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Topic: My Knoxville observations Email this topic to a friend | Subscribe to this TopicReport this Topic to Moderator
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Stroker_Race
August 14, 2017 at 02:31:50 PM
Joined: 01/11/2013
Posts: 394
Reply

Disclaimer:  These are simply some of my observations, thoughts and other comments from last week.  Hopefully, no one is offended.  Some thoughts are not facts, so please don't assume that my observations are factual.  They may be opinioniated.  Also, I make no promises on spelling, grammar or punctuation.  Read at your own discretion.

Facility:  I cannot say enough about the entire set-up.  From the time you literally drive into the city of Knoxville you know you are in for something special.  If you come from the North, you see the Super 8 and the camp-grounds full of race teams and fans.  If you come from the South, you see Walmart (Car wash especially) and there is always someone there washing a race car.  Morning, noon or night.  As you continue towards the track, it just gets better and pretty soon you are seeing vendor after vendor and then the track itself.  Once you step foot on the fairgrounds it is an entire different level.  Racers everywhere, food stands, t-sirt stands.  The staff at the place does an amazing job and it is very well organized.  A+ from me on this.

Officiating:  All in all, it was pretty decent.  On both Wednesday and Thursday night I though some of the heat race starts looked a little sloppy (or advantagous to some), yet they were never called back.  Then on Friday and Saturday I thought they went a bit over-board.  They called some stuff back that looked perfect to me.  The biggest topic of the week was the "supposed" scale issue regarding the 39 car.  I thought the officials dropped the ball on this one big time.  Out of 48 cars that raced that night, 46 of them had no problem with the scales.  Also, the drivers and teams were all notified at the drivers meeting "these are not the WoO scales, so everyone please check your cars before the night starts as these are the official scales for the week."  My thoughts are that if you are light, your done.  Another thing is that the scales were found to be 6 lbs off when checked.  The 39 car was 9 lbs light.  So even if they were off the 6 lbs, the 39 was still 3 lbs light.  I have never seen a track not stand by their rules and their scale.  Light is light no matter how you look at it. In my opinion, they blew it on this situation.  C- from me on this one overall.

Fans:  Probably the most knowledgable and passionate of any I have ever seen.  Some of them are die-hard to the end, BUT, the biggest and loudest thumps I heard this weekend were of all the Jason Johnson fans falling off of their bandwagon and the clanging of people trying to board the David Gravel and Kyle Larson bandwagon.  It seems to me that at Knoxville, there are 2 types of fans. 1. Donny Schatz fans or 2. ANYBODY but Donny Schatz fans. 3. Nothing in between.  During the past few Nationals we have all heard some sort of horror story about some people having to deal with drunks.  As of right now, I have yet to hear a single complaint (Not saying there weren't issues, just saying I havn't heard of any yet.)  I am also thinking the Saturday night crowd was as big as I have seen in at least the past 5 years.  Good to see the people back in the stands, as they should be.  I also never heard any horror stories about the law enforcment.  Hopefully, between the fans and the law we have found a bit of a compromise. (fingers crossed)  All in all, I give the fans another A+

The Racing:  What more can ya say???  I say BINGO!!!!  The racing every night was about as good as it gets.  The only thing I was a bit surprised by was the rough track on Saturday night.  The Duncans are known World Wide for their attention to detail.   So for them to have a rough track ever is surprising.  Re-capping Saturday night's final I have a few thoughts.  Many think Gravel was head and shoulders above everyone else.  I agree the 5 team had the car rolling very good BUT, let's remember how much of a difference good air means to the cars these days.  Schatz closed on him very quickly once Gravel hit lapped traffic.  Then Kerry closed on both of them very quickly when the 5 and 15 were both dealing with lappers.  No one will ever know how the race would have played out had the 5 not broken.  I'd say it's 50/50 on who wins at this point.  Regarding Yung money and his run.  I think the fans got what they wanted, which was a final shoot-out between the 57 and the 15.  Donny showed us all why he is the best sprint car driver on the planet Saturday night.  Please remember, he had a 2.8 second lead when the final yellow flew.  This gave Larson one last run at him.  Kudo's to Ricky Warner and the TSR team, Paul Sylva and the 57 team and Barry Jackson and the CJB team.  They all came prepared to win.  But at the end of the day, the 15 team did what was expected of them and won the race.  Racing = another A+ from me.

These are my initial thoughts.  I'll be back later to add some more.  Please feel free to add your own thoughts and I hope everyone enjoyed the Nationals as much as me and the little lady did.




blazer00
August 14, 2017 at 03:03:45 PM
Joined: 06/10/2015
Posts: 2420
Reply

Glad you had a great time! It's fun for me to hear the experiences of others that are there....kinda keeps me there too so to speak. You're right about the arrival to Knoxville.....no matter what direction you come in from.....there's no mistaking why you're there and what's in store!

