Best driver out there last night...reran the race multiple times. He was using what the track allowed him...screw the crying wusses, punt them if ya have to move 'em. If you ever raced dirt, that is the way you have do it on a fender car. Kraus put an egg between the foot feed and the sole of his shoe and never broke it...that is why he got faster as the laps tallied up.
Truck Race thread --- Knoxville
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Revman
Denny beat your favorite driver....again!
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Four Illmor
Toyotas in the five.Doubt it, he can physically handle himself...and his extended family are all dirt track pit fighters....they would mop up those wusses and we would hear pigs squealing.
Just say'n
Kraus was the best driver out there last night, came back from a lap down to finish 5th...another ten laps and he would have won. His average lap times were better than any other single truck averaged over any twenty lap segment.
Y'all complaining about the track. The track is what it is, everyone is in the same boat. I would like to know if there was a difference between track prep that is normally used a Knoxville and what NASCAR does.
Have not received validation yet, but will probably get it as it channels through various teams and vendors. But, one of my engine builders in Iowa (Sprint car engines mostly) said NASCAR did not allow chemical treatment. If that is true, you are running on a virgin dirt track....NOT CLAY, so as the top dries, it is just loose dirt. That is like racing in a farm field. The reason the bottom retained a smidgen of grip was due to the leeching affect of the 8% bank....the treatment probably runs a few feet down into the soil.
But that is not all. These cars are not really dirt race friendly. The USAC Stock Car boys learned that forty years ago. Truck arm rear suspensions suck on the dirt. Cheap leaf springs are tons better. Most of those girls and a few men last night were relying on their tires for 90% of their forward bite, the closer you get to relying on the suspension for 50% of that bite, the faster you will go.
Only a few drivers actually realized that last night, Kraus was one of them, he feathered the peddle a lot more than most. Would like to see Windom more too...he was getting better and better. Same thing with Brown.
Have not received validation yet, but will probably get it as it channels through various teams and vendors. But, one of my engine builders in Iowa (Sprint car engines mostly) said NASCAR did not allow chemical treatment. If that is true, you are running on a virgin dirt track....NOT CLAY, so as the top dries, it is just loose dirt. That is like racing in a farm field. The reason the bottom retained a smidgen of grip was due to the leeching affect of the 8% bank....the treatment probably runs a few feet down into the soil.
But that is not all. These cars are not really dirt race friendly. The USAC Stock Car boys learned that forty years ago. Truck arm rear suspensions suck on the dirt. Cheap leaf springs are tons better. Most of those girls and a few men last night were relying on their tires for 90% of their forward bite, the closer you get to relying on the suspension for 50% of that bite, the faster you will go.
Only a few drivers actually realized that last night, Kraus was one of them, he feathered the peddle a lot more than most. Would like to see Windom more too...he was getting better and better. Same thing with Brown.
gnomesayin
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Knoxville doesn't use calcium chloride (that's what you're talking about, not sodium chloride) in their weekly track prep or for WoO shows.
Yes, the track prep was very different for this race, as it was at Eldora. NASCAR asks for and needs a very hard packed and dry surface that more resembles an asphalt track to start. There was nothing particularly wrong with the top groove last night, in and of itself. The issue is that the bottom rubbered up almost immediately, and on a low banked track, that will make it the dominant groove.
SRX was able to figure out how to take the windshields out of their cars, so a couple weeks ago the track was prepped with a lot more moisture, and they put on a better race with heavy stock cars.
Four weeks ago, I attended the WoO event there. Due to high temperatures, they elected to rework the track for 45 minutes before the main event, which made all the difference in the world. If they hadn't, it was already rubbered up on the bottom, and would have resembled last night.
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JBone88
Those that hate me look just like me
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I’m not talking about Cup champions in their prime stomping the field. I’m talking about guys like Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave, Matt Crafton, etc.
Guys who’ve been around a bit and can provide a competent measuring stick for the youngsters.
Right now, we’ve got washed up Sauter and Crafton. Enfinger is in a part time ride. Peters is done. Stewart Friesen’s team went to **** when he left GMS/Chevy. Thats it. Otherwise the field is factory backed development drivers, talents in mid pack equipment, rolling chicanes and both ends of the “daddy’s money” spectrum. Basically ARCA from 6-7 years ago.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
The trucks for the most part are a developmental series now. It has been that way for quite some time. Back in the 90's I watched the Biff and Kurt run some of their first laps in Nascar in the truck series for Jack Roush, my, times have changed.
My mistake.... some confused de icer with moisture retention. Have not been to Knoxville since the late '90's and I can assure you they used chemicals. They bought them from me.
Does not use truck arm rear suspension
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
Big money move for Norm 
Barbara Charles
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Norm heroically finished 19th. When was the last time that happened!
MRM
Team Owner
When this race was announced, I said this was not the ideal place for a truck race despite the track's history. There isn't enough banking for heavy race trucks. And that crowd was pitiful. Not a good luck for NASCAR there and Atlanta with lack of fans.