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My thoughts on these two events and their trajectory is basically tied to a large purse and a sanction that requires absolute membership/adherence. The Hulman initially had the big pay off, TV exposure, and a guarantee of seeing many Indy 500 participants tied to strict USAC regulations. Once this set of conditions gradually fell by the wayside, so did the prestige of the Hulman. For a decade or so the Nationals vacillated back and forth wing, non wing, wing, and open sanction trying to find a path to prestige level event. In the 90's WoO guaranteed the "Big Three", some delayed TV broadcast, and the Nationals as their "Indy 500". The rest is history as the TV expanded the National's reach and exposure, WoO grew to the premier sanction in sprint car racing, and the money started to pour in. BE AWARE that we are now at the cusp of another shake up in racing in general and sprint car racing specifically. Pay per view will allow more events to showcase their brand, quality of racing, and competition to a vast audience to discover. You now see local series nearing the pay outs and exposure of the traveling series. Very good teams are electing to come off the road to run close to home, family, crew, work, and loyal fan base for money that screams ROI. USAC, WoO, ASCoC, ASCS and possibly PowrI may need to significantly raise the purse in order to keep enough travelers in the fold. The sky is not falling but the winds of change might be upon us again.
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