 



egras
August 14, 2017 at 05:11:25 PM
Joined: 08/16/2009
Posts: 3913
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: Stroker_Race on August 14 2017 at 02:31:50 PM

Disclaimer:  These are simply some of my observations, thoughts and other comments from last week.  Hopefully, no one is offended.  Some thoughts are not facts, so please don't assume that my observations are factual.  They may be opinioniated.  Also, I make no promises on spelling, grammar or punctuation.  Read at your own discretion.

Facility:  I cannot say enough about the entire set-up.  From the time you literally drive into the city of Knoxville you know you are in for something special.  If you come from the North, you see the Super 8 and the camp-grounds full of race teams and fans.  If you come from the South, you see Walmart (Car wash especially) and there is always someone there washing a race car.  Morning, noon or night.  As you continue towards the track, it just gets better and pretty soon you are seeing vendor after vendor and then the track itself.  Once you step foot on the fairgrounds it is an entire different level.  Racers everywhere, food stands, t-sirt stands.  The staff at the place does an amazing job and it is very well organized.  A+ from me on this.

Officiating:  All in all, it was pretty decent.  On both Wednesday and Thursday night I though some of the heat race starts looked a little sloppy (or advantagous to some), yet they were never called back.  Then on Friday and Saturday I thought they went a bit over-board.  They called some stuff back that looked perfect to me.  The biggest topic of the week was the "supposed" scale issue regarding the 39 car.  I thought the officials dropped the ball on this one big time.  Out of 48 cars that raced that night, 46 of them had no problem with the scales.  Also, the drivers and teams were all notified at the drivers meeting "these are not the WoO scales, so everyone please check your cars before the night starts as these are the official scales for the week."  My thoughts are that if you are light, your done.  Another thing is that the scales were found to be 6 lbs off when checked.  The 39 car was 9 lbs light.  So even if they were off the 6 lbs, the 39 was still 3 lbs light.  I have never seen a track not stand by their rules and their scale.  Light is light no matter how you look at it. In my opinion, they blew it on this situation.  C- from me on this one overall.

Fans:  Probably the most knowledgable and passionate of any I have ever seen.  Some of them are die-hard to the end, BUT, the biggest and loudest thumps I heard this weekend were of all the Jason Johnson fans falling off of their bandwagon and the clanging of people trying to board the David Gravel and Kyle Larson bandwagon.  It seems to me that at Knoxville, there are 2 types of fans. 1. Donny Schatz fans or 2. ANYBODY but Donny Schatz fans. 3. Nothing in between.  During the past few Nationals we have all heard some sort of horror story about some people having to deal with drunks.  As of right now, I have yet to hear a single complaint (Not saying there weren't issues, just saying I havn't heard of any yet.)  I am also thinking the Saturday night crowd was as big as I have seen in at least the past 5 years.  Good to see the people back in the stands, as they should be.  I also never heard any horror stories about the law enforcment.  Hopefully, between the fans and the law we have found a bit of a compromise. (fingers crossed)  All in all, I give the fans another A+

The Racing:  What more can ya say???  I say BINGO!!!!  The racing every night was about as good as it gets.  The only thing I was a bit surprised by was the rough track on Saturday night.  The Duncans are known World Wide for their attention to detail.   So for them to have a rough track ever is surprising.  Re-capping Saturday night's final I have a few thoughts.  Many think Gravel was head and shoulders above everyone else.  I agree the 5 team had the car rolling very good BUT, let's remember how much of a difference good air means to the cars these days.  Schatz closed on him very quickly once Gravel hit lapped traffic.  Then Kerry closed on both of them very quickly when the 5 and 15 were both dealing with lappers.  No one will ever know how the race would have played out had the 5 not broken.  I'd say it's 50/50 on who wins at this point.  Regarding Yung money and his run.  I think the fans got what they wanted, which was a final shoot-out between the 57 and the 15.  Donny showed us all why he is the best sprint car driver on the planet Saturday night.  Please remember, he had a 2.8 second lead when the final yellow flew.  This gave Larson one last run at him.  Kudo's to Ricky Warner and the TSR team, Paul Sylva and the 57 team and Barry Jackson and the CJB team.  They all came prepared to win.  But at the end of the day, the 15 team did what was expected of them and won the race.  Racing = another A+ from me.

These are my initial thoughts.  I'll be back later to add some more.  Please feel free to add your own thoughts and I hope everyone enjoyed the Nationals as much as me and the little lady did.



Good observations.  A few points to add/contest:

1.  I think the fact that there are few who have only one driver to root for is something special about sprint car racing.  Nascar is not like this.  Stick, ball and puck sports are not like this.  Seems to me grass roots racing allows fans to cheer about any driver they wish which makes it cool.

2.  5 car was good in clean air---then passed the 15 right back after getting passed.  I don't think he was gonna have much of an issue in dirty air.

