The first 2 sprintcar races I ever saw were dirt nonwing back in the late 70s..then I saw a couple USAC pavement nonwing races at I70 speedway in Odessa, MO...loved em all, decided stockcars sucked at age 7, and couldn't wait to get to any and all sprintcar races I could...then they put dirt on I70 in the early 80s and as we were headed on the 4 hour drive to the track to a sprintcar race I told dad "I sure hope they have wings" to which he said they probably wouldn't..I had only seen winged cars in Open Wheel magazine, never in person, and wanted to see what the difference was...when we got there I saw an infield full of wings and I was psyched..I still saw midgets run without wings so at that point I decided I always wanted to see wings on sprinters..I noticed they were faster and was amazed how they really never even breathed the throttle in the corners...and due to the lack of technology compared to today, and the complete anarchy on restarts, the racing was always really good with plenty of passing...about 14 years ago I started noticing that there was lots of follow the leader freight trains and one groove tracks at all the wing races I went to, but midgets were always running 3 wide..then I saw a few nonwing shows on TV, including Terry Pletch coming from the back to win with a flat LF, and I started to crave nonwingers again..after a USAC show in Lebanon, MO around 2000, and the Ultimate Challenge in 2004, I was hooked on traditional sprinters and not so much on wings...

Fast forward to 2012 and Must See Racings TV package and I have to say that IMO, when we are talking pavement, wing sprinters put on a WAAAAAAAYYYY better show than nonwing cars do...on pavement... for much the same reason I feel the opposite about how I want to see them on dirt...The extra traction from the wing allows pavement cars to run different lines and run em fast enough to pass people, whereas the lack of traction on dirt allows nonwingers to run different lines fast enough to pass people...

I have run 2 seasons in a winged dirt sprinter, 3 in a dirt midget, and am now in my first season of nonwing sprints....I have no interest in ever trying to find a ride in a winged car because it just isn't as fun and a budget guy hasn't got much chance....BUT....if the one paved track in Missouri ever wanted to try to have a winged sprint class I would probably change my mind about ride hunting...

If I could have it my way, every dirt race in the world would be without the barn doors, and every pavement sprint show would be aero-assisted. To me that makes the best possible racing around.