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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
I have never seen USAC get their t shirt trailer confiscated. I have never heard of them bouncing a check. I know that has happened with the WoO, although not with the current owners. I have never heard of USAC race where the promoter skipped out without paying as happened to POWRi in Kansas City. In my opinion they have the best program going. I would love to see pavement again, but right now pavement is hurting everywhere. Maybe someday there will be enough difference to bring it back. Check out the payout for the first night for the ASCS at East Bay. I think the salary that Kevin Miller makes is comparable to what they people have made in the past. I was told by a former president that ossucks, between him, his wife, and his son were making over a $1000 a night way back when working for them.
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It blows my mind people are on here complaining about this. People always complain that USAC isn't what it used to be and they are running open wheel racing into the ground. However, as soon as they try something that might help fix the problem people start complaining. It may or may not work that is still to be determined. But doing nothing certainly isn't going to fix the problem. Good for USAC for at least trying. Lets save the complaining until after we find out if it works.
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
First you have to define the problem before you can comment on the problem. Adding other classes and orgs. etc, does nothing but strengthen USAC as a org. Not any particular class.
Im not badmouthing anyone or even USAC here, The proof will be in the car counts and fans in the seats. If he product is worth it, The fans will be there. If not. They won't. Barely three heats and a feature is no better than most regular shows even if the overall quality is higher. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
USAC is not "taking over" or getting an ownership interest in either AVSS or the King of the Wing Series. The races in those series will now have USAC sanctioning, and all else remains the same.
There's more here from my recent interview with Davey Hamilton: http://www.hoseheads.com/richard.html |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Tracks don't pay USAC a sanction fee and drivers a USAC License?
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by Charles Nungester: Perhaps you should stick with posting the popcorn icons. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by BrentTFunk: |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Yeah they pay all their track workers at least a grand a night. They also slide each competitor an extra grand or two on the side. Also know for a fact that they share sponsorship income with their business partners thats how I made most of my fortune on the Focus program :5:
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Let me see if I am following all of this as it is presented. Charles, you might need another bag of popcorn.
Before I start, I want all involved to know that I respect your opinions. I may disagree with them, but I respect them. Some are a little out there, but then again, some may feel mine are, too. This thread started with a post about Davey Hamilton being hired by USAC to “improve” the pavement sprints associated with said sanctioning body. It splintered right there. One splinter was hailing USAC for doing this and that trying to refloat a sunk ship – by doing nothing, nothing will ever get done. Another splinter was Davey being the right man for the job – yes he has the experience but he also has a vested interest in a series that USAC is (ahem) bringing into the fold. The third was USAC’s re-approach towards this series – they were piloting the original ship when it sunk. We all love our sprints. Non wing, wing, dirt, pavement. Some of us love the way it was, some love the way it is, some love the way they want it to be in the future. Others dislike the way it was (few, but some), dislike the way it is, and dislike the direction it is going. At the heart of all of these loves and dislikes is the way the sanctioning body is moving/progressing/operating. To the right we have the fans that like the status quo and feel the sanctioning body pretty much does all proper. To the left we have the fans that feel the sanctioning body is not hitting on all cylinders and is far off the pace of other like organizations. In between we have the forum members that see it both ways. Back to the original post: Pretty much all agree Davey Hamilton knows his sprints. He has a series he runs. He is a former USAC guy. The far right hails this as he being a savior. This is the way to go – period. No questions asked. The near right wants to give him the latitude to run with the ball – see what happens, so to speak, and hope for the best. The near left questions why USAC is looking at winged sprints, no matter who they hire to run the show. The far left thinks USAC is paying money to a guy who stands for personal gain, to get his series into the limelight, and will not get anything of worth on their return in the long run and the bottom will fall out of this. Vukie, Panama, KMS2683, 1121, Seadog, and Racer X go to the right. Team 3521 then counters from the left with a previous post about the high salary paid to the USAC President. 