3.  Donny is the best sprint car driver on the planet at Knoxville.  He is also the best full-time sprint car driver on the planet.  I would argue Kyle is the better driver in a sprint car right now---probably the best he has ever been.  Saturday night (I believe) was the first time Donny finished ahead of Kyle all season when they have been on the same track together.  Once again, this is only opinion and I respect yours.  I just feel if Kyle were running full time WOO, Donny and David would be fighting for his scraps.  

 

Glad you had a good time, I did too!




maddog53
August 14, 2017 at 05:55:09 PM
Joined: 03/18/2008
Posts: 1474
Reply

It was my first time there.  Friday, we arrived around 5:30, got the trailer parked in its spot and pulled the chairs out to start grilling and partying.  My experience at Knoxville was at the least, FANTASTIC.  Fridays racing was good, and the program moved along pretty good, compared to what I am used to. Saturday we took in the Hall of Fame and later on, the racing was great. The price of food, the price of beer, the hospitality of every person I had any type of contact with, was fantastic.  Granted, we were only 2 1/2 blocks from everything, but I give my experience an A+.  It helps that I attended with a real great group of guys, in no particular order,  shanefan and son, larryitis and daughter, egras and his buddy Dean.  My cherry popping at the Nationals was memorable....I would not change one thing



dakob
August 14, 2017 at 06:54:04 PM
Joined: 12/02/2004
Posts: 148
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: Stroker_Race on August 14 2017 at 02:31:50 PM

Disclaimer:  These are simply some of my observations, thoughts and other comments from last week.  Hopefully, no one is offended.  Some thoughts are not facts, so please don't assume that my observations are factual.  They may be opinioniated.  Also, I make no promises on spelling, grammar or punctuation.  Read at your own discretion.

Facility:  I cannot say enough about the entire set-up.  From the time you literally drive into the city of Knoxville you know you are in for something special.  If you come from the North, you see the Super 8 and the camp-grounds full of race teams and fans.  If you come from the South, you see Walmart (Car wash especially) and there is always someone there washing a race car.  Morning, noon or night.  As you continue towards the track, it just gets better and pretty soon you are seeing vendor after vendor and then the track itself.  Once you step foot on the fairgrounds it is an entire different level.  Racers everywhere, food stands, t-sirt stands.  The staff at the place does an amazing job and it is very well organized.  A+ from me on this.

Officiating:  All in all, it was pretty decent.  On both Wednesday and Thursday night I though some of the heat race starts looked a little sloppy (or advantagous to some), yet they were never called back.  Then on Friday and Saturday I thought they went a bit over-board.  They called some stuff back that looked perfect to me.  The biggest topic of the week was the "supposed" scale issue regarding the 39 car.  I thought the officials dropped the ball on this one big time.  Out of 48 cars that raced that night, 46 of them had no problem with the scales.  Also, the drivers and teams were all notified at the drivers meeting "these are not the WoO scales, so everyone please check your cars before the night starts as these are the official scales for the week."  My thoughts are that if you are light, your done.  Another thing is that the scales were found to be 6 lbs off when checked.  The 39 car was 9 lbs light.  So even if they were off the 6 lbs, the 39 was still 3 lbs light.  I have never seen a track not stand by their rules and their scale.  Light is light no matter how you look at it. In my opinion, they blew it on this situation.  C- from me on this one overall.

Fans:  Probably the most knowledgable and passionate of any I have ever seen.  Some of them are die-hard to the end, BUT, the biggest and loudest thumps I heard this weekend were of all the Jason Johnson fans falling off of their bandwagon and the clanging of people trying to board the David Gravel and Kyle Larson bandwagon.  It seems to me that at Knoxville, there are 2 types of fans. 1. Donny Schatz fans or 2. ANYBODY but Donny Schatz fans. 3. Nothing in between.  During the past few Nationals we have all heard some sort of horror story about some people having to deal with drunks.  As of right now, I have yet to hear a single complaint (Not saying there weren't issues, just saying I havn't heard of any yet.)  I am also thinking the Saturday night crowd was as big as I have seen in at least the past 5 years.  Good to see the people back in the stands, as they should be.  I also never heard any horror stories about the law enforcment.  Hopefully, between the fans and the law we have found a bit of a compromise. (fingers crossed)  All in all, I give the fans another A+

The Racing:  What more can ya say???  I say BINGO!!!!  The racing every night was about as good as it gets.  The only thing I was a bit surprised by was the rough track on Saturday night.  The Duncans are known World Wide for their attention to detail.   So for them to have a rough track ever is surprising.  Re-capping Saturday night's final I have a few thoughts.  Many think Gravel was head and shoulders above everyone else.  I agree the 5 team had the car rolling very good BUT, let's remember how much of a difference good air means to the cars these days.  Schatz closed on him very quickly once Gravel hit lapped traffic.  Then Kerry closed on both of them very quickly when the 5 and 15 were both dealing with lappers.  No one will ever know how the race would have played out had the 5 not broken.  I'd say it's 50/50 on who wins at this point.  Regarding Yung money and his run.  I think the fans got what they wanted, which was a final shoot-out between the 57 and the 15.  Donny showed us all why he is the best sprint car driver on the planet Saturday night.  Please remember, he had a 2.8 second lead when the final yellow flew.  This gave Larson one last run at him.  Kudo's to Ricky Warner and the TSR team, Paul Sylva and the 57 team and Barry Jackson and the CJB team.  They all came prepared to win.  But at the end of the day, the 15 team did what was expected of them and won the race.  Racing = another A+ from me.

