Column By: DERICK KRINER / RPW – MECHANICSBURG, PA – On the heels of the annual USAC Eastern Storm tour through Pennsylvania, it appears drivers and fans, are still fascinated with the wingless warriors.
The United States Auto Club has a long standing relationship with the Keystone state and it’s tracks. Williams Grove, being one of the original tracks that was a part of the inaugural 1956 USAC schedule, points to the fact that USAC has deep roots in Pennsylvania.
With the recent turnout from drivers and fans, the sanctioning body has to be energized to come back and put on more great shows in the future. What type of changes could we see in the future to keep this great ‘partnership’ between the tracks and the series together and what is working?
The majority of the shows throughout the week produced good racing and also gave fans at tracks that don’t normally get to see a ton a sprint car racing, a taste of the 900 horsepower monsters. The track variety is also nice for the drivers.
With tracks ranging from a 1/5 mile at Kutztown, to the big half miles of Williams Grove and Port Royal, everyone gets to experience it all. They are also treated to a special three division show on Saturday that features the premier divisions of sprint car racing, giving fans the opportunity to witness one of the only events close to Eldora Speedway’s 4-Crown Nationals, minus the midget tour cars.
This is what keeps the interest of the fans because they get to experience racing that is foreign, in some regard, to the normal programs they see every week.
What USAC needs to continually evaluate, is the potential to switch up tracks. Now this is always easier said than done, but with fans being energized by the action at Action Track USA on Sunday, maybe the series moves to make the Sunday show full points.
There are also a few other tracks that have hosted USAC before that want to get back on the Eastern Storm schedule. Tracks like Selinsgrove and Path Valley have played host to the wingless sprint car series on several occasions and could be interchanged with other tracks to keep the week-long tour in rotation and “spreading the wealth.”
Another positive for the USAC series as a whole is the evolution of the USAC East Coast 360 division. Running at the majority of the tracks that the 410 Eastern Storm goes to gives younger, or less experienced drivers, the chance to practice up to potentially compete against the national tour drivers.
Drivers like Briggs Danner and Alex Bright have proved themselves to be fast in the 360’s and show speed when they compete with the 410 motor under the hood. Having the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast series, is a great way to keep fans and tracks interested in wingless racing year-round and provide a feeder division to the national tour.
The increase in car counts in this season’s edition of the tour, showed that drivers and owners want to compete on these PA/NJ tracks. Knowing you can go run races at good facilities and make good money on the back end from merchandise sales makes the trip even more worth it for teams.
With the increase in streaming of these events, more eyes are put on the series as it moves through the week-long tour, and this increases interest in bringing the Amsoil National Tour cars back to the Keystone state over and over again.