Something to ponder/discuss
 

Hypothetical situation...

Short track race...
It might be on dirt, but it might be on pavement...
The car is going to be either a 410 winged sprint car, a 410 non-wing sprint car, a midget, or a Silver Crown car...
You have to pick a currently active racer before you know the type of car or the surface.

Who do you choose?

Larson

Maybe BC actually

Easy choice, Bryan Clauson!

Hands down Brady Short

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Without a doubt, Bryan Clauson

Jerry coons jr

Rico

Kody Swanson

I'd go with Chris Bell

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Brady Bacon, Would have picked Coons hands down if the Wing wasn't a option.

Clausen or Brad Sweet

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Dave Blaney or Hewitt

Current crop of drivers, Bacon

I was thinking Christopher Bell as well, with bc and kyle 1b & c

C Bell

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Way to easy....Hagan .... won on pavement /dirt in a midget and sprint. Very few of today's drivers can say they have won on both in both.

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T-Mez

Christopher Bell or Bryan Clausen

Some obvious choices have already been taken so I will throw out a dark horse, Shane Cottle. Not sure about the wing part but in non-wing he has won on pavement (Little 500), Silver Crown, midget, and obviously sprints. He would also bring it back in one piece.

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Larson. BC hasn't done much with wings
Or Bacon, or Rico? Tough choice....

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I'll take Sammy Swindell. He's been around long enough to know every angle and setup. Plus, he'll make it exciting and piss eveyone else off in the process.

My second choice will be Brett T Funk - just to see what would happen.....

....with heavy sponsorship from IOW, of course. We'll paint the car day-glo yellow w/ day-glo orange numbers. DAD will sell t-shirts outside the track. We'll make millions.

I'm not arguing he would be my number 1 choice but what about Jeff Gordon. Especially in his prime he could race anything. He has been out of open wheel cars probably too long now though.

I might have taken Tony Sewart before he broke his leg. It's been all down hill since for him.

I will go with Rico. He seems to win in whatever you put him in. He also puts on one heck of a show. Even in winged racing when not many others can make lines work.

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Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike:
I'll take Sammy Swindell. He's been around long enough to know every angle and setup. Plus, he'll make it exciting and piss eveyone else off in the process.

My second choice will be Brett T Funk - just to see what would happen.....

....with heavy sponsorship from IOW, of course. We'll paint the car day-glo yellow w/ day-glo orange numbers. DAD will sell t-shirts outside the track. We'll make millions.

Nungester as crew chief:23:

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Bryan Clauson

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Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike:
I'll take Sammy Swindell. He's been around long enough to know every angle and setup. Plus, he'll make it exciting and piss eveyone else off in the process.

My second choice will be Brett T Funk - just to see what would happen.....

....with heavy sponsorship from IOW, of course. We'll paint the car day-glo yellow w/ day-glo orange numbers. DAD will sell t-shirts outside the track. We'll make millions.

You're joking, right? I'm a Sammy fan, but when was the last time he drove wingless???

Eric Gordon

C-Bell!!

Chris Windom

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Originally Posted by revjimk:
You're joking, right? I'm a Sammy fan, but when was the last time he drove wingless???

Yes, I am serious, Jim. I have no idea when Sammy last drove a wingless car, but my line of thinking is a good sprint car driver is a good sprint car driver - wings or not. I think guys like Sammy, Schatz, Saldana, Shaffer, Dale Blaney, Stevie Smith, Kerry Madsen, etc., would be top shelf in a non-wing car with a little practice. Don't forget Haud won the Mopar Million.

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Kyle Larson or Christopher Bell hands down. These two can drive anything on any surface and win.

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Hewitt... or the new Hewitt...Larson..Had the caution not come out Sunday night he was taking the Eldora high line to the front and the win...Damn water bottle.

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Chris Windom

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Clauson or Chris Bell

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Billy "The Kid" Pauch

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Originally Posted by Stevensville Mike:
Yes, I am serious, Jim. I have no idea when Sammy last drove a wingless car, but my line of thinking is a good sprint car driver is a good sprint car driver - wings or not. I think guys like Sammy, Schatz, Saldana, Shaffer, Dale Blaney, Stevie Smith, Kerry Madsen, etc., would be top shelf in a non-wing car with a little practice. Don't forget Haud won the Mopar Million.

I've seen wingless guys do well with wings, but can't think of any predominantly winged drivers doing well wingless... its harder

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Originally Posted by revjimk:
I've seen wingless guys do well with wings, but can't think of any predominantly winged drivers doing well wingless... its harder

Interesting. Clearly not what I have seen throughout my racing body of work. I think you have it backwards and the record books would tell you so.

Sammy last ran a non wing car in the mid-2000's for Jeff Walker. He ran it at Eldora and Osky. He was quite competitive too.

Almost 10 years removed from non wing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQWzja7OnhQ

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Originally Posted by Wizard 05:
Hewitt... or the new Hewitt...Larson..Had the caution not come out Sunday night he was taking the Eldora high line to the front and the win...Damn water bottle.

It was weird the way the commentators mentioned Larson was closing on the leader a second a lap, then suddenly the caution came out. Larson had a bad restart and that was that.

Only nascar race I paid attention to start to finish. Going to take all Winter to get over it.

Here's to green flags and elbows up coming early next Spring!!!

I can't believe I didn't throw in the greatest sprint car driver of all time, the king Steve Kinser. I'm pretty sure in his prime you would have to beat him!

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Originally Posted by Kart#51:
Interesting. Clearly not what I have seen throughout my racing body of work. I think you have it backwards and the record books would tell you so.

Sammy last ran a non wing car in the mid-2000's for Jeff Walker. He ran it at Eldora and Osky. He was quite competitive too.

Almost 10 years removed from non wing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQWzja7OnhQ

I've only been following sprint cars 5 yrs., can't comment on the good ole days. In the last few years, Larson, Rico, Bacon, & Bell have won in winged cars. What primarily winged driver has won in wingless?

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Originally Posted by revjimk:
I've only been following sprint cars 5 yrs., can't comment on the good ole days. In the last few years, Larson, Rico, Bacon, & Bell have won in winged cars. What primarily winged driver has won in wingless?

You make a good point, Jim. Very few drivers these days flip flop between the two, and the ones you mention are right up at the top.

Without hijacking the thread too much, I am going with my gut feeling on certain winged drivers running non-wing and having success. A lot of it also has to do with what equipment they are running. For example, I think if you took a couple of WoO heavy hitters like Schatz or Swindell, put them in a Paul Hazen prepared non-winger and turned them loose for Indiana Sprint Week, they would take home some serious silverware.

However, it is a pipe dream. It is not going to happen.

But yes..... the drivers presently who flip flop pretty much came from/started with non-wing. No one has tried going back regularly from starting in wing. I think it might be because non-wing is quite regional vice wing, which is more national. There is more opportunity to blend in with the latter going from place to place. With non-wing you are a tad more limited and more likely to venture out and across, whereas with wings, you stay with status quo and the numbers - if that makes sense.

Me, I will never underestimate what some of the WoO and All Star guys could do if they tried non-wing for a while. On the other side, I'd like to see what Dave Darland could have done with a wing had he gone that way. The sky might have been the limit.