everybody can do that. Road warriors get plenty of time off but not necessarily where and when they desire that time off. Outlaws have to dedicate about 75% of their calendar year to the series. 

The HL schedule is more condensed with more races per week. HL drivers only dedicate 40 - 50% of their calendar year to the series. The rest of the time they can vacation, race locally, or attend one of the 45+ Outlaw races that are scheduled during that time off. That's where the freedom argument comes into play.

If you'd like more details listen to Jacob Allen talk about it on David Gravel's podcast. Jacob has traveled the series many years and knows a lot more about it than any of us.

The link is here:

Jacob is excited about HL

And here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jXDHlunlQA

High Limit is nothing more than a rumor where I live.  They have scheduled against both Outlaw races in our market.  I watched the Gravel Allen interview live stream the day it happened.  There are no HL races at any track from Knoxville to Canada and I live half way between the two.  By way of illustration we had Rico, Sweet, Allen and Kahn racing at local WoO shows last year but they won't be there this year.  

Speaking from my own vantage point what has HL done for me?  We have had WoO dates up here dating back to 1979 and HL will have an impact on those races.  High Limit for most folks in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakota's is something to watch on television that will resemble the All Stars.  Until I can see a HL race within a reasonable distance from home they are not a "National" racing series.  

Stan Meissner

Traveling from Pennsylvania to California and Florida to New York is not a national series?

They don't come anywhere near our market and the Outlaws have since 1979.  The odd side effect of this whole thing is that half the fans have blinders on when it comes to them scheduling against WoO shows.  The net effect is fewer long time fan favorites at the WoO shows in this region.  I'll never be happy about that but it's what happens when sanctions go head to head.  The same thing we saw in 1989 and 2006.  Yeah, I can watch them on TV or travel four hundred miles to see HL but I'm unable to do that alone.  
 

I'm just an old seventy something fan who can't travel as far as I used to for races.  I'm not  the enemy of HL or WoO because I like to see all the best drivers under an hour from home like I have for most of the past fifty years.  

Stan Meissner

Seems like you need to find some younger local fans by you to travel with perhaps?

By all means, go enjoy the Outlaw show just as you have since 1979. No one is stoppping you from doing that.

That isn't happening anytime soon.  I've been retired since 2018 and don't have a social life anymore.  Don't set foot in bars or see anyone who goes to races.  I've got neighbors moving up to 410's but would only get in the way at the track.  It's pretty hard to reset my travel companions list at 72.  That's probably part of the reason I spend so much time talking racing online.  My wife doesn't go to races so I never get around any other racing fans.  I grew up in a family that included a Sprint Car owner and wrote and took photos and was walking the pits talking racing every weekend for close to twenty year.  Now I sit and watch them on tv by myself.  It would be nice to share driving and expenses to make some of those longer trips but my social life aside from the kids and grandkids is non existen.  Not complaining but that is where I'm at these days so I just roll with it. 

Stan Meissner

More interested in a couple IRA shows this year.  If I can get down to Mississippi Thunder in May it will be my 41st track I have attended a race at.  

Stan Meissner

I found some relavent info on BillV99's Sprint Car Ratings.com website. In 2023 the total driver count for 410 wing races was 1022- over one thousand drivers raced a 410 in 2023! 156 of those drivers had wins in 2023.To me, that suggests there are enough winged 410 sprint cars out there to support 2 national series. 

Enough to support races coast to coast and everywhere in between? People like to compare it to late models but remember there's probably twice as many late models and tracks that run them in the USA. Just asking questions.