[Tony Barhorst]

Originally Posted by Racerrob Now on to the tires. Yes they are a MAJOR expense for both large and small teams. I have begged for a one set limit for over 1 year and it has gone nowhere. We run 2 sets typically for each racing night because every time the tire undergoes a heat cycle (run on the track) it slows down a little. Not wears out, but slows down. Therefore if my car is going to have a shot at winning I have to bolt on new tires each time my competition does. If we all have only one set then there is no competitive disadvantage. Rob Hoffman

I totally believe this, as I have seen it myself at the USAC office...Hoosier Tire and Beast MFG may as well have an office in the USAC building..they are at almost all the meetings...and those are two that are not going to let many changes be made. These ideas have been gone OVER and OVER about cutting costs...Hoosier will wait until pavement racing fails first.

If they are not going to listen to Rob Hoffman...who will they listen to?

[kinser]

I would definitely like to see a one set per night tire rule.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Ovalmeister]

Originally Posted by Kirk Spridgeon I really wish we could get out of a mindset from 10-20 years ago or more. This is 2009. As much as the pavement side of things is in the tank, I can't believe that you could ever find better racing than we have on dirt right now.

Go watch some Dick Wallen videos. Plenty of them out there. Watch Foyt and Pancho and Bettenhausen and other Indy racers battle it out at the fairgrounds, Terre Haute, etc... Then you'd go to the 500 and watch them there also. Maybe the mentality back then was better than today. I know that sounds like shear lunacy to you. But look at the state of USAC today. Everyone is pissed, it's too expensive to run, there is ZERO confidence in leadership, goodbye pavement sprints? Seriously? So how bad do things have to get for you to admit it is in serious trouble? Drop pavement midgets next? Maybe things would change if the mentality went back to what MADE USAC GREAT. That mentality is grass roots racing, not the new "corporate" mentality. How is that working out?

Midgets, sprints and dirt champ car racing is good old fashioned American grass roots racing, always has been, always will be. When you hire a guy from a plush corporate office, who doesn't have his thumb on the pulse of grass roots racing, to come in and reinvent the wheel....it won't work. I give the current gang about 2 more years before they say "screw this", and get the hell out of Dodge. Back to a corporate office job that they understand. By then maybe USAC will be un-repairable.
I sure hope not.
David.

[usac1957]

Silver crown car counts are not going up as said by Kevin Miller,Richomd will be lucky to have 19 silver crown cars and maybe 15 sprint cars. Has far as tires, why not open it back up to the tire companys .There is no quick fix,so good good luck usac

[Beer Goggles]

I'd like to see USAC Thunder LIVE on Sunday night's at Kokomo.
Internet Pay-Per-View with a price under $10, you'll get the stay at home fan , as well as the long distance fans. USAC could partner with the Kokomo track and share the pot all-around.
Get to see close sprint car action every Sunday for the pice of a good pizza.

[SPRINTCAR]

I know this is about sprintcars but, at the Silver Crown races it would be nice to be able to have an area to meet some of the drivers that have retired. Past champions and such. Hell I seen Tom Bigelow wondering around at the Hoosier Hundred a few years ago and actually felt sorry for him. He looked lost. Give your champions somewhere to meet and make these races events. A small trailer, provide them with some soda's, coffee some AC. Make them feel like champions. Can you imagine being able to get a picture taken with some of these guys? Group photo's with fans. That's something I could talk about and show friends.

---------- Post added at 07:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 PM ----------

No one has said anything about the raise (albeit small) in purses this year in USAC. And that doesn't even include the $10,000 to win races that have been added this year....




The $10,000 races, is that Usac or the promoter trying to promote, make money and draw cars.

---------- Post added at 07:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 PM ----------

Originally Posted by usac1957 Silver crown car counts are not going up as said by Kevin Miller,Richomd will be lucky to have 19 silver crown cars and maybe 15 sprint cars. Has far as tires, why not open it back up to the tire companys .There is no quick fix,so good good luck usac

Such was the case with the difficult decision my team had coming on board in December 2007. What to do with the Silver Crown series, or more directly the "new car". We made a difficult decision to bring back the "traditional" car for pavement...perhaps a popular one for some here on IOW but not without it's own set of conflict (teams, tracks, etc). We now see car counts increasing and the discussion of races increasing for 2010.


I think you miss read something at the very beginning.

