4 crown abomination
 

If you didn't go this is what you missed. Suites, new fence, billboards. Too bad the surface sucks so much. Eldora USED to be a helluva race track.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Looks like 'typical' Eldora.

The unholy dust started when they hauled in the new clay a few years ago. The place hasn't been worth a damn at all since.

The first race of that year was a Outlaw show, and was run close to the inside wall (looked like an indoor race) and then USAC ran the moto-cross race.

But hey, look at all of the improvements Tony and Larry Kemp have made at Eldora :17:

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

I could not see them ,but the first two features sounded ok!

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

I gotta believe we will see more "new" clay next year, hopefully it will be "real" clay.
I can't imagine leaving the track as is, and making all the improvements everywhere else.
Time will tell.

Interestingly, if you strolled around the pits all day / night, you learned a few things. USAC was throwing a fit all day and not letting the Eldora track crew prep and maintain the track like they are really good at again. If you come to other races, you can see how good it's been lately. I have never seen such an unprofessional, disorganized group as I did in USAC yesterday. Unfortunately, Eldora is going to take the blame for this. I wish Tony would have been there to shove another official. :)
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Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Want to be carefull what you say.there are some on here that would tell you that usac had nothing to do with it.
It was a dust bowl from the first 6 midgets that got on the track for hot laps.Rumor has it that as soon as the season is finished the track will be tore up ,dug down & some new blue clay added --- we will see. ---

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Originally Posted by mermaid:
Interestingly, if you strolled around the pits all day / night, you learned a few things. USAC was throwing a fit all day and not letting the Eldora track crew prep and maintain the track like they are really good at again. If you come to other races, you can see how good it's been lately. I have never seen such an unprofessional, disorganized group as I did in USAC yesterday. Unfortunately, Eldora is going to take the blame for this. I wish Tony would have been there to shove another official. :)
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This is not a unique problem, the track was bad for the Kings Royal and World 100 as well.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Only difference with the other two is they took rubber. I was there Friday for the rain deal and that was expected. Nothing anybody could do about that, and the race wasn't all that terrible. But Saturday, there was absolutely not one excuse for dust to be flying in the first session of midget hotlaps. Dustiest racetrack I've ever been to by a long shot. When you can't see the leaders from the main grandstands something is wrong. So I don't know who to blame for that.

I also heard that timing and scoring went kaputt during sprint qualifying, and a few guys got into the heats that shouldn't have due to that.

And it's been a while since I've been to a USAC race, but have they group qualified all year? Cause boy do I really hate that since it literally takes no less time to do it than single.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Yes the track was dusty but sitting in turn 3 area the racing was still good all night. How about that run by shane hmiel in the crown car looked like the rearend got broke when he smacked the wall coming out of 2 (jacobs ladder what they run maybe never looked close). Nice run for him to hold on to 2nd.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Anybody have the finish for the Silver Crown race. Haven't seen it posted anywhere.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Traveled all the way from California to buy a 4-Crown T-shirt and there was not any. There were not anythng for Non-wing at all. Shirts with tin-roofs and shirts with wings, but nothing for this type of racing. This big of an event and no event shirt?

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Shane Hmiel, 3. Jerry Coons Jr., 4. Cole Whitt, 5. Josh Wise, 6. Shane Hollingsworth, 7. Brian Tyler, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Levi Jones, 10. Zach Daum, 11. Kody Swanson, 12. Randy Bateman, 13. A.J. Fike, 14. Von McGee, 15. Tracy Hines, 16. Justin Carver, 17. Jon Sciscoe, 18. Jon Stanbrough, 19. Russ Gamester, 20. Bill Rose, 21. Derek Hagar, 22. Mike Brecht, 23. Donnie Beechler, 24. Patrick Bruns. NT

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Track was great on Friday. Perfect conditions. Good race. As far as event t-shirts, there were loads of them on Friday, can't believe that none were left by Saturday but who knows.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

I wouldnt say that they need new clay, they just need to prepare it with enough aqua. It rained Friday and the WoO were within a tenth of the track record and it stayed fast all night......it can be done!

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Originally Posted by spankytoo:
Traveled all the way from California to buy a 4-Crown T-shirt and there was not any. There were not anythng for Non-wing at all. Shirts with tin-roofs and shirts with wings, but nothing for this type of racing. This big of an event and no event shirt?

?? I picked up 2 on Saturday night before the midget feature. Maybe you should have looked harder..

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Had people mocking us in turn 3 from the suites, maybe all the dust is to increase sales for the suites?

