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With all this talk recently about people liking/ not liking winged/ non- winged sprint cars, I thought I would tell my story.

This is my 25th year of driving a sprint car. My father raced for over 40 years. I was not a kid whose Dad bought him a sprint car for his 12th birthday. I worked two jobs for two years to buy my first sprint car at age 27. And even though I’ve never won an A-Main, I’ve finished every position from second on back. And unless something unexpected happens, this will be the first year since 1998 that I will not have won at least one heat race.

I’ve raced winged and non-winged. Dirt and asphalt. And I’m not sure if it means something or not, but I’ve won a heat race or B-main in all four genres.

I’ve been to 113 different race tracks in 21 states and one Canadian province. I’ve actually driven at 67 of those race tracks in 14 different states.

Here’s where the confession comes in. I LOVE RACING! ALL KINDS! With fenders and open wheel. With and without wings. Although I’m sure I have, I don’t ever remember seeing a bad race. Yes, some are better than others. But the worst day at the race track is better than the best day at work or home.
So I thought I would put together my list of my favorite tracks of all four genres. Both to drive and to watch. A few of these may surprise you.

Non–winged dirt

Watch: I had to go with Gas City. I was there with my Dad back when it first opened. It’s rare I don’t get there at least once a year. I’ve also driven there a few times. I feel they put on one of the finest shows in the country. Hopefully I will get to see a race there again next year. Manzanita comes in a close second. But that may be because I will never be able to see a race there again.

Drive: Crystal Speedway in Michigan. I have a real love/ hate relationship with this track. I’ve had some of my best runs there. I got my first top five feature finish there. But I’ve also had a couple of very spectacular crashes. One I don’t even remember. I raced dirt for the first time in four years there a couple of weeks ago. I had forgotten how fun it was.

Winged Dirt

Watch: For those of you who complain about no passing in winged racing, you need to go to Limaland Speedway. Specifically for the Brad Doty classic. It is on my must see list every year. It was a bit dusty this year, but watching the Outlaws barely cracking the throttle on a quarter mile track is awesome!

Drive: This one took me the longest to decide. I really haven’t run that many times with a wing on dirt. After Warsaw closed and Shady Hill decided to not run sprints anymore, I spent a couple of years running Butler Speedway in Michigan. But besides that, I’ve only run a few tracks. I finally decided on a track I only ran once with a wing- Eldora Speedway. I ran a 360 show back in the 90’s. After doing my usual brilliant job of qualifying (insert sarcasm symbol here), I started 18th and finished 9th. I thought I was King of the World! Only two cars dropped out. My foot was to the floor from the first lap to the last. Anyone who thinks driving a winged car is easy or a wing is a crutch needs to blast around Eldora for a few laps. And after you clean out your shorts, tell me how easy it is.

Non-winged Pavement

Watch: Anyone who knows me knows the answer to this one. Anderson Speedway! Specifically for the Little 500. I saw my first one in 1976. The start alone is worth the price of admission. You are not a true race fan until you’ve seen this race.

Drive: Again, anyone who knows me knows the answer. Again, Anderson Speedway, again specifically the Little 500. I have been lucky enough to drive in three Little 500’s. Even a hard crash in 2011 and getting trashed this year by a certain IOW member on this board hasn’t dampened my passion for this race. I hope I’m in the starting field again in 2015.

Winged Pavement

Watch: Winchester Speedway. The speed that the winged cars achieve there is awesome! And the wing enables the drivers the make very quick moves that the non-winged cars just can’t do. I love to watch qualifying there more than any other track.

Drive: Over the last several years, I’ve morphed into someone who’s known as a winged pavement driver. At Atlanta Motor Speedway a couple of weeks ago, I was introduced as a “pavement specialist.” In a weird way, it made me cringe. I’ve always wanted to be a driver that drove everything. After thinking about what track I liked the most for a couple of days, I finally decided on New Paris Speedway. This is a track we run on once a year. It’s a bit “rustic” to say the least. But it is close to home. When we race there, it is in front of friends and family. The track is unique. It is a ¼ mile fairly flat, egg shaped track with very little grip. It is a driver’s track. Anderson Speedway comes in a very close second.

I thought I would also mention my five favorite races to attend every year. This is from purely a fan’s perspective and only my opinion.

1. The Chili Bowl: 250+ midgets over five days. There’s a reason this race is always sold out. Plus you never know who you might see there. Driving or watching. I think what makes it better is that it’s in the middle of winter.

2. The Little 500: As I stated above, the start alone is worth the price of admission. The only race of my five that I have actually raced in.

3. The Hoosier 100: The big cars on the mile is something to behold. I’d give anything for this to be the second race of my top five that I got to drive in.

4. The Four Crown: All three USAC divisions plus the Outlaws on Friday. I went to my first one about five years ago. I was hooked immediately.

5. The Brad Doty Classic: The Outlaws put on a heck of a show there. The leader is usually in traffic early and there are cars all over the track. Contrary to what some people might think, there’s plenty of passing.

Well, there’s my confession. I’d love to hear all you guy’s (and girl’s) confession also.

Tom Paterson
PDP Racing