World of Outlaws 2018

Skagit is a cool track, went there when I lived in Seattle. Great win for Haudenshchild. What a battle!
 
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Wo
gnomesayin said:
I have to give WoO its due. I'm still partial to USAC national sprints, but the majority of WoO races I have watched the past couple years are truly excellent. That is in contrast to a less favorable impression of the series I formed in the early- to mid- '00s. The quality of their races, night after night and all over the country, is very high currently. One thing I've noticed is that their track prep is excellent.

(Putting this here rather than throwing the MotoGP thread where it was posted off track.)
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WoO definitely has changed from the Ted Johnson era. Ted fiercely protected his racers and always thought of the rest of the field as necessary evils. The WoO of today is much more respectful of every participant. Johnny Gibson is the best in the motorsports announcing community and makes sure that every racers sponsors gets mentioned several times each night. I enjoy the WoO much more now that the politically driven WoO of the past
 


Schatz leads wire to wire, but lots of hard battling right behind him. Thought about making the 2-hour trip for this tonight, but after the Portland GP this weekend, needed a little break. Or maybe my wife needed a break from me attending races. I'll be at Willamette Speedway for Wednesday night's race. Jeff Gluck will be there covering it, and Kyle Larson will be racing.
 
Schatz interview was classic. Get to 2nd in the heat race, and let the dash draw play out. I dont think he was ever seriouly challenged, other than the 17 pass early . Worked perfectly for him last night.. excellent racing behind the leader all night..
 
Schatz won again, challenged and passed at least once by Schuchart, but Donny got him back. Larson finished 6th after a rough heat and 13th place starting spot.
 
Some killer slide jobs there. Would have been nice to see one of the Kaedings steal one, good runs for them regardless.
 
Took the kid to P'ville last night. Unbelievable action. They knocked the cushion down in qualifying because about 10 guys almost flipped in between 1 and 2. Track was excellent and the racing was amazing. Rico and Brad put on a show and Sheldon was right there in the mix. I sat next to a guy and we talked about the sport of racing and just watching the inherent danger of these cars and the razor thin edge that is visible just confirmed to me that this is what NASCAR is missing. We don't need dirt, but we need more danger and that thin line of insanity that makes the sport appear to be something that the average American cannot do.

The Outlaws are the best thing going imo. Worth absolutely every cent you pay. My son had access to them all after the races. He has photos with Kasey Kahne, Brad, Rico and Donny. Jus a solid night all around. His Outlaw program is littered with signatures from the entire field.
 
Watching the replay, the back markers made the race interesting also, they had a log jam going on and the lead pack had their hands full trying to maneuver around all that.
 
Cool write-up Clark. My four year old wasn't quite ready for the ferocity of 410 sprint cars, lol. He would prefer modifieds or something a tad tamer. I can understand. I sat there watching them and realized anew that you have to be a tad crazy to actually enjoy that assault on the senses. He'll get there.

WoO is at a high point right now in terms of the quality of competition. They seem to be gaining traction and exposure in more mainstream racing circles. I don't think NASCAR is missing or needs danger, and every time tragedy strikes in the sprint car world, I'm positive it would be better if it got safer. But I do think there is something about the intimacy of short track racing that is sometimes missing at larger events.


 
Sprint cars on dirt is a whole different animal. Driver skill is the predominate factor, compared to who has the most technologically advanced car out in clean air where the driver skill is secondary in Nascar for the most part. Going two and sometimes three wide at Indy around the corners will make a person sit up in their seat regardless of the speed, much the same as dirt sprint cars. That is exciting, and also has a degree of danger that is missing.
 
I love the bullring atmosphere at p'ville. These guys run so may 1/2's that when they come to a high banked 1/4 it's elbows up or get run off the track. The experience at a WOO show is second to none. When these guys go 24 deep into turn 1 and burp the throttle on the cushion you just cannot beat it. We as a crowd stood 5 to 6 times in awe of the ridiculous saves and the edge that these guys constantly live on, lap after lap, four turns at time. I have been around racing my whole life and I understand how hard it is on pavement and how hard it is to save a Cup car at 175mph when the car doesn't stick, but even I couldn't help but laugh at some of the insanity I watched last night.

I watched David Gravel run over a left front and barrel roll from the flag stand, down the front stretch and careen into the catch fence and tires past turn 1. Had to have been approximately 6 rolls/flips. He climbed out, went to the backup car and ran the main. It just blows my mind. The hopping the cushion and the collecting the car just in time to do a wheelie down the front stretch. I guess it kind of compares to bull riding in that you watch it and kind of hold your breath in that moment and then everyone walks away and there is this gasp of emotion from the crowd after.

