INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.: Sprint Car racing has seen its share of growth over the years, and a big part of that success is courtesy of the World Racing Group.

The governing body oversees the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, dirt-track racing’s premier series. The Kings Royal, Knoxville Nationals, Williams Grove National Open, and other big events  are under its banner, as well as one of racing’s biggest streaming platforms, DIRTVision.

But as successful as the World Racing Group has been in its ventures, which also includes Late Models and northeast Modifieds, the organization is always looking to expand its dirt-track racing reach.

Now, you can add Non-Wing Sprint Car and Midget racing to the World Racing Group portfolio. According to CEO Brian Carter, the World Racing Group will put together a series of Non-Wing Sprint Car and Midget events — 10 to 15 races — in 2022 with hopes of growing in the future. The plan is for the newly formed Xtreme Outlaw and Xtreme Outlaw Midget to feature a $100,000 combined point fund.

“We’ve utilized the midgets in a lot of our promotions, and we have a lot of passion for that side of racing inside of our building,” Carter said during an interview at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis. “I’ve played with some, as have [Brian] Dunlap and Casey [Shuman], so there is a lot of passion inside the building for all forms of racing, and Midgets in particular.

“That really draws us to it, and we are true to dirt racing, and we’re true to short-track racing. So, as you look at what the opportunities are, there is a tremendous opportunity in promoting and growing that portion of dirt-track racing.”

There was talk during the Performance Racing Industry event that the World Racing Group was in the market to purchase the United States Auto Club. That wasn’t the case, but Carter indicated that he was evaluating all opportunities in the marketplace.

That led to the World Racing Group shifting directions. But Carter emphasized multiple times in an interview with SprintCarUnlimited.com that he wasn’t looking to compete against other non-wing Sprint Car and Midget organizations. Instead, Carter and the WRG is looking to work with USAC and POWRi to enhance these divisions.

“We are just making sure we are respectful of everything that is happening already,” Carter said. This sport has a tremendous history, and I want to make sure we enter in the appropriate way so that we can complement and help in a manner that is respectful to the organizations that already exist.

“It’s tremendous racing, and we don’t need to change that. We just want to make sure we add to what is happening already with the infrastructure of our organization and the marketing power the World Racing Group has already. We want to take all of the things we have learned and applied at the World of Outlaws and DIRTCar levels to make sure we grow.”

Continued Carter, “There is a tremendous opportunity in growth from fans, marketing, the television side, and just exposing what is an incredible form of racing already.”

According to Carter, both the Non-Wing Sprint Car and Midget events will be run in conjunction with existing World of Outlaws events in 2021. There is an opportunity for that to expand after everything is in place and the first season is complete.

The first Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car event will take place at Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14-15 as part of the DIRTCar Nationals. As for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series, the first announced event is the two-day Ironman weekend on Aug. 5-6 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. The rest of the schedule will be announced around the New Year.

“I think it’s a bit of both,” Carter said of having stand-alone events for the series and pairing this new venture with World of Outlaws events. “Initially, we want to get this form of racing in front of the biggest crowd we can as fast as possible.

“So, we will be using them with our World of Outlaws programs, both Sprints and Late Models, to help grow awareness and put them in front of the crowd they deserve to race in front of every night.”

Carter and the World Racing Group are easing into new territory with the ideal of helping the continued growth of dirt-track racing.

It’s about growth. And in order to do that, the World Racing Group is looking to use the same model that helped build both the World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model Series.

“We’ve been very successful in not only developing national touring series’ but regional series’, too,” Carter said. “There is a place for all of that, and right now, we are getting really close to putting our foot in the game.

“It’s going to evolve over time. Obviously, the strength of the national program is built on the back of the regional programs, and we’ve said that all along with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. You’ve got to have a strong regional and local program to make sure when we enter, we enter the right way to not hurt any part of that.

“We need it all to be healthy. We’ve done promotions with regional Midget pieces, but our experience in California and the Midwest, the addition of Midgets at Pevely, what we’ve done at Jacksonville, and what we are doing at Millbridge, it’s all part of a longer term plan to make sure we are growing the sport and providing a viable future for open-wheel racing in all forms.”