[Alvin]

Originally Posted by hada76

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67iEwLgaHxM

Excellent video compilation. Is this a Mike Noun creation I womder? Thxs for sharing the link!

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by PONTIAC-ONE

I'd rather head to my local dirt track, far more exciting stuff going on there.

Both Brad and I are big dirt track fans - so we aren't going to diss you for liking your local dirt track.

But you stated earlier "That's why I don't care or watch, they're not real cars, just cookie cutter fabrications."...

I helped build this car - and it's not a real car - it's just a cookie cutter fabrication...



The closest thing to a "real car" at most dirt tracks is what we refer to as a "Street Stock" - which requires the use of "stock" sheet metal. About the only part of the sheet metal that actually is "stock" is the hood - as shown below off our 1985 Buick Regal track championship car from 2003.



Of course the car has a Chevy 350 that never came in an '85 Buick Regal, a Ford 9" rear, a highly modified Powerglide, Bilstein race shocks - just like all the other "cookie cutter" cars that we raced against to win the championship.

Or if you're into sprint cars - they are also just a cookie cutter fabrication...

[Alvin]

Can you see a Pontiac there!!!? Oh Yeah!!!!!!!!

[MikeNoun]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Excellent video compilation. Is this a Mike Noun creation I womder? Thxs for sharing the link!

Alvin, yes, that's one of mine I did a long time ago. Thanks for the thumbs up!

Those Outlaw cars are SOOO cool. Didn't Steve Kinser drive a few NASCAR races back in the 90's? I seem to recall him on the track with Gordon, Earnhardt, and Wallce back then.

[Racer81x]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Alvin, yes, that's one of mine I did a long time ago. Thanks for the thumbs up!

Those Outlaw cars are SOOO cool. Didn't Steve Kinser drive a few NASCAR races back in the 90's? I seem to recall him on the track with Gordon, Earnhardt, and Wallce back then.

I know he ran in the IROC racing series, and i'm thinking for some reason he ran a few races in the Busch series, or maybe was cup, think he might have ran at Daytona and telladega.

[Sirrotica]

Kinser ran cup for 5 races one season 1995, finishes were not what they expected and the deal went away.

Average start was 34th average finish was 35th, worse than the touring princess.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Kinser would have fared better IF he'd had a little more seat time in a Cup car. Frank Kimmel is the same way. He's a great ARCA driver, but hasn't fared well in Cup racing.

[The Champ]

I was at Kinser's first Cup race in Daytona...



The #26 Quaker State Thunderbird was owned by Kenny Bernstein. Kenny had limited success when Ricky Rudd drove the car in the mid 80's (Rudd won at Watkins Glen in '88 and Sears Point in '89.

Brett Bodine took over the reins in '90 and won at North Wilkesboro.

In 1995 - Kenny tried putting Kinser in the car - but when the sprint car legend wasn't an immediate success he pulled the plug and put Hut Stricklin in the seat. Kenny bailed from NASCAR after the '95 season.

Unlike Wanica - who spent 3 years in the Nationwide series - Steve came in cold and only had 5 races to learn how to drive a stock car on asphalt. Danica had an average start of 35th and average finish of 31st in her first 5 Cup races (in her third year of NASCAR)

His results as summarized by Brad above hide the fact that in his first three races he finished ahead of where he started:

Daytona he started 42nd, finished 40th. Was involved in a wreck with Phil Parsons on lap 27 and was done for the day.

Rockingham he started 39th and finished 27th. Big improvement over his first race on a very difficult track.

Richmond - started 36th and finished 28th.

Atlanta - this is the one that "ruined" his stats... Started 23rd, but was in a wreck and done for the race on lap 9 - finished 41st.

Last race was Darlington - Started 32nd and finished 40th after losing an engine.

At least Steve never wrecked on the first lap like Panica did at Kansas last year when she wrecked before turn 1 (right in front of me) and was done for the day - finished 43rd.





I think a real racer would have had the car repaired and gone back out and run some more laps. But Panica was too upset...

Kyle Busch was involved in the lap one wreck (as well as two others) before calling it quits for the day when he went off on the hook.

[Sirrotica]

I should clarify that I wasn't trying to diminish the other Kings (Steve Kinser's) talents, as was stated too little time in the seat to make the adjustment. Todays owners would not expect a new wheel man to win in his first 5 races, if he drove for Stewart/Haas he could go 2 seasons with one top 10 as the only bright spot in his career, touring princess has so far and she's still got a ride....................

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Can you see a Pontiac there!!!? Oh Yeah!!!!!!!!

BTT: Frankly I couldn't care less as to the frame and underpinnings of any said car or truck as long as it appeared like a showroom stocker sheet metal and plastique wise!

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by Alvin

BTT:

When did it stop?

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by hada76

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67iEwLgaHxM

Originally Posted by Alvin

Excellent video compilation. Is this a Mike Noun creation I womder? Thxs for sharing the link!

Originally Posted by Alvin

Can you see a Pontiac there!!!? Oh Yeah!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Alvin, yes, that's one of mine I did a long time ago. Thanks for the thumbs up!

Note the silver Pontiac Grand Am pace car @ the 2:00 mark of the video. Any more with that pace car Mike?