These are my initial thoughts.  I'll be back later to add some more.  Please feel free to add your own thoughts and I hope everyone enjoyed the Nationals as much as me and the little lady did.



Knoxville as always an amazing four day show but it just seemed strange, very strange to not hear Ralph Capitani address the drivers meeting and call them 'gang'.



Dryslick Willie
August 14, 2017 at 06:57:30 PM
Joined: 12/17/2009
Posts: 2235
Reply

I would agree with Stroker's assessment pretty well across the board.   The facility is awesome, and the atmosphere is electric.   The racing was awesome I thought.   I too thought the officiating was screwy at best.   The experience was awesome though.   The only I'd say that sucks is that I've gotta wait 51 weeks before I go back!    

 

I would add that I cannot get a experience anywhere near this down here in Texas.   Devils Bowl can be good sometimes, but you almost never see good heat racing there.   Maybe some of that is the format???    Unfortunately that's the only track I'll go to down here.   The other ones make you sit through 8 classes to see 305s or ASCS, and I won't do that at all.    Devils Bowl usually has two and no more than three support classes.    I don't expect Devils Bowl to be around much longer though.   The next George Bush highway extension project is probably going to take it out. 




MacTexas
August 15, 2017 at 09:15:50 AM
Joined: 11/30/2004
Posts: 106
Reply

Only comment I can add is that Mr. C's restaurant now is closed for dinner.



MSPN
August 15, 2017 at 10:33:26 AM
Joined: 11/23/2004
Posts: 3943
Reply

Thanks for your thoughts, you get an A+ from me. 

I wish we could get another couple dozen reports from fans that were there, opinions and views from the folks in this forum should be happening on a regular basis, come on folks PARTICIPATE.  I used to post things about my travels chasing the Outlaws 20 or so years ago in this forum and as a result of those little blurbs met dozens of people who are friends to this day.  What a nice change it would be seeing what people from allo over the place thought of their trip to the Hallowed Ground in Marion County.....



chathamracefan1
August 15, 2017 at 10:53:13 AM
Joined: 08/03/2008
Posts: 241
Reply

I was a first timer on Friday & Saturday this year.  Definitely planning on all 4 days next year.  I need to go back if nothing else but to eat all of the great food that is there!  The atmosphere is just incredible in the town.  Got there at 11:30 on Saturday & the place was already buzzing.  

And to top it off, the racing is spectacular.  Track prep was very good (certainly don't spare on the H20).  All in all, just a wonderful event.  




cterwee
August 15, 2017 at 12:05:32 PM
Joined: 05/16/2016
Posts: 3
Reply

Great observation!  All I can say about my second time at the Nationals is WOW!!! Racing was awesome ! Crowd was grreat. It was good to hear some of the NASCAR people watching. They got to see how popular Sprint Car racing is. That crowd Saturday night was awesome. My only wish from here on out is that we figure out a way to get some dirt racing at HUSETS on Sunday night!



rpmx
August 15, 2017 at 01:16:28 PM
Joined: 05/21/2007
Posts: 500
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: MSPN on August 15 2017 at 10:33:26 AM

Thanks for your thoughts, you get an A+ from me. 

I wish we could get another couple dozen reports from fans that were there, opinions and views from the folks in this forum should be happening on a regular basis, come on folks PARTICIPATE.  I used to post things about my travels chasing the Outlaws 20 or so years ago in this forum and as a result of those little blurbs met dozens of people who are friends to this day.  What a nice change it would be seeing what people from allo over the place thought of their trip to the Hallowed Ground in Marion County.....




Ok Mike, you shamed me into it.  Smile  Some of this report is going to be a little foggy..even though the weather was  fantastic!

 

JP and I are on our 20th year at Knoxville, starting with two days back when, and culminating with 2 weeks this year..  We arrived on Saturday afternoon the 19th of July,  Started setting up Kamp Knoxville, where we would call home for the duration.  We attended the Saturday show, which found TMac victorious in both classes. Something he has done 3 or 4 times, I guess. 

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday  found us working around Kamp, where we made some major creature comfort improvements to our already stellar facilities.  Many thanks to our most gracious hosts! 

