first bristol dirt race

[chupp n bloomer fan]

I went the second year with the wife to all three nights. Think one of the nights is when Ole Freddy beat or got beat by Bloomer right at the end. Wasn't bad racing, and they changed the wheel rules. Was only steel rims allowed, not the lightweight ones.

Also year Mike Gault destroyed a car. And Randle got booted by Schlieper for driving like a tool. Awesome facilities, we had awesome Davey Allison section seats with backs. Two seats was one, not that it mattered.

Would most definitely go back.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

It has been said the cost to do it, and damaging the pavement track is why they haven't done it again.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

yeah punk I think they would easily pack in 60k+ crowd today. it would be sweet if they did bristol at least every 5 years 100 lapper. speeds would be crazier today.

Yes, I most definitely think it would attract more fans. Three nights, good purses, good prices, bam.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I was there as well. One of the last trips I took with my dad.

[dirt crow]

I was there too. Balzano had em covered till he broke a wheel like many did.

[zyoung25]

They didn't run sprints the first year did they? I haven't been able to find anything on sprints from the first year.

[SuperEight]

yeah punk I think they would easily pack in 60k+ crowd today. it would be sweet if they did bristol at least every 5 years 100 lapper. speeds would be crazier today.

I seriously doubt they'd be much if any faster. Late models haven't gained much in speed the last 10 years and most track records have been stagnant for 15 years with some notable exceptions under perfect conditions. I bet several cars would flip. The newer cars turn better than they did back then, but that's about it. And the wheels weren't breaking due to speed, but the combination of a very rough surface and high G-forces. The following year there weren't any wheel issues. In Georgia we have Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick near Savannah, nowadays its a tacky 3/8, but in the 90's it was an oil based 5/8 track and on a regular basis the Supers were radar clocked topping 170+MPH down the long back stretch, without any wheel breaking issues, now that was a fast track. The old Cherokee configuration had Supers clocked at 150+MPH...

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I seriously doubt they'd be much if any faster. Late models haven't gained much in speed the last 10 years and most track records have been stagnant for 15 years with some notable exceptions under perfect conditions. I bet several cars would flip. The newer cars turn better than they did back then, but that's about it. And the wheels weren't breaking due to speed, but the combination of a very rough surface and high G-forces. The following year there weren't any wheel issues. In Georgia we have Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick near Savannah, nowadays its a tacky 3/8, but in the 90's it was an oil based 5/8 track and on a regular basis the Supers were radar clocked topping 170+MPH down the long back stretch, without any wheel breaking issues, now that was a fast track. The old Cherokee configuration had Supers clocked at 150+MPH...

Today's cars are much better on a slick surface. They are not much faster on a fast one.

A daytime qualifying session at Eldora would no longer have quality drivers timing in at over 20 seconds.

[SuperEight]

Today's cars are much better on a slick surface. They are not much faster on a fast one.

A daytime qualifying session at Eldora would no longer have quality drivers timing in at over 20 seconds.

That's True.

[25drtrkr]

I seriously doubt they'd be much if any faster. Late models haven't gained much in speed the last 10 years and most track records have been stagnant for 15 years with some notable exceptions under perfect conditions. I bet several cars would flip. The newer cars turn better than they did back then, but that's about it. And the wheels weren't breaking due to speed, but the combination of a very rough surface and high G-forces. The following year there weren't any wheel issues. In Georgia we have Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick near Savannah, nowadays its a tacky 3/8, but in the 90's it was an oil based 5/8 track and on a regular basis the Supers were radar clocked topping 170+MPH down the long back stretch, without any wheel breaking issues, now that was a fast track. The old Cherokee configuration had Supers clocked at 150+MPH...

The good ole days!...not really, the racing was primarily one groove for there and Waycross. I was there the night Madden was clocked at 170, and he ended up setting a new track record of 144 mph plus!

[dirt crow]

They didn't run sprints the first year did they? I haven't been able to find anything on sprints from the first year.

Sprints ran the weekend before or the weekend after I believe.

[jb3601]

I was there also. I think Balzano had em covered until that wheel broke. I know this is a LM board but a lil trivia. Does anyone remember who won the Mod race that night and who finished 2nd?

[TMaCiLLiNi39]

First of all , thank you Zyoung25 for finding the video. I have ask several times over the years on this web site, where the video was. No one could ever produce it. If you are a Bloomer fan, you will see one the great driving jobs of all time. Haven't watched it yet ,but if memory serves me correct, he was DQed. He started last in his heat, past enough cars to qualify for the C main. In the C Main he past enough cars to qualify for the B main. In the B main he past enough cars to qualify for the A main. In the A main he past about half the field, went in and changed a tire, came back out and I think he finished about 7th. Now I'll watch the video and see how my memory is. I apologize if I have Oldtimers disease.

You would be incorrect... Scott took a provisional to make the race...

[Mitch4545]

Was everything else correct. I did my post from memory.

You would be incorrect... Scott took a provisional to make the race...

[6565]

footage

They are all over youtube... late models 2001 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boDtsUP8msY late models 2000 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4NKQUBSQuM sprints 2001 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe2EAgni5gw sprints 2000 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Om...F199BBEFA50EC3