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Post by percy on Sept 8, 2017 21:55:52 GMT 12
Some months ago a one of our forum contributors asked the question. How many A-Main wins has Michael Pickens had in his career?
My first point of call was asking Michael himself on the off chance that he or someone in his team might have compiled a list. Unfortunately that was not the case but Michael expressed an interest in learning of the total himself. I caught up with him at Kokomo Speedway and he thought his total would be around 70-80 wins.
I've put in more hours of research than I'd ever admit and have had some help along the way. As luck would have it a gentleman from California dropped off a list to Michael which was passed on to me. This was of great assistance for purposes of comparison and opened up some new avenues of research. AJ Batt was another to assist and was able to confirm Ruapuna wins.
Turns out Michael was a little off on his win total. I've uncovered a total of 133 A-Main wins through Michaels career to date. This total includes one-race final SNZ titles but excludes any results in 3-heat finals. Clearly I'm not going to post the entire list but I will share some of the statistical outcomes from this exercise.
By Class
Midget - 118
Sprintcar - 13
TQ - 2
By Country
New Zealand - 92
Australia - 22
USA - 19
By Track (Top 10)
Western Springs - 60
Parramatta - 13
Ruapuna - 7
Sun Prarie - 5
Huntly - 5
Baypark - 4
Waikaraka Park - 4
Kihikihi - 4
Palmerston North - 4
Murray Bridge - 3
If anyone would like any particular statistic from Michael's win list I'll do my best to provide it. If anyone can recall a rare win that I may not have on my list feel free to share it. Putting a list together like this is near impossible to get 100% right.
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Post by midway on Sept 8, 2017 22:02:59 GMT 12
There are nice folk in California
Thankyou for your time in comprising such a list of results ..
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Post by Hoosier on Sept 10, 2017 8:35:59 GMT 12
that is some achievement.
Percy by comparison in the "countries" list how does Barry B stack up..i assume hes next best,19 USA features is bloody impressive,thats playing with the big boys right there .
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2017 11:50:37 GMT 12
What is more incredible amount of wins at western springs in Midgets A Main. where's these days with limited meetings of 12 shows per season. have attributed over 50 wins is outstanding achievement. over the next couple seasons has opportunity become winningest Midget car competitor at the springs. one feat i thought would be such hard one get close to. i guess about 25 years + ago we had up to 25 meetings per season. makes what MP has done that much more incredible.
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Post by magilla on Sept 10, 2017 15:04:49 GMT 12
What is more incredible amount of wins at western springs in Midgets A Main. where's these days with limited meetings of 12 shows per season. have attributed over 50 wins is outstanding achievement. over the next couple seasons has opportunity become winningest Midget car competitor at the springs. one feat i thought would be such hard one get close to. i guess about 25 years + ago we had up to 25 meetings per season. makes what MP has done that much more incredible. big difference starting off the front. take nothing away he is best of his generation by far |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2017 21:20:52 GMT 12
that is some achievement. Percy by comparison in the "countries" list how does Barry B stack up..i assume hes next best,19 USA features is bloody impressive,thats playing with the big boys right there . I think Barry B biggest thing being first non American win Usac feature up in the states, along with rookie of the year in mid 1970s. from memory did three trips obviously beating top yanks 1975-76 season always be stand out. here in NZ i think was 64 A main wins only driver won features 1950s, 60s and 70s. in tqs around 1956-57 season. ALso Three times nz champion in midgets and one time champion sprintcars 1980-81 season wellington. not sure on wins in australia didnt do too badly. far kiwis goes up in the states MP, barry B and Graham standring only drivers won features in Usac competition. may of been others |
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Post by twincarb on Sept 12, 2017 17:56:43 GMT 12
Has MP won features in kiwi kids midgets ??
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Post by hienekenno1 on Sept 12, 2017 20:18:26 GMT 12
Yes I remember seeing in one of the dirt track magazines in the 90s winning a kiwi kid king of the springs feature and I remember watching Michael at Rosebank in a quarter midget thinking this little guy can pedal lol.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2017 20:20:39 GMT 12
He sure has. i think he was about 13 or 14 years old he raced #7 Harris race car. on night of 50 lapper won king of the springs and Auckland title. was extremly talented youngster winning many features.
