Larson Makes History........Again

[JimBo]

Mr CIRF, while primarily being a follower of Late Models I do prefer the non wing Sprints and Midgets to winged cars. I grew up on the old Super Modifieds and witnessed the transition of them into sprint cars. I do agree with LMM that the talent of the 70's and 80's Sprint car drivers is hard to beat. Because of circumstances this year I have watched a lot more Sprints on Flo Racing and it has been great. Larson is without a doubt an unmatched talent in Sprints and Midgets. Heck he's been good in Mini Sprints this year as well. Enjoy it while we can because he will be back in cup cars next year.

[CIRF]

Mr. Cirf

I really must disagree with you on 1 particular front, your assessment that the current crop of USAC Midget drivers is as stout and diverse as any, of course that is your view, I respect that. However I firmly don't agree with that at all. My first Midget show was at of course was at Ascot. The crop of 60's talent, 70's talent, 80's talent in my view was far, far superior in over all talent. From the various disciplines, tracks, and technology of the day and what the drivers had to work with. From Rich Vogler to Stan Fox to Sleepy Tripp, the talent, racing, and driver moxie was unsurpassed.

Pick any Turkey Night at Ascot would solidify my argument.

As far as the overall winged talent today versus the time I will say was epic, mid-eighties, there just won't in my view be the talent pool that had Wolfgang, Mark and Steve Kinser, Sammy, Doty, Shuman, Allen, Stevie Smith, Blaney, Haudensheild, Kaeding, and Jimmy Sills, just my view.

Sure is good conversation though.



LMM

Here's where I believe the difference lies, Mark. All the guys from yesteryear that you mention stayed in the midgets and sprint cars for their entire careers. These days if they're really good, like Larson, Bell and Stenhouse Jr. they go on to NASCAR. If they don't get their shot at NASCAR they go on to winged sprint cars primarily because of the money. It's tough to compare era's but I try to do it all the time mainly due to the nostalgia factor. I certainly can't take issue with how talented the guys that you mentioned are. That is indisputable.

However, I firmly believe that in spite of the siphoning off of guys like Larson & Bell the talent level, top to bottom, is quite high. Windom, Courtney, Meseraull, Thorson, Grant, Bacon, Golobic, Carrick, Thomas Jr. all are able win races every time they start an A-main. I'm not saying any one of those guys is as good or better than Stan Fox or Vogler or Sleepy or The Shu but the talent level throughout the field may be better top to bottom. This new crop of kids such as Kofoid, McIntosh and Johnson, among a few others, look quite promising as well.

One driver who could hold his own against any of the guys from the past you mentioned is no longer with us but he would be in conversation if he was. That driver is Bryan Clauson. If Clauson, Larson, Bell, Stenhouse Jr. ran regularly with the USAC guys the talent level would be unsurpassed by any era. But, unfortunately, they don't.

As far as the winged side of the conversation I must digress. I don't follow winged racing all that much. I've watched more winged racing this year due to the Larson factor but that certainly doesn't give credence. My lack of knowledge regarding winged racing is glaring but it certainly seems that top to bottom talent level in both the WoO's and ASCoC's is relatively high. Not to the extent of the 1980's but formidable. I'm probably off base on that assessment.

Mr CIRF, while primarily being a follower of Late Models I do prefer the non wing Sprints and Midgets to winged cars. I grew up on the old Super Modifieds and witnessed the transition of them into sprint cars. I do agree with LMM that the talent of the 70's and 80's Sprint car drivers is hard to beat. Because of circumstances this year I have watched a lot more Sprints on Flo Racing and it has been great. Larson is without a doubt an unmatched talent in Sprints and Midgets. Heck he's been good in Mini Sprints this year as well. Enjoy it while we can because he will be back in cup cars next year.

You're background and preferences sound very much like my own. I too follow the late models more extensively than any other division. Main reason is good racing but also because the tracks within easy driving distance have very good late model racing week in and week out with Jacksonville being the lone exception.

Jim, I'm not quite as optimistic as you are that Larson will be back in NASCAR. Given the turn that NASCAR and society as a whole has taken just in the past couple of months it may be impossible for Larson to acquire sufficient sponsorship to facilitate a return to Cup. I could be wrong but unwanted attention and a boycott's could be in the future for any sponsor who would have Larson as a spokesman for their products or services. I hope I'm wrong.

[Late_Model_Mark]

Very fair point CIRF. I miss Clauson, what a loss. Larson just blows my mind with his driving. Just for the record, as far as the sprints go, non-wing is da bomb brother. 30 years after it's closure, the CRA action at Ascot has never been topped in my book, and just like many on this board, we have been around the block on races and tracks. Just a fun discussion that is done with civility and grace unlike some of the juvenile post on the DLM board.


Looking forward to tonite's Governors Cup Southern All Stars tonite at Talladega paying 10k. for the Supers. Doing vocal chord calisthenics to get ready,lol.


Late Model Mark
TST Announcer....race fan from January of 1964 thru..............................today!