1121 and Team 3521 are pavement sprint guys taking opposite views. Myself, ossuks, PPM, D50, and PJWright swing left. SP Motorsports then notes that he had the original post of the USAC salaries and says it was not posted to malign USAC on how they pay their staff. This is the post Team 3521 was referring to. Perhaps Team 3521 is taking things out of context, hammering USAC, or perhaps he is putting the aforementioned figures on the table that were there in the original post for all to look at and ponder. Once again, he is a pavement sprinter like 1121. Nonetheless, this is the first item of debate. So far, all are taking a stance – left, right, middle, etc. Then we get a request to delete the post for there is bashing going on. Bashing, in this case, is a differing opinion, a counterpoint, and the other side of the coin. This is where I stepped in. Everyone on this forum has to realize what you say will be read, and said readers might disagree. It is human nature. It is not an attempted stab to the throat, it is just a reaction, opinion, and viewpoint. Vukie, if you feel I was coming at you too hard with fists, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. It was nothing personal. It was just my gut reaction to not accepting a reaction. I saw your original post as more than Hamilton being hired. I read into the link very deeply and took things away from it that obviously you thought no one was going to, or should have done. Then we all went back and forth and Charles, a long time member of this forum, got out the popcorn. Left and right. Right and left. USAC is great. USAC is inept. Hamilton is the savior, Hamilton has a hidden agenda. USAC wrecked this and that. USAC tried their best to save this and that. WoO is better. WoO has Kinser and is more of an event. ASCS brings a lot of cars - USAC doesn't. ASCS is in trouble. On and on. But where I got lost was here: A link was then provided by Vukie with a tax document with USAC involved. I need some help with that. I thought the document was provided to show support for USAC and their modus operandi, for Vukie has previously taken a stance to the right. When I read it, I see (for the last season USAC ran): Form 990 – Page 13 of PDF: $4.3M revenue (intake) $4.1M costs (money spent) ~ $235,000 profit $200,000 unrealized gains / investments (more profit) A take in that raised the bottom line of the sanctioning body from $2.2M to $2.6M They are in the black. Good deal. Then I look at the President’s W-2: Schedule J – Page 22 of PDF: $250,000 base salary $93,000 incentives. Incentives aside, he got half the profit of the series for that fiscal year. Now, I could be reading this wrong due to my own shortcomings, and that is where I am open to anyone to set me straight. But if this is true, I thought this was a tad high for a salary. I would have thought he got about, oh….. $50,000 tops for what they raked in? Heck, I’d do it for that, and then go back to my day job when I am away from the USAC office. You get your sponsors in place, set up your schedule, consolidate your rules, make sure accounting is sat, and then let the series run. I honestly could care less about Miller’s salary, but this is where Team 3521 (left) made his stance on him being overpaid and the money not trickling down to the owners. By posting this tax PDF, Vukie (right) is either buying into that salary being on the up and up and at the right level or noting that even he feels USAC is paying a little too much to the brass. I got a little confused here on which way he was leaning/pointing. So, my train jumped the track there and am trying to get everything aligned again in my head. Oh…. now, Hamilton is on the payroll. My beef is not the salaries, though. It is with USAC screwing things up over the years. If given a 50/50 chance of making a proper decision, I give them way less than 50% of going the right way. This winged thing is not going to cut it. Not only that, where will the Must See guys fit into this deal? Max Revs notes another forum that discusses sprints, that USAC is not taking over AVSS or King of Wings and provides a link for an interview with Davey Hamilton. In that link/interview, here is some of the context: “King of the Wing will be run the same just under the USAC banner,” Hamilton told me on Monday. Well, what the hell does THAT mean? That would be like someone taking out a mortgage with Bank A. Then they get a letter from Bank B saying, “Your mortgage will be the same, just run under Bank B.” They just sold the mortgage! THAT’S what it means. USAC will not be trying to get $$$ from this? What, they are just going to put up some USAC banners at the races and show that they support this series? Give me a break. So here we are now. Left and right. Pro Davey and Davey making $$$ off of USAC. USAC being wise, USAC being blind. Paying staff for staying in the black, paying staff too much for said profits. And as for other responses towards me from Jonr and Brent. Jon, you have your opinions and I have mine. It is what it is. Maybe I am out to lunch with respect to the Badger Midgets, but as for ASCS dying, I know they have issues centering around blocks, heads, specs, and saving engine dollars. That can easily be resolved. They just need someone to decide what to do. West of the Mississippi they rule. You would have to