Four heat races, really!!
 

It was great to see 58 cars at GC but very disappointed with only 4 heats. I was outraged if some of u know what I mean by that. I know what USAC will say " this is how we always did it" They can make adjustment to 3 heats when the car count is low so why can't they make a adjustment to 5 or 6 heats. It's very difficult for a driver that is at the tail end of a 15 car heat to have a chance to advance to the A feature.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

So you run 5 heats and take 3 for the feature and start 12 in each heat ? last man has to pass 9 cars to advance. Take 7 from the b.

Run 6 and take 3 you have to pass 7 cars but only take 4 from the b.

There is no good answer its give and take. More heats more time more track degradation.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

I understand what you are saying, but my opinion is that it is part of the lure of sprint week. You have a ton of capable cars here and to be up front in the feature you have to be good everytime you hit the track, you have to be good in time trials, the heat, and the feature. Some very good cars and drivers were left out last night because they had one bad session. I also like the fact that you end up with at least two or three absolute studs in every heat, the more heats you have the more the field waters down.
Just like Eldora for the Royal, you have about five absolute studs in the field and six heats. You are lucky to have two of them in the same heat and it becomes anti climatic sometimes. Besides, I am not convinced that it is that much easier to get to the top three from ninth than it is to get to fourth from 14th. The math says it is I guess, but that is my opinion for what it is worth.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

So why not run 5 heats taking the top 4.And 4 cars from the b main.Usac is the only major sanctioning body who doesn't start 24 cars.I know they started 24 last night but 2 were Usac provisionals.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

Again, I'm not sure why you have be like the other series. I do not want to see double file restarts and straight up starting races like the other series. I am not sure who didn't get into the feature last night that you thought should be there?
I guess we could take a page from Late model racing, we could have 8- 8 car heats and take two cars from each and then we could have 8 b-mains and take 1 from each for a 24 car field. For the record, I don't like it when they go to three heats either.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

Get your money for nothin.. And your chicks for free..

This is auto racing. Not an event where we give participation ribbons. Get up on the wheel. Mash the loud pedal. And hang on to your sack!

As Al Bundy would say, Let’s Rock!

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

They could always take qualifiers 33-58 and stagger them into two Non-Qualifiers races transferring the top four out of each to the tail of the heats. That would give you four 10-car heats, a 24-car B Main, and a 22-car feature. Wait, we've already tried that.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

I wasn't a big fan of the Hooligans. putting everything over 32 cars on the trailer after six or eight laps. was mucKih less satisfying than theym at least getting two, three or four races to try to make it.

Qualify bad and have a flat in the hooligan, Load up, you're done.
Kinda like the old Turkey Night was. The top 22 qualifiers make the feature and the rest load up.

Hey Mark, let’s cool the outrage, lol. I don’t think it was perfect but I have no complaints. You could make a valid argument for multiple scenarios. Overall, 58 cars were great and big hat shake to everyone team that signed in!

Yup outrage as I was Lol it was good to see large car count. Just asking the question and churing the pot. I had about 7 people ask me how many heats there would be and I said 4. They all said no way and was disappointed when they anowsed 4 heats. It is what it is and will be attending most of the sprint week races.

Top 3 all have won the championship. It's tough. Yet, more often than not the best figure how to get to the front

personally I prefer the old way. Top 28 make heat races, everybody goes home. 7 inversion in the heat races.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

54 at GYATK

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

I liked the 4 heats.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

The Sprints are just too safe to race, the real reason for so many racers. Back in the day more than enough race cars was almost unheard of. As I remember if 15 racers showed up it was one good show and that was all they had, no other class. Lots of racers got killed back then or screwed up for the rest of their life. Only the bravest and the best raced Sprints. Rufus Turner in my town built his Sprint and used a Ranger airplane engine. I remember seeing the Sprint in his machine shop. Later on I went with him.

1. It is often opined that USAC needs more geographical diversity. Want to discourage that ask teams to haul from Texas, PA, etc then start near the back of a 15 car heat. 2. Teams new to the scene deserve an opportunity to get more experience, they might even become regulars 3. I do not like the new gimmicks but being flexible on your program if handled correctly is a positive. I am reminded of the intransigent USAC attitude when the WoO came on scene. How did that turn out?

What was the reasoning for dropping this?

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

There's a lot more top of their game wing racers not running WoO Than top of their game traditional avoiding USAC.

It sucked for the guys who didn’t qualify well putting them in the C-main which was a 6 lap race that only transferred four. If you did’t make it you were done for the night before they even ran heat races. The current way at least allows everyone to run a heat and a feature.
I’d prefer 5 heats, transfer 4. Take 4 from the B and no provisionals during sprint week. Start 24 each night. The 5 heat format starts 6 more cars ahead of the top qualifiers in the heats and gives them a better chance to make the show therefore more encouraging to show up. Same reason they should do 4 heats with 28 or more, not 31.

Could that possibly be because there are many times more wing racers? And that they can race for good money without having to follow what is arguably the toughest schedule in short track racing?

I like the large heats. Each one is like a short feature. Eldora had 14 car heats for their million.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

Im not sure and it's certainly up for debate. It takes massive sponsorship to do the full tours. And Im not sure if you're not in the top fifteen in points you're doing any better $$ take home wise.

All I meant by it is there may be a handful of great non wingers not running USAC full time and maybe 20-25 great wingers not doing WoO full time.

Anyway, We've had three straight nights of awesome racing. May it continue!

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

What they coulod do is take the top 40 in time and run four 10 car heats and guys out of the top 40 run a non-qualifiers 20 lap race and pay 1000, 800, 600, 500......and then 200 all the way back.

Re: Four heat races, really!!
 

That's a killer Idea, Maybe have it give half points as well and get rid of provisionals.

You don't make the big show, You didn't make it. But you'll still get a feature, some glory and $$

It could take it to a no support class show.

Having been promoter back in the day let me say this. No matter how you form the heat races, how many you invert, how the consi goes - 99% of the time the top cars and drivers are in the feature. The other 1% is provisional. And baring accidents, 99% of the time the top guys come out on top. Been that way forever in all forms of oval track racing.