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by SPRINTCAR I know this is about sprintcars but, at the Silver Crown races it would be nice to be able to have an area to meet some of the drivers that have retired. Past champions and such. Hell I seen Tom Bigelow wondering around at the Hoosier Hundred a few years ago and actually felt sorry for him. He looked lost. Give your champions somewhere to meet and make these races events. A small trailer, provide them with some soda's, coffee some AC. Make them feel like champions. Can you imagine being able to get a picture taken with some of these guys? Group photo's with fans. That's something I could talk about and show friends. YOUR RIGHT! ---------- Post added at 07:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 PM ---------- No one has said anything about the raise (albeit small) in purses this year in USAC. And that doesn't even include the $10,000 to win races that have been added this year.... GOOD POINT! UNLIKE BASEBALL FOOTBALL NBA AND OTHER PRO SPORTS WHERE RETIRED PRO PLAYER OR GIVING TICKETS PASSES GOLD CARDS TO ANY GAMES! USAC AND OTHER RACING LIKE WOO ALLSTARS CRA (ECT) DON'T GIVE A **** ABOUT WHAT YOU DID FOR THEM! YOU CAN BUT YOUR TICKETS OR PIT PASS LIKE ANYONE ELSE!!!! ANY GOOD PROMOTER???? SHOULD SEE VALUE IN HAVING THE PAST HEROS OF THE SPORT AT THERE RACES WHERE FANS THAT DON'T GO TO MANY RACES ANYMORE TO COME OUT AND MEET WITH THERE HEROS! I CAN TELL YOU THIS AT BARBERSVILLE THIS PAST WINTER WOO WOULD NOT GIVE JACK HEWITT A PIT PASS!!!!!!!!! The $10,000 races, is that Usac or the promoter trying to promote, make money and draw cars. ---------- Post added at 07:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:18 PM ---------- Such was the case with the difficult decision my team had coming on board in December 2007. What to do with the Silver Crown series, or more directly the "new car". We made a difficult decision to bring back the "traditional" car for pavement...perhaps a popular one for some here on IOW but not without it's own set of conflict (teams, tracks, etc). We now see car counts increasing and the discussion of races increasing for 2010. I think you miss read something at the very beginning.

[Kirk Spridgeon]

Originally Posted by speed9 :2:USAC wont pay more, they are, to busy getting their .25 off the ground. All this means to me is that they get their hand in the owners pocket faster. Big problem with USAC is that their drivers are going no where! Look at Darland, Coons and Brad Kuhn (and a lot more) why isnt USAC helping them and taking them to the next levet? USAC is only interested in getting money, not promoting a event or driver. When was the last time a Silver crown, Sprint or Midget driver from USAC went to another division, like NASCAR or IRL? How much did it cost the sponsers or parents to take their driver to the next level after USAC. USAC plays favorites and always have, they make rules up as they go and enforce only the ones they want to when they want to. People are not dumb when they had enough they Quit. Promoting drivers that are only running a few races or have ties to some big names in racing is all USAC does, they only want the money or free stuff. We can always watch Lawn Mower races from England if we cant get TV time from USAC. Sory if I offend some USAC officals ( who go to the tracks ) but that is how I see if first handed. Your not loosing the big name teams even though some are cutting back, you are loosing your base the guy who loves racing and works for a living mon-fri at a real job. No race fan is going to pay to see a 6 car race no matter who is driving.

Originally Posted by Ovalmeister Go watch some Dick Wallen videos. Plenty of them out there. Watch Foyt and Pancho and Bettenhausen and other Indy racers battle it out at the fairgrounds, Terre Haute, etc... Then you'd go to the 500 and watch them there also. Maybe the mentality back then was better than today. I know that sounds like shear lunacy to you. But look at the state of USAC today. Everyone is pissed, it's too expensive to run, there is ZERO confidence in leadership, goodbye pavement sprints? Seriously? So how bad do things have to get for you to admit it is in serious trouble? Drop pavement midgets next? Maybe things would change if the mentality went back to what MADE USAC GREAT. That mentality is grass roots racing, not the new "corporate" mentality. How is that working out? Midgets, sprints and dirt champ car racing is good old fashioned American grass roots racing, always has been, always will be. When you hire a guy from a plush corporate office, who doesn't have his thumb on the pulse of grass roots racing, to come in and reinvent the wheel....it won't work. I give the current gang about 2 more years before they say "screw this", and get the hell out of Dodge. Back to a corporate office job that they understand. By then maybe USAC will be un-repairable. I sure hope not. David.

speed9 -
With all due respect, it's not the sanctioning body's job to send all their racers to some other level. The goal should be to have a great series that racers can make money running. That brings in plenty of talent, and when one young guy can come in and regularly beat those amazing veteran racers, he attracts attention from all angles. That's how it's always happened before - it shouldn't change now.

