LAS VEGAS — The Only Bulls Open Wheel Showdown has quickly established itself as one of the biggest open wheel events of the entire calendar year.
The event features other divisions, but the open wheel classes have been the foundation of the event. The $50,000-to-win winged sprint car class has been the highlight of the event for the past four seasons.
This will be the fourth edition of this fan favorite classic. A lot has changed since the inaugural 2023 event, but one thing is certain, its continued to grow each and every year since.
The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been the only home the event has known. This year’s November 5-7 event will greet drivers and crews with a freshly repaved surface. This could make things very interesting.
Teams that have dominated the event in years past will be searching for new tips and information on how to set the car up for the new surface.
In addition to Winged Sprint Cars, this year’s event will also feature Modifieds, Supermodifieds, INEX Legends, INEX Bandoleros, and for the first time, Non-Winged Sprint Cars. Nearly 300 cars are expected for this year’s event.
Many consider this the modern-day Copper World Classic. The Copper World Classic was a multi-day event that was held at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona from 1977-2009. Much like the Open Wheel Showdown, it annually featured a variety of classes, headlined by open wheel cars.
The event has annually featured winged sprint cars as the highlight of the event. Over the past three years, the winged sprint car portion of the race as slowly built itself up as the Knoxville Nationals of winged pavement sprint cars.
The 100-lap A-main for the winged sprint cars annually features a purse well in excess of $150,000 with $50,000 going to the winner.
The date and location have proved to be a factor of the events success. Held each November, most every series in the country have concluded their seasons by then. Teams migrate to the more favorable weather conditions that Nevada offers at that time of year.
For event promotor Davey Hamilton Jr., this one weekend of racing takes 365 days of planning and coordinating. Preparations for the following year begin the day after the conclusion of the event. It has become a full-time job for Hamilton Jr.
What began as a dream, is now a reality for the creative young promotor. He has helped elevate the sport to what it is today thanks to his efforts of the Open Wheel Showdown. His ideas created the blueprint for additional big paying winged pavement sprint car races around the country.
“Leading up to the race it’s such a mental stress. I don’t wanna do anything but be at the track,” explained Hamilton Jr. “Until the event is over, that’s all that’s on my mind.”
Once the event begins, Hamilton will cast aside his role as event promotor and slide into the role of event competitor. He will be competing in this year’s winged sprint car portion of the event for the fourth consecutive year. He would like nothing more than the chance to add his name to the list of winners of the event he created.
“I try to focus on just being a competitor on race day as best as I can. But I’ve had people come up to me while I’m sitting in the car with my helmet on and tell me their wrist band broke,” laughed Hamilton. ”I have a great staff where everybody knows their roles. It’s still my event and I’m the main point of contact for ninety percent of the vendors and sponsors. That’s OK. It’s my baby and I want it to pe perfect.
“What people don’t understand is I don’t have a million dollars in my pocket. This event is $650,000 just to break even. That’s with the track rental, the purse, insurance, staff, and all the additional expendables that you wanna have to make this event special.
“Fireworks, the stage, jumbotron, fencing, and stuff like that. I occasionally get people tell me they’ll come out if I give them free tires or pit passes. I can’t do that. This is a business. If people want to see this event succeed and happen, they gotta support it.
“This is a business, not a hobby to me. To put this event on I have hustle and get sponsorships. Then I have to do all my calculations throughout the year to make sure the entry fees, RV spots, tire sales, pit pass sales, all that is gonna equal out to hopefully breaking even, and then I’ll know I’ve done a good job. So, there’s a lot of work involved.”
With limited pit space, adding divisions and additional cars may not be possible going forward. Hamilton was asked how he can continue to grow the event based on this fact.
“The initiative is that the winged sprint cars are supposed to be the premier class, and they always will be. But what it’s really turning into is an Indy 500 for Open Wheel Modifieds and now the Supermodifieds. The car count for the Supermodifieds is gonna be the biggest anywhere all year.”