really try hard to destroy this series. The NSL won't do them any good. But on the other hand, ASCS can always cross the big river where the NSL isn’t. Oh, yeah…. Some advice from an old bloke: Don’t believe everything you read on that other forum that starts with an “H”. I have read some of the stuff people post on there. It reminds me of some arguments we used to get into back in 4th grade. Brent, I have no idea what the ASCS payout was at East Bay. I couldn’t even find it. Please point me to it. All I know it was $5000, $5000, $10,000 to win T-F-S nights. And it must have been a good payout, for 67 cars showed up. You should have seen how many showed up at Knoxville last year for the 360 Nats. On a sidebar, I hope you found a DD back to your hotel when you were down in Ocala! Love talking with you guys (and girls). I hold no grudges against anyone here. I appreciate the banter. I do not intend to disrespect anyone personally, I just might disagree with your viewpoint. It is Saturday Night. Why can’t there be a race to go to tonight? I think that would pretty much make everything better for the left, right, and center just about now. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
An idea that I dont think I have seen on this thread is, do you think maybe USAC took on Davey's series to get Davey on their staff. He brings name recognition and credibility. Another point I'd like to make is to whoever brought up the car count comparison. True the wing show had twice as many cars as USAC but there are probably 6 or 7 times as many wing cars in the eastern US as non-wing, taking the percentages in to the equation shouldnt there have been over twice as many cars at the wing show than there were?
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I've half read some of the posts and one way or another it's good to see the passion for our sport. However, some of the posts are so far off, I eventually felt the need to chime in. Will probably regret it, but oh well. I am not here to completely defend USAC or Kevin Miller. They have have done some stupid things and I've shared my displeasure with them on those occasions. I am not going to talk exact numbers, as that part is irrevelant.
Whether you want to believe it or not, I believe USAC would of been out of business if it hadn't been for Kevin. In 06 and 07 when I won the National Midget Championship, it paid less than 6K to win, less in 07 than 06. I have been told the numbers that they had in the bank and how it was dwindling. I have seen the presentations that Kevin has gone to major companies with and they don't bite. Another thing you may not want to believe is that the 3 National Series do not bring in very much revenue. Do the math. Sanctioning fees times the number of races. The amount of members for the 3 series. So someone has figured out that they can sanction different series in all forms of motorsports, sell insurance and make money. Pretty smart if you ask me. Just because a series carries thebUSAC banner, does not mean they are taking the series over or have anything to do with the operation of the series. Now pavement racing. Yes, we can blame USAC or sanctioning bodies for the cost of the sport. But when pavement tracks don't want to schedule your series, what do you want to do? Yes, wing pavement is doing ok for half the purse of a USAC race. I do get the, if USAC would promote, and I don't disagree there a little. Without sponsor dollars, there is no advertising. Midget racing has been hurting all over. There used to be cars in AZ, CO, WI. They are gone. Going to blame USAC for that? Belleville would pull at least 10 cars from AZ and that many from CO. Plus the west coast cars. I know there were 300 cars at chili bowl. But so many of those are 1 off deals. I went through the pits there, seeing who I could approach for a ride. Couldn't come up with hardly anything but luckily, there was one that came available. One. At a USAC Silver Crown meeting, Kevin said he would commit X amount of dollars. The owners could choose how to spend it. All of the dirt shows were self supported. However, there was not 1 pavement race that was. It was going to take pretty much all of the money to get a few pavement races. Here was my suggestion. Do away with pavement for about 2 years. Work on adding a couple more dirt shows as there were 6. Take the money Kevin offered and add tow money, great point fund, etc. Build the car count back to 25 or 30 cars at least. Now in a couple years, come out with a pavement rules package that you have to run your dirt car. Yes, it can be done. Now you have a pool of 25 or 30 cars plus to pull from for a pavemet race. The track owners are going to see how strong the series is. Owners don't have to sink a ton to run pavement. I understand there are pavement cars out there that become boat anchors but at some point, you have to stop the bleeding for the future. Of course the few pavement only owners there, shot that down in a heart beat. Comparing USAC to WoO is not a fair comparison. Like someone posted, you can see any of the USAC drivers at any weekly show. That hurts USAC but we want to race so which comes first? Ok, pick me apart. I have big shoulders. Well, ok I dont, but you get the point. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Coondog, everything you said is absolutely impossible. It makes WAAAAY too much sense.
