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Well I think it is clear to me that Shane Hollingsworth won the last true Hoosier 100 champ car race. Oh, sorry, Silvery Crown race. These cars are designed to go long distances with no pit stops. So every team goes into the race with a fuel and tire strategy. Not to mention weight. It has been known that if the wear on your right rear is down to almost the cord it has taken away enough weight that the car has become illegal weight-wise. That's incredible, I think.
Now the strategy has changed... Do guys now go out and buy smaller fuel sells to save weight? Do they stock up on softer tires? Now, I haven't looked very closely at the rules, but do guys now run two sets of tires? One set for each 50? Sounds expensive to me.
But here's another thought.. and I realize I leave myself open for debate... I know we lost Jeff Thickston several years ago during a USAC sprint car race on the Indiana State Fair mile and maybe that is enough to say, these sprinters are just too fast and dangerous for a mile. But I say, if you put guys on the banks, then put them on the mile. You cannot tell me that running Winchester and Salem is safer than the Fairgrounds mile. Hell, I ran a midget on both ISFG and the Illinois mile track. Yep, it was fast, but not nearly has hairy as running those banks.
So Mr. Sargent, have a true sprint car race and don't mess with the Champ Cars. You could still have your twin 50's like when Foyt won both sprint races on the mile back in the day. Then when you find the money to promote a race in the right way, bring those big dawgs back and see them go at it for 100 miles like they are designed to do. And, if you spend your marketing dollars right, you will see a very nice crowd for your pocket book.
George Wilkins
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