Sprint car racing: America's action sport!
#2M Brent Kaeding and #14P Kevin Pylant in heat race action at the 1998
NARC opener at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA.
#2M Brent Kaeding and #14P Kevin Pylant in heat race action at the 1998
NARC opener at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA.
Sprint Car home / The cars / The drivers / The tracks / Fallen heroes / The California scene / Sprint links
Updated 1 April 2007:
Whaddya know, the Webmaster can operate a camera! Have a look at some
images from
the
USAC-CRA sprint car race at Kings Speedway on March 31. Look for
more from yours truly soon.
Updated 23 March 1998:
Check out the racing in my home state at The California Sprint Car Scene. It's still under construction -- let me know what you think!
Updated 17 March 1998:
Rising star Bud Kaeding was injured in a crash at Silver Dollar Speedway March 14th. Fortunately it appears he will make a full recovery. See my Get Well, Bud! page for more info.
1995 was an exciting year for sprint car racing. First time champions, as well as many-time repeat winners were crowned across the country, and records were broken! Follow this link for a photo-journalistic tribute of a few of 1995's sprint car champions.
Sprint car racing is a uniquely American form of motorsport, spawned during the early 20th century at fairground horse tracks, where it is still popular today. In my opinion it is the most exciting form of auto racing anywhere in the world!
Once considered a steppingstone to the Indianapolis 500 before the arrival of rear-engined Indy cars in the early 1960s, sprint car racing languished for years in obscurity. But the advent of cable TV coverage in the 1980s brought new interest, and sponsor dollars, into the sport. No longer a steppingstone, sprint car racing today may be as popular as it has ever been.
Why would anyone watch cars go 'round and 'round in a circle? You won't find the answer by watching a sprint car race on television; you have to experience it in person. Even the best home theater setup can't do justice to the sensory overload of sprint car racing.
Imagine you're watching single-car qualifying. The first thing you notice is the noise: the roar of the engine and the whine of the rear gears, and the occasional screech of the big rear tires against the track surface. Then you feel the breeze stirred by the big wings as the car speeds by in excess of 100 MPH. As the car enters the turn, it translates forward momentum into a shower of soft clay in the Turn 1 stands. The distinctive odor of burnt methanol hits you next, as you watch the driver frantically shuffle the steering wheel to keep the car on the track and pointed in the right direction, looking right to turn left. You can't believe a car could be that far sideways and yet not only under control, but accelerating at a fantastic rate!
Multiply this scene by 20, and you begin to understand the thrill of watching a sprint car race in person. Best of all, if you live in the US, it happens most every Friday or Saturday night at a race track near you.
A sprint car is a rolling anachronism; a noisy, powerful, fragile, ill-tempered beast that's a handful to drive. Follow this link to find out more about the machinery behind the mayhem.
The real stars of the show are the drivers, who can make these awkward-looking machines dance and fly around a clay oval. Here are a few of the heroes whose bravery and skill get tested every Saturday night.
There are almost too many sanctioning organizations to mention here! Look for this section to get a page of its own soon.
The World of Outlaws national championship series is the best known winged sprint car racing series in the USA.
Regional clubs throughout the US and Canada produce future Outlaw stars, and some darned good racing in their own right! California organizations include the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) and Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA). The All-Star Circuit of Champions reigns supreme in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Others include New York State's Empire Super Sprints (ESS), and the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) in the Midwest.
The best known non-winged sprint car series is run by the Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA), based in Southern California. The United States Auto Club (USAC) runs non-winged races at tracks throughout the American Midwest. A few local tracks run without wings.
Sprint car racing can be found at many dirt ovals across the US, with the exceptions of New England and the Carolinas where stock car racing is king. But it is most popular in Central Pennsylvania, much of the Midwest including the Mississippi valley, Oklahoma and Texas, and throughout California. Here is one race fan's guide to the sprint car tracks of the US.
Outside the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand also have sprint car racing. But I don't know enough about these other countries to describe their racing here. If you know something about sprint car racing outside the US, please drop me a note so I can add it to this page.
By its nature, sprint car racing is a hazardous sport. Despite ever-tighter safety standards, occasionally the unthinkable happens and a driver is severely injured or killed. Follow this link for a tribute to sprint car racing's fallen heroes.
The list of sprint car links has grown so much it needs a separate page! Check out my new and improved Sprint Links.
With the help of ace photographer Steve Lafond of Tear Off Heaven Fotos, I hope to add some spectacular images of sprint car racing action. And as time permits, I'll add listings of local sprint car tracks throughout the US. Keep checking this page; it is only going to get better!
The Sprint Car Page and related pages are copyright © 1994-2007 Chuck Fry. Unless otherwise stated, photos are by Steve Lafond and are copyright © 1993-2007 Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.
See the full copyright notice for details.
In addition to the folks named above, I offer thanks to the many people who have offered information or links. Sorry to say, there are now too many to list here! But thank you all -- I couldn't have done it without your help.