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

As many of you have already tired of hearing,my first acquaintance with Knoxville was in 1961 at the memorable First Nationals where the crowd far exceeded the expectations of those responsible for traffic control.The cars that competed were called SUPER MODIFIEDS and the stars that competed were midwest heroes of the time.The local competition was represented by Earl Wagner and others of his calibre.THESE WERE NOT THE SLEEK SPRINT CARS OF THE DAY !

Kansas City's heroes were the entire WELD clan,Ray Lee Goodwin and other champions.

The competition here at home at Lakeside has now equaled the level of competition that we knew back in the day.So we no longer make the long journey to Knoxville.

As our good friend,NO DUST,keeps reminding us all,RACING IS PASSING !

We still enjoy the gorgeous sprint cars but the modifieds have recapitured our hearts.

We hear other fans echoing these same sentiments.But is anybody listening ? Bud's Bride

I think much has changed over the years, things that can never be changed back. The Super Modified era and the sprint cars of the 50's through the 70's was about true grass-roots heroes. Guys who worked for a living, side by side with their friends and fans...factory workers, truck drivers, mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, ect. Knoxville built a reputation as a bad-ass fast proving grounds. And people came. Knoxville got big because racing was strong in places like Kansas City, Topeka, Lincoln, Minnie/St. Paul, central Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Memphis, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California and Arizona. Cars and motors were home-built and there were intriging personalities amongst the racers and mechanics. They were creative and wanted to go as fast as possible with as little expense as possible.

What happened is that racing became a business. It happened well before DIRT got involved. The WoO wanted to grab onto its share of the prize...TV, sponsors, high-dollar events...the ingenious characters of the sport were replaced with expensive store-bought teams and rich benefactors and full-time drivers who were upwardly-mobile. Sprint car racing lost its roots, its personality and its identity in many ways. Local racing became more expensive for promoters, racers and fans compared to other forms of the sport. With fewer raceteams traveling further distances to racetracks, there wasn't as much opportunity for a driver's hometown fans and sponsors to see their heroes and friends race, making it harder to sell tickets. For some people, the answer was to dilute the product, adding to the identity crises.

The American culture changed, too. Our reasons for attending sporting events changed. Media changed. TV changed our entertainment habits. The internet came along. Political correctness, higher ticket prices than wha tthe product was worth often times, rural fans moving to metro areas which consituted higher travel costs and higher fuel costs when there was plenty of entertainment closer by.Our infatuation with the automobile and horsepower as entertainment went away. NASCAR and racing WWF-style came along every Sunday (and now, Saturday nights) on TV. Two more generations have passed. Quality local racing has been surpassed by "special events" at most places. Over-saturation of the World of Outlaws events around the country has had an effect on local and regional racing.

Super-Modified racing was for a certain breed of man. Sprint car racing of those days was even a step further up the ladder, especially if you wanted to reach to top...Indy. Guys got to Indy or to USAC or were successful IMCA or local drivers because they proved themselves on the track over time and paid the price to get as far as they could, eating baloney sandwiches, sleeping in the truck, towed the open-trailers, raced their asses off while risking their necks for a few dollars not knowing if there would be a tomorrow. I don't think that kind of desire exists anymore and...it probably shouldn't and couldn't be that way today.

In those days of old, supers and sprinters were the "baddest of the bad". They captured the imagination without having to be a multi six-figure investment. Late Models and Modifieds have their place and provide good racing. I just don't think they can ever capture the imagination and hearts of anyone who ever loved sprinters and supers the way some of us did back then.

The world has changed and it can never go back. For better or for worse.

Damn John you hit the nail on the head. I guess im just one of those younger guys that heard the stories of racing pre-1974 when i was born and just wish I could of experianced those times. I got lucky that my dad was always involved in racing by owning or sponsoring, and being able to go to Trostles, McCarls or Kains shops where you could hear all the inside info and gossip of the week. I made my first nationals in 1978 and dont remember much of the racing but can remember who won cause after hearing the crowd howl "the wolf" was my hero I can remember how electric the crowd was. I think there was a lot of that up to about the late 80's and early 90's then like you said it just got weird. The Outlaws kinda took away from Knoxville and the travelling gypsies of old in the open trailers and duelies or carry all's got camoflauged in exspensive haulers and motor homes. Everyone began to have a Nationals and we did get the TV and internet. Lost was the days of the partying at the hotels and making the parking lots a makeshift pit area to dial the cars in for the Nationals and of course the make shift camping areas behind the grandstands. Sprint car racing was everything when i was a kid, hell me and the neighborhood kids used to have hot laps, trophy dashes, heat races and features on our big wheels, then progressed to bicycles and of course girls and cars took over after that but we where still able to go cheer on our heroes. One thing ive noticed is Knoxville is just another stop on the trail, if you listen to the Outlaws they seem displeased with racing there with a support class. I still remember the days when Wolfie, the Kinsers, the Swindells, Tim Green, Bobby Allen, Jimmy Sills, and all of the rest of our heroes used to race pretty much weekly at knoxville to get dialed in on the track for the races. Well those days our memories but we can still hope and pray that that magic comes back.

well fellas you like the old times, step into my world, I compete as a younger middle aged driver, now days (everyone gets started so young) thanks alot to Jeff Gordon, Bush brothers, Little E, everone is looking for the next big thing, and it comes at such a young inexperianced age, those with raw natural talant and a thick wallet will rise to the top, I try to keep a focus on what really matters to me ,blue collar and working for a living , my dreams of hitting a ride will proubly never come true , but somehow, the game still keeps me ticking ,I agree what has happened to the motel parking lot pits, parties whenever and wherever, I still love the sport, and continue to accept its trend no matter which way it goes, unfortunatly some of us still show up for a race! not a pagent , never the less, I still love it.

Very pithy thoughts......and all of them to the point !

But the thought also comes to mind that the present "problems" that Knoxville has (i.e.at the front gate)might also be resolved by trying a different tack.

The "Times They ARE A'Changing" is still a fact and we are talking about "Staying Alive" as well.

All I'm saying is maybe a return to our roots wouldn't be so bad.The reason we came to Knoxville was to follow our local heroes in the first place ! Late models are still a special show in the Kansas City market but modifieds have become the staple of an awful lot of venues.Food for thought ?

I am aware that Duane and people like Savage will not appreciate my opinion but I am just throwing it out there,OK?I am also aware that it is difficult to experiment(read,expensive).

But as the Sopranos say"What are you gonna do ?"

Bud's Bride

Come on now Keet, you do have a good point.

The main problem is when a place has been a Sprint only place for 50 years, it is a real slap in the face to those of us who have spent 35 of those years helping it grow, to have the sprinters removed in favor of any other class of cars.

I go to my local track to watch the other classes of cars, and I know that they may someday become the next super stars in racing also.

Knoxvilles issues are not the cars, rather that they threw away their crowds in favor of that big corperate fan in the sky that they have yet to attract.

Iowa Speedway has proven that you CAN get a crowd to come to the races with enough BS. IF Knoxville was to ever screw the fans like Iowa Speedway did this past weekend, the fans would riot and destroy the place.

Save your butt, get a colon screening TODAY

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