Hometown Driver Tony Main Excited for Return to Winchester Speedway
Hometown Driver Tony Main Excited for Return to Winchester Speedway
WINCHESTER, Ind. — Few drivers in the yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour field have the hometown connection to Winchester Speedway that Tony Main carries with him every time he enters the historic high-banked half-mile.
The Farmland, Indiana native grew up just minutes from Winchester Speedway and has been making memories at the track long before he ever climbed behind the wheel of a sprint car.
"I've got a lot of really good memories from being around the track," Main said. "It started with my grandpa Elvin taking me out on practice days and getting to ride in the push truck with Wilbur Hoffman. That's where I watched and got really close with Donnie Adams Sr. Those are memories that have stayed with me."
Tony Main practicing at Winchester in 2025 - Jack Kessler Photo
Main made his first sprint car start at Winchester in 2019 and returned again in 2025 when the yourBIGplan.com 500 sprint car tour raced at Winchester for the first time. Main finished 8th last year, tied for his best finish last season. The upcoming Tom Bigelow Showdown will mark his third appearance at the legendary speedway in a pavement sprint car.
While drivers often compare Winchester to Salem Speedway because of the speed, Main believes the track's demanding banking creates a challenge unlike any other stops on the Tour schedule.
"The banking and how hard you can drive the car makes it different," Main explained. "The speed at Salem is similar, but the amount of throttle you can use and how aggressive you have to be with driving the car is what stands out. Then when you get into traffic, everybody else is moving around because they're driving just as hard. You have to be aggressive."
Racing close to home provides extra motivation for the veteran driver.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent," Main said. "I'll have more friends there and more folks that I see every day. People I work with and local fire crews that I know so well. It definitely means a lot in that aspect."
The June 28 event honors sprint car legend Tom Bigelow, whose impact on Winchester Speedway continues to be felt decades after his racing career.
"Tom has been such a spokesman and a character for Winchester," Main said. "He's been such a promoter for the speedway that it's great to be able to give him some special praise at the race. Everybody loves talking to Tom and hearing the stories he has. His era of racing is so special to a lot of people, and he was so good."
As the Tour returns to Winchester for the second running of the Tom Bigelow Showdown, Main hopes recent improvements will help his team continue moving forward against one of the toughest fields in pavement sprint car racing.
"We've gotten a little bit faster so far this year," Main said. "We've got some more stuff we want to try. Hopefully we can keep crawling up the field a little bit. It'll be extremely tough and an extremely competitive field again, like it is for all of our races."
For Main, the opportunity to compete at the track where his love of racing was formed makes the Tom Bigelow Showdown one of the most meaningful races of the season.
The yourBIGplans.com 500 Sprint Car Tour returns to Winchester Speedway on Sunday, June 28, for the second annual Tom Bigelow Showdown. The event honors sprint car legend Tom Bigelow and features the stars of pavement sprint car racing competing on the historic high-banked half-mile. Tickets and event information are available at Winchester Speedway.