The Hall of Fame Sammy display  was incredible. Anyone that was in Knoxville and missed that, missed a once in a lifetime op, unless youre personal friends with Sammy and can see it at his place.  Also, the Clauson Towers are going to be an awesome addition to Knoxville Raceway..

As anyone that knows me, knows Ive been a Kyle Larson fan before there was a band, or even a wagon.  Ive always prided myself to be able to say that I watch everyone on the track, always searching for someone, anyone that is putting on a show.  Ive never had "tunnel vision" when it comes to sprint car racing, but Kyle does bring that out in me, because primarily, hes going to put on a show.  When he passed for 4th or 5th at Oskaloosa on Monday night, and the #9 car was a straightaway and a half ahead of him, I took my eyes off of him and watched Brad and Shane duke it out for the lead.. Im not sure how many laps it took Kyle to reel in Pittman, but it wasnt many, and when he passed the 9 , I wondered if Pittman did a 360 or something that I missed that  allowed Kyle to catch up so quickly.  I have a deep respect and admiration for anyone that straps into a sprint car.   I dont understand why they do it, but an damn glad  they do.  Thank you to everyone that made the experience spectacular this year!

I  really dont remember much about the racing over the two  weeks, as it all seems to blend together and become just part of the experience.  I will have to say, that our vacation this year was absolutely the best that we have ever experienced at Knoxville.  Ranks right up there with 2007 and the queens contest year..

We opened up our Kamp to 7 Knoxville Nationals virgins, and I'm pretty sure all will be back.  Theres really nothing that compares to driving into Knoxville from either direction, although I prefer to direct new guest in from the North.  As you approach, its like:  Is that it?  That Cannot be it!  OMG THAT IS IT.  Holy Crap, Im in Knoxville Iowa!

Miscellaneous observations:

Racing was good.  Im glad that Cory Eliason was able to put the Harley Van Dyke 5H into the big show.  Thoughts and prayers going out to the family..

City Police were pretty brutal in ragards to speeders and other miscellaneous violations.  They pretty much shut down the Cart path between the track and the North Campground. I guess theyd rather have you cross at an uncontrolled intersection.  In the past, theyve always allowed this traffic along the boulevard.   Also The wife and I got pulled over for having our 2 year old in between us on the golf cart.  He told me that  there was only two seats in the front, and that the girls had to go to the back seat.  I guess its safer back there for my grand  daughter than sandwiched in between us up front.  Whodve thunk?

Walked out of Turn 1 Tavern on a Wednesday afternoon to see a vehicle pull into the bank across the street drive up window.   Guy gets out and pukes his guts out on the lawn..... for 5  minutes.. 

Wife and 2 other women were having an afternoon beverage and a guy gives them this  pickup line:  I shit my pants last night.. 

I made a few obligatory visits to  Dingus, but not as many as the younger generation in our Kamp..

The Mexican food stand under the west end of the grandstand was stellar..

Overall, a very, very good 2 weeks. 

 

 



shernernum
August 15, 2017 at 01:53:16 PM
Joined: 08/28/2014
Posts: 397
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: MSPN on August 15 2017 at 10:33:26 AM

Thanks for your thoughts, you get an A+ from me. 

I wish we could get another couple dozen reports from fans that were there, opinions and views from the folks in this forum should be happening on a regular basis, come on folks PARTICIPATE.  I used to post things about my travels chasing the Outlaws 20 or so years ago in this forum and as a result of those little blurbs met dozens of people who are friends to this day.  What a nice change it would be seeing what people from allo over the place thought of their trip to the Hallowed Ground in Marion County.....



3rd Nats out of last 4 for me.

Took my  Dad and a newbie who has become a Sprint Car fan in the last 3 years or so.  He has only been to 4 racetracks in his life.  2 of them were Charlotte for the World Finals and Knoxville for Nats...not a bad entrance into dirt racing.

Kind of split the time of the trip between Knoxville and a true vacation.  Stay in Des Moines area (Chamber of Commerce parking with a back entrance/exit through the old VA FTW) and go to the fair a few times.  The Saturday morning Farmer's Market in Downtown Des Moines was an awesome and huge surprise, not to mention the parking was free.

After a disappointing Tuesday night for the Comet Classic (left before heats were even over because after watching the micros and midgets run together, my dad was afraid we were going to see somebody get hurt.), really enjoyed the time in town of KNoxville this year.  One of these years I will stay in town for the whole week.

NSCHOF was great as usual, seemed to be a few more vendors across the way and at the track this year, which was fun to see.  Punching Panda's behind the Grandstand were a great band, then was walking through Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and there they were again playing a loud set at 9:00AM...awesome.

The racing was great overall, heats on prelim nights were excellent, Friday was a long night of racing but extremely competitive.  The buzz because of the Larson drama (will he or won't he) added an extra dimension and the desire to promote Sprint Car racing to the larger NASCAR audience seemed to make the week even more of a celebration.

