I ran midgets from 1982 till 1996, never had a drivers side guard, used foam, or cardboard under my uniform around my bicep. The only time it really got my attention was at Belleville behind the V-6 of Higman, with Ken Schrader driving, that thing really kicked up some shotgun dirt clods. Made multiple bruises on my arm, even through the cardboard. One car I drove had an old style Edmunds type hood, but the cowl was not cut down, and the rounded corners of the top of the cowl kept most dirt out of the cockpit. I know we were going faster than 90 mph at Belleville.

One more point, and I'm done. Having been born and raised in Colorado, good sprint car racing was rare till the later 1970's, even then there were no really great dirt tracks there. My first trip to Ascot in 1976 made me realize what truly great sprint car racing was out there. I've always been a bigger sprint fan than midgets, even though I raced midgets, I will always regret not getting into sprint cars instead. The sprint drivers today are just as brave, and talented as anytime in history, for me however, the cars are just not fun to look at, it's more depressing than exciting to see how the cars look. So, I don't go, holds no appeal to me, personally, my choice. Bob East at Ascot in 1975.....This is what I saw at Ascot, way back.

Big Cars are still the way to go watch history.. Love them,,I haven't messed many of those up yet..One of those and Hewitt and life is great.

its the snow flake generation. that's why there is body work all over todays ugly sprint cars.

Isn't it ironic then that in the early 2000s Kent Christian's car had less sheet metal on the left side than just about anybody elses. Personally I like to be able to see a driver get his elbows up.

Last month we mourned the loss of our most popular driver and brainstormed ways to make our cars safer. This month we complain that we can't see the drivers and that they need to be exposed to the elements of the track more? Does that make any damn sense?

If you ever listen to 84.8 I think it is, Louisville AM, the announcer there, Leland Conway, calls them "buttercups", either is fitting. Bob

How bout no more racing all together, or put bubble wrap all around them. The spirit of the sport is lost when it no longer resembles any part of the origins of the sport. Again my opinion. If it makes you feel better, every division of oval track racing should be full bodied, with covered wheels, big surrounding bumpers like rental go-karts, maybe put lane dividers on the track so the cars won't touch each other, like gutter guards for little kids at the bowling alley. At what point does it become a joke, and not a real sport, it's dangerous always has been. Accept it, or move on to something less stressful. And that's why I'm more than happy not to waste my time or money on this crap.

Well I must say how appreciative I am that you took your incredibly, remarkably precious time to come to this site, read this thread, quote my post, and create a very sensible, well-articulated reply. I can't imagine how passionate you must be about crap that you do spend your time on.

You are correct that this sport in particular will always have an inherent danger. My comments weren't about baby-proofing sprint car racing. My comments were directed at the thought of reversing 25 years of safety innovation because it's more aesthetically pleasing. I don't get it. Good day.

Easy Jim, we all want to make it safer, but sometimes just wanting to do "something" can cause more harm than good. There was also a latemodel driver who died in a crash and fire this year because all that sheetmetal trapped him. With all due respect, surely you don't think more tin would have prevented the tragedy you referred to.