[oppweld]

Non wing AKA real sprint cars have no identity to the common person. One thing Ole Ted did was create a brand.
You show someone who doesn't follow racing a picture of a Wing Sprint they usually say "oh that's one of those Outlaws!" Most people don't know the real cars exist! What's the answer, either attract big sponsors to help propel the sport financially to attract more full time and multiple car teams or grow the fan base.

[hoscalecody]

Originally Posted by oppweld Non wing AKA real sprint cars have no identity to the common person. One thing Ole Ted did was create a brand. You show someone who doesn't follow racing a picture of a Wing Sprint they usually say "oh that's one of those Outlaws!" Most people don't know the real cars exist! What's the answer, either attract big sponsors to help propel the sport financially to attract more full time and multiple car teams or grow the fan base.

This exactly. If i'm wearing a winged sprint car shirt in public, the response is usually. "Is that a sprint car?" or "Is that an Outlaw?" If I wear a shirt of a non wing sprint car, the response usually is. "What is that on your shirt?" When I say a sprint car, the response usually is "no it's not, that's some type of dune buggy. Sprint cars have wings."

Non wings/actual sprint cars don't get marketed enough to the general public. Same with midgets. Anymore though most the time if any type of sprint cars or midgets get any headlines in the news or anything. It's usually, we lost someone.

Personally I love non wing and midgets way over any winged stuff. I started racing mini sprints with wings, second year we raced at end of the year we took the wings off for the first time. Ever since then the last 6 years, I usually only race the wings if it's close by. I'll travel 300-400+ mile round trip to go race non wing, but never winged.

[flagboy55]

Puppy my point is more towards the money spent on the depth of equipment. Chris, I go back as a kid to when they were called Championship Dirt Cars. I’ll always say the biggest mistake in USAC history was what I call the stupid car which was going to run the mile and a half’s and snuggle up to NASCAR. In some ways I’m amazed that the series survived at all after that. Thankfully my Dad was a big part of a USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown team back to the Late 70’s probably up to the 2000’s. I’m forever in debt to my father for giving me a front row seat to this racing back then. As I sit here now I look about 30 yards away to the garage attached to the house we grew up in. I remember a USAC Sprint Car in that garage getting turned around from running say Illiana Saturday night to going to Terre Haute or Eldora Sunday. Don’t get me wrong as my weakening memory serves, there were always someone coming out with a “special“ car, maybe a roadster or someone tilting the engine to the left or something, but a lot of teams used the same car for both dirt and pavement. When they let things happen to where it took 2 separate cars to do both, and other economic factors, IMO it got to where some couldn’t do both anymore. I wish somehow it would’ve stayed that way I believe the outcome would’ve been better for everyone, but as they say that ship has sailed. Now we had to choose one discipline or the other and Dirt wins. I’ve always said and it’s really indisputable that USAC has produced the giants of the sport, that was IMO you had to learn to race the car on all surfaces and with different platforms. That’s a long winded reply to why I hope we get a little more pavement I believe it will help develop the talent and hopefully be good for USAC

[revjimk]

As a non Hoosier who prefers wingless, but likes both, seems pretty obvious to me that the difference is $$$$ pure & simple.
As for pavement, don't like it at all. In fact I stopped going to races for 40 years after moving from Virginia in the mid 60s (dirt track jalopies & mods) to Connecticut which has ZERO dirt tracks. I went twice to Danbury, which had recently been paved, lost all interest...
I got back into it 11 years ago when I was in upstate NY, friend gave me a Circle Track Magazine that mentioned Central Pa. having the best "sprint car" scene. Heading to Pa. the next day, I got on the Net & looked for races, & guess what? I did exactly as some of you guys mentioned, being somewhat clueless, & looked for winged cars on 1/2 miles.... duh. Didn't take long for me to realize that wingless on bullrings were the best....I get to Indiana when I can. You guys have it made!
USAC just has to pay more.....