Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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I read something similar to that, and I believe it was an article in Open Wheel many years ago.   He cut out the track and then stopped because he was concerned that speeds were already so high on the 1/2 mile.    

Don't remember the year, but Bubby Jones and Opp put on an amazing show at Springfield in a late season open comp race. What might be considered good racing is possible on a mile, but is far riskier than it would be on a shorter track.

Van had considerable help from Paul Pitzer to begin that crash. But thats the subject for a different rant.

The worst crash I ever saw was when Doc Dawson was killed at Springfield. I've never seen a car come apart like that before.

The Silver Crown cars are 360 cubes or 358 something like that.  They weigh more and do not have the speed of a winged 410.  They do put on a great show.  Saw one live at  Springfield mile years ago.

Ever see the video of Sammy Swindell at Syracuse on the front stretch when his front wing mounts broke loose!  His car took off like an airplane leaving the runway at probably around 155-160 mph then just came back down on the wheels.

I also remember Sammy in an interview talking about the closing speeds when coming up on lapped cars at Syracuse. Talking about reaction times as he was probably lapping them at 60 mph faster than the lapped cars were going.

I saw my first EVER W of O Sprint Car race at The Ground Round at the Syracuse Mile.  There was a heckuva crash at theStart-Finish line on the first lap.  Stevie Smith and a few others were involved, Johnnie (sp) Birosh (sp) broke his leg also.  Later on Dale Blaney hit the wall in turn one when something broke, it was a nasty, nasty wreck.  Sammy won that afternoon race and later on completed the Double by winning at Rolling Wheels.....

This has been fun to read everyone's responses.  I've watched a few of the Syracuse races on youtube and I was never impressed with the racing.  I tend to agree with whoever said that they would need a purpose built car to race at those tracks.  Which then got me thinking they would probably do lots of wind tunnel testing.  Which then got me wondering, with the money and resources available to Stewart and Kahne, do they do wind tunnel testing now?

I'm just throwing this out there only because in my old age, I've learned to like change.  I know that sounds strange to say and just to clarify, I like change for everyone but me lol, I love watching a challenge thrown in there that teams can't practice and how they respond.  From reading here I think everyone is concerned the speeds they would run.  Which I think is a valid concern.  But what if they didn't run those speeds?  NASCAR has a similar problem with running tracks that are too fast for the safety of the cars and they slowed the cars down with a restrictor plate.  Yes I know NASCAR uses EFI where sprint cars use mechanical fuel injection but what if they came up with a cheap and easy way to restrict the engines to about 400 HP for these races?  While also allowing no body modifications.  Would there be drafting? Would there be sling shot passes.  Would there be a constant train of double wide racing?    Would there be people who hang around the back and then go like hell the last 5 laps?  Just to clarify, I don't want to see the WOO turned into NASCAR and this is not the type of racing I would want to see all the time.  Ideally I would love it if it paid the absolute minimum for a WOO race (so no one wants to build a special car) and it was run at the earliest part of the season to avoid championship implications as much as possible and it was only run once a year.  All I'm saying is this could be a fun thing to watch how the drivers respond.  Also just to be clear, I'm speaking only from a fan's perspective, I'm certain teams and drivers wouldn't like this but for me, I would have to watch.

I guess my original post was could it be safe to run a mile track today and maintain the insane speeds of 150 plus. I think I got my answer. I dont really want to watch slow cars on a mile track

 Speed is part of racing and the more speed the more excitement most times. But if the cars are gonna shake apart and get airborne no need to see that. Seems like most of you are saying today's cars cant do it. 

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

I've seen Silver Crown twice, on half miles. Not so thrilling for me

But i have some good friends in Indiana who love SC on big tracks. I suspect its a nostalgia thing, going back to the day when dirt track "Champ Cars" led directly to Indy 500

I have no doubt its "possible", & no reason to doubt what you're saying

But I'm talking more about "probable", based on my limited experience compared to some of you lifetime fans

I'd definitely be willing to check out a mile race if it wasn't a long drive (which it always is for me...)

Several years ago, I made a racing weekend trip to watch the Indy 500 and all of the races leading up to it.   I was really excited to see the Silver Crown cars race at the Indy Mile.   It was going to be the first time to watch both the Silver Crown cars and to watch a dirt race on a mile speedway.   I had just discovered the greatness of the USAC midgets and was hoping for a similiar experience with the Silver Crown cars.  

It was one of the more disappointing nights of racing that I have seen.   There was not a lot about that night that I was overly excited about.   When I hear people talke about the greatness of Silver Crown cars, I always shake my head.   I truely believe it is a notalgia feeling.   

