This race may happen but will not have all three groups involved.

It's time to start burying the hatchets and start putting humpty dumpty back together again.

Jim, I wish I could agree with you, but I can't bring myself to do it. I really believe, had this happened back when we had packed shows, and packed pits, you couldn't have built enough TQ's to supply the demand. Problem then was, there was, only one place/organization, to run a TQ, and when we were only startin 16-18 cars in a feature, and had as high as 65 cars in the pits, we sent a lot of good cars, and people home, and it didn't take much of that, to discourage any further growth, and it went down, quicker than the Titanic. I really think people are happier, now, they have a choice of where and whom to run with, there is also the option of an almost only pavement series, and we still have all the old places to run, now, we need to focus on helping bring in some new owners/drivers, I realize the ones we lost during the time we were sending 40+ cars home, with little more than 8 laps in a heat race, and a few practice laps, and nothing to stuff in your blue jeans, someone ask you if you won, how were you going to explain it to them, how you were lucky just to get in the pits, and make a few practice laps, and get out with your hide, let alone WIN anything! The TQ race car, is still the only other option, if you want to build your own cars, engines, run whatever tires you want, and try something, that is available thru a rule book that doesn't say you can't do anything yourself, it's closer to running a sprint car, as far as engines go, you can make as much Hp as you want, as long as it fits the rule book, it's a lot like the open class in a lot of other series, you have a box to work in, and it doesn't make any difference how you get there, you can be your own man, there is a cc limit on engines, and how you get there doesn't matter, as long as it fits, there are specs on the chassis that are kept within the bounderies, tires, as long as they are either 10" or 13", and the tread width fits, AR, Hoosier, any compound YOU want to run, is up to YOU, I still think it's the thing to do, if you want to race, and do your own work, and I'm sure there are alot that will disagree with what I just wrote, but if you'll study it well, as you should before you buy any kind of race car, I think you'll find TQ racing, as good as it gets! Bob!

i'd love to have 65 cars in the pits, qualifying and heat races would mean something then

I remember in 1999, when we were getting those big fields all of the time, there were only 3 drivers that made all 24 A-Mains, Me, Terry Goff, and Jim Weir. That was as tough as T.Q. Midget competition has ever been and may ever be. It was tough, but when you made the Feature and ran as hard as you could, you know you accomplished something!

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I understand, but what if YOU had been one of the 40+ that never made the feature, would it had been so sweet, if you were one that was always going home, how long do you think you would have been able to go back, knowing your chances were so slim, how many Sprint car teams, on a budget, and that's who support the guys that "always" win, how long before they go somewhere else, which is what they can do, with the number of tracks, and the number of cars, it wasn't always the fastest, most of the time it was the luckiest, and 65 cars, everynight in the pits, isn't all that good for anyone, except the promoter, the fans get kinda weary after a while, then they quit coming, there has to be a good balance, last year, seems like the car count was decent, for both organizations then, and it gave them something to grow into, but, the economy has even hurt the folks that would really like the entertainment on a weekend, no more than a grandstand ticket costs. I made most of those features also, but it really bothered me, that we were sending more home with nothing, we coulda been having another feature, instead of dragging out the inevitable, but, that was then, things were always better in the old days, I can remember the Kart races at Columbus, in the stock class, lots of nights we'd have to run 3 features, and we were starting 24 karts in a feature, but at least everyone got to run a feature, and the way they lined them up, it wasn't by speed, it was by the luck of the draw, and it kept almost everyone coming back. Just sayin! Bob!

I understand what you are saying Bob, especially with the Sprint Car deal. We go where there is the best chance to do good and get a little return. I'm just saying you had the best of the best that ran together back then, why not get together at Greensburg on April 28th and see who's the best of the best now?

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JT, I know where your coming from, but, unless your eating hot dogs, that are free, that many people won't stay with it long enough to get lucky, I remember talking with a racer one night, after he'd seen how competative it was, and he told me, when the season started, their goal was to make every feature, now their goal had changed, if they could make just one feature, they'd be happy. Needless to say, he couldn't sell his car, no one wanted to race with those kinda odds, so he parked it, and bought one of the best Foxco could put together, and went and had fun, where he knew his odds were better. He had the resourses, and the equipment, but with that many cars in the pits, odds were against most of them that came into the pits, and he was a good driver, just no luck in TQ's. I still believe the car counts for everyone will pick up, and having a "choice" where to run, will only speed it up, and you'll have to admit, 26-28 cars in the pits, are plenty, realistically, the show moves along at a pace everyone can keep up with, you have just a fraction more time to make sure you're ready to go on the track, and thats what keeps fans in the seats, and race cars in the pits. Bob!

Yes, I remember even having 45 cars at a track where we were running with the rest of their classes and itI took all night! I still wish I had that night back when we had 60 cars at 16th Street. It was going to be me and Setser on the front row, on a heavy rough track before the rain took it all away. I miss those days, but I realize that people were ready for a change and that's what MTQRL and now The King of T.Q.S has done. As long as everyone can get enough cars to put on a show, then I think its great! But the Greensburg race on April 28th could still be a neat deal for 1 night! Why can't everyone put their differences aside for just one night?

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Bob,
As always, I respect your opinion and perspective. Your points are well made.