And I love those three racers you mentioned, but they just didn't fit into that mold....it took them quite a few years to reach the current level.

Mr. Ayers-
I've watched every racing video in existence. You probably won't find a 20-something person with more of a grasp on midget and sprint car history. Quite honestly, I should have been around to experience the times you're describing.

But you're just not understanding that it is a new world. Wake up. It's 2009. It's not the same as it once was and it's never going to be like that again. Yeah, that's sad in a way....but along the line we also figured out a way to keep our drivers from getting killed off at an amazing pace. Do you want that back too?

You know what is grass roots racing now? The stuff that a working man can afford to race. It's just that there's about 800 options in that department now. And it doesn't pay anything. USAC racing is just a step above that, and we have to figure out a way to survive by bringing more people in and showing them why we're hooked on it - but it's not as easy as it used to be. People have so many more things to do....and companies have so many more things to sponsor....and TV has so many more things to televise. Sorry, but your precious sprint car racing is not so high on the list anymore, and it's not really anyone's fault.

David, I've always liked you on here and you've been a really nice guy, but seriously, you don't know anything about those people at USAC, or their qualifications, or if they're capable of doing good things. Kevin Miller has never raced at Winchester, but the guy is smart and I love some of the things he comes up with. He stands firm for USAC racing and wants it to succeed. The guy is willing to learn and has invited me into his office countless times to pick my brain on certain subjects, asking for criticism, suggestions, and an occasional pat on the back.

I can't possibly see how all these current problems rest on the shoulders of a current regime that came along a year and a half ago and have done some great things already, and are poised to do even more. Instead of being a bitter old man, maybe you can try to help or at least support those that are trying to keep your sport alive....

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by kirk spridgeon mr. Kuhn- with all due respect, it's not the sanctioning body's job to send all their racers to some other level. The goal should be to have a great series that racers can make money running. That brings in plenty of talent, and when one young guy can come in and regularly beat those amazing veteran racers, he attracts attention from all angles. That's how it's always happened before - it shouldn't change now. And i love those three racers you mentioned, but they just didn't fit into that mold....it took them quite a few years to reach the current level. I'm sure you wanted brad to go somewhere else and make ridiculous amounts of money racing at the top level, but the fact is that he's yet to win a midget championship (it's harder than it looks, haha) nor make much headway in the sprint car or silver crown divisions. He is a cornerstone driver in the midget series and someone i think deserves to be making good money because he's good at what he does now... Mr. Ayers- i've watched every racing video in existence. You probably won't find a 20-something person with more of a grasp on midget and sprint car history. Quite honestly, i should have been around to experience the times you're describing. But you're just not understanding that it is a new world. Wake up. It's 2009. It's not the same as it once was and it's never going to be like that again. Yeah, that's sad in a way....but along the line we also figured out a way to keep our drivers from getting killed off at an amazing pace. Do you want that back too? You know what is grass roots racing now? The stuff that a working man can afford to race. It's just that there's about 800 options in that department now. And it doesn't pay anything. Usac racing is just a step above that, and we have to figure out a way to survive by bringing more people in and showing them why we're hooked on it - but it's not as easy as it used to be. People have so many more things to do....and companies have so many more things to sponsor....and tv has so many more things to televise. Sorry, but your precious sprint car racing is not so high on the list anymore, and it's not really anyone's fault. David, i've always liked you on here and you've been a really nice guy, but seriously, you don't know anything about those people at usac, or their qualifications, or if they're capable of doing good things. Kevin miller has never raced at winchester, but the guy is smart and i love some of the things he comes up with. He stands firm for usac racing and wants it to succeed. The guy is willing to learn and has invited me into his office countless times to pick my brain on certain subjects, asking for criticism, suggestions, and an occasional pat on the back. I can't possibly see how all these current problems rest on the shoulders of a current regime that came along a year and a half ago and have done some great things already, and are poised to do even more. Instead of being a bitter old man, maybe you can try to help or at least support those that are trying to keep your sport alive....

please tell us why he picks your brain? What is your background in racing? AND WE KNOW ITS 2009! THINK ABOUT THIS IN THE LAST 100 YR. YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENTS IN THE THE FIRST HORSE TO WIN THE KENTUCKY DERBY AND MINE THE BIRD AND THE PLACE IS SOLD OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW MUCH HAS BASEBALL CHANGED? BETTER BATS GLOVES BALLS?

[Ovalmeister]

Originally Posted by Kirk Spridgeon Instead of being a bitter old man, maybe you can try to help or at least support those that are trying to keep your sport alive....

Classy response Kirk, thanks. And 45 is considered old? That sucks.
David.