The crowd was relatively silent last night during the mud packing and then when these guys got done with the first practice session there was a buzz in the crowd. Just incredible to watch people dodge the dirt, wearing plastic covers etc.

Nascar just doesn't have the same look to it. I love it, but you don't get that same buzz at most Cup races.
 
Another thing I would like to see is NASCAR make a thing out of the Winning purse. It adds a level of need, desperation and importance to the race. However, the winnings are so inflated at a CUP event that I am sure it would lose it's luster. I just wish there were more emphasis from NASCAR on the importance of a race. Obviously Daytona is huge as is Darlington, Bristol and Indy, but there are some pretty unique and fun races that get lost in the fold.
 
I like Brad's idea myself. He says Nascar should run 50 races and be done before football. Run mid week night races at the smaller tracks during the week. I used to watch the dirt sprints years ago mid week, still miss those races.
 
StandOnIt said:
I like Brad's idea myself. He says Nascar should run 50 races and be done before football. Run mid week night races at the smaller tracks during the week. I used to watch the dirt sprints years ago mid week, still miss those races.
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I agree, make it so that they make multiple swings to regions or are in a specific region for a period of time. Shorten the race lengths as well. Just add some uniqueness to the appearances. I would love to see 40 Cup cars at a 1/2 mile like Kern County out in Bakersfield on a Wednesday night running 300 laps. It would be a take no prisoners mentality. You start in the back you have to race and race extremely hard to get to the front because time is limited.

I watched an interview with one of the driver's from last night and he said it was a flat out dog fight out there. I love to hear that stuff because these guys were working their tails off to perform.
 
like they run the trucks at Gateway in St Louis. and time marches on and neither Xfinity or cup cars race there, and it is like that all over the country. Smaller tracks don't need all of the stringent safety regulations to be approved by Nascar to race there. Personally I think their safety regulations are so strict that it looks like they have done it on purpose to keep good smaller tracks from holding Nascar races. To do Brad's idea all that would have to lighten up, smaller tracks can't afford to do all that for 80MPH cars
 
Yeah totally agree. NASCAR always talks about going back to their "roots" with races like Bristol and Martinsville. I just laugh because I don't know when the "roots" were racing venues holding 100k people........I went to a Truck race at the old Mesa Marin and holy cow was that an awesome experience. You had a good mold of names and future names at a great track. We need more of that. It also would allow NASCAR to look more important when they go to a venue that has 10,000 seats and they fill it up. Bring in extra seating to accommodate more fans and make it 15-20k, but the stands being full makes it look more important.
 
you have a point about the smaller fan friendly venues. There is a magic atmosphere and that in turn builds fan come back. Prices are a huge deal also. We need to quit judging our economy on how well the multi billionaires are doing with the stock market and corporate profits. Hate to compare to stick n ball, but a substantial amount of seats are sold to corporations. In my town, regular fans are sitting on the grass in the outfield and the stands are mostly vacant but sold to the corporations.
 
I'm as much of a seat snob as any guy I know. I like the best seats and I will pay for my convenience in life, but the thing about small venues is that the seats are never bad. We had a pole in front of us last night. Not a problem. View was great.
 
I always sat far left in turn one and dodged the dirt clods. We could see into the pits also, just wear sun glasses and learn to duck. No problem.
 
StandOnIt said:
I always sat far left in turn one and dodged the dirt clods. We could see into the pits also, just wear sun glasses and learn to duck. No problem.
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At any dirt track I go to, I always get as close to that spot in Turn 1 as I can at least for a while. It's usually the coolest view in the house.
 
Yeah, ya get two turns and the start, a view of the pits and sometimes pit crew guys come up and sit.
 
StandOnIt said:
Yeah, ya get two turns and the start, a view of the pits and sometimes pit crew guys come up and sit.
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We usually sit mid point between start/finish and turn 1. However. the best seat in the house is in the infield. When you are in the middle of that bowl and the chaos is surrounding you there is nothing better. The feel for the speed is unreal.
 
I agree with what Clark said. You’re on the edge of your seat at Eldora bc of they are on the edge the entire time and the danger is so evident. It’s obvious how hard they are pushing the car and why I’m so happy with the rules package NASCAR currently has. Low downforce leads to some hard racing
 
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