(Photos by Charles Wickam) – Professional level racers competing on the World of Outlaws circuit are easily the hardest core racers of any type in the country. The schedule is ruthless, incredible, and unending. There are weeks still where these guys will compete four times at four tracks in four different states. On the weeks that they are lucky, the teams get to stay put in the same place for two days at a whack. No other series, no matter what type of racing we’re talking about competes like that. The boys and girls of the World of Outlaws realm were recently at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas and our man Charles Wickam was on the scene with his picture taking machine.
Winged sprint cars are gnarly and their drivers have the personalities and the attitudes to match their often ornery machines. For many, the World of Outlaws is the destination series that they want to compete in. For some it is a large step onto equipment that is even faster and runs on a more solid surface. The skills required to be successful in these cars are varied and finite but the biggest one that cannot be measured is courage. The reality is that some of the meanest crashes in racing come out of this series. Open wheels, huge speeds, a surface that is ever-changing mean that at any moment you could be literally tumbling through the air out of control.
Charles nailed these photos at Royal Purple Raceway and we thank him for sending them to us. Darn Pittman was the man who won the event. We’ll be back with more images tomorrow!
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I absolutely live for dirt track sprint car racing.