They transported him by ambulance.  Hospital is only a few minutes away.  I believe a photog that was stationed in turn 3 got to him & began CPR before track ambulance crew got there.  It was vicious.  He came close to completely leaving the ballpark & the other side of turn 3 is an embankment.  Would have been ugly.  

As to the silver crown races, they can get strung out.  That series has seen a resurgence in the last few years though & the last couple Springfield races (rained out this year) were very good.  The 2018 was among the best races I've seen at the mile in any class.  

The 1 mile dirt tracks are waaaaaaaaaaaay too fast to insure a reasonable degree of driver safety. That goes for midgets and sprint cars, wingers or wingless, late models and modifieds. I too was at Springfield the day Dan Drinan had his horrible crash. It was truly frightening and it is a good thing that the midgets or sprints no longer race on dirt mile's.

Sammy Swindell, driving a WoO winged 410 sprint car, holds what is believed to be the record for the fastest lap ever run on a dirt track, 24.719 @ 145.637 MPH. I was at The Springfield Mile for that qualification lap and it was very scary. The Illinois State Police had a radar gun set up at the entrance to turn #3 and it was reported that day that Sammy was driving into #1 and #3 in excess of 170 MPH!! 

Much of the hard core fan allure of the big cars (Silver Crown) on the mile dirt tracks comes from knowing that the driver has to be keenly aware of the changing track conditions and be highly proficient in tire and equipment management. Not all drivers are that proficient and it always shows.  As has been said previously, sometimes the Silver Crown cars get strung out on a dirt mile. If, as a fan, you're big into the slam bang, muscle up tactics needed to be great on bull rings you probably won't enjoy dirt mile racing. Clacking wheels on a little bull ring can be similar to being 12 feet apart on a dirt mile where the corner entry speeds are regularly in excess of 150 MPH. It takes a bit of thought in order to fully appreciate what happens during a 100 mile Silver Crown event. Nostalgia may be part of the loyalty to the division and the tracks but the racing will stand on it's own merits against anything out there.

Those who have attended the last 3 or 4 Silver Crown events at Springfield will tell you that the racing was as good as you'll ever see on any size track. Period. Same goes for the last 5 or 6 Silver Crown events at Du Quoin under the lights. Those night races see cars running the cushion way up high next to the outside wall. There is nothing more beautiful as a Crown car running the high line cushion. For whatever reason the racing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds wasn't nearly as good as Springfield & Du Quoin.

For those who would dismiss Silver Crown 1 mile dirt track racing at Springfield & Du Quoin, think again. Over the past half dozen years it's as good as it gets. The 2018 race at Springfield was the best racing we saw all year and that includes all the nights of the Chili Bowl and all of the Indiana Sprint Week events of that year.

900+ HP short short wheelbase sprintcars with that big top wing hammering into the wind are too scary to imagine.  I doubt if sprint car drivers would be interested in this "gamble".  Would be a bit too squrirelly down the long straight-aways.  Talk about "elbows up"? Silver Crown cars are the best looking race car on the planet, but no interest in seeing 20 of them on a mile track.   

Lawlessness + liberalism = HELL -  NYC, Detroit, Chicago, 
Seattle, LA  Who the H runs those cities. 

Love em both... Springfield during the fair

Sitting on top of turn 1, under the lights at DuQuoin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLSQ59ujFA

Actually over the past 4 or 5 seasons the car counts at Indy, Springfield and Du Quion have been in the upper 30's to lower 40's with a LCQ needed to set the field. 2018 at Springfield there were a half dozen lead changes in the last 10 miles. If that ain't good racin' it's tough to figure what is.

I agree with this. I like the Silver Crown cars themselves and it is fun to see them unwind on a mile track. I would go see them if the stars aligned, but really the racing isn't that great. In fact, every sprint car, midget or silver crown race I've seen on a dirt mile has been rather dull and I still remember Cory Kruseman's terrifying crash at Sacramento. The only good mile races I remember seeing were the old Copper World Classics in the mid to late 80's at PIR, but that's a completely different animal.

According to Earl Baltes' biography he got cold feet when nearing completion of the 1 mile dirt track. There is no mention by Earl in his book as to the anticipation of speeds being too high. He just wasn't convinced the mile would be a good business venture. I asked Jack Hewitt less than a year ago whether or not him or anyone else turned any hot laps on the track and he stated unequivocally that no one had ever lapped Earls Mile in a race car. I'll take ol' Jack's word for it.

https://www.vintagesprintcars.com/2019/01/17/the-eldora-mile/