I am by no means a Schatz fan, and don't want to see him win, but I have to admit, he was a class act all week.  His victory lane interview Saturday night was a study in what to say and how to say it.  Makes it really hard to dislike him.

Sorry to see the bottom go away on Saturday night, but the Dunkin's get it right so often, how can you fault them.  It wasn't a bad track, it just wasn't typical Knoxville.  One thing that I miss, even though I never really rode them, was seeing the shuttle wagons run up and down Rt. 14.  I know they had busses but there was a charm to those wagons.  Anyway, it was a great week. 

One more note, I know some people with longtime seats are worried, but the widening project will be very welcome.  We had an extra seat (unoccupied) in our row, but it was still tight.




highspeeddirt
August 15, 2017 at 03:58:57 PM
Joined: 01/06/2009
Posts: 399
Reply

David Gravel was a rocket until it blew. He put a full straightaway lead on Schatz twice which suprised me but I think Schatz was just cruising at that point. 

Don Don and his crew chief own that joint. Watch Schatz go thru the hole in 3 and 4 and it barely got unsettled. Where as Larsons was hopping and pushing like crazy after he hit it. I want to say the Schatz crew put alot of focus on shocks a while back and I think you seen that pay off some Saturday. 

Nothing but respect for Doug Clark but some of those starts this year were sketchy. Like vande said maybe the calls are coming from the box now but the Wednesday Main A-Mac start was a homer call for sure.

City Police - got pulled over for the first time at Knoxville in 35 years of attending. My issue is it was a totally fabricated reason to pull me over and I double checked it the next night. The officer was incorrect about the alledged violation and I wasn't even on the road he mentioned. No ticket but still don't like the pull random people over hoping for a DUI arrest.

I thought the crowd Saturday was up compared to the last few years.

Wish List - upgrade the bathrooms. Knoxville is top knotch but they could use some work on the restroom facilities. Also open the large entrance gate prior to the races to allow for better traffic flow coming across from Hy-Vee. It gets really congested when a mob comes across the street and has to funnel into 2 small walk thru gates.

Great weather and a great week. Looking forward to next year.

 

 



shernernum
August 15, 2017 at 06:48:05 PM
Joined: 08/28/2014
Posts: 397
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: highspeeddirt on August 15 2017 at 03:58:57 PM

David Gravel was a rocket until it blew. He put a full straightaway lead on Schatz twice which suprised me but I think Schatz was just cruising at that point. 

Don Don and his crew chief own that joint. Watch Schatz go thru the hole in 3 and 4 and it barely got unsettled. Where as Larsons was hopping and pushing like crazy after he hit it. I want to say the Schatz crew put alot of focus on shocks a while back and I think you seen that pay off some Saturday. 

Nothing but respect for Doug Clark but some of those starts this year were sketchy. Like vande said maybe the calls are coming from the box now but the Wednesday Main A-Mac start was a homer call for sure.

City Police - got pulled over for the first time at Knoxville in 35 years of attending. My issue is it was a totally fabricated reason to pull me over and I double checked it the next night. The officer was incorrect about the alledged violation and I wasn't even on the road he mentioned. No ticket but still don't like the pull random people over hoping for a DUI arrest.

I thought the crowd Saturday was up compared to the last few years.

Wish List - upgrade the bathrooms. Knoxville is top knotch but they could use some work on the restroom facilities. Also open the large entrance gate prior to the races to allow for better traffic flow coming across from Hy-Vee. It gets really congested when a mob comes across the street and has to funnel into 2 small walk thru gates.

Great weather and a great week. Looking forward to next year.

 

 



I totally agree on the bathrooms...they are inadequate for the crowd size as well.  I'm not saying that have to build a bunch of new ones, but you can rent them...even full size rest rooms.

On the gate, in their defense, I think they are trying to make sure that no one tries to turn a vehicle into that driveway, which someone, probably multitple people would do.  At least they open them after races.



Paintboss
MyWebsite
August 15, 2017 at 07:33:11 PM
Joined: 12/02/2004
Posts: 2098
Reply

My week was very relaxing as we mostly hung around camp except for the occasional trip to the market for supplies or a walk through the Track Midway. A lot of good barbecueing, late night corn hole games & Barley pops.

Congrats to our camp neighbors, Clint Garner and his family, A 360 Nationals win well deserved.

Good to see some of the ole faces that you only get to see during those 10 days every year.

The racing goes without saying is always top notch. Knoxville knows how to do it right.

 

The biggest bonus for all of us though was the Weather! We have had some pleasant years but pretty

much all 10 days was fantastic.




Nick14
August 16, 2017 at 03:03:19 PM
Joined: 06/04/2012
Posts: 1734
Reply

This year was my first Knoxville Nationals as well and my first reaction just seeing the surrounding area was Wow! Came in from the North from Newton as that is where we stayed and as we first entered the town it we saw flags everywhere as well as campers, haulers and racecars. It was basically a sprint car fans dream town with sprint cars everywhere.

