They came from South Florida and West Texas. They established Central Pennsylvania as a professional honey pot, raided Ohio often and placed all of America behind the curve on Sprint Car technology. They launched the All Star Circuit of Champions in 1970 then pestered a Wisconsin salesman to start the World of Outlaws in 1978.
The World of Outlaws stamped it as “The World’s Fastest Dirt Track”. The rake was too steep to scale on foot. Water trucks would have toppled so the surface was sprayed from below. Chutes stood longer than a horseman’s half at 0.54 mile to enable heavy boots to carry corner speed greater than any marquee
“Dirt is for racing. Asphalt is for getting there.” A witty slogan to some but religion to others. Scour the Eldora camps and it may be a tattoo. Dirt is the Earth’s first surface obviously. When chariots conducted the original oval race, no gladiator pitted for fresh tires. Science created asphalt as “a thick, sticky,
April Fools’ Day is no holiday. No child is excused from school. No mail carriers hit the golf course. Auto racing does not circle the date as part of a three-day weekend. April Fools’ Day is basically a 24-hour moratorium on lying. The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series has raced nine
Jimmy Horton had a career decision to make. He had been chosen to follow Sammy Swindell into the Nance Speed Equipment that netted 1981-82 championships with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. To racers not from New Jersey or New York, Horton had an easy choice. But those guys never won 42 Modified Stock Car
“Let’s never forget what happened September 11th. They’re trying to change our country but we’re not going to let them.” Two decades ago, in the rubble of the deadly airstrike on America, that quote could have been pinned on George W. Bush, U.S President for eight months by 9/11. Instead, that solemn promise came from
Ask any kid in a Quarter Midget where they dream to race. Most will answer Indianapolis or Daytona because 500-milers in those hallowed cathedrals are America’s most famous, most prestigious, most lucrative events. To win either is to be immortal. To win both is to be A.J Foyt or Mario Andretti. Foyt and Mario rose
Florida is a unique peninsula to motorsports. More international racers have used it as a winter escape than a base of operations, Bill France and Smokey Yunick excluded. France famously suffered car trouble in Daytona Beach and decided it was as good a place as any to launch NASCAR America. Smokey flew an airplane above
Outlaws built the Chili Bowl. Sure it was Emmett Hahn’s brilliant idea to create the world’s greatest indoor track but he required Outlaws to fill his hometown oil expo. Hahn had no business with Sammy Swindell or Doug Wolfgang prior to the first Chili Bowl Midget Nationals but Lanny Edwards did. Lanny and Beverly Edwards
The day after Christmas is Boxing Day in Australia. It is a shopping festival not unlike Black Friday in America where “boxing” can mean fistfights over the last video game. Boxing Day is also the annual start of Australia’s Sprint Car Speedweek. In a year free from a global pandemic, 10 Americans would be far
