HAUBSTADT, Ind.  Winged and non-winged 410 sprint cars may fundamentally be the same type of race cars, but the racing styles are completely different.

Rarely do you see drivers with an extensive background on one side jump in the other car and succeed right away. Time and practice are required to learn the nuances of each style.

But for the non-wingers, Indianas Tri-State Speedway has proven to be an equalizer time and time again. Carson Short topped The Greatest Show on Dirt there in 2020. Kevin Thomas Jr. led early in the 2018 race before losing a wheel. Four-time USAC National Sprint Car champion Brady Bacon has won the last two. The list goes on and on.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series heads to the quarter-mile on Saturday, April 26, after a stop at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway the night before.

So, what is it about this paperclip-shaped bullring that levels the playing field? Who better to ask than USAC Triple Crown champion and current Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year leader Chris Windom?

Well, I think some of it for Haubstadt is that even for a non-winged car, you have to do different stuff to get your car to work there and think kind of outside the box just because the surface is so much different than anywhere we really go, Windom explained. So, I think some of those guys like Brady that do a lot of their own setup kind of do different things than maybe what a standard wing crew chief would do. Also, the fact that theyve just raced there so much in non-winged.

Funny enough Ive raced there a ton, and Haubstadt was always one of my worst tracks in a non-winged car, Windom added with a laugh. I never looked forward to going there. I won one USAC race there out of all the races I raced in a non-winged. I never enjoyed Haubstadt in a non-winged car. I like it more in a winged car. Ive got to go there once or twice now in a winged car.

Windom highlights the track surface as a key contributor to previous results. Its unique, and the non-wing drivers get plenty of laps on it throughout the year.

For one, its just a different dirt than what most tracks have, Windom said. It seems like there is grip, but its always also got like a layer of almost what I would call grease lying on top of the racetrack all the time. Ive always just described it as you haul off in there, pitch the car in, and you slide and hope you stop sliding before the next guy, and then youre going to be faster than him. Theres really no line per se that you run at that place. Thats why I never really enjoyed it much in a non-wing car. I was always the guy that slid through the corner and never stopped sliding and just got passed by the next person, but the wings obviously help that a little bit and make it more fun to race. The surface is different than really any other track in the country, in my opinion.

Every race on the schedule is another step for Windom as he continues to adjust to wings after many years without them. Despite the plan to join forces with Sides Motorsports for 2025 coming together late, the Canton, Ill., native has found a comfortable home with the Jason Sides-owned team and leads a stacked rookie class with 16 races in the books.

Its definitely been the toughest transition or toughest car that Ive ever driven in my whole career, Windom said. With winged racing, a lot of people know but some maybe dont know, it takes the whole package between driver, team, car, engine. Youre not going to go out and outspend somebody in winged racing. Everybody has got the nicest stuff out there. It really just takes the whole package.

As far as being happy with it being a new team and kind of getting thrown together late, I think we got the deal done less than two months before the opener at Volusia. I am definitely happy with the speed. I didnt know for sure what was going to come about going into this deal, and I feel like its exceeded my expectations as far as the car speed weve had at half miles, quarter miles, really all tracks weve gone to.

This year has already offered several new tracks to Windom as he navigates his first season with the World of Outlaws. And while Tri-State might not have been his favorite track to visit in his USAC days, hes looking forward to the familiarity.

Thats been some of my struggles to start the year, just a lot of the tracks we went to Id never seen or been to, Windom said. I think it definitely helps showing up to a place like Haubstadt even not necessarily having anymore winged laps than any of the guys there but just having the amount of laps and times that Ive been there and just kind of knowing what the tracks going to be like and what lines seem to work. Really, it seems to me like in non-winged cars and winged cars kind of race similar there as far as lines to where its really not like that at a lot of tracks. I feel like theres times that I know when something is going to come in later in the race or be there compared to a guy that runs a winged car at most tracks wouldnt think to try that at Haubstadt. I definitely think theres some advantage to going there with all of the experience Ive had.