Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

With Tanner Thorson being the latest non-wing driver to fully commit to wing racing Is non wing racing becoming a thing of the past? I could see Brady Bacon being the next person to switch fully. How can non-wing racing (USAC) respond. They can only up their purses so much due to the lack of a following (in comparison to wing/late model racing).

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

I hope not, but all these defections are a bad sign... :(

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

When was Thorson a Non Winged sprint driver? Maybe a couple times. With the AME team.

I have a source, out of Iowa, I believe, that has some really good stats, that puts the 360s at 1434 for 2022, and 1314 for 2023, and non wing teams at 1061 for 2022,and 1106 for 2023, which is up quite a bit, which looks good to me, he seems to have a good handle on what is going on, I'll have to go back and see, but I think this covers the US racers

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Originally Posted by TQ29m:
I have a source, out of Iowa, I believe, that has some really good stats, that puts the 360s at 1434 for 2022, and 1314 for 2023, and non wing teams at 1061 for 2022,and 1106 for 2023, which is up quite a bit, which looks good to me, he seems to have a good handle on what is going on, I'll have to go back and see, but I think this covers the US racers

What do those numbers refer to? 1434 360 races with wings?
Please be more specific...

This comes from Jim Harris out of Omaha, Nebraska, and it refers to drivers across the US, my 86 year old brain won't allow me to post it, I would if I could, maybe the "Postman " will read this and be able to post it

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Originally Posted by WingedFan2019:
With Tanner Thorson being the latest non-wing driver to fully commit to wing racing Is non wing racing becoming a thing of the past? I could see Brady Bacon being the next person to switch fully. How can non-wing racing (USAC) respond. They can only up their purses so much due to the lack of a following (in comparison to wing/late model racing).

I think with a 60 race hi limit sched, one could still race other series / cars? How many non-wing races has he ran since like 2021?

No it is not. Strong in the Midwest. USAC leading the way.

I posted on the other thread, but will repeat here. I’ll bet Tanner has more wing Sprint Car racing under his belt than wingless. I would call him a midget racer before I would call him a non wing sprint car racer. And I agre with Duel. We’re good

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

delete.

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

https://tjslideways.com/2023/12/11/t...c-sprint-cars/

"United States Auto Club National Sprint Car Division that seems likely to bolster a full-time roster of teams that could climb into the mid-teens... with the mix of youth and veterans I feel the USAC Sprint Cars will be the National Tour you will want to keep the closest watch on this season, and honestly needs to be in the discussion with the two national winged series for what they are bringing to the table."

It seems like USAC is still doing pretty well despite losing some drivers. They seem to reload with good talent. The East Coast series is really strong too with good cars and talent. California has fallen off some, and I hope they can regain some momentum. Overall I think it’s in a good place.

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

While it is my opinion that Non-Wing racing isn’t dying, I am concerned about its overall health and for that matter all of open wheel racing, esp. at the weekly level. Outside of the Chili Bowl and the Badger organization, it appears midget racing in general is struggling to attract participation. Indiana, which has always been the stronghold of weekly non-wing sprint cars in the country has seen car counts drop from around 100 cars/Saturday night pre-COVID to around 50-55 in 2023, spread across 3 tracks. PA., which has long been the regarded as the stronghold of weekly winged racing has seen car counts drop over the last few years as well, despite paying what is generally regarded as the largest weekly purses in the country.

I know that historically, car counts have run in cycles, and I hope that we are just seeing one of those cycles.

I know this is a conversation about nonwing dirt racing, but what has really surprised me is how for years everyone cried about the usac pavement side of things. Begged for its return. The 500 sprintcar series is one of the healthiest pavement sprintcar series east of the Mississippi, and it's crickets. Nonwing cars will be back on the hills of Salem this year. They have a firm grip on Anderson. The little 500 has never been richer. And they are traveling to tracks that havent seen nonwing racing in years. They have also been very keen on not booking against national shows.
Just because a few drivers or teams are going wing racing, doesn't mean it's all doom and gloom. For myself as someone who dreamed of racing nightly in Indiana am surprised that so many tracks have been so successful fpr as long as they have all running the same classes on the same nights.
Nick Landon

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

I’d be worried except…there has been threats to non wing every year forever it seems. The OP here seems like a lot of national media, trying to create news through rumor and innuendo. Traditional sprints are fine, they are never going away. I might be more worried about winged racing, which at the moment is fractured into two groups and two engine sizes. How did that work out for Indy cars?

Delete this idiot wing fan post!

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Drivers will always follow the money. No matter what anyone wants to say, non wing racing is a reginal thing. Look across the country, there are pockets of non-wingers. Those areas will be just fine like they have been for a long time. Wing has an influx in money right now. So it is going to dominate the headlines. Not to mention wing racing is far more popular nation wide. I think USAC is doing a better job of being more of a national tour, but lets be honest most of the tour is midwest. 34 of the 48 announced events are in a 5 hour circle from Indianapolis. USAC has always been a stepping stone to something else. There is no shame in that game. Its a great place to build a name and a fan base.

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Originally Posted by 767:
Drivers will always follow the money. No matter what anyone wants to say, non wing racing is a reginal thing. Look across the country, there are pockets of non-wingers. Those areas will be just fine like they have been for a long time. Wing has an influx in money right now. So it is going to dominate the headlines. Not to mention wing racing is far more popular nation wide. I think USAC is doing a better job of being more of a national tour, but lets be honest most of the tour is midwest. 34 of the 48 announced events are in a 5 hour circle from Indianapolis. USAC has always been a stepping stone to something else. There is no shame in that game. Its a great place to build a name and a fan base.

So what caused the demise of SCRA?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Lately I stumbled upon a Twitter account called Master Gasser’s. Has a lot of really cool content, I recommend a follow for every Sprint Car fan. Anyway, over the weekend they released what they dubbed, a “schedule of every 410 race in the country”, although they said they might have missed a couple. Upon further examination, there were not a wingless race to be seen, no USAC, nothing. But there in lies an unfortunate truth that I try to convey in spite of my reluctance to do so. We are a small minority in the Sprint Car world. This site releases a all inclusive 410 schedule and not even the Smackdown is on it. While my good friend 76 opines for more promotion, and others call for more money at the payout window, where does it come from, when we are the niche of the niche in Motorsport?

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Originally Posted by Dale:
So what caused the demise of SCRA?

Political issues?

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Did somebody say SCRA?
Manzy....'97.....nuff said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EklmIlKcdic

I can say 100% hoosier tire isn't dying!🤣

Originally Posted by NOSTINKINWINGS:
Did somebody say SCRA?
Manzy....'97.....nuff said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EklmIlKcdic

Manzy….. one of all-time favorite tracks!

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Little late for this question in my opinion. It has been for a few years now.

If I had a dollar for every time someone predicted the demise of traditional sprint car racing in general and USAC in particular I could fund a team.

Re: Is Non Wing Racing Dying?
 

Originally Posted by PJ Wright:
If I had a dollar for every time someone predicted the demise of traditional sprint car racing in general and USAC in particular I could fund a team.

Inflation... that saying used to be "a nickel" ;)