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Post by twincarb on Sept 12, 2017 21:48:57 GMT 12
SO do they get included in his feature wins for this tally ??
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Post by hmac on Sept 13, 2017 0:02:13 GMT 12
I reckon they should...give Percy's research powers some more workout lol.
Remember way back in his quarter midget days, sitting on the terraces, and "bro" saying, jeez, this Pickens kid is gonna be good.
Wasn't wrong.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2017 7:31:56 GMT 12
I always think one of pickens best race heritage shield boxing night 2010 I think. Racing #54 Don and mal kay. First heat looked like easy win when mechanical issue. Team rushed back to workshop get bits needed repair the car. Pickens borrowed Wayne green car get enough points start the feature. Team got car back together car just made the start what unfolded was pickens class starting from rear of the field 25 laps threaded his way into front on the final corner passing standring kendall and alach in closing stages. Would have to rank as one real classic wins.
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Post by percy on Sept 13, 2017 11:45:12 GMT 12
List is hard enough as it is without including youth wins! Can you imagine trying to track down wins in the late 90's at Rosebank Rd or Waharoa for Quarter Midgets!! Tim I think the race you're referring to was Boxing Night 2006. The international series ran in February that year under the brilliant promoting (yes I'm being sarcastic) of Dave Stewart. Link is here www.speedhive.com/Sessions/460364#all-results2010 was an international series night won by BC www.speedhive.com/Sessions/1766757. His first feature contested at the Springs. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2017 18:43:08 GMT 12
Sunday was Michael 61st western springs midget car win. now only 3 behind great Barry B most wins of 64.
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Post by percy on Nov 8, 2017 20:23:54 GMT 12
Not quite Tim
61 total wins at Western Springs made up of 56 Midget and 5 Sprintcar wins.
If Michael wins every Midget feature at the Springs this season he would be poised to break Barry B's record on Barry Mutterworth Memorial night!
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Post by hienekenno1 on Nov 8, 2017 20:32:38 GMT 12
Just remember alot of the great Barry Butterworth feature wins were from the back,how it should be!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2017 13:14:25 GMT 12
Also you had handicap system the old days if you qualfied for Features then like barry B memorial those drivers would start from the back. since we've gone way adopted American style of points throughout the heats, fastest off the front etc.. taken out the need for handicap system. i tend to think given Michael pickens still won more races off the back than most drivers since then. if we did still have that his percentage of wins be very high.
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Post by BarryB on Nov 12, 2017 16:26:24 GMT 12
Just remember alot of the great Barry Butterworth feature wins were from the back,how it should be! Would it be fair to suggest though, that back in the day the differences in machinery between what the top guys starting from the back had, when compared to those starting from the front, was a lot greater than it is today? It's obviously easier to come from the back to the front if the speed differential is greater. And that's not to belittle the record of Barry B at all, just trying to put things into perspective. Would the overall field in a 20 car feature grid be stronger today than it was back then? I certainly wish there was more meetings that used this format, so long as the promoters can produce a track with more than one lane. Passing is what makes this racing so good - single-file bumper-tapping Midget racing on a black surface does nothing for the average paying fan. Barry B |
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Post by magilla on Nov 13, 2017 14:52:54 GMT 12
I think it was cheaper to build competitive car in the good old days, though if your bank account is big enough it is probably easier today with everything available off the shelf.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 18:40:07 GMT 12
30 years ago Majority of the cars were Vw's obviously alot more cost effective hence why fields were closer and racing i think better. you could start off the back win those races. what brought crowds into western springs speedway. nowadays it's alot more expensive run car with costs incurred. you have one big crash your looking at weeks or even months watching from the stands. granted you can purchase chassis from New Zealand as opposed going over states in the winter. buy new equipment, over there probably been good for sport. much rather see growth in the sport than see some around couple years then have move into another cheaper class. purchasing good equipment is incredibly expensive sport. you only have see car numbers A Grade cars down on numbers. where's sprintcars has gone other way.
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