Fall of 360 Racing?

With so many rumors being circulated right now with the direction of 360 sprint car racing, I decided to look back at a article I wrote in March 2011 for Flat Out Magazine.  I compared costs of 410 and 360 racing with Tyler Swank at the time. Remember in 2010 when the 360 appeared to be winning the balance of car counts at races over 410?  At the end of the 2010 season both Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz raced and won some ASCS events.  At that moment I thought 360's might be tipping the scale for good. Maybe the WoO would change to 360 engines as a cost savings measure. That didn't happen and the balance has swung back in favor of 410 racing the past couple of years. The ASCS hNational series has cut back their schedule the past couple of years (67 in 2012, 54 in 2013, 46 in 2014). So what happened?  What changed?  Maybe I was on to something back then because it didn't make sense then why there were more 360 cars, and still doesn't today looking back.  A couple of things have happened over the past few years.  Engine costs for 360's has increased to be the equivalent of 410's, the 360 purse's haven't gone up to compete with 410 races, and the emergence of 305 sprint cars.  The answer isn't an easy one but it's in that combination somewhere I believe.  Enjoy this trip down memory lane...

Thankful for the NSL

The creation of Tod Quiring’s National Sprint League is a huge deal in the Midwest.  For years I have been hoping for something like this to happen and the NSL is exactly the right idea. Thank you to Tod Quiring for stepping up. Sprint car teams can race multiple nights a week in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, California, and now we have the same opportunity for teams and fans in the Midwest.

Knoxville is the hub of sprint car racing, yet you can’t find much sprint car racing surrounding the hub unless you drive 3 or 5 hours away from Knoxville (especially 410’s). So many people move to Iowa just to race at Knoxville: Kerry Madsen, Ian Madsen, Skip Jackson, Jayme Moyle, Wayne Johnson, RJ Johnson, and Keoni Texeira… all of them have moved from other countries or states to be able to race at the Mecca of dirt track racing.  They only had one or two places to race regularly, but now with the addition of the NSL the landscape changes.

Thank You Sammy

Studio 92 Photo - 2013

The career of Sammy Swindell at the Knoxville Raceway is something that I cherish being able to see in my lifetime.  There were so many ups and downs and dramatic moments.  He was cheered and jeered, and when Sammy spoke, people listened. And no driver will ever have the innovative engineering talents and skills Sammy has.  There is a lot to celebrate and remember about his career.

Sammy won 48 features here at Knoxville, which ranks fifth all time on our career wins list, and one of those was the 1983 Knoxville Nationals. Breaking down those 48 feature wins at Knoxville, 24 were World of Outlaws sanctioned events, 7 Nationals preliminary feature wins, 1 win in the only USAC sanctioned winged sprint car event at Knoxville in 1988, and in 1982 Sammy swept Twin Features night, one of only six drivers to accomplish that.  Sammy also won 3 features in the 360 class here, one of those being the last win of his career at this year’s 360 Knoxville Nationals preliminary night.