[Diggsy]

I like both, but if someone were to ask me to choose, my preference would be the non-wing. But regardless of which type of sprint car is on the track, I enjoy what I'm watching. I'm not one of these people who think a winged car drives itself or strapping into a non-winged sprint car makes you more talented. I have respect and admiration for drivers who strap into anything.

It seems like the winged shows wind up being follow the leader and all strung out, which is a shame because there are some great drivers running wings yet putting on some dull shows. In my memories the winged races were so exciting. Then again, maybe my rememberer isn't what it used to be. The non-wing cars can lay some real eggs too, but more often than not it seems like the on-track action is just...better.

Don't get me wrong, I love sprint cars, regardless of whether they're sporting the wing or not. I grew up here in Indiana and remember when the weekly shows would be non-winged for years, then switch to winged, then back to non-winged, so I have an appreciation for both. States around us that run sprints seem to gravitate toward the wings and Indiana remains, for the most part, non-wing. The wingers run for big money every weekend while a $5,000 to win show is a big deal for the non-wingers. Yet it's those non-wing drivers who eventually move up the racing ladder, so to speak. Color me crazy, but I've always found that dichotomy really interesting.

[Dick Monahan]

I wish you'd all call them Traditional Sprints and Super Sprints.

I was there when the first plywood wings started getting put on cars. I thought they sucked then and still do today. With a wing you try to keep the car as straight as possible and you need a strong engine cause of the bite, also due to more traction and horsepower it tends to cost more in the long run racing a winged car. In my opinion why would anyone want to take the sideways out of a sprinter ? On top of all that you take a incredibly good looking car and make it look like crap by putting a wing on. Faster isnt always better. BACKITIN, thats the name of the game when it's played right.

[Sprints!]

The race that paid $200K to the winner was called the Mopar Million and was held at Eldora...... I wish for another, one with a wing and one without, I love them both!!!

Originally Posted by Sprints! The race that paid $200K to the winner was called the Mopar Million and was held at Eldora...... I wish for another, one with a wing and one without, I love them both!!!

Cool, I just looked it up. I was 'lost in the woods' in 'misery'(MO) in September of 2003 (basic training)

---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 PM ----------

I talked to a guy that ran wings a few times... said it was like being in a tornado with a billboard. He mentioned you could drive them harder into the turns, making the racing harder on the motor (which is one reason why hired guys do better in somebody else's car - they don't have to pay for the motors or the tires!). He said they were no easier to drive than non-wings, as was my original perception, but they do hold you down to the track. I imagine being stuck to a track during a tornado would make passing extremely difficult.

I found this on Smokey Yunick's wikipedia page, but I'm not sure when they showed up on sprints: "In 1962, Yunick changed open wheel racing forever when he mounted a wing on Jim Rathmann's Simoniz Vista Special Watson Roadster. The wing, designed to increase downforce, allowed Rathmann to reach cornering speeds never before seen at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but created so much drag that it actually caused the car to record slower lap times. The United States Automobile Club (USAC) immediately banned the use of wings but they soon began to appear on cars competing in Can-Am and Formula One and by the early 1970s USAC once again allowed their use."

Of course, currently, open wheel racing is not so much about innovation. It's more about marketing and sponsorships and filling seats. Wings allow for more advertising space and it's easier to see a driver's number.

[interpreter66]

non-wing
i like'm 3 wide and side by side,and thats just in the cornor!

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester All I know is Jac Haudenschild won 200k without a wing at Eldora Stevie Smith won 150k and Dickie Gaines won 100k. ALL IN THE SAME RACE

Two winged drivers take off the wing and finish first and second. Imagine that? I could have swore I read on here USAC drivers were the best in the world.

Originally Posted by Russ Two winged drivers take off the wing and finish first and second. Imagine that? I could have swore I read on here USAC drivers were the best in the world.

Ouch! This must be why mother raised me not to talk about money. The United States of USAC (not affiliated with USAC) attributes this 2003 Mopar Million outlaw cherry pickin' incident on the 'construction work on the road to Indy'

[mowerman]

Originally Posted by deannalynn Ouch! This must be why mother raised me not to talk about money. The united states of usac (not affiliated with usac) attributes this 2003 mopar million outlaw cherry pickin' incident on the 'construction work on the road to indy'

??????????????

[sp6967]

sprint cars don't have wings.