Wing country?
 

Tyler C. Indiana is not wing country. There are sprint cars and winged sprints. Usac, are you paying attention to what is going on? Start paying. Tony is taking your talent lol.

Re: Wing country?
 

Whole bunch of USAC guys racing with Allstars recently....
Sunshine is starting to figure it out too

Duel, you’re right. I’m pretty sure if I go buy a Sprint Car a wing is an option as opposed to standard equipment. I love both as I’ve stated many times in here but wingless is just better. I just wish we had the same depth in non wing that the wing guys have. Could you imagine how awesome it would be?

Re: Wing country?
 

For many years now, winged sprint car racing has been a superior financial proposition to traditional sprints. But USAC held one perceived advantage: a better opportunity to progress your driving career to the upper echelons of motorsports. You needed to be a highly diversified driver to be a star in USAC- and the "big" teams at the top recognized that. Those stars had to be proficient in sprint cars and midgets on 1/4 mile dirt bullrings, 410 monster cubic inches on hair-raising 1/2 mile high banks, race strategy and car conservation in a champ car on elegant dirt mile tracks, and high speed barnstorming on America's iconic speedways in both midgets and champ cars. The racing world deemed those who could master such versatility as ready for the big show.

Much has changed in the last decade: we now have a Sprint Car National Championship with no pavement serving almost as a novelty wingless series in nostalgic pockets of the country; a Midget National Championship, pulling it's philosophy from a lower series, no longer racing on tracks even a 1/2 mile in length; and a Silver Crown National Championship that has what may as well be nearly zero car owners hiring the sanction's star drivers (at least on a full-time basis) making it little more than "club" racing.

That last paragraph might be boorish, yet I still love it for what it is, like a son. I understand why those decisions were made a decade ago- we were living through "The Great Recession", although we didn't know it at the time, and money was short everywhere, but especially for racecars and their progenitors gallivanting the country. We came out of those meager times, but failed to return to our former selves, and our past glory.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope: USAC is due to return to storied places such as Winchester, Indiana, and there's a new man in charge at one of USAC's most prolific pavement mainstays, IRP, doing yeoman's work to rekindle the romance. And with the Midget National Championship's resurgence in high paying races and a plethora of professional-level teams, we can only hope to see them blistering around a mile-long pavement track like Phoenix someday in the future.

MUGA
a S r g
k A e a
e C a i
___t n

:32:

Good commentary Chris. I too hope USAC can get more pavement back, at least in the midgets. There’s already too much in the Crown cars, but that’s just my opinion. Wing Country? That’s an interesting question. I was disappointed by the crowd last night at Kokomo. It wasn’t bad but not what I expected from what’s the biggest paying dirt race in the state. I expected wall to wall like the Outlaw race’s there. Curious why? Are we really a non wing state? Are the Outlaws better? Sunday night? Midget week coming up it will be interesting to see how that crowd compares.

I think a lot of factors to the crowd not being as big. First and foremost, the woo is generally a much bigger draw than the All stars. Second, a Friday night show that starts the weekend will usually draw better than a Sunday night show that ends it. Plus the WoO show was the first big race of the season in Indiana where as last nights show was right before the biggest weekend of the year in Indiana. Also Circle City having 2 shows with the same cars the same weekend probably hurt a bit too.

Re: Wing country?
 

I would argue that there is too little pavement Silver Crown racing. It's history has seen a near even split of pavement/dirt over modern times (since the IndyCar boys all but left the division). This season is scheduled to see seven dirt events and five bouts on he pavement. So pretty close.

2019: 4 dirt, 6 pavement
2018: 5 d, 5 p
2017: 5, 5
2016: 5, 4
2015: 7, 4
2014: 7, 3
2013: 5, 3
2012: 4, 4
2011: 5, 3
2010: 5, 4
2009: 5, 4
2008: 5, 4
2007: 4, 9* ("Gold Crown"/SuperSpeedways)
2006: 5, 9* ("Gold Crown"/SuperSpeedways)
2005: 5, 5
2004: 7, 6
2003: 6, 6
2002: 6, 4
2001: 5, 8
2000: 6, 8 (This season featured my favorite, and probably most ideal, schedule.)
1999: 6, 9
1998: 6, 7
1997: 7, 5
1996: 7, 4
1995: 7, 3
1994: 6, 3
1993: 6, 3
1992: 5, 2
1991: 5, 2
1990: 6, 3
1989: 6, 3
1988: 6, 3
1987: 6, 2
1986: 7, 1
1985: 8, 1
1984: 5, 1
1983: 9, 0
1982: 10, 0

But the current schedule is absent any dates on major speedways. It's kind of the elephant in the room, but the superspeedway niche of American oval track racing has been on the downturn. IndyCar is proud to pull 50,000 fans at Gateway when they used to regularly entertain north of 100,000 yearly at places like Michigan. NASCAR has razed scores of grandstands across the country in an attempt to not look foolish on television. And USAC is nonexistent on the scene.

I think I can speak for us all when I say that I wish all these key players I've mentioned could come together and work together to straighten things out so that there's a future for this type of racing. We need not events, but happenings. We need Earl Baltes' and Humpy Wheelers. We need heros. But most of all, we need some passion. We need to lift our sport up onto a pedestal and stop smacking it down. We need to celebrate the heroes and tell their stories. And maybe most of all, when an Earl Baltes or a Humpy Wheeler comes along and is offering some high quality surf-and-turf, we all need to run and hand them our money! Because if we don't, there might not be a "next time".

Re: Wing country?
 

