I have nothing to do with midget racing except for being a fan and I enjoy watching races with large car counts. As I have been following endless threads that DonMoore10 has posted to, I see him questioning the practices of certain groups and trying to find solutions to improve the races that have low car counts. I in no way see him ******** about or slamming midget racing in general. I have yet to read one person ANSWER any question that he has raised as a car owner. Most just beat around the bush and slam him for trying to HELP midget racing and car owners in general. I do not know nor have I ever seen Don Moore but I will say, MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU FOR TRYING TO IMPROVE MIDGET RACING!!! JMO

[groove grabber]

I'm kinda in the same boat, I dont know Don, never seen him, but he does raise some points. Obviously to churn interest and open some eyes about a problem such as this, and in order to draw some importance, he must make sure he comes across Loud and Clear so that those who make these important decisions will read this. I've not seen a single point yet that Don has made that doesnt hold some truth. One thing is for sure, Midget Racing is NOT growing. I dont know what the answer is but guys like Don who are willing to take a beating on here must have a love for the sport. At this point, What does midget racing have to lose? Will the big budget teams quit if cost cutting measures are taken?

[DonMoore10]

Well, thank you gentlemen. I'm not giving up by no means. We've already heard the stance the United States Auto Club has taken regarding the high cost of midget racing. It's business as usual for them. We shall see, for example, how many cars show up for the HUT 100 in September. Apparently the 22 (17 teams) midgets that were there last year was not a wakeup call for change. BTW, that race is supposed to start 33 cars. Historically, 60-70 cars have shown up at Terre Haute.

[Heromaker]

I will not go any farther on this issue but I got a great new Avatar

[DonMoore10]

Isn't that special.

[Revolution Racing]

Originally Posted by okienonwingfan I would like to hear everyones though about the new ASCS series and rather or not it would make a differance.

Okie - You are in the right part of the country. Down there, this program WILL make a difference, as it will in some other parts of the country. One thing that we all lose sight of is that Midget racing is still largely a REGIONAL activity. I think that, given the current conditions, Midget racing will become even more regional in nature since travel and time away from work just don't make sense.

Since this board is called IOW, it is reasonable to expect that most of the folks reading it are interested in upper midwest Midget racing, for the most part. Just don't forget that there is a whole bunch more out there. The upper midwest may not benefit from the modernization of Midget racing as quickly as some other regions. But the sport as a whole will benefit from the new things that are coming.

This thread has been very interesting to read. We have some very passionate individuals with some very strong points of view, but if you boil it all down, at least for me, what I'm hearing is that Midget racing is re-organizing in front of our eyes. Much like what sprint cars went through years ago when WOO came into the picture, Midgets are now entering an era where we will have "the big show" with all the factory teams that tour around the country - and then we will have the weekly programs that run on saturday night down at your local track. The big show will have the big names and the big budgets - the weekly show will have the local guys with equipment that makes sense for a working guy to own... You see, I think what we have here is a really great opportunity. Many of the best opportunities come as the result of hardships...

Our sport is about the coolest form of racing on earth, and our people are about the most passionate. We are going to be OK. Just be willing to think a little "outside of the box"

K:greenflag:

The Wolverine Series is a mid level "national series". We are not a sportsman club but we don't have any $35,000 midgets either. None of our people have sponsors and they work on their midgets themselves. We run some terrific tracks. The problem like many of the other series is we just need more cars to have better success. If we had more cars we could get better purses but until we get better purses it's tough to get the average guy or gal out for every race because it's so expensive to run. I don't know Don but I see a lot of good points put forth in this thread. When WOMS, UMARA and the regional USAC series get together we can put on a fabulous show but on our own, individually, we could all use a few more cars. It's tough to make big changes as we all need to race with each other several times a year so we all use the same tire and try to keep our rule differences to a minimum. This gives our drivers the opportunity to drop in and run with any one of our series. As the owner of the Wolverine Series we sell our series to the tracks on a per car basis. The more cars the better the purse, the fewer, the smaller the purse. The question is how do we get some of these midgets off the sideline and in the game. I think for a series such as ours the future might depend on our ability to make the racing as affordable as possible. It's hard to have a 96 Hawk race against a 2007 Beast and feel he is on a level playing field but should we be making it level or is that just progress. I think if you could somehow minimize the tire costs it would be a step in the right direction. I think for the average guy that is his largest single expense. I have no beef with Hoosier, they have treated us well, but I think that cost alone keeps some people watching instead of participating. I am concerned about the future of midget racing and the small fortune it takes to compete. We will continue to watch these discussions closely as we evaluate any new ideas that may be proposed. We will always have the high dollar teams but what about the rest of us. Will the average guy or gal 2 years from now have an affordable midget that he can run just because he loves midgets or will we all get squeezed out. What we can't do is hide the problems under the rug and act if they do not exist, then we will be a dying breed. Dan @ Wolverine

