Originally Posted by btg1963:
I can remember when USAC switched to wings in the 1980's. It may not have been across the board, but it was because wings were "cool" and some considered they made the drivers "safer". When WoO started in the late 1970's, there were no wings. Many local tracks soon found what we all know... Non-wing racing is more competitive, easier on engines, and great to watch. Unfortunately, Indiana and California are the only two places that got the memo. Sprint car hotbeds in Ohio and Pennsylvania stuck with the wings and to be honest, there are many fans nationwide that have never seen a sprint without the wing. Sprint car fans can argue all they want about wing versus non wing, and while they do, the late models have come in taken a large portion of the television revenue and an even larger portion of the purses. Take Eldora for example... before Tony took over, you used to be able to read on the front stretch inside wall "home of the sprint". Could you actually claim that now? The World 100 is basically equal to the Kings Royal in Purse money, and the late models still have the Dream. Take a look at the money won to date for the season in the Lucas Oil LM Series. When you compare it to what our heros are racing for in USAC Non Wing Sprints, it will make you sick. We all love the Smackdown and Sprintweek and we should appreciate what we have while we have it.
I don't think late model racing is popular because some people like non-winged racing over winged racing or vice versa.
From what I've seen, the 2 fan bases are pretty different. Late model fans tend to "chew", wear Nascar hats and have a bias toward all sprint car racing. Totally stereotypical I know, but accurate to a point.
As far as purses, the Outlaw sprints race for over $5M this year, which is more than either LM series. And any TV the late models get is Lucas Oil funded, through MAV TV or the occasional CBS race. None of that is moving the needle, if it was, ASCS would be the biggest sprint car sanctioning body by far.
