With all this talk recently about people liking/ not liking winged/ non- winged sprint cars, I thought I would tell my story.

This is my 25th year of driving a sprint car. My father raced for over 40 years. I was not a kid whose Dad bought him a sprint car for his 12th birthday. I worked two jobs for two years to buy my first sprint car at age 27. And even though I’ve never won an A-Main, I’ve finished every position from second on back. And unless something unexpected happens, this will be the first year since 1998 that I will not have won at least one heat race.

I’ve raced winged and non-winged. Dirt and asphalt. And I’m not sure if it means something or not, but I’ve won a heat race or B-main in all four genres.

I’ve been to 113 different race tracks in 21 states and one Canadian province. I’ve actually driven at 67 of those race tracks in 14 different states.

Here’s where the confession comes in. I LOVE RACING! ALL KINDS! With fenders and open wheel. With and without wings. Although I’m sure I have, I don’t ever remember seeing a bad race. Yes, some are better than others. But the worst day at the race track is better than the best day at work or home.
So I thought I would put together my list of my favorite tracks of all four genres. Both to drive and to watch. A few of these may surprise you.

Non–winged dirt

Watch: I had to go with Gas City. I was there with my Dad back when it first opened. It’s rare I don’t get there at least once a year. I’ve also driven there a few times. I feel they put on one of the finest shows in the country. Hopefully I will get to see a race there again next year. Manzanita comes in a close second. But that may be because I will never be able to see a race there again.

Drive: Crystal Speedway in Michigan. I have a real love/ hate relationship with this track. I’ve had some of my best runs there. I got my first top five feature finish there. But I’ve also had a couple of very spectacular crashes. One I don’t even remember. I raced dirt for the first time in four years there a couple of weeks ago. I had forgotten how fun it was.

Winged Dirt

Watch: For those of you who complain about no passing in winged racing, you need to go to Limaland Speedway. Specifically for the Brad Doty classic. It is on my must see list every year. It was a bit dusty this year, but watching the Outlaws barely cracking the throttle on a quarter mile track is awesome!

Drive: This one took me the longest to decide. I really haven’t run that many times with a wing on dirt. After Warsaw closed and Shady Hill decided to not run sprints anymore, I spent a couple of years running Butler Speedway in Michigan. But besides that, I’ve only run a few tracks. I finally decided on a track I only ran once with a wing- Eldora Speedway. I ran a 360 show back in the 90’s. After doing my usual brilliant job of qualifying (insert sarcasm symbol here), I started 18th and finished 9th. I thought I was King of the World! Only two cars dropped out. My foot was to the floor from the first lap to the last. Anyone who thinks driving a winged car is easy or a wing is a crutch needs to blast around Eldora for a few laps. And after you clean out your shorts, tell me how easy it is.

Non-winged Pavement

Watch: Anyone who knows me knows the answer to this one. Anderson Speedway! Specifically for the Little 500. I saw my first one in 1976. The start alone is worth the price of admission. You are not a true race fan until you’ve seen this race.

Drive: Again, anyone who knows me knows the answer. Again, Anderson Speedway, again specifically the Little 500. I have been lucky enough to drive in three Little 500’s. Even a hard crash in 2011 and getting trashed this year by a certain IOW member on this board hasn’t dampened my passion for this race. I hope I’m in the starting field again in 2015.

Winged Pavement

Watch: Winchester Speedway. The speed that the winged cars achieve there is awesome! And the wing enables the drivers the make very quick moves that the non-winged cars just can’t do. I love to watch qualifying there more than any other track.

Drive: Over the last several years, I’ve morphed into someone who’s known as a winged pavement driver. At Atlanta Motor Speedway a couple of weeks ago, I was introduced as a “pavement specialist.” In a weird way, it made me cringe. I’ve always wanted to be a driver that drove everything. After thinking about what track I liked the most for a couple of days, I finally decided on New Paris Speedway. This is a track we run on once a year. It’s a bit “rustic” to say the least. But it is close to home. When we race there, it is in front of friends and family. The track is unique. It is a ¼ mile fairly flat, egg shaped track with very little grip. It is a driver’s track. Anderson Speedway comes in a very close second.

