49th Tony Bettenhausen 100-Preview/Entry List

miledirt (Offline)
#21 8/21/09 5:49 AM

Originally Posted by ThrowbackRacingTeam:
For the record, there will be only ONE lap of qualifying for the Silver Crown cars, at least that was what was said at the drivers meeting at Indy Fairgrounds. I guess Sargent wants to make sure there is plenty of time for HIS premiere divison, the ARCA trucks! What a joke, he has USAC by the balls with the mile dirt tracks (somehow this one lap rule only applies to the mile dirts, and who promotes all them?). By the way, the track is packed SOOOO hard that it could rain all week and stop Friday and the track will still be dry slick by the second lap of the first hot lap session. Sorry to rain on your parade again but the days of heavy track and two grooves and gone. And whoever this illinoise guy is must not remember how freaking exciting Springfield can be with two or more grooves! It could happen if they prepared the track correctly, but last year at the drivers meeting at Springfield we got laughed out of the meeting for suggesting they water the cushion and not pack it down or scrape it off!! Unbelievable. As fans and racers we shouldn't roll over and let certain people single-handedly ruin SC racing. I'm glad he's willing to put up the money to promote these races, don't get me wrong, but as a paying fan and competitor we have a right to express our concerns over the direction of this series. The more the track has gotten drier and slicker and less competitive, the less fans you have seen in the stands. Its that simple. And one last thing, I think it takes away from the prestige of the event if everyone that shows up makes it, and we are one of the teams that would definitely be on the bubble if there were more than 30 cars!! We would much rather have it that you have to earn your way in, thats just my two cents worth!

-Joe Stroehle (Head Tire Changer/Fuel Runner/Human ATV/Team Manager) ThrowBack Racing Team

Track Prep at DuQuoin has been great the last few years and I assume Sargent is in charge of that.

illiNOISE (Offline)
#22 8/21/09 7:20 AM

Originally Posted by ThrowbackRacingTeam:
whoever this illinoise guy is must not remember how freaking exciting Springfield can be with two or more grooves!

"This illinoise guy" is in the judges stand every Friday night at Jacksonville. And, yes, I do remember how much better the racing used to be at Springfield. But, after Danny Drinan almost wound up in the parking lot in that horrendous midget flip we've all seen replayed a thousand times, I would imagine the State of Illinois might have a little bit of interest in keeping the speeds down.

Also, lets not forget that there are groups with other ideas on how much water should be put on the track throughout Fair Week. I wouldn't think the harness racers would want a heavy track.

And, I mean, let's be honest: This is a 100 lap DAYTIME race. If you're looking for a "suck your shoes off" tacky track, this wouldn't be the first place to look.

SpfldMile (Offline)
#23 8/21/09 11:19 AM

I too wish that they would cut the track just a little deeper and keep the real heavy equipment off of it for packing. Drinans accident was horrible, but to be honest, midgets on the mile were probably not a good idea in the first place. A little cushion to lean on is a good thing, and they used to let it build up and not pack it back down. I just hate seeing the fastest car on the track pull in behind the slowest going into the turn because they don't dare get out of the groove. I'm sitting about a 3 wood shot from the second turn of the mile right now. Harness racing is over for the fair as of yesterday, so I don't think that is the problem. They just want an absolutely smooth track, and that is what they get. I love the Bettenhausen, and look forward to it all year. I think a little tweak in the prep of the track would make it a lot more exciting, especially for newer fans.

Likes:

Mud Packer (Offline)
#24 8/21/09 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by miledirt:
Track Prep at DuQuoin has been great the last few years and I assume Sargent is in charge of that.

Being a night race has certainly helped as well.

Mike

Be nice to people on the way up. You might need them on the way down. Jimmy Durante

miledirt (Offline)
#25 8/21/09 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Mud Packer:
Being a night race has certainly helped as well.

no doubt it's helped...

I still don't think that the track tomorrow will be black slick by the second set of hot laps. Maybe I'm wrong...
I'll also be surprised it's only one lap qualifying

mortboyz
#26 8/21/09 1:01 PM

We plan on getting there before she gets black and slick.......but she's gonna get black and slick

AP64 (Offline)
#27 8/21/09 1:20 PM

I know it rains a lot at the hoosier hundered. But does anyone remember the year it rained and they still raced. I'm thinking 2001 or 2002. The track was heavy, and wicked fast. They were backing it in half way down the straightaways. That was a great race to see. Ok, back on topic.

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