Originally Posted by SHORTBUS:
Want to be carefull what you say.there are some on here that would tell you that usac had nothing to do with it.
It was a dust bowl from the first 6 midgets that got on the track for hot laps.Rumor has it that as soon as the season is finished the track will be tore up ,dug down & some new blue clay added --- we will see. ---

I don't know what others heard. I can only report what I heard with my own 2 little ears. I do understand why, except for the really big shows, their car counts seem to be down more than other series in light of the economy. I say SEEM because I have no statistics on that. Just my own attendance at several events.
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Originally Posted by spankytoo:
Traveled all the way from California to buy a 4-Crown T-shirt and there was not any. There were not anythng for Non-wing at all. Shirts with tin-roofs and shirts with wings, but nothing for this type of racing. This big of an event and no event shirt?

I found 5 or 6 different trailors with many different 4Crown shirts sat a lil before the start of races saturday
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Re: 4 crown abomination
 

A couple of random thoughts about the 4.....er 3........er 5........whatever Crown last night. Possible contributing factors to the frequently dusty conditions since new dirt (wrong composition???) was hauled in might include (in my completely uninformed opinion):

1. Most times I have seen a sprint car show at any track the day after a winged event the track has gone dry slick and black early on.

2. Might they have been leery of too much water in case of rain showers? It was possible you
know, with rainouts at Terre Haute, Putnamville, and Paragon. Upon exiting, we ran into light rain just south of the track which got progressively heavier the further south we traveled. Big time water, then rain......oops, you may lose the track.

That said, we had a hell of a good time all day and night. With our Superman like vision (apparently) we were able to see through the dust (from our Section G, Row 1 seats) and witnessed a very entertaining show. Midgets at the Big E never cease to amaze me. Sprints are my favorite, so I loved their heats and feature. Like mac miller, I think tracks under a mile severely compromise the ability of the champ dirt cars to entertain to their best.

Now, about that PA system........................naw, I'm determined to stay positive. I had a great time and applaud all the drivers and wrenches for staging a terrific event. :8:

And it's on to The 'Burg. :22:

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Originally Posted by FishBurger:
A couple of random thoughts about the 4.....er 3........er 5........whatever Crown last night. Possible contributing factors to the frequently dusty conditions since new dirt (wrong composition???) was hauled in might include (in my completely uninformed opinion):

1. Most times I have seen a sprint car show at any track the day after a winged event the track has gone dry slick and black early on.

2. Might they have been leery of too much water in case of rain showers? It was possible you
know, with rainouts at Terre Haute, Putnamville, and Paragon. Upon exiting, we ran into light rain just south of the track which got progressively heavier the further south we traveled. Big time water, then rain......oops, you may lose the track.

That said, we had a hell of a good time all day and night. With our Superman like vision (apparently) we were able to see through the dust (from our Section G, Row 1 seats) and witnessed a very entertaining show. Midgets at the Big E never cease to amaze me. Sprints are my favorite, so I loved their heats and feature. Like mac miller, I think tracks under a mile severely compromise the ability of the champ dirt cars to entertain to their best.

Now, about that PA system........................naw, I'm determined to stay positive. I had a great time and applaud all the drivers and wrenches for staging a terrific event. :8:

And it's on to The 'Burg. :22:

Good report Marv...I always appreciate it when guys like you and Jerry take the time to do so

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Originally Posted by slide22:
?? I picked up 2 on Saturday night before the midget feature. Maybe you should have looked harder..

saw them at the trailer in 4 and the one behind the grandstand where we bought two??????

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

We usually sit in Section D, Row 1, but hesitated to get tickets because of the uncertain weather. We wound up in Section K, Row 6, aisle seats and it wasn't a bad area at all. In spite of all the dust on the track, we did not have a problem with it entering our seating area.
Earlene was simply ecstatic at seeing Dave Darland win the Silver Crown race. We stayed around for the victory ceremony, walked to the car, and drove right out.
I drove in fairly heavy rain most of the way back to Evansville. Arrived home a little after 5:00AM(CDT). Eldora is a long haul for me.
Danny Burton, I enjoyed talking with you at the track and the Flying J. I made it home safely, but got a little sleepy as I neared home.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Looks like the wrong f stop to me!
Rizzo

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Originally Posted by spankytoo:
Traveled all the way from California to buy a 4-Crown T-shirt and there was not any. There were not anythng for Non-wing at all. Shirts with tin-roofs and shirts with wings, but nothing for this type of racing. This big of an event and no event shirt?

I bought two just before the Silver Crown race. One has a winged car & all 3 USAC classes, the other has just the 3 USAC classes. One by Indy Screen Print & one by Arizona Sport Shirts. It seemed that each trailer had a different selection. Call Arizona @ 1-800-922-9918, I'll bet they have some left.

steiny:32:

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

They knew the track was going be dusty. my unle bought a eldora coolie with a dust cover on it. who likes beer with dust in it. :5: :5:

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Originally Posted by FishBurger:
A couple of random thoughts about the 4.....er 3........er 5........whatever Crown last night. Possible contributing factors to the frequently dusty conditions since new dirt (wrong composition???) was hauled in might include (in my completely uninformed opinion):

1. Most times I have seen a sprint car show at any track the day after a winged event the track has gone dry slick and black early on.

2. Might they have been leery of too much water in case of rain showers? It was possible you
know, with rainouts at Terre Haute, Putnamville, and Paragon. Upon exiting, we ran into light rain just south of the track which got progressively heavier the further south we traveled. Big time water, then rain......oops, you may lose the track.

That said, we had a hell of a good time all day and night. With our Superman like vision (apparently) we were able to see through the dust (from our Section G, Row 1 seats) and witnessed a very entertaining show. Midgets at the Big E never cease to amaze me. Sprints are my favorite, so I loved their heats and feature. Like mac miller, I think tracks under a mile severely compromise the ability of the champ dirt cars to entertain to their best.

Now, about that PA system........................naw, I'm determined to stay positive. I had a great time and applaud all the drivers and wrenches for staging a terrific event. :8:

And it's on to The 'Burg. :22:

Marv,

I cannot wait to read your posts. I love your reporting. We said, well done. We had a good time too except for the fact that Driver 14's car was in the hauler in the parking lot. No way was he going to make his return at the Big E (much to his dismay).

Love the reports Marv. Keep'em coming....

pg

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

I was there the night before for The WoO show and the track was in great shape. I do not know if it was because it rained most of Friday or track prep, but the track was good. I was hoping for the same thing on Sat., but no such luck.

I hope next year some USAC people attend The WoO show and learn how to run a program.
Hot laps at 8:00 finished by 10:30. Included qualies, 4 heats, c main,bmain, dash and the feature.

At Terre Haute with one class it took almost 4 hours.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

I remember going to Eldora in the 80's and it frequently was a dust bowl.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

I certainly can't argue with Chris Pedersen's (racephoto1) perspective. We've all seen Chris's photos here, so we know how high his standards are. And he's about as optimistic of a person as you're going to find, at the track. It had to have been frustrating for these guys who bring us the action through a camera lens. Because it was very dusty. And dusty, with very little wind. So, the dust was just recirculating, instead of really going anywhere. It was bizarre in the way it was swirling and then returning to the racing area. We were sitting up from the entrance to turn four and the grit was rising to just above the light fixtures, forming into distinct whirlpools while the racing was going on and then slowly coming to a stop, when the racing was halted and settling back to where it had all came from. And while this may have been a fascinating phenomenon to watch take place, it had to play hell with the track crew. Because normally, even though it's at the expense of the people sitting in a particular area of the stands, the prevailing wind will allow the race cars to blow off the part of the racing surface that is the problem. Saturday night, the problem would fall right back in their lap, each time the checker would wave and the dust would settle. To me, it looked like they were just caught in a loop. A vicious cycle, if you will. It was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. If they would have left it alone and done nothing, then more people would have been mad (even more than the ones who usually complain), because it would have still been dusty and there would have been no effort put forth to remedy it. Instead, they ran out, put a little band-aid on it and it looked better for a few laps, until the inevitable returned.

And while all this was happening, if you looked through the haze, there was some pretty damn good racing going on. Even though visibility had to have been be reduced, it surely didn't stop Brad Sweet from standing the gas with both feet and carving up a loaded midget field. Nor did it stop Jerry Coons, Jr. from charging through the particulate matter to lap more than half the field, in the sprint feature. Or Tracy Hines from actually chasing the very fast leader down. Or keep Robert Ballou from putting his dust goggles on and going to work. Or keep Dave Darland from getting in the Foxco Silver Crown car and putting on a clinic, in how you run the wall at Eldora. That was a work of art. Or keep RWB teammates Shane Hmiel and the aforementioned Coons, Jr. from putting in a tremendous effort, to try to catch him. Dusty as it was, it was still a racy track.

I've seen better 4-Crowns and I've seen worse. As far as the racing goes, this one was somewhere in the middle. One thing that is a constant, as far as this event is concerned, is the vast array of people that you get to share the "4-Crown Experience" with. From the time we always spend in the pits, during hot laps and qualifications, talking to friends that are writers, photographers, drivers and race team members, to the racing portion of the show, that I look forward to watching with my fellow race chasers, there isn't an event that I leave with more of a sense of "I know more than I did when I came here" than the 4-Crown. Dust or no dust, that's one thing I always see clearly.

Jerry

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Chris
Next time at Eldora I will loan you my Nikon FED Dust Filter. The first pic below was taken without the FED, the second one was moments later with the FED.:5::5:

Dave

Attachment 1531

Attachment 1532

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Get rid of the sheeps foot...please.

Re: 4 crown abomination
 

Raced there August 1st and track was smooth and dust free.

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wow thats a clear picture.....lol thats more then i could see. It would have been nice to hear the finishing order of the sprint A main, since none of us could actually see it. The problem is that they put water on it after every race that always causes the dust bowl. They should have let it take on rubber. When will they learn? Bring Earl back!
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