I convinced a family to go to their 1st race this year. They have been to LP for a weekly show and Mw, LB for SW, and Bloomington also for SW.. Then to a WOO show...these are his words....Wow, the WOO put on the best show, even though the racing may not have been as good...the family felt like they were at a major event....the production reminded me of WWF without a script to follow...there were fireworks, the guy on the pa was exciting...they do a fantastic job of showcasing their product.... it was neat!

Myself, not a wing fan...imagine what non-wing would be if it was ever marketed like the WOO!!

Joint marketing with the WoO and USAC would be the best thing for the sport as a whole. Look at the USAC/CRA show at Perris with the WoO. I listened on Dirtvision, and it sounded like a BLAST! I know that the WoO usually has support divisions everywhere they go. The local stocks, lates, mods, etc. But I believe that if they came together more, it would benefit the fans, drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, the whole 9.

Just today on Twitter, I saw a post reading "There are 2 political parties in the US: Winged and Non-Winged" #sprintcarsareawesome.

This couldnt be more true. Every now and then, you'll have some crossovers that favor one, but give credit to the other. Sean Buckley said on his facebook page that he loves seing the NorCal winged guys on their bullring tacky tracks. Because they have 'wing speed' and handle like non-winged cars. But as for the die hards, some wont even consider a winged show 10 miles away, but drive hundreds to see a USAC 410 show.
All I'm saying, is I'd like to see more integration of the big guys. The best in the business, in BOTH cars. Could you imagine seeing a WoO dash at Kokomo with Haudenschild, Swindell, Kinser, etc.. Then follow it up with a USAC main with Darland, Coons, Clauson, Short, TMez, etc. Best of both worlds.

As for us feeeling 'cheated' of talent, I coundnt agree more. I was talking with someone on my Facebook page about Brent Marks, and how much of a standout he's been in his career so far. 1 guy mentioned that he'll go far, and hopes someone with a good budget picks him up to really let him shine. I replied with, 'Yeah, as long as someone with deep pockets who wants to put him in something with fenders and a roof, I'm all for it'. I mean, if the $$$ is there, by all means, go for it. But it sucks at the same time to see someone with SO much talent get sweeped up, and caged in for 1 series, and owner. I've only seen Larson in person, twice. And I wont be buying any NASCAR tickets anytime soon. If only we couldve held onto him a little bit longer!

All in all, Smoke is out biggest advocate for sprint car racing at this time, just because of his constant integration and running his own stuff. Probably helps when HE makes the calls on where he wants to race. I've heard a lot of talks about big owners and their opposition to 'moonlighting', but thats a completely different discussion...

Ossuks, you hit the nail on the head! Doubt it will ever happen!

I am not sure I want non wing racing to be compared to pro wrestling. I used to prefer winged racing back in the 80's. I went to way more wing shows than non wing. I agree John Gibson is a great announcer, and adds excitement to the program. In my opinion the show is not a very good value for the dollar. It is like ole DW talking up NASCAR. Nothing against the Outlaws or anyone else. IT just is not for me

I am not going to get into a contest about which is best.
For the record I have been around this game for more than 50 years. Watched both WoO and USAC series with and without wings, and have been to numerous weekly PA shows. I recently watched the video of Brian Brown's victory at Osky. Visually fast, little or no backin' it in. The wing cars like almost all aero packaged race cars depend on the aerodynamics to lock them down. Dial in terminal push and hammer the throttle and keep'er straight! Non-wing cars are much more reliant on mechanical grip, so we get a car which gives us those exciting views of a right rear against the cushion with the front wheels pointed towards the outside of the track. Are the wing cars fast, sometimes exciting? You bet, but it does not take an expert to see that far too many winged shows are very fast, but often yield far too little wheel to wheel action. An earlier post spoke about fairly new fans coming away from a WoO show where the racing was not very good, but the presentation was great. A former colleague used to say "Perception is everything, to hell with reality". Sadly in today's world in many things this seems to be true.

It seemed to me the interview was about Tony and HIS current racing. Tony himself is not racing non wing sprint cars. (I know he owns them but he is not driving them) Too many fans have way to high of expectations for drivers like Tony. He is paid to "plug" sponsors not non wing racing. Tony does a tremendous amount of great acts of kindness outside of racing which I would say is far more important than plugging non wing racing. Tony just wants to be Tony Stewart the race car driver. The more that BS high expectations are expected like mentioned in this thread the more these once easily approachable drivers distance themselves from the general public .

Kenny Wallace is a great guy and showman, my dad told me a story years back how he was once at some track in the Midwest somewhere and Wallace was racing his modified. He said pre-race he was down in the pits telling people "When people ask me what the best track I've ever raced at I always tell them (whatever track they were at), I love this place". Dad said awhile later as they came out to hot lap and Wallace rolled out in his modified the pa announcer said, "and making his first trip to the track tonight, Kenny Wallace..." lol.

But all jokes aside Wallace is a great promoter for all types of dirt racing.

You Tube Video
Section of interview not preview. Addresses running wing instead of non wing.

As Paul Harvey would say...

IMO, he said plenty. And he said it well. And that was a great interview by Ralph. He's one of the best.

Jerry