Originally Posted by Brad:
Replying to Pat O'Conner fan.
Since you are so open-minded that you cannot even spell the name of one of the best sprint car drivers ever, I am not surprised that you cannot fathom that I might have seen some wing-ding crap on TV.
Originally Posted by ThrowbackRacingTeam:
A few replies...Yes I have been to more than enough winged races to know the difference, saw my first one in May of '82 at Knoxville and have seen them everywhere else in the midwest since. Kansas IS wing country as far as sprint cars are concerned. It's not just that non-wing racing is better but also a matter of principle. Knoxville screwed USAC over again this year by changing their date and trying to make them the support class to the 360 winged nationals. That was Capatani's apparent final FU to USAC according to McCarl. I commend USAC for not putting up with that and booking elsewhere and McCarl offering them 2 nights at Osky. Practically NONE of everyone's biggest Outlaw hero's showed up for Baltes' big million $ non-wing sprint car race. Haud and Stevie Smith were there but Smith was no longer running with the Outlaws. It was $200,000 to win and $100,000 for 2nd and no Kinser, no Schatz, no Lasoski and the list goes on. How can you revere a sprint car driver who won't show up for $200,000 if they're all just sprint cars man!
I guess you forgot about Steve putting the hurt on USAC/CRA drivers at Eldora and taking home the bounty. Or the fact that a winged guy took home the 200k @ the Mopar. Was the Mopar Million scheduled against the Outlaws, if so there is now way any of the regulars would miss a scheduled race. It is just the way of the world today. How many USAC regulars would have missed a USAC race if the Million had been scheduled against them? If you can't respect or even revere what Kinser has done in a sprintcar over his career, how can you consider yourself a sprintcar fan? His record is untouchable. The whole argument wings vs nonwings is like which is better grape kool aid or cherry. Both are pretty darn good.
Both Kinser and Haud started off in wingless cars and then moved into the wing cars. As did Wolfgang and Swindell. Did racing wingless teach them how to be great sprint car drivers?
Originally Posted by Vukie:
Both Kinser and Haud started off in wingless cars and then moved into the wing cars. As did Wolfgang and Swindell. Did racing wingless teach them how to be great sprint car drivers?
I'm sure it didn't hurt. When Kinser and more so Haud won their wingless races, they had been winged drivers exclusively for a long time. But, it is a lot like riding a bike and didn't take either driver long to shake off the rust. The point I am getting at is to discredit a drivers ability is a bit ridiculous because they have raced primarily wings. There is a deep talent pool in both versions of sprintcar racing. It take a tremendous amount of talent to driver either of them well. We ARE a cult sport and division is the last thing we need. That is why I love when we see the likes of Kinser, Hewitt, Larson, and Bacon that run both types.
