Winged Sprint Cars
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Sprint cars are small, high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short dirt or paved tracks. Sprint cars have a high power-to-weight ratio making sprint car racing exciting with speeds in excess of 140 MPH on some tracks. This speed often also makes it very dangerous. The safety record of sprint car racing in recent years has been greatly improved by the use of roll cages to protect the drivers, which, since the 1970's, are often joined by wings mounted on top of the cars to give them sufficient downforce so as not to become airborne as readily as was previously the case. In case the car went airborne, the tumbles were not as violent, and the wing would break off or absorb the impact of the flip. In some cases, teams are able to replace the wing during the ensuing red flag and be able to race once the race resumed.

Many NASCAR drivers got their start in sprint car racing, including Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. As a challenging form of auto racing, sprint car racing is considered an excellent training ground for NASCAR series.

For a complete history of sprint car racing, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum located in Knoxville, IA features exhibits to highlight the history of both winged and non-wing sprint cars.

In the early 1970s, many sprint car drivers began to put wings with sideboards on both the front and top of their cars. The added wings increased the downforce generated on the car, with the opposite direction of the sideboards helping to turn the car in the corners.

With the addition of wings, a new sanctioning body and touring series to promote the sport was founded. In 1978, Ted Johnson formed the leading promotional body for winged sprints car called the World of Outlaws. Racing throughout the United States from March to November, the World of Outlaws is the premier dirt sprint car racing series. Famous tracks featured in the series included the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa and Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Each August, the Knoxville Raceway holds the paramount sprint car event, the Knoxville Nationals.