Best dirt track ?

JDFAST · 8/1/10, 8:10 PM

After attending USAC sprint week this year, Knoxville Nationals, Oval Nationals at Perris, Kings Royal at Eldora, Trophy Cup at Tulare, Lakeside Speedway for the Ron Shuman classic. I can easily say Ventura is as good or better than any other track I have been too.

From the grandstands you can see the Pacific Ocean, Palm Trees, and the golden Brown Hills in the background. Yo can go surfing or just watch before the races as it is right next to the track. One of the nicest features is the built in air conditioning at no extra charge. The weather is normally between 70-60 all year round. Bring a warm jacket at night as it is very cool even during the summer. Also the train passing by is a nice feature. The facilities are also very first class. Nice seats with backs, not a bad seat in the house. Track Prep is normally awesome for the main. Heat races are ferrous every night for EVERY POSITION because they pea pick and where you finish in the heat determines your starting position. (At some tracks, cars not running near a transfer just cruise in the race, and sometimes even the 2nd place cruises, NEVER HAPPENS at a VRA show). 50 plus sprinters not uncommon. Many former and current CRA drivers drivers compete in the series with Troy Rutherford, Josh Ford running every week, plus Cory Kruseman on occasion. 7 heats is norm for sprint cars.

Minus-if you don't like to see alot of racing, you might not like it. A variety of good racing every night between 5-9 classes. Racing starts around 5 and normally the Sprint Main finishes by 10.

On a side note

Best racing format (and probably best main event) is a winged 360 Trophy Cup at Tulare. All cars inverted in the last mainevent, and last year Tim Kaeding started last and won against some of the best drivers, please don't say Wingers can't pass, you just haven't seen a good track and format. If you go this year, you might convert to Wingers, just kidding. Plus they already have 72 cars entered (it cut off at 72) for this years race. To tell you how great the racing is, the first year I went I had planned on going Thursday and Friday, and than go back to my beloved Ventura for USAC-CRA main event (they don't happen very often at this track). The racing was so good at Tulare, I stayed for the final night and I was well reward with a win by Rany Hannigan from mid pack and Brad Sweet and Sammy Swindell coming from the back rows to determine the overall winner with Sweet winning it on the last lap.

My favorite event is the Perris Oval Nationals. There is no more intense racing in heat races than the Thursday and Friday shows with 8 car inverts and a top notch main event. And perris facility is awesome. Saturday's B main is one of the best races all year, only 12 guys are guaranteed a starting position in the main event from Thurs and Fri, so there are 12 transfers up for grabs, but how they finish in the b main determines their main event starting position. I remember one year, both of Tony Stewart cars did not even qualify for the 5 heat races and had to use provisionals all week. Now there is a rule, you can not accumulate points for Saturday using provisionals

. Kinda like ISW

Lakeside is also one of my favorite racetracks although I was only there once.

Lawrencburg is just awesome facility and I like the high speeds.

And probably one of if not the best races I ever saw, was this years ISW show at Brownstown. Normally I am not a fan of dry slick tracks, but that was a hell of race. 3 wide for the lead, on and off the track, and 6 guys going for the lead.

Honestly the best sprint car track is the one I'm at. But its hard to beat Ventura for the Surrondings, Quality and Quantity of sprint cars, track surface for the main (kinda like Tri-state Haubstadt) and nobody works harder than the promoter who preps the track and announces.

PS- Best fans, easily the ISW fans, they are hardcore. Come to the track early even with 95degree weather with humidity and they pack almost every seat!

Best BIG BOYS TRACK- Manzanita- The Western Nationals took some balls when Hockett, Coons, K. Swindell thru some incredible slide jobs at high speed. Plus the 1/3 mile inside track for 360's.. And the track had some of the best BBQ ribs I ever had anywhere.

Reality- there are alot of awessome tracks every where in the nation and on any given night, the fans there think that is the best track. Variety is the spice of life for me and I alway get excited going to a new track. But at the same time, going to Ventura always leaves me with a smile after the sprint main 99% of the time, and I DON'T know any other track that does it for me.

davidm · 8/2/10, 10:21 AM

Best dirt track.....is the one I'm just about to pull into on any given race night!

ggerline · 8/2/10, 10:51 AM

I loved Manzi...Hated to see it go. Eldora is great (if its prepared right), Spoon River, Oskaloosa, Knoxville, North Vernon (on a good night)

cmakin · 8/2/10, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirt330

What is the best dirt track year in and year out. Fan friendly, seating, food,parking ,and camping?

Just based on that criteria, I would have to put Houston Raceway Park near the top of the list. This year, they have dropped their weekly format, and only race special shows, but when considering fan friendly, the joint is second to none. Large concession stand and midway during the special shows, bench seating in the bleachers with back rests, seating for 8,000+, air conditioned and enclosed luxury suites, Musco lighting system and huge parking lot. Since it is local (and I don't camp even when on a road trip), I can't speak for the camping, but as I wrote, there is a huge parking lot. It shares the grounds with the NHRA drag strip (located behind the back stretch pit area).

