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

Just saw the announcements on Twitter

http://www.insidelinepromotions.com/news/?i=68405

This is good news for Knoxville. Probably not the best for PA fans. It will be really exciting to see what this team is capable of and how long this lasts. Very fast team everywhere they go. These types of things seem to be more of year long experiments than long term deals. Trey is no stranger to Knoxville. So is this team Posse or Knoxville Regular???

Central PA car count takes another hit.

Best of luck to the team.

And the bleeding continues. Central PA just keeps losing cars with no end in sight. The glory days of the Posse appear to be over. Our best team is definitely the 69K but Lance is no kid so it's hard to tell when he'll hang it up but there's no doubt he is in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career. Father time waits for no one. I won't claim to have the definitive answer but something has to change because the same old same old isn't working anymore. It's one thing to have a down year or 2 but this is a trend that has been going on for about the last 7 or 8 years. Maybe it's time for all the tracks in the area to try and work together to run a regional series with less races that pay more from the winner back through the field with a generous point fund and maybe some tow money. Maybe that would work, maybe it wouldn't but I know what I see and it's not good.

"is this team Posse or Knoxville Regular"

That depends on whether or not they win.  If they win regularly, they will still be Posse.  If they don't, there will be crickets from PA.

Yes Central Park is losing another car , but lets be honest was Starks a really fast car.  Yes he was fast but how many cars in Central Park start 10th and win the race.

Now I am going to contradict myself.  I am so tired of all the fans saying that the quality of cars is down in Central Pa.  If all of you are true race fans .  Then you know a lot of what separates one car from another is MONEY.   You would be surprised what money can do and suddenly who will talk to you about setups and help on the car.  I know some people just don't really have it and I am not saying I am Steve Kinser.  But I myself ran better one week from the week before and people asked who we put in the car.  Just a case of getting the proper help and inside knowledge.   So there is a lot of good  cars and drivers that need a chance.

Also another point.  How does it look the Gobrecht owns two tracks but his car is racing 1000 miles away at another track.  I know it is his car and he can do.what he wants with it.   It would be different if he went on tour. But to me it looks like a chef that won't eat in his own restaurant. 

Maybe he does not want to hear any "he's favoring his own car again" remarks. You know those would come eventually.

I know Kville is the sprint car capital of the world and home of the nationals etc etc.  But why do teams from Australia and around the USA relocate for an entire summer to make it their home track? Does the competition make you that much better that much faster? Is the weekly payout that much better? Is the year end points fund worth the investment? Or is it just a bucket list thing for sprint car drivers? What is the huge draw?

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

I think there's a multitude of reasons. They pay a hell of a good purse and for some, if they can get a 360 deal, they can double dip every week. Knoxville also has the best track prep in the country and most importantly, the more laps you have there, the better your odds are come August. As you said, prestige plays a role I'm sure. Knoxville stands alone at the top. There is no other track anywhere that compares.

I know a guy that moved to Iowa for a summer to run 360s at Knoxville and in the surrounding area.  One big reason is that it is Knoxville which is a big draw and bucket list thing.  The other thing that he liked about it was he didn't have to drive all over the place spending a ton of money on fuel to go from race to race.  The track is also run much more efficently than others.  He loved going there every weekend, but money ran out by the end of the year and he is back home running whatever shows he can in the area between 305s and 360s. 

Smart move, you only really have to beat 2 cars each week. 

I was getting ready to blast your exaggeration of "2 cars each week"    But, I looked it up.  You are pretty much correct.  Only 3 winners last year and Matt Juhl only had 1 win.  I was unaware.  Great chance to rack up some wins while prepping for August---no doubt

Knoxville has one of the biggest weekly purses and also a point fund with extra merchandise that really helps.Coupled with an excellent track and safety crew make it desirable.With Ian and Kerry and Brown not regulars helps but Dollansky will make it harder as He has a lot of experience just like Terry and they both could be tough.Austin will continue to get better. If a top car gets pole draw they are hard to beat on the longer tracks where motor makes a difference.WithJackson and possibly Hussets? and the series in Illinois there is plenty of racing with out trying to beat the Outlaws.To be able to break even you need to be in the top five and not wreck much.but generally it is safer than most with long straights and wide corners.It takes at least $1000 with motor and tire costs to just compete.

As others have mentioned, Sprint Car Capital of the world isn't just a title. I once brought a friend to Knoxville who was a casual race fan and hadn't been to Knoxville much. Midway through the heats he said, This place is like a fine oiled machine, even notcing how coordinated the four wheelers are ready to push the cars to the scales. 

It's ran well, good purse, quality of cars and numbers are good, announcing, food, the seating itself, concourse....

You get my point. Im pretty excited about Starks running weekly and from what I've seen he'll be competitive.

With Dollansky, McCarls, Brown, Madsen, Tatnell, Jeffrey, Henderson, Baughman, Heskin, Juhl, Scneiderman, Phillips, and others it'll be another great year at Knoxville! 

April can't get here soon enough. 

Keep It Real

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

 the 44 wasnt really a weekly car. they did run a lot, and will run some in PA after the season is over in Kville. As for the loosing cars, Kyle Reinhardt will have a much bigger schedule as the Quackenbush team has merged with Kindberg-McClaren Motorsports to run more, Midget driver Alex Bright will be full time at Lincoln driving for Greg Fitzpatrick, and 358 driver Trey Hivner will be moving to full time 410 action in addition to USAC 360 racing. Also Tyler Walton who ran 358's last year will be doing 360 and some 410 shows, and Justin Whitall will be in weekly competition at Port Royal in a 410 as well. 

 "most importantly, the more laps you have there, the better your odds are come August."

Bingo!

Same reason lots of different guys show up there a week or so before Nationals....

I think Jackson and 410 specials and the Outlaws coming through along with IRA shows nearby are making this part of the country a great place for career racers.

Stan Meissner

Maybe PA should ditch the 358s in Hope's of those drivers moving to 360 and 410. Is there 358 anywhere but PA? Is there some  nostalgia to that class?

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

a hot shoe from the pacific NW...and on a roll...

Ascot was the greatest of all time..

West Capital wasn't half bad either..

Life is good...