I thought I would also mention my five favorite races to attend every year. This is from purely a fan’s perspective and only my opinion.

1. The Chili Bowl: 250+ midgets over five days. There’s a reason this race is always sold out. Plus you never know who you might see there. Driving or watching. I think what makes it better is that it’s in the middle of winter.

2. The Little 500: As I stated above, the start alone is worth the price of admission. The only race of my five that I have actually raced in.

3. The Hoosier 100: The big cars on the mile is something to behold. I’d give anything for this to be the second race of my top five that I got to drive in.

4. The Four Crown: All three USAC divisions plus the Outlaws on Friday. I went to my first one about five years ago. I was hooked immediately.

5. The Brad Doty Classic: The Outlaws put on a heck of a show there. The leader is usually in traffic early and there are cars all over the track. Contrary to what some people might think, there’s plenty of passing.

Well, there’s my confession. I’d love to hear all you guy’s (and girl’s) confession also.

Tom Paterson
PDP Racing

No confessions coming,Tom. The rest of us are sin-free on this board.

As I started to read this, the further I got along in the article, I thought to myself, this sounds like the "Nance" man. Most other people know him as Tom Paterson. But when you first meet people and you don't know their names, you refer to them by some description. We used to go to auctions and always ran into this man. Didn't know his name, but he became "Plumber". Later we learned his name was Jim but it was too late by then. He was Plumber. Some people after I had them for a long time confessed I had been the Teacher-Preacher to them. Tom was the "Nance" man. Always at the Fremont Flea Market buying or selling something Nance. So when I ran into Tom at Anderson, SC Speedway this summer it was old home week. And the first time I had ever seen him living out the dream. And we discussed the Little 500, or as listed as Sun Valley in my records. Only went there once. That was 1975. Danny Smith's high school graduation. Thirty three cars three abreast. They can't be serious. But they were. Haven't been there since but decided after talking with Tom "Nance man" Paterson at Anderson(SC) Speedway this summer, I'm going back. Can't wait. Then I can compare what is like at 72 versus 32. And I hope to know at least one driver in the field.

I met Tom at Merritt Speedway in Michigan the same year that he had the crash in the .Little 500...He was with Nick Landon that night ....I had no idea who he was ,but we got talking about the Little 500 and he said he was the one that flipped that night ...he was a real pleasure to talk with ..and had only good things to say about the Little 500 and everyone involved and blamed no one for the crash ...He and Nick were very friendly to us that night ....I am a dirt fan ..but I also never miss the Little 500..it`s the only paved race I go to each year ......Good Luck To both you & Nick .....

I share the same thoughts as Tom does. I'll admit I do like dirt a little more than pavement, but in the end as long as its open wheel racing I could care less. Race fans in Indiana have no idea how good they have it. Now I'm trying to figure out how I got looped in with this topic, but Tom is a great friend and a hell of a true racer.
Nick Landon

All of you are going to be banned from this board for ever.

I like the extreme series at Salem & Winchester,also going to Bloomington WOO Friday night.Id like to cut a plea deal,say 1am to 4am for 5 days with a strong possibility of a sentence reduction

You will just wonder what was so important that I missed so many little 500 in between Visits!

I have never met Tom, but a friend of mine sent him a few dollars before the 2013 Little 500, not much but enough to help. When Tom missed the race he returned the money, my friend has since past away, and did not get to meet Him and returned the money to him. I have it in my Pocket and will run into Tom someday and give it to him. It was my friends wish for him to have it. My health took a turn and I guess I need to look him up while I can.

You know what. I had that same thought about Knoxville this summer. First time I went was in 1972. This summer I returned for my 20th and first since 2006. But remembered about family and work and other things over the years. Guess you have to take what you're given. Probably should start the Little 500 count down.