[DonMoore10]

There have been some excellent posts in this thread recently. We actually have people thinking intelligently and recognizing the various problems we face in the midget community.

First of all, I have absolutely no axe to grind with the purple tire company. They make a quality tire, but because of the monopoly that USAC, POWRi and BMARA have chosen to embrace, I and all the rest that want to race midgets have no choice. We have no other options except with those organizations, at least I don't living near Cleveland, OH and the owner of dirt midgets.

Here is the problem and you've read this before: American Racer makes midget tires that can be run for multiple races, even a season, using an 8 inch RR wheel, for about $80. That is about half of what it costs for the purple tires and with the compound that is allowed, many of us go through several purple tires in one evening... very expensive. And it's worse on pavement and that's why I don't have a pavement car. We finished second in points in the Rumble indoor series and most of our winnings went to the purple tire company. Is that what midget racing is all about.. supporting the purple tire company????????????????????

My point is this, and you've heard it before with no answers: If American Racer can sell tires for $80, why can't the purple tire company sell them for the same price? I don't get it!!!! On top of that, some get them for free, others at a reduced cost while the overwelming majority pay full price. *** so apparently the middle to low budget teams are subsidizing the big buck factory teams. *** again.

I'm wondering if all the executives of the midget organizations shop for the HIGHEST priced airline ticket when they want to travel. Yeah... let's fly to Dallas, for example, for $874 instead of $260. Hey... don't all of us do that????? Let's stay at the $670 hotel instead of the $139 one. I don't get it.

Somewhere along the line the midget organizations need to step off the purple money train and give the midget owners a break with the tires. When is it going to happen? Why can't it happen now?

I would also like to see the WOMS group expand to a dirt series and get something going in Ohio. Plenty of dirt tracks here and in Michigan.

[Anderson36]

hey Don, just found this on Hoosier's website....

Product Name: MIDGET ASPHALT TIRES
Description: Assorted midget asphalt (bias-ply) tires. Select the size/compound and quantity in the drop-down boxes below. FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES IF ORDERED ONLINE!! (All orders are subject to a $7.00 order processing fee. Customers outside the 48 contiguous States will be subject to shipping charges.)

Size - Price: [ 10.0/21.5-13 500 ] $60.00 ON SALE [ 10.5/23.5-13 MG7.6 ] $90.00 ON SALE

Also for some dirt tires, you'll have to pardon me as I don't run dirt so I am not sure of this is the same size they run in the National series or possibly the other dirt series'.....
Product Name: MIDGET DIRT / MINI SPRINT TIRES
Description: Catalog #35130, 72.0/10.0-13 LSB Midget Dirt / Mini Sprint tires. Tread Width=10", Approximate Diameter=23.0", Approximate Circumference=72.0", Recommended Rim 8", Measured Rim=8", Section Width=11.7" $70.00 on SALE

These sizes come in either the D10 or D12 compound. Are either of them what you run on dirt??

[DonMoore10]

Those would not work for us on dirt. For the rear, we run 74 occasionally, but mostly 76, 78 and once in a while an 80 on the LR. RR is an SP2 82.

On sale for $70-90 huh and free shipping?? They seem to be backing up what I've been advocating on here! You can see how we are being taken for a ride by paying $140-180.