[MikeNoun]

Alvin, there are actually a LOT of shots of various Pontiac Pace Cars in these old races! I was thinking of just extracting those and making a video, but it will take a lot of time. The various local races usually used Pace Cars supplied by dealers (regular models with perhaps some lettering, maybe a flag pole or two), so there's a lot of variety.

Champ, thanks for that info on Kinser. It's too bad they didn't stick with him, he could have really had a decent career in NASCAR. I remember he ran at Eldora in the "Prelude To A Dream" race a couple years ago. I thought he would clean up there, but I think he had a bad night.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Champ, thanks for that info on Kinser. It's too bad they didn't stick with him, he could have really had a decent career in NASCAR. I remember he ran at Eldora in the "Prelude To A Dream" race a couple years ago. I thought he would clean up there, but I think he had a bad night.

I was hoping for Steve to have success in NASCAR - even though he drove a Ford.

That was our second Daytona 500. When he got in that wreck on lap 27 with Phil Parsons, I remember being disappointed because I was hoping he'd have a decent finish in his first Cup race.

The first time I got to meet Kinser was down in Charlotte when we made the Coke 600. They had an Outlaw Sprint Car show at the dirt track owned by Bruton Smith there and Steve was out signing autographs prerace.

Our local dirt track has an Outlaw show in September each year, so that's where I've been able to get inside Steve's hauler and actually talk to him.

Here's a shot of Steve that I took from just inside turn 2 at Deer Creek Speedway...

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Alvin, there are actually a LOT of shots of various Pontiac Pace Cars in these old races! I was thinking of just extracting those and making a video, but it will take a lot of time. The various local races usually used Pace Cars supplied by dealers (regular models with perhaps some lettering, maybe a flag pole or two), so there's a lot of variety...

Love to see any and all vintage & period Pace Cars and (then) contemporary vehicles in the background.
Any Pontiac is a bonus equal to "Icing On The Proverbial Cake!"

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Love to see any and all vintage & period Pace Cars and (then) contemporary vehicles in the background.
Any Pontiac is a bonus equal to "Icing On The Proverbial Cake!"

Here you go Mike. Found this on old hard-drive. Is this image below one of your previously posted pix?

[Keith Seymore]

Sorry to be joining the conversation late but enjoying the Steve Kinser commentary.

I used to work with Steve's father-in-law, Owen Snyder Sr, at the Janesville Wisconsin assembly plant.

Owen was a character in his own right: he looked like an old gunslinger, with white hair and a huge white moustache, giant meaty hands and walked like he had been busted up a few times (...which he had).

He was a sprint car racer of some report, too, back in the day. In fact - he was so successful that GM asked him (as a ranking executive) to stop racing in order to protect their investment in him.

So he did what any good racer would do: he continued to race under an assumed name. He even showed me the newspaper clippings: "Who is this mysterious Roy Brown?" and "Brown breaks Snyder's record".

(lol)

His son - Owen Snyder Jr - is a bit famous, too, as the Crew Chief for Al Unser Jr during one of the years he won the Indy 500.

Good people, all of them. Owen is the kind of guy that would see me in the airport and swagger across the concours, foregoing a handshake in order to give me a big bearhug (picking me up so that my dangling feet would be swinging back and forth).

He was pretty proud of that "Stevie", too.



K

[hada76]

Originally Posted by Alvin

pretty big rubber on that rig, (G60?) they look so different compared to todays tires

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Sorry to be joining the conversation late but enjoying the Steve Kinser commentary.

I used to work with Steve's father-in-law, Owen Snyder Sr, at the Janesville Wisconsin assembly plant.

Owen was a character in his own right: he looked like an old gunslinger, with white hair and a huge white moustache, giant meaty hands and walked like he had been busted up a few times (...which he had).

He was a sprint car racer of some report, too, back in the day. In fact - he was so successful that GM asked him (as a ranking executive) to stop racing in order to protect their investment in him.

So he did what any good racer would do: he continued to race under an assumed name. He even showed me the newspaper clippings: "Who is this mysterious Roy Brown?" and "Brown breaks Snyder's record".

(lol)

His son - Owen Snyder Jr - is a bit famous, too, as the Crew Chief for Al Unser Jr during one of the years he won the Indy 500.

Good people, all of them. Owen is the kind of guy that would see me in the airport and swagger across the concours, foregoing a handshake in order to give me a big bearhug (picking me up so that my dangling feet would be swinging back and forth).

He was pretty proud of that "Stevie", too.



K

Since I pay more attention to Winged 410 Outlaw sprint cars than probably anyone on this board I thought that I'd mention that this is Kinser's final year running sprint cars. The WOO is calling this the Kings farewell tour and at 60 YO this June he'll be retiring at the last race in November.

Kinser has 20 WOO championships to his credit and is trying for his 21st championship this year. This record is probably a record that will stand for quite sometime if it is ever surpassed at all.

If you want to see Kinser drive for his final time this season may be your last chance, there was no mention of him running any partial schedules after this year so it may be your last chance to see him wheel a 410 winged outlaw car.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by hada76

pretty big rubber on that rig, (G60?) they look so different compared to todays tires

Agree...steam roller rubber look "to keep the pace" on that 1973 Grand Am!