The Town: Great. Being from Ohio we do not have many (I think only 3) Casey's General Stores but around Knoxville and Iowa in general they are everywhere. We eat a lot of pizza and filled up there each time. Also got groceries from Hyvee across from the track and liked there little sitdown area to eat across from the deli area. Eat at the Rib Shack beside the hall of fame and that was pretty good

The Facility: Nothing like it in the sprint car world. Nice and clean, liked the vendor areas, concession food was pretty good, and they had some areas where if you just needed a drink you did not have to stand in the long concession line. Liked the bleachers with the backs on them which is a nice change of pace from most tracks.

The Track: Great! First time seeing a flat track basically as most here in Ohio have banking of some sort to them. The track was in great condition each night although it was a tiny let down to see the bottom go away during the feature on Saturday. All in all though, no real complaints.

The Racing: Great as well. Lots of battles during the heat races, B features were highly contested, and drivers were able to make moves through the field each night. Was pulling for anyone but Schatz but was really impressed how he can get around that place. Definately one of the best of all times. Was sad to see Gravel's engine let go as we were pulling for him to win it after the 500pt night. I am sure we will see him win his share of Knoxville Nationals in the future though

The Depression: 365 days is a long time to wait. It was my first trip to Knoxville but not my last for sure. I don't think I have been more depressed to leave a race track or vacation in my life than i was leaving Saturday night. And it was not because Schatz had won. This was the best specticle that I have ever seen and I have gone to several Nascar race weekends, Speedweeks, Kings Royals, and other type of sporting events but The Nationals tops them all. Cannot wait till next year.



Paintboss
MyWebsite
August 16, 2017 at 04:52:35 PM
Joined: 12/02/2004
Posts: 2098
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: Nick14 on August 16 2017 at 03:03:19 PM

This year was my first Knoxville Nationals as well and my first reaction just seeing the surrounding area was Wow! Came in from the North from Newton as that is where we stayed and as we first entered the town it we saw flags everywhere as well as campers, haulers and racecars. It was basically a sprint car fans dream town with sprint cars everywhere.

The Town: Great. Being from Ohio we do not have many (I think only 3) Casey's General Stores but around Knoxville and Iowa in general they are everywhere. We eat a lot of pizza and filled up there each time. Also got groceries from Hyvee across from the track and liked there little sitdown area to eat across from the deli area. Eat at the Rib Shack beside the hall of fame and that was pretty good

The Facility: Nothing like it in the sprint car world. Nice and clean, liked the vendor areas, concession food was pretty good, and they had some areas where if you just needed a drink you did not have to stand in the long concession line. Liked the bleachers with the backs on them which is a nice change of pace from most tracks.

The Track: Great! First time seeing a flat track basically as most here in Ohio have banking of some sort to them. The track was in great condition each night although it was a tiny let down to see the bottom go away during the feature on Saturday. All in all though, no real complaints.

The Racing: Great as well. Lots of battles during the heat races, B features were highly contested, and drivers were able to make moves through the field each night. Was pulling for anyone but Schatz but was really impressed how he can get around that place. Definately one of the best of all times. Was sad to see Gravel's engine let go as we were pulling for him to win it after the 500pt night. I am sure we will see him win his share of Knoxville Nationals in the future though

The Depression: 365 days is a long time to wait. It was my first trip to Knoxville but not my last for sure. I don't think I have been more depressed to leave a race track or vacation in my life than i was leaving Saturday night. And it was not because Schatz had won. This was the best specticle that I have ever seen and I have gone to several Nascar race weekends, Speedweeks, Kings Royals, and other type of sporting events but The Nationals tops them all. Cannot wait till next year.




Knoxville is my local track (even though it is 120 miles away). I almost always pull in fom the South on Hwy 14 but to this day I still get pumped up and excited when ever I pull into town. Especially when the track comes into view.

 

The American Flags all the way down each side of Hwy #14 was a very classy move on Knoxvilles part.

And Katie Davis singing the National Anthem!!!! OMG she is Amazing. Almost chokes me up everytime she sings it.



egras
August 16, 2017 at 07:56:02 PM
Joined: 08/16/2009
Posts: 3913
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: Nick14 on August 16 2017 at 03:03:19 PM

This year was my first Knoxville Nationals as well and my first reaction just seeing the surrounding area was Wow! Came in from the North from Newton as that is where we stayed and as we first entered the town it we saw flags everywhere as well as campers, haulers and racecars. It was basically a sprint car fans dream town with sprint cars everywhere.

The Town: Great. Being from Ohio we do not have many (I think only 3) Casey's General Stores but around Knoxville and Iowa in general they are everywhere. We eat a lot of pizza and filled up there each time. Also got groceries from Hyvee across from the track and liked there little sitdown area to eat across from the deli area. Eat at the Rib Shack beside the hall of fame and that was pretty good

The Facility: Nothing like it in the sprint car world. Nice and clean, liked the vendor areas, concession food was pretty good, and they had some areas where if you just needed a drink you did not have to stand in the long concession line. Liked the bleachers with the backs on them which is a nice change of pace from most tracks.

