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

I"ve been going to sprint races a bit over 3 years, & still figuring out best way to watch. My first race, I was overwhelmed by 24 X 900 hp in a little track designed for 8 horses, but had no idea what was actually going on. Obviously you can't see everything. Now I kind of have a set of watching priorities: (1)Leader (2) Particular drivers I'm interested in (3) good battles (4) Anyone coming up fast (Schatz!)

I try to sit up high to get widest view (& safety!) But at Haubstadt I sat close to turn 4 so I could see them coming out of turns.

I've heard guys say they look for the biggest group of cars....

Any other ideas on how to watch?

Aside from what you've stated, I also try to look for a driver driving a line different then others and is making up positions, high side vs bottom etc., you never know when someone is going to catch the track at just the right time and pick off a couple of super fast laps. 

I try to keep an eye on wherever there is passing going on (hard racing between 2 or 3 cars, someone coming up from the back, someone running an alternate line). But I also keep an eye on the leader periodically especially whenever lapped traffic starts to come into play. And if I have a favorite in the race then I play attention to them as well. 

I'm constantly moving my head and eyes around to keep track of the action. I typically sit fairly high right at the entrance to turn one. I'm usually at Knoxville, but I go to plenty of tracks in Missouri and occasionally Nebraska whenever there are sprint car shows going on.

Ask Frank

Others may not agree, but I think it is best sit in Turn one or four at most tracks.....  Lots of people seem to sit right around the Flagman but when I sit there I seem to miss too many things because my head is always truning back and forth like at a ping-pong match....   I agree sitting up top is best but every once in a while you nned to sit close to the track to experience just how fast those guys are going.....  As you move up and away from the track you lose some of that....

My absolute favorite view of Knoxville is from the East end of the Hall of Fame where you are looking direcly down the back straightaway.........  Really a cool view!

As a videographer I look for the most pertinent battle, but still tell the story of the race. In a heat race, a battle for the last qualifying spot has priority over a battle for the lead. Thats just me.

Jeff Kristensen

I sit in the stands now (Except for the Ultimate Challenge once a year) I use to shoot a lot of pictures from the infield and learned during those days "you better watch the last place car cause that was the one that will get you" and that is kind of how I watch the races from the stands, I go to Knoxville every Saturday night - sit down towards Number 1. I've seen a few parts come into the stands and definatly over the fence into or beyond the high way. A few years back an accident took place on the front and a chunk of mud was picked up by a car and tossed high and over the fence into the stands, I think I must have been the only one that saw it flying through the air - anyway when it came down it landed in the crotch of a guy sitting 3 rows in front of me - talked to a safety crew member i know they took the chunk with them and it weighed in at about 10 pounds, no body saw it because they were busy watching the lead cars.

If you want a real rush, see if you can watch from the infield sometimes. You are usually really close to the action and dizzy beyond belief before the end. lol

I can remember when I first went to Knoxville many years ago and I know what you are saying even though they were not quite as fast as they are now, they were still fast and it was confusing. Even so I remember my 1st race at Knoxville I could hardly get the smile from my face from excitement. (Doug Wolfgang won by the way) 

The more races you go t the easier it gets though, You can kind of size up whats happening all over the track and keep pretty good track of what is going on in all areas.  I have always sat at the flagstand a little better than 1/2 way up at Knoxville. The Flagstand is closer to turn 1 than iti turn 4 so you can almost take a small advantage of your periphial vision to help you through the night. lol. 

I have taken Newbies with me and they were totally dumbfounded at trying to keep up with the Sprint Cars.

Don't give up.... Sprint Cars are THE BOMB!!! Wings or No Wings.. Gotta Love em.

Raceway Vid: "a battle for the last qualifying spot has priority over a battle for the lead"  Good point, forgot to list it, should be at least #2

ebecker: Yea, I've done that for support classes, one day I should try it for C Main or something where I'm not that concerned with "big picture". Otherwise I'd get dizzy. Would have to be a place like The Grove with bridge & tunnel, I guess

I also left out "keep your eye on finish line on last lap"! A couple of years ago at the Grove on Speedweek I missed a final stretch pass for the win by maybe Krimes (?) cause I was watching a battle further back. Same thing happened at a rare New Hampshire race. I have a buddy with MS who lives there, big gearhead but doesn't get out much, so I took him to New Canaan (I think?) Leader was way ahead, lapping cars like crazy, so I watched battles in midpack. Little did I know #2 was lapping everyone too. Track was black dirt & super dusty. Lo & behold, leaders emerge from a big dust cloud on final turn of final lap & #2 had passed for the win. Missed the whole thing

10 lb. mudball to the crotch..... what a guy won't do to have fun....

Set low at I-55 in Pevely Mo. it`s like a shoot gun blast the last 10 min. The last time I was there...there was a guy with a helmet and he had his own tear-offs and I thought thats the way to watch a race at Pevely

Paintboss: "Don't give up.... Sprint Cars are THE BOMB!!! Wings or No Wings.. Gotta Love em."

Oh, Hell no... I wouldn't be writing this stuff if I wasn't hooked. After seeing wingless races at Haubstadt this summer, I really want to see Indiana Sprint week and/or Midget Week. Hard to schedule tho, I spend winters in Colorado (no racing) & summers in Connecticut (about 4 hrs. from Pa. tracks & a full day's drive to Indiana) I usually do Pa. Speedweek, Knoxville Nationals & whatever else I can fit in my cross country trek. So far I've hit 12 tracks: Volusia,Fl., New Canaan, NH; Grandview, WG, Selinsgrove, Port Royal & Lincoln, Pa., Hagerstown, Md., Haubstadt, Ind., Knoxville & Oskaloosa, Iowa. & Grain Valley, Missouri

Tempted next by Trophy Cup.....

Oh yea, make that 13, forgot my first sprint race, Clinton County, Pa. After the races everybody stopped at the same gas station, started BSing with folks & was told about Posse vs. Outlaws rivalry. Flew to Pa. that fall to see Sammy win National Open. The rest is history

I am like this guy, and I like to sit on a turn 1 2 3 or 4 don't really matter which  ever one has a set of seats or room for a lawn chair. I miss less action than sitting on a straight, because I dont have to move my head side to side as much. Plus I don't mind eating some dirt, and I feel like i am part of the action when being pelted by clay.

IMO turn 1 or 4 at most tracks.  Like someone else said the flag stand view makes you watching a ping pong ball all night.. 

Attica is turn 1 for me, less dust 

Fremont is turn 4, last set of bleachers before pit bleachers. So I'm past the dust of turn 4.. 

Turn 3 at Eldora is awesome view coming down the back stretch if you don't mind the dust.. Also backstretch in the pits is also neat since Eldora put up the jumbo tron to follow the action on the front stretch but I find myself walking in circles if watching cars enter turn 3. Also it's nice to get away from the drunks during the Kings Royal. Lol 

Waynesfield turn 1is normal for me.. 

knoxville Nats, I've sat both front & back stretch. I prefer the backstretch.. 

Craig: "There is dirt in my beer"
Tony: "That means your at a real racetrack"

On top of someones trailer in the pit area if they park in the infield!!!