As a bonus for the racers, there are paved pits, full concession stand and clean restrooms (with flush toilets, too). Oh, and the paved pits are lighted and lots of taps available for fresh water. One thing that IS lacking in the pits is a place to sit. The bleachers were blown over during the back stretch fence during Hurricane IKE and haven't been replaced.

Now, they only race about once a month, and usually have sprints (ASCS Gulf South and TNT Bandits this year, with non wing mini sprints). They also run the USMTS Modifieds in the spring and late fall. The late fall show usually attracts over 80 mods and 65 "sport" mods.

While the management of the dirt track has been controversial lately, they do draw SRO crowds by giving away tickets and charging only for parking. For shows when they do not give away tickets (WoO Sprints, for example), parking is free.

They could stand a "marquee" sprint car event, in my opinion, but that may take some time to happen.

Kevracer58 · 8/2/10, 12:03 PM

Bloomington
I-30 Speedway Little Rock Ark
Silver Dollar Chico, CA

767 · 8/2/10, 1:03 PM

Gas City is my favorite. LPS is improving, but still have many bad memories. 2nd on my list would be the burg. It still has that wow factor for me and is an awsome place. 3rd goes to the tin tops and brownstown. When that plas is right it is awsome.

sc17x · 8/2/10, 5:10 PM

Kokomo,Gas City, Angel Park, Dirt Track@CHARLOTTE
Posted via Mobile Device

randyrad · 8/2/10, 10:42 PM

Lincoln (PA) Speedway has been my current "home" track for the past 3yrs. Weekly Sat night 410 & 358 Winged Sprints, with visits from the ALL Stars, URC 360's & ARDC Midgets.
Great weekly vibe, but the best night of racing I've ever seen there (imho), was the USAC visit this June. 3 local 410's & 1 URC 360 took off the wings & ran wheel to wheel with USAC's best.
I hope it becomes an annual event.

What did the USAC teams & fans think of Lincoln & Grandview ?

Pevely. Granite City, DuQuoin & Springfield remain my true "home" tracks. Labor Day weekend should be USAC Sprints & Midgets at Pevely & Granite City, before DuQuoin & the Dirt Champ Cars ...I'd go "home" for that.

Danny Burton · 8/2/10, 11:57 PM

Dirt tracks are like women in that they are all lovely; it's just that some may be a bit more lovely than others.

Maybe I should name a favorite dirt track coupled with a favorite lady friend?

jerseysprintnut · 8/3/10, 1:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by njtraveler

Grandview,New Egypt,WilliamsGrove.

OH---You can do better than that!!!

How about Flemington Speedway in NJ before 1990 (when it was dirt)

Later, JERSEY

ps-- I love going to the tracks in Indiana now. Interesting thing this year, I have been to 9 USAC nat. sprint events at 9 diff tracks.

