When Anderson Speedway officials announced the creation of a new non-winged pavement sprint car series on Nov. 1, the fledgling 500 Sprint Car Tour was met with excitement and enthusiasm from throughout the industry.
When Anderson Speedway officials announced the creation of a new non-winged pavement sprint car series on Nov. 1, the fledgling 500 Sprint Car Tour was met with excitement and enthusiasm from throughout the industry.
There would finally be a non-winged pavement sprint car series launched with the foundation and tools to be successful for years to come.
It‘s no secret non-winged, pavement sprint car racing has struggled throughout the country since USAC removed pavement events from the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship schedule following the 2010 season. The sanctioning body tried a pavement only sprint car series for the 2011 season but minimal interest with fans and competitors sealed its fate as well.
And while USAC‘s sprint cars thrived on dirt, it left a void for those wanting to race non-winged cars on pavement.
Outside of Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, which is home to the Little 500 (run for the 73rd time in 2021), interest in non-winged, pavement sprint car racing has been minimal at best.
Between 2012 and ‘18, the Tri-State Sprint Series, Midwest Non-Wing Sprints, USSA, the Auto Value Sprint Series and ICAR tried their hand at sanctioning non-winged sprint car events on pavement in the Midwest. Only the USSA made it more than two races before throwing in the towel.
What plagued each of these series was the inability to provide a decent purse and attract fans. Pavement tires aren‘t cheap and don‘t last long. For many teams, it didn‘t make financial sense to compete in these events. But at the same time, these series were upstarts with no history and had to take what they could get in terms of commitments from race tracks.
In 2018, Anderson Speedway officials realized something had to be done to protect the Little 500 and attract new teams to the event. They launched a series of non-winged sprint car events on Thursday nights with an increased purse. This move ultimately jump-started non-winged pavement sprint car racing in the Midwest.
Since then, non-winged pavement sprint car racing has rebounded, at least in central Indiana, where most of the teams are located. Outside of central Indiana, it‘s anyone‘s guess what the car counts might be for 500 Sprint Car Tour events.
The Auto Value Super Sprints tried its hand at sanctioning non-winged sprint car events during the past three seasons. All these events have been held in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Securing a respectable number of cars for a non-winged events outside of central Indiana was a challenge for this series as well, despite a solid purse. As of this writing, it appeared the longstanding Auto Value Super Sprints series, which ran primarily with winged sprint cars, would not return in 2022.
With few options for non-winged pavement teams, the launch of the 500 Sprint Car Tour couldn‘t have come at a better time.
“The idea of starting a sprint car tour has been something we have considered for many years and the timing was right,” explained Jared Owen, vice president of operations for Anderson Speedway.
Ten races are scheduled for the debut season of the series with Anderson Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway and Berlin (Mich.) Raceway scheduled to host events. One additional track was expected to be added to the schedule.
With the launch of the newest series, things are much different than they were for series that tried to sanction non-winged pavement racing in the past. For starters, the new series appears to be on solid ground with a clear plan. In addition, Anderson Speedway has a long history of sanctioning non-winged pavement sprint car events, dating back to 1997 with the Little 500.
“We‘ve been talking about starting a series for a couple years,” Owen said. “Our main objective for this series is to continue to build the Little 500. At the end of the day, we want pavement sprint car racing to be healthy and continue to grow. We felt like the next step to continue to do that was to create this 500 Sprint Car Tour. We think through this series if we can get more cars built, and more people out there, it only helps build the legacy and prestige of the Little 500.”