[DAD]

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Lightning, mini sprint people have been fighting this name thing for 25 years now. Mini describes something small and that doesn't do justice to what our cars of capable of on the race track. Lightning means fast. My idea of Lightning fast is a 410 sprint at Winchester that is Scary lightning fast, that we are not. So what would be a good name for us to use?
I was talking with "AJ" Felker last winter and he told me that he had measured things out between one of our cars and a sprint car sitting in his shop and that we were exactly 3/4 the size of a sprint car. Maybe we could be Three quarter sprint cars but somebody is already using Three Quarter to describe there class and after all a midget is also Three Quarters the size of a sprint car. So I'm Still looking for a name.
I grew up in the 50's. Back then a 3/4 midget was Three fourth the size of a midget with little bitty 10 inch wheels and tires and short wheel base. I watched them run with us the other night and now it's more like 7/8 midget to be correct. With the 13" wheels and longer wheelbase and cage I could hardly tell the difference between them and us, and I know the people in the stands didn't know.
Looking back after the midget's we invented with the TQ midget to be a cheaper form of racing than the expensive Offy powered Full midget. They were 3/4 th the size of the "full" midget, thats what we called them back then "full" meaning they were the real deal. The TQ's used old Harley Davidsons cut in half and Crosley's for power back then. They used the Crosleys until there were no more Crosley's to be used a full 25 or 30 years after the last crosley was ever built. Then they found out the old outboard motor's built in Germany worked real good, In fact too good so they had to do away with them for the good of the sport. In about 1976 or so they found the good old Honda 750 motor and I guess that has been the motor of choice up until just a few years ago.
Then came the Micro midget they were even smaller than the TQ's and used the old General Jumbo Jr. tires that were even smaller than the TQ tires. The motor of choice in them was the 20 cubic inch Cushman. I raced them and let me tell you they were fast, or at least I thought so. After the micro midgets came the 1/2 and 1/4 midgets powered by the old "Continental Red Seal" engine's taken from old army surplus tent heater's.
Back in the late 80's Somebody got the idea that if you took one of the new Jap 1200 cc or even a 600cc motorcycle engines and put it in a midget frame you could make a neat race car. If you put a wing on them they looked just like one of them new "winged outlaw sprint cars" That had just started getting popular but smaller. So I guess they said lets call them "mini outlaw sprint cars". Back then we also had the mini skirt and they were "cool" but as anything in womens designs were dated. So here we sit with a neat race car with a dated name.
About 5 years ago an old guy up in Ohio wanted to race midgets and Mini sprints together. At the time he said mini was a bad name and perhaps lightning sprint would be a better name for us. I can't think of his name but I think Lyn Ambrose won the race in a 600 cc car. Now half of us are "Mini" and the other half of us are "Lightning" sprints.

I think we are anything but "SPRINT". If you wanted to race with us first you would need to buy buy a frame. That could be either a used midget frame or a special mini sprint frame that has a top rail 1/8" smaller than a midget. Then you would buy a front axil and spindles the same thing as a midget, next wheels and Tires that right also midget items. You go to our shock guy and buy midget shocks valved for a lighter car. The rear axil is the same as a midget except it doesn't have a center section with it. We use a chain drive because we can hook up our engine easier. WE buy a tail tank and body again from a midget, can you see where I'm going with this. We chose the wrong last name. We should be "midget" instead of "sprint". If we did use a sprint frame then maybe with the help of oxygen I could race too.

In the last several years we have been playing with the idea of removing our wing's and racing naturally as "God" intended us to. Now would also be a good time to get our name more in tune with who we are and what we are doing. We are in fact a midget framed race car powered either by a 600, 1000 or 1200 cc motorcycle engine. We are capable of reaching speeds close to that of a "full" midget because our engines are on the cutting edge of technology a full 20 years ahead of the old pinto and chevyII motors.

