I have seen or heard countless comments about the state of non-winged sprint car racing lately.
I have seen or heard countless comments about the state of non-winged sprint car racing lately.
Some people seem to have the notion that the sky is falling. A few drivers have left to try another discipline of racing, but there are plenty of great drivers and teams remaining. Car counts have been very solid and there are new areas of the country where non-winged racing is growing rapidly.
A new series has been formed, which some people have found negative somehow. In my opinion, non-winged sprint car racing is in as good of a place as it‘s been in
quite some time.
Kevin Thomas Jr. and Chris Windom have both decided to pursue more winged racing and I suppose that has contributed to the panic. Tyler Courtney has also made a successful transition to winged sprint car racing over the last few seasons.
Non-winged drivers trying their hand in the winged ranks is nothing new. I have done it over the years myself. I have no doubt that those who have left recently have more than enough talent to succeed, however, it is a lot more expensive to do so and there is a massive amount of competition.
On a positive note, the spots that they vacate will create an opportunity for other teams to fill and create more income.
Non-winged racing has a lot of teams that are oozing potential and are poised for breakout years. Jake Swanson and Team AZ scored their first USAC victory during the Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway and they will no doubt be competing for victories night in and night out.
Jason McDougal has the potential to get in a groove with a solid KO Motorsports team behind him. Emerson Axsom has shown he has the skill to run up front in the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget Series and was impressive in his few sprint car starts at the end of the season. The experience his Clauson Marshall team has can help guide him to victory lane.
The growth of non-winged sprint car racing outside of its normal Indiana hub has been very promising in recent years and contributed to solid car counts for USAC. POWRi‘s WAR series that was started in the Kansas City area has continued to thrive and the health of racing in the area has allowed for another regional series, Midwest Wingless Racing, to be created.
The USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series has provided a place for 360 teams in the Northeast to participate in some non-winged racing. Their car counts have grown each year and adds to the USAC Eastern Storm series each year.
Texas and Oklahoma have also started to gain a following from teams running non-winged sprint cars. The cost effectiveness of non-winged racing gives teams the opportunity to be competitive for much less money than the winged series they typically come from.
The Xtreme Outlaw Series that has been newly formed this season will also provide the opportunity for teams to race for more money more often. It offers an additional 12 races for full-time teams to compete for $5,000-to-win or more. This is a significant development and only adds to the recent schedule growth and purse increases for the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series.
Five years ago, a non-winged sprint car team would be lucky to find 35 to 40 events that paid at least $5,000 to win during a single season. Now, there is the opportunity to run more than 60 races for that amount with close to half of those events paying more than $5,000 to win.
The Xtreme series with its abbreviated schedule provides an opportunity for regional teams to justify investing in their programs and will undoubtedly strengthen the sport.
The combination of all these factors is going to create — in my opinion — an atmosphere for incredible potential growth in non-winged sprint car racing.
So, no, I don‘t think the sky is falling. As a matter of fact, I believe it is quite the contrary and that maybe the sky is the limit.