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

Someone had mentioned the tight points race. It got tighter last night as 3rd, 4th , and 5th finished in the top 5, 5th place (Haud) winning of course gaining the most.  1st and 2nd in the back end of the top 10. 66 points now separate the top 5. Can any of you who have followed longer than I comment on how long it has been since 5 people contended this closely?

It's a bit mind boggling to me that Sweet has more wins more top 5s more top 10s, yet Schatz leads in points. That must be another WoO conspiracy.

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

Its also been helped oit by the fact that there have been several fewer races at this point in the year than usual. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out by the end.

You also fail to take into account that while seer has more top 5's and too 10'a he had 3 straight DNF and finished dang near last. 

I agree that part of the reason the points are this close is the lack of races this year as compared to ANY other year, but the continued advancement from positions 3-5 is also a big part of the equation.  Logan continues to grow as a driver in both the wins category and especially in his consistency.  Carson could be somewhat of a surprise this year as I personally did not expect him to be this close in the points, but that goes to show the talent this guy brings to the seat of a sprint car.  I am totally impressed with his results in consistency and contention.  Sheldon is the other driver who has improved a lot over the past few years.  He still has that Haudenschild element of "Wild" but it is a more controlled "WIld" then in the past.  He really has gained command of the car and last night may be a turning point in him being an even greater threat to the top of the points.  Not to take anything away from Logan, Carson and Sheldon, but Donny and Brad have stumbled a little this year.  Brad most recently with the 3 DNF's and with Donny, they still may be sorting things out....possibly the engine program and possibly without Ricky out on the road.

These 2 races at the Grove could tell a lot in the top of the points as Donny has put up some great stats in the past.  Combine that with him getting some better results lately and it could mean trouble for the other 4.  The locals usually play havoc with at least one of the drivers points for the weekend and I wonder if that will be the case this time.  It sure will be exciting to watch!

I think it was around 2012 was the last time when the top 5 or 6 were separated by 100pts or less. Think you had Schatz, Dollansky, Swindell, Saldana, and both Kinsers all in the hunt after Kraig's win at Beaver Dam in 2012. This year as Johnny Utah previously stated has been helped by having less races as they have only raced 25times. Most occasions they are about 40+ at this point in time in the season so the finishes are a little more important.

No conspiracy as far as how the point standings are. Its simple basic math. Each position is worth a total number of points, add up the points scored by each driver in each race and you have the standings. With only 25races ran it shows how much those 3 DNF's hurt Sweet at Wilmot, Terre Haute, and Attica. The total finishing difference of the two was 56spots (Wilmot - Schatz 4th vs Sweet 19th, Terre Haute - Schatz 2nd vs Sweet 22nd, Attica - Schatz 2nd vs Sweet 23rd). Two points for each position 56*2 you get 112pts made up in those 3 races. Plus the wins that Sweet has it is not like Donny is finishing back in 20th. In one case he finished 2nd, one win during the Jackson Nationals which did not really count in points, and others Donny scored top 5's & 10's also. Logan is the same story as well. In each race, each position counts. Winning matters but even more importantly, so does not finishing 20th and further back.

And if Gravel doesn't miss that race to run ARCA, he'd be right there. As it is, since PPM ran the 41 that night, JJR is only 40 pts back of the lead in Owner's points.

Sweet had some terrible luck with those three straight DNF's but that's racing... That said, I love seeing five guys with a shot going into August and IMO, Sheldon has been the most impressive the past month. His maturity is really shining through with a marked improvement in consistency. And Logan and Macedo have been impressive as well. Fun year to be a WoO fan.

I think that you're right and the disruptions to the schedule and current situation around the country are making each race more important.  Schatz always seems to turn up the afterburner in the later stages of the season but this year with the schedule disruptions the points race doesn't have that same feel and feels more urgen.  Of course everyone else has been working hard to catch him so that is obvious given their success in making inroads to his past run of titles.

It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out and what happens with the remainder of the schedule.  There could be further cancellations and additions so it's hard to look at it through the glasses of a normal season and know just how much time teams will have to battle it out.

Stan Meissner

I'm surprised Minthess hasn't come back since Schatz is finally running a "Ford" full time...

I'm a "Ford guy" too, but not so sure his engine is championship quality....we'll see

He could win points based on consistency... I had a 302 in an Econoline van that went either 352,000 or 452,000 miles... I lost track