[Fred Zirzow]

I have been to them all for years. As a fan now with a team. Things I think could be better is maybe 4 races the 1st week and 3 the 2nd. With built in rain dates for the 1st 1/2. Also I think it be cool with a progressive purse. 5000/500 1st night and up from there 6000/600,7000/700 etc...you could do that easy just adding $2 per ticket per night to the purse. So 1st night $20 to get in then $22 the next and so on. If needed to let the tracks bid on what purse they want to book there race. There is no reason sprint Week should pay less then PA. Just my opinion

[Simon_says17]

Originally Posted by ISF Not sure what point you're attempting to make here. The original premise was one of doubling, or more, the size of ISW. It's not a knock on the poster but vastly expanding ISW might have a feel of diminishing the charm and excitement of how it's been scheduled for the past 30 years as has happened with the SN series. At the beginning of the SN's (1988) I was deeply involved with a late model team that raced at all of the events on the SN schedule at that time. We as a team ran all the races up until the mid 1990's and every event was like a mini World 100 with guys like Bloomer, Moyer, Freddy Smith, Bob Pierce and Donnie Moran showing up for most, if not all, of the events. These days very few of the top DLM guys even bother with the SN's. The prestige and relevance of being SN champion is vastly diminished compared to the early 1990's. Had the schedule stayed shorter and more intense I firmly believe the aura would still be present as it is with ISW. A vast expansion of ISW could easily have the same effect. We live smack in the middle of the most hard core DLM territory and I can say with confidence that the SN's are not nearly as important or relevant to the hardest core DLM fans, whose numbers are legion in this part of the country. Car counts and profitability have little bearing on the relevance to the folks in our area.

My point is that I think the SN series is relevant in it's own right and isn't really a comparable to ISW. I think by the sounds of it you and I are thinking along the same lines of, ISW doesn't need to be expanded in any way. You could maybe make an argument that we might get a few more guys from the left coast to join in on the fun if it was made more financially worth their time but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

As Flagboy pointed out though, the other series commitments in the DLM world, are what keep guys away these days. If you look at the cars in the top 20 in points even this year and champions from the last 10-15 years however, there are some pretty big names in there...

I guess my thought is ISW, the supposed premiere event on the USAC sprint car calendar, does not have the purses that reflect that unfortunately. But on the other side of the coin, where is USAC's incentive to juice it up. Would more drivers show up from around the country? IMO I think the problem is, there are only so many guys that run without the wings on, only so many that are actually competitive in said discipline, and only so many that will actually run USAC sanctioned events (tire rules etc.). If USAC were to juice up the purse money for the individual races along with the ISW champion, could they also rely on consistent showings from the fans? I don't know the answers but I would lean towards no. I personally think right now is about as good as it's going to get for ISW at the moment. Until more guys are running wingless (stigma and fear factor subside) and it makes more sense for them to money-wise, this is where we'll be at. Which i'm not at all complaining

[Nate]

Originally Posted by nathans1012 What about having Indiana's Version of Ohio Sprint Week and have 410 Non-Wing Sprints on the card each night. Twin $3,000 or $4,000 races each night. Just a thought I.E. "Indiana 410 Nationals Week" Bowell, Plymouth, Montpelier, Route 44, Twin Cities, Brownstown, Paragon, Chandler

I would say no to the expansion of Indiana Sprint Week. It's already a very strenuous and expensive set of races for teams and drivers, especially the low budget teams. I'm speaking for myself here but I know if you added another week of races I would support them but only as far as my bank account would take me and only as long as my boss would let me take time off work. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that boat.

That said, something I miss is the old Border Wars event that ran at Gas City on Friday night and Eldora on Saturday night which has since been replaced by the Lets Race Two weekend.

So my idea, instead of lengthening ISW, how about a Border Wars Week at another point in the season? Could incorporate tracks on both sides of the state lines of Ohio and Indiana. Tracks like Montpelier, Gas City, Route 44, Limaland, Waynesfield or Eldora for instance are all pretty close to each other in the grand scheme of things. If the week format didn't work out then maybe two straight weekends? One in Indiana and one in Ohio?

I'm just spit-balling here but I don't think it sounds like an absolutely horrible idea. Any of those tracks are close enough you'd only need 1 hotel room in each state, you'd have a good mix of track types and I think you could draw a decent number of cars if the scheduling was right although I'm not sure who would sanction the races.

[JarrettFarms73]

Our group attended Kokomo, then camped the tour from TH- Tristate. A family commitment made it so that only one of us made it to the LPS make up. Time together, especially racing time, is absolutely priceless.

I think this thing is growing on its own so not sure i'd change much if anything. Kokomo one again had itself a potential record crowd, and the camping trail seemed even bigger than last year. I have to encourage anybody who's always thought about making the trip(s) to DO IT!!! Even w/ back to back rain outs, it was so much fun. We love seeing and talking to out of state fans, the "I remember you from last year!" faces, and especially the first timers. Side note: i'm now 0-4 at TH but on the plus side i finally got to see green flag laps. If the camper thing does continue to grow my only wishlist item would be shower facilities at the track.

