Originally Posted by Racerrob:
Yes you did have 30 to 35 cars but there were only 2 or 3 good cars and drivers that dominated the series. Now we have 10 to 15 good cars (sometimes many more!) at each event and it is extremely hard to predict the top three or even who will win on any given night.
Far be it from me to dispute Rob Hoffman on
anything related to sprint car racing. That would be a battle of wits I would be entering as an unarmed man. :doh: And, I'm not sure what time period that Duke and Rob are referencing, but I pulled out the old
USAC Sprint History 1956-1980 and opened it to the 1969 season for no particular reason and found that year yielded 14 different winners (Jerry "Scratch" Daniels, Tom Bigelow, Larry Dickson, Charlie Masters, Greg Weld, Cy Fairchild, Al Smith, Larry Cannon, Gary Bettenhausen, Bruce Walkup, Lennie Waldo, Todd Gibson, Sammy Sessions, and Bill Puterbaugh) in 27 features. A quick scan of the '70 season shows 11 different winners, 11 in '71. These seasons were in the midst of the Larry & Gary Show dominance, still there were many more than "2 or 3 good cars and drivers". Other racing seasons, both before and after those noted here would show similar diversity. Again, this may not be within the time period cited by Duke and Rob. And I presume to make no particular point except that from my perspective as a fan, the 60's and 70's were great years (except for the primitive safety measures in force at the time) not only for car counts but for competition throughout the fields as well.:checkered: