Best decade of Racing

[Jimmy8]

Well, I have heard just about everyone voice there opinion on what needs to be done to change the sport, and what is wrong with it now, but when do you think was the greatest decade for off road racing? 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, or now? AND GIVE REASON? This is so we can look at what has changed since the hay day of off road, and see what went wrong and where.


Mine would have to be the 1980's. I think the sport was at its height then. Factory involvement was very high, and so was publicity. Numbers of entries were astronomical, mainly due to few promoters, which was a good thing, and racing was still inexpensive to do. At least in the early 1980's it was inexpensive, and the paybacks and contingency were more money than they are now. There were many classes, but some how all of these classes seemed to get filled up. Lots of spectators, and spectators could actually spectate and go anywhere, as with chase crews and pit support. This was the time when the independent still had a chance with the factory backed guys, and to top it all off the long course at Parker was run. Riverside also made this decade awesome as well. The races were not the same damn thing year after year either, and new courses were looked into and run, instead of running around the same old rutted up piece of dirt that everyone has memorized like the back of their hand by now.

PMC Racing

 

[JEFF_DICKERSON]

I THINK THE LATE 70'S & EARLY 80'S THAT IS WHEN THE SPORT STARTED TO EVOLVE INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY.

 

[martininsocal]

jimmy8-i would say 1977 to 1986. fields of 300-400 cars were regular. wide world of sports aired the baja 1000 and the frontier 500, joe garage could build a car in his garage in maine and drag it out o race at the mint 400 and be competitive, race trucks used factory parts with more horsepower than they could put to the ground, you could prerun for a week straight before the race, the blm gestapo wasn't out to arrest everyone for walking on the dirt, 80 cars in class!, the mint 400, the fireworks 250, parker 400... the tire wars, parties at tom moessner house with the circus circus crowd, the shady lady racing team, 50,000 people at the freeway over crossing and the table top at I-15. buying fireworks at stateline, cheap hotel rooms ON THE WEEKEND at vegas, 5 bucks for 2 lobster tails, rice, beans, and margaritas in ensanada, and last but not least, ivan, rod, walker, vessels, gable, nesmith, shoppe all race in class 8, at the same time!

If your gonna go, go BIG

 

[Jimmy8]

AND POPS!

PMC Racing

 

[Tim]

I'm going to Parker next month, not ten years ago. I LOVE being at the race, almost as much as I love talking about it. I gotta say right now, and in the future. I'm a joungin ,but I went to races in the second half of the 90's and have seen video of the 80's racin, but the best race is the next race for me. Tim

 

[RacnCPA]

Shall I send you the newspaper clipping I have showing over 500 entries in the Mint 400, four cars wide in the middle of downtown Las Vegas. Maybe pictures from EVERY Riverside event that SCORE put on, not to mention the WRA event at Riverside Raceway. Or perhaps reminding people at one of the later Parker 400 races that still contained the California loop watching the 1600 cars come by and not a single number missing between number 1600 and number 1699!! The 70's and the 80's rocked. The demise of the construction industry was a major culprit. If you look back, most independent sponsors were construction companies in those days. JMHO.

Enjoy the racing now, relish the past and get off your butts and fight to keep the deserts open for all of us in the future.

Sc

 

[Tim]

I'm with ya, but my point was just that I am excited about tommorrow and the next race is the best one to me because it's what keeps me working whether it be school or my job, but I agree that racing seemed to be a lot bigger in the 70's and 80's, from what I hear and see. My $.02, Tim