8/1/10, 8:10 PM	#31 Re: Best dirt track ?
JDFAST Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 221	After attending USAC sprint week this year, Knoxville Nationals, Oval Nationals at Perris, Kings Royal at Eldora, Trophy Cup at Tulare, Lakeside Speedway for the Ron Shuman classic. I can easily say Ventura is as good or better than any other track I have been too. From the grandstands you can see the Pacific Ocean, Palm Trees, and the golden Brown Hills in the background. Yo can go surfing or just watch before the races as it is right next to the track. One of the nicest features is the built in air conditioning at no extra charge. The weather is normally between 70-60 all year round. Bring a warm jacket at night as it is very cool even during the summer. Also the train passing by is a nice feature. The facilities are also very first class. Nice seats with backs, not a bad seat in the house. Track Prep is normally awesome for the main. Heat races are ferrous every night for EVERY POSITION because they pea pick and where you finish in the heat determines your starting position. (At some tracks, cars not running near a transfer just cruise in the race, and sometimes even the 2nd place cruises, NEVER HAPPENS at a VRA show). 50 plus sprinters not uncommon. Many former and current CRA drivers drivers compete in the series with Troy Rutherford, Josh Ford running every week, plus Cory Kruseman on occasion. 7 heats is norm for sprint cars. Minus-if you don't like to see alot of racing, you might not like it. A variety of good racing every night between 5-9 classes. Racing starts around 5 and normally the Sprint Main finishes by 10. On a side note Best racing format (and probably best main event) is a winged 360 Trophy Cup at Tulare. All cars inverted in the last mainevent, and last year Tim Kaeding started last and won against some of the best drivers, please don't say Wingers can't pass, you just haven't seen a good track and format. If you go this year, you might convert to Wingers, just kidding. Plus they already have 72 cars entered (it cut off at 72) for this years race. To tell you how great the racing is, the first year I went I had planned on going Thursday and Friday, and than go back to my beloved Ventura for USAC-CRA main event (they don't happen very often at this track). The racing was so good at Tulare, I stayed for the final night and I was well reward with a win by Rany Hannigan from mid pack and Brad Sweet and Sammy Swindell coming from the back rows to determine the overall winner with Sweet winning it on the last lap. My favorite event is the Perris Oval Nationals. There is no more intense racing in heat races than the Thursday and Friday shows with 8 car inverts and a top notch main event. And perris facility is awesome. Saturday's B main is one of the best races all year, only 12 guys are guaranteed a starting position in the main event from Thurs and Fri, so there are 12 transfers up for grabs, but how they finish in the b main determines their main event starting position. I remember one year, both of Tony Stewart cars did not even qualify for the 5 heat races and had to use provisionals all week. Now there is a rule, you can not accumulate points for Saturday using provisionals . Kinda like ISW Lakeside is also one of my favorite racetracks although I was only there once. Lawrencburg is just awesome facility and I like the high speeds. And probably one of if not the best races I ever saw, was this years ISW show at Brownstown. Normally I am not a fan of dry slick tracks, but that was a hell of race. 3 wide for the lead, on and off the track, and 6 guys going for the lead. Honestly the best sprint car track is the one I'm at. But its hard to beat Ventura for the Surrondings, Quality and Quantity of sprint cars, track surface for the main (kinda like Tri-state Haubstadt) and nobody works harder than the promoter who preps the track and announces. PS- Best fans, easily the ISW fans, they are hardcore. Come to the track early even with 95degree weather with humidity and they pack almost every seat! Best BIG BOYS TRACK- Manzanita- The Western Nationals took some balls when Hockett, Coons, K. Swindell thru some incredible slide jobs at high speed. Plus the 1/3 mile inside track for 360's.. And the track had some of the best BBQ ribs I ever had anywhere. Reality- there are alot of awessome tracks every where in the nation and on any given night, the fans there think that is the best track. Variety is the spice of life for me and I alway get excited going to a new track. But at the same time, going to Ventura always leaves me with a smile after the sprint main 99% of the time, and I DON'T know any other track that does it for me. _________________________________________________ Last edited by JDFAST; 8/1/10 at 8:33 PM. Reason: more info

8/2/10, 12:03 PM	#35 Re: Best dirt track ?
Kevracer58 Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 156	Bloomington I-30 Speedway Little Rock Ark Silver Dollar Chico, CA _________________________________________________ Last edited by Kevracer58; 8/2/10 at 12:05 PM.

8/2/10, 11:57 PM	#39 Re: Best dirt track ?
Danny Burton Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2,303	Dirt tracks are like women in that they are all lovely; it's just that some may be a bit more lovely than others. Maybe I should name a favorite dirt track coupled with a favorite lady friend? __________________ http://www.hoseheads.com/dannyb.html Quiet, numbskulls. I'm broadcasting.

8/2/10, 10:21 AM	#32 Re: Best dirt track ?
davidm Senior Member Race Count This Year: 21 Race Count Last Year: 23 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 12,509	Best dirt track.....is the one I'm just about to pull into on any given race night!

8/2/10, 10:51 AM	#33 Re: Best dirt track ?
ggerline Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 35	I loved Manzi...Hated to see it go. Eldora is great (if its prepared right), Spoon River, Oskaloosa, Knoxville, North Vernon (on a good night)

8/2/10, 1:03 PM	#36 Re: Best dirt track ?
767 Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 991	Gas City is my favorite. LPS is improving, but still have many bad memories. 2nd on my list would be the burg. It still has that wow factor for me and is an awsome place. 3rd goes to the tin tops and brownstown. When that plas is right it is awsome.

8/2/10, 5:10 PM	#37
sc17x Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 691	Kokomo,Gas City, Angel Park, Dirt Track@CHARLOTTE Posted via Mobile Device

8/2/10, 10:42 PM	#38 Re: Best dirt track ?
randyrad Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 110	Lincoln (PA) Speedway has been my current "home" track for the past 3yrs. Weekly Sat night 410 & 358 Winged Sprints, with visits from the ALL Stars, URC 360's & ARDC Midgets. Great weekly vibe, but the best night of racing I've ever seen there (imho), was the USAC visit this June. 3 local 410's & 1 URC 360 took off the wings & ran wheel to wheel with USAC's best. I hope it becomes an annual event. What did the USAC teams & fans think of Lincoln & Grandview ? Pevely. Granite City, DuQuoin & Springfield remain my true "home" tracks. Labor Day weekend should be USAC Sprints & Midgets at Pevely & Granite City, before DuQuoin & the Dirt Champ Cars ...I'd go "home" for that.