When we look back the micro midget almost died out because lack old the old Cushman motors to race and the expense of the newer motorcross motors to keep up and running, but the 600cc bike motors gave them new life also in the form of the 600 cc sidewinder "mini sprint", so now we have 600 cc upright 600 cc sidewinder and 1000 or 1200 cc upright mini sprints. We need a new name.
The name midget is used in several classes, beginning with 1/4 and half midget, micro midgets, TQ midgets, Kenyon Midgets, Focus midgets, Echo-tec midgets and my favorite the "Full" midget. They either denote the size of the race car as compared to a "full" midget or the type of power plant that is used to power them, when they share the same frame as a midget. It makes sense to me to call our cars "crotch rocket midget", or "pocket rocket midgets" after the type of motor we use to power them. We might even use the term "Liter midget" or "1000 cc midget" or "1200cc" midget". Any of the above makes more sense to me than "mini sprint". We really have very little in common with a sprint car other than the fact that most of us, and some of the sprint cars use wings to race with. We do share a lot with the "Full midget" except for cost of racing.

No offense but I think all the names you mention aint good, just using the word midget and most people think little people drive them. I dont know about the rest of you guys but my 1340cc upright is a sprint car. Personally I dont mind lightning sprint. The names micro and mini are totally confused now. It always was that a micro was a 600 on 10 wheels and a mini was a 1000-1200 on 13 inch wheels. At least here it was like that, now everything is a minisprint.

[cws9]

At one time they were called "Modified Midgets" around my part of the country. Go back to that....might get some of the door slammer fans confused and come out and watch a race. Also have heard of "Midget Lites" out in California.

[bc22]

Originally Posted by DAD That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Lightning, mini sprint people have been fighting this name thing for 25 years now. Mini describes something small and that doesn't do justice to what our cars of capable of on the race track. Lightning means fast. My idea of Lightning fast is a 410 sprint at Winchester that is Scary lightning fast, that we are not. So what would be a good name for us to use? I was talking with "AJ" Felker last winter and he told me that he had measured things out between one of our cars and a sprint car sitting in his shop and that we were exactly 3/4 the size of a sprint car. Maybe we could be Three quarter sprint cars but somebody is already using Three Quarter to describe there class and after all a midget is also Three Quarters the size of a sprint car. So I'm Still looking for a name. I grew up in the 50's. Back then a 3/4 midget was Three fourth the size of a midget with little bitty 10 inch wheels and tires and short wheel base. I watched them run with us the other night and now it's more like 7/8 midget to be correct. With the 13" wheels and longer wheelbase and cage I could hardly tell the difference between them and us, and I know the people in the stands didn't know. Looking back after the midget's we invented with the TQ midget to be a cheaper form of racing than the expensive Offy powered Full midget. They were 3/4 th the size of the "full" midget, thats what we called them back then "full" meaning they were the real deal. The TQ's used old Harley Davidsons cut in half and Crosley's for power back then. They used the Crosleys until there were no more Crosley's to be used a full 25 or 30 years after the last crosley was ever built. Then they found out the old outboard motor's built in Germany worked real good, In fact too good so they had to do away with them for the good of the sport. In about 1976 or so they found the good old Honda 750 motor and I guess that has been the motor of choice up until just a few years ago. Then came the Micro midget they were even smaller than the TQ's and used the old General Jumbo Jr. tires that were even smaller than the TQ tires. The motor of choice in them was the 20 cubic inch Cushman. I raced them and let me tell you they were fast, or at least I thought so. After the micro midgets came the 1/2 and 1/4 midgets powered by the old "Continental Red Seal" engine's taken from old army surplus tent heater's. Back in the late 80's Somebody got the idea that if you took one of the new Jap 1200 cc or even a 600cc motorcycle engines and put it in a midget frame you could make a neat race car. If you put a wing on them they looked just like one of them new "winged outlaw sprint cars" That had just started getting popular but smaller. So I guess they said lets call them "mini outlaw sprint cars". Back then we also had the mini skirt and they were "cool" but as anything in womens designs were dated. So here we sit with a neat race car with a dated name. About 5 years ago an old guy up in Ohio wanted to race midgets and Mini sprints together. At the time he said mini was a bad name and perhaps lightning sprint would be a better name for us. I can't think of his name but I think Lyn Ambrose won the race in a 600 cc car. Now half of us are "Mini" and the other half of us are "Lightning" sprints. I think we are anything but "SPRINT". If you wanted to race with us first you would need to buy buy a frame. That could be either a used midget frame or a special mini sprint frame that has a top rail 1/8" smaller than a midget. Then you would buy a front axil and spindles the same thing as a midget, next wheels and Tires that right also midget items. You go to our shock guy and buy midget shocks valved for a lighter car. The rear axil is the same as a midget except it doesn't have a center section with it. We use a chain drive because we can hook up our engine easier. WE buy a tail tank and body again from a midget, can you see where I'm going with this. We chose the wrong last name. We should be "midget" instead of "sprint". If we did use a sprint frame then maybe with the help of oxygen I could race too. In the last several years we have been playing with the idea of removing our wing's and racing naturally as "God" intended us to. Now would also be a good time to get our name more in tune with who we are and what we are doing. We are in fact a midget framed race car powered either by a 600, 1000 or 1200 cc motorcycle engine. We are capable of reaching speeds close to that of a "full" midget because our engines are on the cutting edge of technology a full 20 years ahead of the old pinto and chevyII motors. When we look back the micro midget almost died out because lack old the old Cushman motors to race and the expense of the newer motorcross motors to keep up and running, but the 600cc bike motors gave them new life also in the form of the 600 cc sidewinder "mini sprint", so now we have 600 cc upright 600 cc sidewinder and 1000 or 1200 cc upright mini sprints. We need a new name. The name midget is used in several classes, beginning with 1/4 and half midget, micro midgets, TQ midgets, Kenyon Midgets, Focus midgets, Echo-tec midgets and my favorite the "Full" midget. They either denote the size of the race car as compared to a "full" midget or the type of power plant that is used to power them, when they share the same frame as a midget. It makes sense to me to call our cars "crotch rocket midget", or "pocket rocket midgets" after the type of motor we use to power them. We might even use the term "Liter midget" or "1000 cc midget" or "1200cc" midget". Any of the above makes more sense to me than "mini sprint". We really have very little in common with a sprint car other than the fact that most of us, and some of the sprint cars use wings to race with. We do share a lot with the "Full midget" except for cost of racing.

