Does driving talent show up more on a shorter (1/4 mile) track or a longer (1/2) mile track? My gut tells me the longer the track the more the engine factors in and its less driver. Am I off base?

I'd say it all depends on each specific race and you can't really say with certainty one way or another. There's a reason Schatz has been nearly unbeatable at the biggest race in the world on a half and it's not the motor program, but itt's typically a well-prepared track where skill rises to the top.

Different skill sets required not only for different length tracks, but also the configuration (ie: minimal banking or high banked, circle, paperclip, etc.) and preparation play a ton into it. 

I feel like a bigger track requires more talent but it depends on what you have in mind when you are defining talent. On a larger track you spend alot more time in a corner and it takes a lot more skill in terms of throttle control, car placement throughout the corner, manuvering the car through the corner. On a small track corners are much easier to maneuver through you set the car and there is one short "slide" whereas on a bigger track there is a much longer "slide" which is a lot more difficult. Things that come to mind with a small track are hustle, aggressiveness, more physically demanding. Things that come to mind on a larger track are driving straight, keeping momentum up, a lot more throttle control, car placement throughout the corner. These things that come to mind for larger tracks are more of what I personally define as talent. Ford97 is right track conditions are really where talent shines through everyone is fast on a tacky track with a lot of moisture it takes a lot more talent on track that has slicked off large or small. On another note car setup is a bit more prevalent on a larger track. You are more likely to suffer with a bad setup on a larger track it will show up whereas on a smaller track your more likely to get a finish that's better than your car actually was. Just my opinion.....

Pretty much spot on. There's no doubt that success on a larger track takes a stronger engine and a better set-up but that doesn't mean it doesn't take a lot of skill as well. Speed definitely factors into it and as speed increases, so does the difficulty in controlling it. That's why a fast high-banked 3/8-4/10 mile gives you the best of both. 1/4 mile is just too small for a winged sprint IMO. 

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I'm a fan of smaller tracks myself but honestly, they both require talent in different ways. Bigger tracks, especially later in the event when it slicks off some, require a driver to be as smooth and straight as possible while trying to maintain momentum. That becomes harder to do in heavy traffic. Smaller tracks favor drivers with quick mental and physical reflexes. The track is tighter and you spend more time in traffic so you have to make quicker decisions and you have to have the reflexes to keep it moving and stay out of trouble. The fact is, the great ones have been able to rise to the top regardless of track size or configuration.

Like I posted once before.....while interviewing after a wild win on a short track Wolfgang said "when it comes to these kind of tracks you're either a racer or your not"

I'm gonna say both. Most of "the talent" has engines to run both. But I love my bullrings.

AS a Famous Crew Chief , Doug Howell once said 2 me  " Small Tracks Teach you about Traffic & Large Tracks Teach you about Driving "

I think the biggest thing you see on the short tracks is guys that are competitive without the high dollar motors. Look at Scherenburg, Bacon, Peck, Carson Short, etc that are running up front on the short tracks racing hard compared if you put them on a big track they are back markers. Give me a FALS, Pevely, Haubstaut or Jacksonville any day and I am a happy camper.

Short track - you are in traffic a lot quicker and you are required to make decisions quicker. Watch the youtube video of the recent All Star race at Waynesfield. Saldana and Bell were in lapped traffic in a matter of a few laps. Things happen quicker on a short/bullring-type track.

This. Each come with their own set of variables both mental and physical.  Short tracks do lend themselves to "even the playig field" (i.e. you don't need a big track motor so driver skill can overcome) a bit more.  I'm a shorter 3/8 - 4/10 guy myself but like a good bullring.  Nothing wrong with a fast 1/2 mile too (Eldora when prepped right, Kville, etc.).  Takes talent and skill to run both for different reasons and drivers will tell you that.

Sidenote story that may or may not relevant.  A driver told me once (or more than once) that running WG, because it's a paperclip, is like an all out sprint running into a brickwall, then all out sprint, then running into a brick wall.  Said it's quite tiring physically. 

Les Kepler, of Marks and Kepler fame, said WG was "two dragstrips hooked together with some little corners".

Ha, I like that one.  Our driver said to me "literally run full out sprint as fast as you can go and run straight into that brick wall, then get up and do it again..and again...and again.  That's what it is like to run WG." 

Short slide ?  and Long slide have me in stitches.  

There are so many variales to your questions it would take forever to answer them correctly. 

Some guys love the grove, long straights, with corner entry speeds found at few other places. Some hate the place for the same reason and like the small bull rings. If the car is right and you can drive it thru traffic ? Any driver will accept that.

Me personally, if the car is right, WG and port royal were fun. Burp that b*tch diving in the corners. There is no other feeling.

Needing a free car, go to path valley for pa speedweeks? Go ask Larson if he likes racing at  path  valley.

Great responses. Thanks. Appreciate the feedback. 

I'm just curious how many people commenting here have driven a sprint car in a race... I certainly haven't. 

My guess would be short/ long tracks require different skill sets. Which takes more skill, baseball or basketball? Apples & oranges, right?

So the best driver is good at both?

I would say that driver talent will show up the most at any track where you have to use the pedals and steering wheel, and to me that usually that has more to do with the track surface being slick than the track size. At the start of the night when the track has lots of bite you usually run the most basic standard chassis reccomended setup and pretty much anyone can run flat out at most tracks 3/8 or bigger without even touching the brakes  (if not flat out then you can just burp the throttle on/off for a split second). You will also have very very little, if any steering wheel movement when the track has bite, especially on a big fast track. That is easy to do and pretty much anyone with any amount of common sense could run a fast lap in track conditions like that. On a small bullring track at the start of the night when there’s lots of bite it takes more skill to be fast because you have to use the wheel and pedals. but nothing compares skill wise to when it gets slick. To be fast when It gets slick you really have to get your setup right stagger, wing angle and shock wise, you have to use the throttle and the brakes to control your wheelspin, you really have to know what to do with your in car wing adjustment because the track usually gets slicker as the race goes on and your fuel load burns down which completely changes the balance of the car, you have to search for bite/different lines on the racetrack and sometimes get way up higher towards the wall, you have to be conscious of if and where the track is taking rubber, and you really have to wheel the car around competitors and or lapped cars that are sliding around in front of you. Some tracks, regardless of size usually get really slick and some don’t, it’s all dependant on the weather and the track prep, but I would definitely say that the real talent shows through on a slick track.

Most defintely. I learned that much in my brief go-karting career. Warm-ups on the wet tracky track were a stomp and steer blast. After the track slicked off it was whole different ball game and I went from thinking I was Mario Andretti to....well, sucking.

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