Here are some suggestions for midget racing:

1. Enforce the current rule book. If the current rules are strictly enforced, then there is a basis for where to begin inproving the quality of the racing.

2. Eliminate the tire monopoly.

3. Limit the number of tires that can be used in one evening of racing.

4. Do some scientific on track testing with various tires, compounds, wheel sizes etc etc using third party drivers and cars. Forget about this opinion and that opinion. The scientific data will tell the story.

5. Eliminate pit pass and entry fees for owners/drivers.

6. Pay a minimum towing fee for those traveling long distances to race.

7. Develop a plan to neutralize engines so that expensive power plants are not an issue.

8. Consider adopting the new Ecotech midget engine for $10,000.

9. Ban cockpit adjustable shocks.

10. Ban titanium and carbon fiber parts.

11. Develop a sensible weight rule that includes the driver. Steve Stroud and his late father have written extensively on these forums over the years about this.

12. Separate pavement and dirt championships.

13. Incorporate the use of self starters.

14. Reduce the speed of midgets.

15. Stay off the mile and half mile tracks.

Good to have you back Don.

I'm with you on most but not all of those suggestions.

I would assume that most of the suggestions I listed would be issues that the casual fan would not be aware of or care about. Fans want to see large car counts and they want to see exciting competition with a lot of side by side dicing for position along with the mystery of who will win out in the end. So the next point is... Why write the rules so that it makes it terribly expensive to maintain a race team?

Don. most of your posts make sense, especailly from a car owner's perspective. But one of the issues here nowadays is that you cannot unring a bell. Current midget technology is too expensive! Period! Too expensive to acquire to be competitive, too expensive to race, and too expensive in relation to the purse paid.

But what'll happen to all of the current technology if cost reduction sets in? IMO, there will be a period of time where there are VERY short fields as teams migrate towards any cost saving. As an example, what happened to all of the CCWS cars that went extinct when the IRL bought out CCWS? The cars became expensive paperweights or momentos.

Just cut down the tires, in # used and enforce a hard compound rule, and maybe a wheel width rule, too. If you can't put the power down, you don't need a $30K motor.

And if you run separate series, you're forcing owners to run two different cars. How about we require owners to run the SAME car on dirt or asphalt? Again, my suggestion is aimed at cost saving, while allowing more teams to race....

Institute a minimum weight rule and enforce it! A 900 lb car with 350hp is too light, IMO. And no bolt on weight, either. That will help reduce the reliance on carbon fiber/titanium/lightweight(expensive) parts.

And you'll never eliminate pitpasses or entry fees or get larger purses until you figure out a way to get more butts in the seats(Promote!!!) - too many operators pay a portion of the purse from the pit gate...and too many fans have a front gate threshold of about $20...tops. Charge more than that, and you'll likely loose more fans than you'll gain at future shows.

But like I said previously, it's everyone's fault that midget racing is so expensive today. The series of articles in Sprint Car & Midget about Steve Lewis and the 9 cars told me everything that is wrong with midget racing today. Steve spent a ton of $$$ to win, which was his choice, and is OK, in my book. But he drove up the price of poker for everyone, especially those who expected to race competitively with his team!

I'm calculating that if ONE owner and one Driver waiver of pit passes and entry fees at $30 a pass is $1200 for 20 cars. Will a race track go out of business over $1200? IDK.

If the dirt and pavement championships are divided, running both series would be an option for the owner. Owners with deep pockets probably would run both, but remember that there would be 2 SEPARATE championships. Seems that we pretty much now have many owners who only run dirt and some who only run pavement. So I see this as a big plus. 2 possible champions instead of one. Let's face it, only the multi millionaire teams can afford to run both dirt and pavement and that's there choice.

IMO midgets are way too fast for their size and horsepower. Some will argue this, but to me speed has nothing to do with enjoying a good competition on the track. when I first started watching midgets race, they were not near as fast as today's cars but they were just as enjoyable to watch. As a fan, I really didn't care how fast they were going as long as the racing was competitive. You don't think about how fast cars are going, you think about how good the competition is or isn't.

My list is not the ultimate list. there are many other points to be made. but it might be interesting to go down the list and ask yourself as a fan just exactly how much impact that suggestion has or will have on your ability to have an enjoyable racing experience. If it's not an issue, then why is it allowed?

Don, your #5 Eliminate pit pass and entry fees for owner/drivers, has always been a pet peeve of mine. No other sport has those that are providing the entertainment have to purchase a ticket to entertain the fans. However it has been that way my 50 plus years in racing so I don't see it changing. It has always been explained to me that the pit pass you buy is for insurance coverage.

I really know very little about Harf and Darf or any other fan group that supports Indiana racing. I have read on this sight where tracks have Harf and Darf nights that give the fans a discount. What do these clubs do to give back to the racers? The Eagles Fan Club started running a weekly Pit Pass Raffle last year, the fans purchase a raffle ticket and pick a race team they want to win 4 free pit passes for an up coming race event. Whoever wins the raffle the team they choose is the lucky winner of 4 pit passes. This doesn't eliminate pit passes or entry fees altogether but it does help a race team each week. The Eagles Fan Club was formed years ago for the sole intent and purpose of supporting the drivers and owners who compete at Oswego Speedway. Some other past ideas were a weekly fuel certificate given to a predetermined finishing position in the feature event and tire giveaways at special events.

Anything fans or fan groups can do to help racers in these tough times should be greatly appreciated.

Patti

Wagbucks out west help out drivers and the Beer Hill Gang at Williams Grove do the same. I think all you hoosiers could have a track to track fan competition of who has the best fan support. Like an IOW award, or a Section A award.

I know this is getting off Don's good topic. But I myself don't see pit passes going away. As a fan, we could all do more to support drivers and not just the race tracks.

About #12, the separate dirt and pavement championships....I think that's a good idea, but what would you think about having something to reward the owners who do both, too? Some sort of bonus championship?

You won't be able to cut cost with midgets until you can find an engine platform that a guy can get out of a production car, and with few modifications be able to drop it into a racecar. Kind of like the mini-sprint deal. There are wrecked motorcycles all over the place with engines for sale.

I agree with most of your items also, Don, and it is sad to say, that probably more fans, would be racers, if they weren't snugged up on their 401K's, folks somehow, just don't get it together, on what it costs, in time and money, to put on these "shows", and how much do football players have to pay, to get in to do what has them hooked, how long would Roy Clark stutter, if he had to pay an "entry fee", to play a gig? And just because it's "always" been that way, doesn't make it right, or OK, and with the fewer butts in the seats, it costs more to race, and who pays, the "intertainer"! Something wrong with this picture, not that $60.00 is gonna stop a race team from paying it, but when it's factored in with all the other costs, it begins to be a deciding factor. Maybe someday, someone will realize, that size does matter, my BIL is a bartender at a local VFW, KofC, and Eagles, the VFW is selling longnecks for .90, and mixed drinks for .95, guess where he's the busiest! Bob