I've always called them "Winged Midgets"

[Rogue-9]

Originally Posted by bc22 I've always called them "Winged Midgets"

Midgets have 4-cylinders, mini-srints have motorcycle engines.

I like hulk hogans new show, micro wrestling, next year it will be called mini wrestling and the year after midget wrestling.

[Quantrill]

Sound like your a little late DAD.

Midwest Lightning Sprints
Illinois Lightning Sprints
Calf. Lightning Sprints
Rocky Mountain Lightning Sprints Association
Southern State Lightning Sprints Series

Maybe it should be Indiana Lightning Sprint Association??

You Indiana guys are about the only people still calling them mini's
except our friends up north in WI.

[Wayne Davis]

Hey Dad I agree with most of what you said the only issue is change...If every organization in the nation would adapt a national rules package and name all at one time problem solved...like that is gonna happen....I like the midget part...anything to get away from the word MINI....there is only 1 organization in the nation that uses the word midget to discribe our cars and that is http://azmodifiedmidget.com/site/....Which I do like, but the nation and the general public know these cars as mini sprint then again as Bob has said 250/270 are micro sprints and some organizations with 600's are call micros and some mini...hell even I get confused who to send stuff out to for the winternationals...again as Bob quotes:"micros and sidewinder600 have 10" tires and wheels and the minis have 13" wheels and tires" most is true but here in Florida the FMSA (Florida Mini Sprint Association) run 10" and 750's.

You are very right on having a uniformed name. I personally like Modified Midgets but so many TRUE mini sprints series have changed to Lightning Sprints in the past 2 years, not only in the USA but also in Australia and New Zealand so Lighning has worked for me. This is something that I will be bring up at the promoters workshop in Orlando at the PRI show in Dec....Damn good write up and hope it does not fall on death ears Dad!!!!!!

---------- Post added at 07:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:27 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Quantrill Sound like your a little late DAD. Midwest Lightning Sprints Illinois Lightning Sprints Calf. Lightning Sprints Rocky Mountain Lightning Sprints Association Southern State Lightning Sprints Series Maybe it should be Indiana Lightning Sprint Association?? You Indiana guys are about the only people still calling them mini's except our friends up north in WI.

source tells me... Look for them to change their name in 2012

[Quantrill]

Papa Outlaw

That is a 600-750 micro group. I cut this from there rules

750cc and 1000cc engines will not be allowed for the 2010 season

[Wayne Davis]

Originally Posted by Quantrill Papa Outlaw That is a 600-750 micro group. I cut this from there rules

Quantrill...hey...This is the group I am talking about...Wisconsin/Illinois Mini Sprints
http://www.wimsracing.com/index.html