LAS VEGAS — The inaugural Open Wheel Showdown is set for Dec. 1-2 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
SPEED SPORT caught up with race promoter Davey Hamilton Jr. and learned the latest news concerning the much-anticipated event that features a purse of more than $200,000, including $50,000 to the winged sprint car winner.
Sprint Cars
With winged sprint cars racing for 50 grand on the asphalt three-eighths-mile track, there has been interest from coast to coast and Canada.
“It’s a huge race that everybody wants to be part of,” Hamilton told SPEED SPORT. “We had to cap the entries at 75 and right now we are at 67 total. Obviously, not everybody is going to show up that says they are going to. We have 67 paid entries and that’s close to that 75 mark as far as sprint cars go. It hasn’t been done before, so we will see what happens.”
Supermodifieds
There is a surprisingly large interest in the supermodified portion of the three-division program that also includes midgets.
“It is pretty exciting. Everybody wants to help promote this event and bring back West Coast supermodified racing like in the old days,” Hamilton said. “It’s been a struggle for the past few years for car counts in that category. You’d be lucky to get 10. Right now, we have a confirmed 20 and it sounds like we may have 24-plus.
“When is the last time you saw West Coast supers have a B main or you would have to struggle to get into the race? It’s pretty cool.”
Sponsors
Hamilton has inked numerous contingency sponsors to help racers pay their way.
“Klotz is our oil partner for the event and they have some pretty exciting incentives for the competitors to give them better ideas to get them to start using their lubricants,” Hamilton explained. “Racing Optics heard about the event and they actually reached out to me and they wanted to offer all of the competitors a free pack of tear offs for putting the logo on the car.”
Trophies
Like any signature race, there will be unique trophies for the Open Wheel Showdown.They will be provided by Max Papis Innovations.
“My dad has a good friendship with Max Papis and I reached out to him. He saw may logo (Open Wheel Showdown) and the logo has a steering wheel in it,” Hamilton explained. “He said, ‘You should have hit me up, I would have been part of that logo.’ It was an immediate creation in his eyes of wanting to do the winner trophies. He’s going to do that, and they are going to be nice trophies. I wanted to make sure that the winners of our event can go home with, not just a lot of money, but with a huge trophy that is pretty special. Max has come on board and is designing and creating all of these trophies.”
The Fans
Tickets are on sale and hotel reservations can be made for fans wanting to attend the Open Wheel Showdown.
“We’ve partnered with South Point Casino. They have a lot of history when it comes to racing in general and they are a good partner of the event,” Hamilton said. “If you go to openwheelshowdown.com, I have a tab there that shows the code for a discounted rate to stay there. Right now, Las Vegas Motor Speedway is selling general admission tickets for the grandstand area and next week, Open Wheel Showdown will start selling pit passes.
“That will be done online and you can by online for a discounted rate. Even if you buy a pit pass, you can go in the grandstands as well.”
Secret Guest
Among the entries, Hamilton expects to have a well-known driver wheeling one of his sprint cars.
“I have a pretty large name who is going to be driving one of my cars,” Hamilton told SPEED SPORT. “He actually came down to Florida, which is where I am right now, to test. He doesn’t have a lot of sprint car experience, if he has any at all, but when people find out who it is they will see for themselves.
“He was too tall for our sprint car, so we had to move some cars around the country to make room for him, but when that name gets announced, people are going to be thrown off because nobody would expect it to be him.”
More information, including the entry list for the sprint car division can be found at openwheelshowdown.com.