[flagboy55]

Well folks time is flying. We’ve got the 50th running of the Hulman Classic and the 60th of the Knoxville Nationals. The thoughts of these two and their trajectory is an interesting juxtaposition. We know where they are in terms of popularity now but I was wondering back in the 70’s how the two races compared in prestige and importance? I remember as a child, thanks to Dads Speed Sport subscription, reading about Knoxville. I was at the 76 Hulman, my favorite race of all time by the way. I remember Terre Haute being on Wide World of Sports which was big time in those days. I’m hoping some of you veterans who were close observers of that era can add some insight to it and just how big of deals they were at the time. I don’t know if Richie has any perspective on it from his wealth of knowledge but I’m sure there’s a few of you that remember those days. Looking forward to reading your thoughts

[ronmil]

Originally Posted by flagboy55 Well folks time is flying. We’ve got the 50th running of the Hulman Classic and the 60th of the Knoxville Nationals. The thoughts of these two and their trajectory is an interesting juxtaposition. We know where they are in terms of popularity now but I was wondering back in the 70’s how the two races compared in prestige and importance? I remember as a child, thanks to Dads Speed Sport subscription, reading about Knoxville. I was at the 76 Hulman, my favorite race of all time by the way. I remember Terre Haute being on Wide World of Sports which was big time in those days. I’m hoping some of you veterans who were close observers of that era can add some insight to it and just how big of deals they were at the time. I don’t know if Richie has any perspective on it from his wealth of knowledge but I’m sure there’s a few of you that remember those days. Looking forward to reading your thoughts

1971 was a really big deal because local boy Don Nordhorn (Wadesville, IN) looked like a sure winner when a late caution flag allowed George Snider to overtake Don on the restart and bring home the bacon. It was on live tv on ABC's Wide World of Sports.
There were all sorts of celebrities in attendance and the purse was huge for the first few years. I believe my favorite was the 1974 event which was postponed by rain and run on a cold Easter Sunday. Jan Opperman was the victor.

Correction!!! Gary Bettenhausen won in 1974 and Jan Opperman in 1976. Gary received nearly $36,000 and Jan nearly $43,000 as the winners share respectively.

[Blackduce]

I remember in the 60's. The stands were sold out. And infield was open. And we could not get close to the fence. Maby 2 & 4 deep. And 220 Offy and Chevy going at it. Little did we know how precious they were. And to see Indy 500 drivers.

Lynn

[oppweld]

That 43,000 would be 199,000 today!

[B99]

Originally Posted by Blackduce I remember in the 60's. The stands were sold out. And infield was open. And we could not get close to the fence. Maby 2 & 4 deep. And 220 Offy and Chevy going at it. Little did we know how precious they were. And to see Indy 500 drivers. Lynn

The Hulman Classic didn't start until 1971.

[B99]

Originally Posted by flagboy55 Well folks time is flying. We’ve got the 50th running of the Hulman Classic and the 60th of the Knoxville Nationals. The thoughts of these two and their trajectory is an interesting juxtaposition. We know where they are in terms of popularity now but I was wondering back in the 70’s how the two races compared in prestige and importance? I remember as a child, thanks to Dads Speed Sport subscription, reading about Knoxville. I was at the 76 Hulman, my favorite race of all time by the way. I remember Terre Haute being on Wide World of Sports which was big time in those days. I’m hoping some of you veterans who were close observers of that era can add some insight to it and just how big of deals they were at the time. I don’t know if Richie has any perspective on it from his wealth of knowledge but I’m sure there’s a few of you that remember those days. Looking forward to reading your thoughts

I think it's comparing apples and oranges, at least for the first half or so of the decade. The Nationals started as a supermodified event, those eventually evolved to sprint cars. I'm sure the Nationals meant a lot to those who ran it, but if you didn't have Speed Sport I'm not sure the Nationals had the attention the Hulman Classic did.
The Hulman Classic kind of kicked off the month of May, had huge crowds and was on Wide World of Sports. National TV for a sprint car race was pretty much unheard of in 1971. Plus, that race drew not only the best of USAC's sprint division, but guys who were running the big track in Indy.
However, by the end of the 1970's USAC's sprint division wasn't what it had been, and the Nationals were rising in attention and popularity. Not surprisingly, I think you can trace, hand in hand, the rise of the popularity of the WoO and the rise in popularity of the Knoxville Nationals.

[ThePurple73]

Apples and Oranges in a way.

Knoxville was a 3 day two qualifying night event. At first qualifying was everything. The Saturday night race had a A,B,C feature with dashes. Drivers from all over the country, but many from the midwest.
You would get the best of sprint car and super modified drivers. Race was Saturday night. A big deal to win.

The Hulman Classic seemed to kick off the month of May. USAC had sprint car drivers that raced at Indy, so that made it seem special and a big deal to fans. Run on Saturday afternoon. A big deal to win.

Both races were great. The best in sprint car racing have won both.

[oppweld]

Who is Opperman!

[ronmil]

Originally Posted by oppweld Who is Opperman!

Some hippie who tried driving sprint cars for a while (and the Indy 500 too)!

[captrat]

Hulman: Qualified on Friday, raced on Sat., same day as KY Derby. Lots of delays for commercials and derby spots. Purse greatly enhanced by TV and night before Calcutta. Could have become a major event, but neglected by USAC and local community after Don Smith stepped aside. Remember they built the tower on turn 1 with Penske doing commentary probably at his first sprint car race! GB hauls her into turn 1, goes over the wall. Was driving Indy cars for Penske.

Knoxville had vision. Understood the focus of sprint cars was slowly slipping away from USAC. USAC was so married to the Speedway they failed to realize their were legions of fans and participants who were not identifying with Indy. Ted Johnson saw this, we know how that has gone.

I love non wing racing, and support much of what USAC is doing today,but with more vision 50 years ago it would be a much different traditional open wheel world.