I went back and edited in that breakdown of Silver Crown races (I'm coming for you Richie and Spridge :9:) because I wanted to see if my hypothesis was right, but maybe @flagboy55 is correct: you could argue there are too many pavement races, even historically. But I believe that data metes out where the series' best years occurred- those leading up to the Gold Crown "experiment". And that pavement began to feature heavily on the schedule once the IndyCar boys began to vanish.

The seasons leading up to that ill-fated engagement with the France family featured some of the most balanced schedules the division has seen. The 2005 season saw an identical split between surfaces, but most importantly, the schedule featured 4 of it's 5 pavement race dates at major American speedways: Phoenix, Richmond, Pike's Peak, and Milwaukee. That season could be described as a precipice, or the culmination of numerous years of successful and prestigious events. And then the booming superspeedway industry came calling and the siren songs were sweet and the promised upon rewards were irresistible. Who could really blame anyone for deciding the path that lead to the next couple of seasons that we'd all kind of like to forget?

I believe the Silver Crown division has done the best job of getting itself back on a strong path since coming out of The Great Recession. It's schedule is closer to resembling those years which I perceive as it's peak. Car counts are resurging, and the star drivers are turning up again (albeit not in large part full-time, yet). It's in the red-zone, but needs that last oomph- and I believe that final push involves some iconic American speedways, and with it, some *really* big name drivers who know that car owners with funding are often impressed by hot 'shoes on big tracks manhandling an absolute beast of a racecar, all the while exhibiting enough stellar racecraft to conserve that beast just as long as it can mechanically take it. The perfect training grounds for the American oval track hero. Something that's, in large part, missing in the American motorsports scene on the whole. (Bless your hearts, Larson and Bell, and R.I.P. BC)

Re: Wing country?
 

I had a very quick conversation with a non-wing team owner the other day and was told that the money available for wing racing is far and above what is available from non-wing. Me? I like both, but my preference is obvious. What I do like about non wing racing is that a privateer team can excel, and even win championships competing with better funded teams. Not sure that it can happen with wing racing. I guess what is needed is something to generate the enthusiasm and cash in non wing racing. What would do it? I have no clue. If I did, I would do it.

Re: Wing country?
 

What did he say?

Kind of an oxymoron isn't it? Non wing is better but wish it was deeper LIKE the winged racing... Hmmm

Non wing AKA real sprint cars have no identity to the common person. One thing Ole Ted did was create a brand.
You show someone who doesn't follow racing a picture of a Wing Sprint they usually say "oh that's one of those Outlaws!" Most people don't know the real cars exist! What's the answer, either attract big sponsors to help propel the sport financially to attract more full time and multiple car teams or grow the fan base.

Re: Wing country?
 

This exactly. If i'm wearing a winged sprint car shirt in public, the response is usually. "Is that a sprint car?" or "Is that an Outlaw?" If I wear a shirt of a non wing sprint car, the response usually is. "What is that on your shirt?" When I say a sprint car, the response usually is "no it's not, that's some type of dune buggy. Sprint cars have wings."

Non wings/actual sprint cars don't get marketed enough to the general public. Same with midgets. Anymore though most the time if any type of sprint cars or midgets get any headlines in the news or anything. It's usually, we lost someone.

Personally I love non wing and midgets way over any winged stuff. I started racing mini sprints with wings, second year we raced at end of the year we took the wings off for the first time. Ever since then the last 6 years, I usually only race the wings if it's close by. I'll travel 300-400+ mile round trip to go race non wing, but never winged.

Puppy my point is more towards the money spent on the depth of equipment. Chris, I go back as a kid to when they were called Championship Dirt Cars. I’ll always say the biggest mistake in USAC history was what I call the stupid car which was going to run the mile and a half’s and snuggle up to NASCAR. In some ways I’m amazed that the series survived at all after that. Thankfully my Dad was a big part of a USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown team back to the Late 70’s probably up to the 2000’s. I’m forever in debt to my father for giving me a front row seat to this racing back then. As I sit here now I look about 30 yards away to the garage attached to the house we grew up in. I remember a USAC Sprint Car in that garage getting turned around from running say Illiana Saturday night to going to Terre Haute or Eldora Sunday. Don’t get me wrong as my weakening memory serves, there were always someone coming out with a “special“ car, maybe a roadster or someone tilting the engine to the left or something, but a lot of teams used the same car for both dirt and pavement. When they let things happen to where it took 2 separate cars to do both, and other economic factors, IMO it got to where some couldn’t do both anymore. I wish somehow it would’ve stayed that way I believe the outcome would’ve been better for everyone, but as they say that ship has sailed. Now we had to choose one discipline or the other and Dirt wins. I’ve always said and it’s really indisputable that USAC has produced the giants of the sport, that was IMO you had to learn to race the car on all surfaces and with different platforms. That’s a long winded reply to why I hope we get a little more pavement I believe it will help develop the talent and hopefully be good for USAC

Re: Wing country?
 

As a non Hoosier who prefers wingless, but likes both, seems pretty obvious to me that the difference is $$$$ pure & simple.
As for pavement, don't like it at all. In fact I stopped going to races for 40 years after moving from Virginia in the mid 60s (dirt track jalopies & mods) to Connecticut which has ZERO dirt tracks. I went twice to Danbury, which had recently been paved, lost all interest...
I got back into it 11 years ago when I was in upstate NY, friend gave me a Circle Track Magazine that mentioned Central Pa. having the best "sprint car" scene. Heading to Pa. the next day, I got on the Net & looked for races, & guess what? I did exactly as some of you guys mentioned, being somewhat clueless, & looked for winged cars on 1/2 miles.... duh. Didn't take long for me to realize that wingless on bullrings were the best....I get to Indiana when I can. You guys have it made!
USAC just has to pay more.....:23: