Knoxville Nationals WITHOUT wings?

cecil98 · 1/21/13, 8:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treecitytornado

Chris, I think you forget that Sammy Won a Non-Wing race there just a few years ago and I watched the King take the Wing off and spank the CRA boys at Eldora in 1990. More guys would than you think when the money is up for grabs! Haud, Stevie Smith, even Saldana may give it a go. The best Winged Drivers make great Non-Wing drivers. It has been proven many times.

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treecity, I thought the MOPAR Million would draw Steve, Sammy, Joe and some of the other WOO boys also, but, in spite of one of the largest purses ever they didn't show up. Knoxville went to wings due to safety concerns and I doubt that they will ever change the format back to non-wing. JMO

racephoto1 · 1/21/13, 8:24 AM

Cecil beat me to the punch. Also how many wing guys run Oskaloosa? They wouldn't run Knoxville either. Sad thing is lately the safety problems have been mainly in the wing stuff.

1/21/13, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racephoto1

Problem is Kinser, Swindell, Schatz, and the rest of the WOO wouldn't run top less if they had to. Without them would it really be a nationals?

You want thee best of the best there, and only the wingless driving half would be there, not the winged driver half.

They wont run topless. I wonder if this is because they fear being exposed. Taking off the wing negates alot of the advantage of mega dollars. I'm not saying they cant drive a real sprintcar, I'm just saying they would get whupped.

Quick Change · 1/21/13, 10:42 AM

Even with a purse similar to the nationals not many of the winged guys would run it. I'm not sure how many non wing guys would run on the big half mile. It seems a lot of local teams either do not like the half miles or don't have the resources to run them. If you ran it on a short track you would probably have tons of cars but wouldn't have enough seats to make it feasible. On the safety aspect, there are many more winged races throughout the county and they run on more big race tracks. Granted safety has come a long way since Knoxville started running wings but I think you would still have major issues if non winged cars were run on big tracks more often.

Jackslash.com · 1/21/13, 10:53 AM

Knoxville Nationals without wings this year?

Nah, nobody wants to see a guy win from 20th.

Quick Change · 1/21/13, 10:57 AM

It would make running the alphabet possible.

treecitytornado · 1/21/13, 11:51 AM

I would have to double check, but it seems to me that WoO had a show somewhere on the weekend of the Mopar Million. Sammy if you recall, ran several Non-Wing Shows in the Mid 2000s including the 20 Lap special Non-Wing show he Won at Knoxville. The Mopar Million was Won by the Wild Child and Stevie Smith ran 2nd in his first attempt without a Wing! Any top notch Winged driver would do well without the Wing! Btw, the Chili Bowl has been dominated by both the Swindells!

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Quick Change · 1/21/13, 11:57 AM

No doubt the few that would run it would do well.

Jracer2m · 1/21/13, 2:47 PM

Not trying to ruffle any feathers here, but they have tried non-wing at Knoxville. I like them both but the wing cars are Like 3 1/2 seconds a lap faster, and they bring more big money teams. Steve, Sammy, and Haud, and prolly over half the drivers there can hop in a non-wing car and go good. The money difference and career longevity is why they race a wing car. As a driver myself, I have done both, and have crashed hard in both lol. The non-wing cars hurt a lot more, without a doubt. So to some degree the fans have to understand that. With all that being said, if Knoxville raceway felt that the nationals would be more of a success if they ran without the wing, then they would run without a wing. I think track conditions play into the racing more than anything, I thought last years nationals a-main was excellent. Or how bout the year Shaffer passes Schatz on last lap to win it

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cecil98 · 1/21/13, 2:55 PM

I think running the wings makes you a better non-wing driver. The problem is, once guys get attached to the wing most don't want to go back to running without one.

1/21/13, 8:24 AM	#12 Re: Knoxville Nationals WITHOUT wings?
racephoto1 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 4,253	Cecil beat me to the punch. Also how many wing guys run Oskaloosa? They wouldn't run Knoxville either. Sad thing is lately the safety problems have been mainly in the wing stuff.

1/21/13, 10:42 AM	#14 Re: Knoxville Nationals WITHOUT wings?
Quick Change Member Race Count This Year: 23 Race Count Last Year: 29 Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 110	Even with a purse similar to the nationals not many of the winged guys would run it. I'm not sure how many non wing guys would run on the big half mile. It seems a lot of local teams either do not like the half miles or don't have the resources to run them. If you ran it on a short track you would probably have tons of cars but wouldn't have enough seats to make it feasible. On the safety aspect, there are many more winged races throughout the county and they run on more big race tracks. Granted safety has come a long way since Knoxville started running wings but I think you would still have major issues if non winged cars were run on big tracks more often.

1/21/13, 10:57 AM	#16 Re: Knoxville Nationals WITHOUT wings?
Quick Change Member Race Count This Year: 23 Race Count Last Year: 29 Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 110	It would make running the alphabet possible.

1/21/13, 2:55 PM	#20 Re: Knoxville Nationals WITHOUT wings?
cecil98 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,399	I think running the wings makes you a better non-wing driver. The problem is, once guys get attached to the wing most don't want to go back to running without one.