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6/4/09, 8:02 AM

I've seen many of the local PA drivers run non-wing, and some have been competitive. For instance, Fred Rahmer caught a lot of flack for pulling out of the Grandview show last year. He said, "He didn't feel comfortable". I recall reading comments he was scared to run without a wing.

However, those making comments missed one of the most impressive drives I've seen in my 30 plus years around racing. Rahmer took the Apple car from deep in the pack to a top five against the SCRA at The Grove. Frankie Kerr won that evening and Billy Pauch was second if I recall correctly.

It was interesting to watch the different styles of driving between the winged and non-winged drivers. Plus, you had non-winged drivers from both the Mid-West and West Coast. Frankly, the good winged drivers were just as fast as the non-winged driver by feature time.

On that night Rahmer managed to squeak into the feature and started about 20th. This is the night I became a Fred Rahmer fan. I used to stand in the infield near turn three at The Grove. The Apple car had sponsorship from a local Budweiser distributorship back then. Rahmer was backing the car in so hard you could read Budweiser on the right side of the car.

You've got to remember Fred is an old 358 modified king pin. On top of his 500 sprint car wins he has about 100 modified wins too. Pauch and Kerr were also tough in the modifieds and they have won with and without the wings. The modified guys are used to sliding a car and usually catch on quickly. Think of Tim McCready at the Chili Bowl.

More recently, I have seen some of the local wing guys do really will without the wings. It just takes seat time, and they run without wings so infrequently its tough to get dialed-in. They don't want to be completely out to lunch (driving style and set up). Also, I don't think many are willing or can afford to wad up a car for one or two races per year. Outside of Jesse Hockett how many non-wing guys regularly jump into a winged car and are successful? Racing is racing and I love both style and we have a non-winged car

6/4/09, 8:02 AM	#28 Re: Usac in pa
Evil E Posts: n/a	I've seen many of the local PA drivers run non-wing, and some have been competitive. For instance, Fred Rahmer caught a lot of flack for pulling out of the Grandview show last year. He said, "He didn't feel comfortable". I recall reading comments he was scared to run without a wing. However, those making comments missed one of the most impressive drives I've seen in my 30 plus years around racing. Rahmer took the Apple car from deep in the pack to a top five against the SCRA at The Grove. Frankie Kerr won that evening and Billy Pauch was second if I recall correctly. It was interesting to watch the different styles of driving between the winged and non-winged drivers. Plus, you had non-winged drivers from both the Mid-West and West Coast. Frankly, the good winged drivers were just as fast as the non-winged driver by feature time. On that night Rahmer managed to squeak into the feature and started about 20th. This is the night I became a Fred Rahmer fan. I used to stand in the infield near turn three at The Grove. The Apple car had sponsorship from a local Budweiser distributorship back then. Rahmer was backing the car in so hard you could read Budweiser on the right side of the car. You've got to remember Fred is an old 358 modified king pin. On top of his 500 sprint car wins he has about 100 modified wins too. Pauch and Kerr were also tough in the modifieds and they have won with and without the wings. The modified guys are used to sliding a car and usually catch on quickly. Think of Tim McCready at the Chili Bowl. More recently, I have seen some of the local wing guys do really will without the wings. It just takes seat time, and they run without wings so infrequently its tough to get dialed-in. They don't want to be completely out to lunch (driving style and set up). Also, I don't think many are willing or can afford to wad up a car for one or two races per year. Outside of Jesse Hockett how many non-wing guys regularly jump into a winged car and are successful? Racing is racing and I love both style and we have a non-winged car _________________________________________________ Last edited by Evil E; 6/4/09 at 8:05 AM.