LAS VEGAS — Non-winged sprint cars have been added to the fourth annual Open Wheel Showdown Nov. 5-7 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The new division will headline Friday Night’s Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying Night, serving as the featured event of the evening. The non-winged sprint cars will compete in a 75-lap main event paying $10,000 to win and $1,000 to start, adding another marquee moment to one of asphalt racing’s richest weekends.
An incentive will also be offered for teams who run both the winged and non-wing divisions with details to be announced later.
The Southwest region was once rich in open-wheel tradition with events like the Turkey Night Grand Prix and the Cooper World Classic drawing national attention. Bringing non-winged sprint cars back to this stage reconnects the area with that storied history while introducing a new generation of fans to the excitement of pavement sprint car competition.
The addition marks a significant expansion of the Showdown’s class structure, joining winged sprint cars, modifieds, supermodifieds, Legends and Bandoleros.
“Adding non-winged sprint cars to the Open Wheel Showdown builds upon my vision to make this the premier pavement open-wheel event in the world,” Promoter Davey Hamilton, Jr. said. “Not only will this be a great addition for the competitors and the fans, I am looking forward to jumping in to chase the $10,000 prize. Friday night under the lights in Las Vegas will be even more electric in 2026 with the non-winged sprint cars headlining the program and I can’t wait to see the racing.”
The new division will receive strong support from the YourBIGPlans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour, a national series dedicated to non-wing pavement sprint car competition and preserving the heritage of the discipline.
“This is an important step for the growth of non-wing pavement sprint car racing,” said Jared Owen, Series Director of the YourBIGPlans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour. “Events like the Open Wheel Showdown create major opportunities for our teams to compete on a big stage. It’s another building block in the continued growth of this division and directly supports the momentum we’re seeing around the Unified Group Services Little 500. The more high-profile races we create for non-wing sprint cars, the stronger the foundation becomes for the future of the Little 500 and pavement sprint car racing as a whole.”