Seems that more and more drivers are doing an ISW exclusive shirt so hopefully that's supplementing the grind of racing it. I have wondered if a 3 team competition (4 drivers each plus alternates) based on territory would bring some extra flare. Similar to what Western Springs NZ does. Team Indiana, Team Midwest, & Team U.S. earning points for finishes that either go toward an overall Team award or to their starting position of a special 20 lap finale. But again, this thing is growing on its own so not sure messing w/ it now is a good thing.

[Charles Nungester]

Wish I could have seen the three I planned on seeing instead of just Burg and the rainout at THAT.

Im in somewhat agreement with Fred Zirzow. Four the first week and three the second. Im also a little worried about the decreased average in car count. I know there are several reasons, least of which is the rain and forecast. But Im wondering how much the four corner tire rule came into play.

[Scooter]

dont change a thing!!! It's good the way it is.

Well...maybe move the tristate date...i hate the 10hr drive east after that one...

[ISF]

Originally Posted by flagboy55 I get your point but back when those guys hit a lot of SN they didn't have as much series commitment to the Lucas Oil Series, or the WOO LMS, that they do today. I would say if deals like that weren't around, you would see more big names more often on the SN trail.

Hav-A-Tampa, later the UDTRA, STARS and the All Star Circuit of Champions were around in the earlier days of the SN's and all of those sanctions were a strong draw in those days. I remember them well and we raced with all of them a few times. Some of those championships paid pretty good. Bloomer, Moyer, Freddy Smith, Dale McDowell and Rick Eckert were all champions of those series during the SN's heyday. Not sure the touring series' of today are an excuse for a lack of star power racing in the SN's series.

[nathans1012]

Originally Posted by Nate I would say no to the expansion of Indiana Sprint Week. It's already a very strenuous and expensive set of races for teams and drivers, especially the low budget teams. I'm speaking for myself here but I know if you added another week of races I would support them but only as far as my bank account would take me and only as long as my boss would let me take time off work. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that boat. That said, something I miss is the old Border Wars event that ran at Gas City on Friday night and Eldora on Saturday night which has since been replaced by the Lets Race Two weekend. So my idea, instead of lengthening ISW, how about a Border Wars Week at another point in the season? Could incorporate tracks on both sides of the state lines of Ohio and Indiana. Tracks like Montpelier, Gas City, Route 44, Limaland, Waynesfield or Eldora for instance are all pretty close to each other in the grand scheme of things. If the week format didn't work out then maybe two straight weekends? One in Indiana and one in Ohio? I'm just spit-balling here but I don't think it sounds like an absolutely horrible idea. Any of those tracks are close enough you'd only need 1 hotel room in each state, you'd have a good mix of track types and I think you could draw a decent number of cars if the scheduling was right although I'm not sure who would sanction the races.

I don't necessarily mean another non-wing week but maybe a wing week with non-wing sprints on the same card at the same track on the same night maybe in Mid-September.

Here is another thought that would be cool to see Indiana dirt track promoters come together on. There are approximately 15 dirt tracks in Indiana not including Baer Field & Thunder Valley in Salem. Just my opinion that it would be cool to see a mini series in Indiana with 410 Wing Sprints, 410 Non-Wing Sprints, Midgets, & Modifieds on that same card. Now the series would do 1 race at each dirt track during the year except when USAC is at a track in the state or at Eldora. Now if wing sprints don't work may try Late Models that way fans of both get the best of both worlds.

Bloomington - Brownstown - Chandler - Daugherty - Gas City - Kokomo - Lawrenceburg - Lincoln Park - Montpelier - Paragon - Plymouth - Shadyhill - Terre Haute - Tri-State - Twin Cities.

[ISF]

Originally Posted by Simon_says17 My point is that I think the SN series is relevant in it's own right and isn't really a comparable to ISW. I think by the sounds of it you and I are thinking along the same lines of, ISW doesn't need to be expanded in any way. You could maybe make an argument that we might get a few more guys from the left coast to join in on the fun if it was made more financially worth their time but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

Fairbury is pretty close to us and believe me, the SN's are a distant afterthought compared to the upcoming Prairie Dirt Classic and some of the specials that Farmer City and La Salle run each year. I will stand by my statement that the SN's series is nowhere near as relevant as it was in the 1990's in large part due to the dilution of the schedule.

However, I will wholeheartedly agree that ISW need no changes at this time.

[Simon_says17]

Originally Posted by ISF Fairbury is pretty close to us and believe me, the SN's are a distant afterthought compared to the upcoming Prairie Dirt Classic and some of the specials that Farmer City and La Salle run each year. I will stand by my statement that the SN's series is nowhere near as relevant as it was in the 1990's in large part due to the dilution of the schedule. However, I will wholeheartedly agree that ISW need no changes at this time.

Fair enough Like I said, I was only going off of what I've experienced first hand and compare to what I remember in the early-mid 2000's. You've obviously have been around the scene much longer than I have so you would know.

I will be making my first trip to Fairbury in October for Sprint Mania and i'm pretty excited about it! I've only heard good things about the track. I've watched midget race replays from there and the track looks very racey.