Wingless or winged sprints?
By Mike Leone
For 7/16/04
The debate has raged on for years in the sprint car community. Is it tougher to drive a winged sprint car or a non-winged sprint car? No matter which side of the equation you come down on, there’s one thing you can say about both styles of sprint car racing- their fans are adamant that their way of doing things is THE way to go!
If only we could settle the issue at one track, on the same night. Wait a minute! Mercer Raceway Park once again comes to rescue as we present “Wingless - The Return/Part IV Plus” on Saturday, July 24. Both the sprint cars and the midget cars will get an opportunity to test their skills with and without the wings. The sportsman modifieds, stock cars, and strictly stocks will also be in action.
The midget portion of the program falls under the sanction of the ARDC (American Racing Drivers Club). ARDC has been sanctioning midget races since 1938. While they may not all that familiar to fans in Western Pa., they have had some pretty famous drivers win features with he club. Guys like Mario Andretti, Eddie Sachs, Wally Dallenbach, Sr., Pancho Carter, Larry Dickson, and Mel Kenyon are some of the more familiar names to race fans no matter where you hail from.
Last year Ed Stimley, Jr. proved he could not only drive a midget without the wing, he showed them the fast way around in the winged feature as well. It seems Mercer Raceway Park brings out the best in women racers. The 410 sprint car one lap track record is still held by Erin Crocker, and last year in the winged midget feature rookie driver Michele Miller rode home second with her sister Tracy finishing fifth. Oh by the way, their dad, Mike, also races midgets.
Given the open wheel configuration of a sprint car, you will find them running close, but not too close to one another due the twitchy nature of a 1200-pound car being powered by a 900 horsepower engine, and glued to the racing surface by a 25 square-foot wing. However, when you take the wing off, the action gets much closer. Sometimes it gets too close. Just ask perennial Mercer winged and wingless sprint car winner Jamie Smith about his “run in” with Rob Chaney who punted Smith out of the way on the final corner to win a few years ago.
The non-winged portion of the program asks more of the driver. The winged portion of the show puts an emphasis on the car and motor. Randy Kriegisch has been a regular supporter of Mercer Raceway Park. Last year he was involved in a pretty horrible crash on the front stretch that gave him cause to rethink his involvement in the sport. However he brought his car out for the non-winged race and the first time he sat in the seat he won his heat!
That’s the biggest bonus I see about non winged sprint car racing. It has a way of evening out the playing field. Without that giant wing literally forcing the car down onto the track surface, you have to be very careful not to overpower the chassis as you enter the corner. Also with non wing racing you will get a better chance to see the driver working the steering wheel. With the rock guard in place on the right side of the car the best view is when the cars are moving down the back stretch. Don’t forget your binoculars. It will give you a whole new perspective on sprint car racing as you watch them saw the wheel.
Last year, the winged and wingless sprint car feature found two good friends sharing the winners circle. Jamie Smith won the non-wing portion, and Ralph Spithaler took the winged race. That’s the way I look at this non-wing versus wing stuff as two good friends come out sharing the laurels. Of course you know what they say….“You have no friends on the track.”
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