The Track: Great! First time seeing a flat track basically as most here in Ohio have banking of some sort to them. The track was in great condition each night although it was a tiny let down to see the bottom go away during the feature on Saturday. All in all though, no real complaints.

The Racing: Great as well. Lots of battles during the heat races, B features were highly contested, and drivers were able to make moves through the field each night. Was pulling for anyone but Schatz but was really impressed how he can get around that place. Definately one of the best of all times. Was sad to see Gravel's engine let go as we were pulling for him to win it after the 500pt night. I am sure we will see him win his share of Knoxville Nationals in the future though

The Depression: 365 days is a long time to wait. It was my first trip to Knoxville but not my last for sure. I don't think I have been more depressed to leave a race track or vacation in my life than i was leaving Saturday night. And it was not because Schatz had won. This was the best specticle that I have ever seen and I have gone to several Nascar race weekends, Speedweeks, Kings Royals, and other type of sporting events but The Nationals tops them all. Cannot wait till next year.



Someone correct me if I'm wrong-----3 Casey's in Knoxville and 2 in Monroe?   5 Casey's in 12 miles.   I find it comical that our town fought for months to get ONE Casey's because it was going to destroy our local economy!  Smile




egras
August 16, 2017 at 07:57:35 PM
Joined: 08/16/2009
Posts: 3913
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: Nick14 on August 16 2017 at 03:03:19 PM

This year was my first Knoxville Nationals as well and my first reaction just seeing the surrounding area was Wow! Came in from the North from Newton as that is where we stayed and as we first entered the town it we saw flags everywhere as well as campers, haulers and racecars. It was basically a sprint car fans dream town with sprint cars everywhere.

The Town: Great. Being from Ohio we do not have many (I think only 3) Casey's General Stores but around Knoxville and Iowa in general they are everywhere. We eat a lot of pizza and filled up there each time. Also got groceries from Hyvee across from the track and liked there little sitdown area to eat across from the deli area. Eat at the Rib Shack beside the hall of fame and that was pretty good

The Facility: Nothing like it in the sprint car world. Nice and clean, liked the vendor areas, concession food was pretty good, and they had some areas where if you just needed a drink you did not have to stand in the long concession line. Liked the bleachers with the backs on them which is a nice change of pace from most tracks.

The Track: Great! First time seeing a flat track basically as most here in Ohio have banking of some sort to them. The track was in great condition each night although it was a tiny let down to see the bottom go away during the feature on Saturday. All in all though, no real complaints.

The Racing: Great as well. Lots of battles during the heat races, B features were highly contested, and drivers were able to make moves through the field each night. Was pulling for anyone but Schatz but was really impressed how he can get around that place. Definately one of the best of all times. Was sad to see Gravel's engine let go as we were pulling for him to win it after the 500pt night. I am sure we will see him win his share of Knoxville Nationals in the future though

The Depression: 365 days is a long time to wait. It was my first trip to Knoxville but not my last for sure. I don't think I have been more depressed to leave a race track or vacation in my life than i was leaving Saturday night. And it was not because Schatz had won. This was the best specticle that I have ever seen and I have gone to several Nascar race weekends, Speedweeks, Kings Royals, and other type of sporting events but The Nationals tops them all. Cannot wait till next year.



Forgot to mention-----glad you had a good time!  My 15th straight and I get up every year on Sunday morning and it's complete depression!!!  



poofsootracing
August 16, 2017 at 09:30:41 PM
Joined: 11/16/2011
Posts: 106
Reply

This was my 8th consecutive year attending the Nationals & as pumped as i get pulling into Knoxville on Wednesday, I get equally depressed leaving on Sunday.   

Racing = A-  -I thought is was excellent minus the bottom going away at the end on Saturday but that can happen to any track. Schatz is the smartest driver out there while Larson has the most talent.  Aaron Reutzel had a great A main but I think some drivers are tired of him running up their ass on restarts. Did it in both the 410 & 360's.  One thing I have noticed the last couple years is there have been less & less violent wrecks & that is a great thing.  

Weather = A+ -Nothing more to to say here.

Crowd = B - Crowd size seemed to be up but I lowered my grade because of a few idiots in the backstretch. (They were probably the same idiots that stole & vandalized the flags.)

Pine Knolls Golf Course = C -This lower grade actually goes to mother nature.  No rain this summer means concrete fairways. Greens were an A though. 

RV's Campround- A -Met some good folks & everyone was friendly & respectful

Charity go-kart race at Slideways= A+ Larson's (cough, cough) slide jobs were something to see.  I'm sure his kart needed some work done on it after the A main  

Overall Grade = A





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