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Like I said, I wasn't bad mouthing USAC or anyone.
To me, The format is awesome. Qualify and invert the top six with only four transferring. I kinda wish that a non heat transfer that transferred through the consi could not start better than 13th (Behind heat transfers) I also said, That that is great when you got 28+ cars and four heats But then they have fields of 21-23 and run three heats, and still run a consi? I know some of the tracks and trips are hard for many teams to support, But why does over 2/3rds of a local tracks regulars not run with em? Sure some are not experienced and some might not have great equipment but I've seen many locals may not be able to put great qualifying laps down, But sure as hell can race with anyone and move forward against better equiptment, Sometimes far superior equipment than they have. So thats my question, People saying they want higher payout, then won't run the series that does? Why? Anyhow, Back on topic. It probably is true USAC was in trouble financially, They got Hillenburg and now Hamilton Both very experienced people in lots of categories of racing. I wish them well. I hope it's a huge success! To put it plainly though, USAC has had great people before and got thrown under the bus of something that wasn't their fault at all, I know the 50th anniversary book thing was a huge hit and I think the Gold Crown was the other tha put them in the Red. But it wasn't the fault of those running things at the time. In fact some of the races today, Such as Eastern Storm were totally due to their hard work. I really like the idea of the pavement/dirt car for all three series. Put a hard tire on em that would last testing/feature and go race. The only concern I have with is the safety and the containment seats have pretty much eliminated the need for the wide body and/or side bars. Carry on. Its just my view, Yours may be different. No need to get personal. |
I have a couple questions about these posts. It not to start a debate just to clarify a few points of view.
I have heard anyone racing a USAC race has to pay a fee for USAC license is this true? Does WOO require a license fee for all drivers? Would USAC have drivers you could only see at USAC shows if they had a purse and schedule similar to WOO? Also is the cost of racing hurting the car counts. My dad as often talked about when he raced and you could get parts at a junk yard. People have often talked about the car counts of Long ago vs. The cost of now. Some of the stories I have heard from some old timers would never work now. My uncle once told me about using a log to hold the belt tight after my dad broke the power steering pump on his stock car and finishing third in the feature. They also used a pair of vice grips to hold on larry cutis's fuel pump and won the feature. This could not happen now....Sorry if I am rambling |
I wonder the same about why teams stay away when USAC shows up. 50 some cars showed up at Eldora for a race that paid how much? I can start a USAC sprint car feature and make more than 3rd at most local shows. The issue with USAC traveling is, there isn't non wing racing anywhere else for the most part. I am going to run the Eastern Storm for Mike Heffner. He said he has always wanted to run it but his drivers don't want to run without a wing.
Guys used to want to race with the best. Now they want to go where USAC isn't for much less money. The way I got better was going to get my but kicked at a west coast USAC midget race. Then I came back to AZ and won. |
Is there much wingless sprint car racing outside of Indiana, southern California, and Arizona? The only other states I've heard mentioned are sometimes Oklahoma and northern Texas, Illinois and Ohio. Are those healthy markets
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Many of them old stories are true. Might have 600-1000 in the whole car up till the mid 70s and take home a percentage purse of 12 grand. Blow a motor and go to the junkyard, find what you need and race the next night. Today a lot of teams won't even touch their own motors. I even heard of cars that made a couple hundred grand in the life of the car which was much longer than today's 2-3 seasons
I also thought you got better by racing the best I think now you even have to run different front axles to run Non Wing vs Wing, So that probably hurts counts traveling except in areas NW is prevalent. I do see some light and I don't know what to think about it. Im sure the racing will be the judge but a couple Racesaver NW and Crate NW classes seem to be getting a huge interest, At least from racers. Perhaps some will gain the talent and secure the sponsorship to go National or at least enhance the traveling Series at times. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by ossuks: |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by coondog: Loved the paragraph and ideas on the Silver Crown series... wouldn't you say that it's working? |
Originally Posted by cleatziff: |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
I will volunteer to:44:for Charles if he wants to continue to comment. I can assure you I have no intention of doing anything other than watch and learn.:D
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
The senior management and the board all have very big smiles on their faces right now. It took me avery long time to understand this - and some reading this may never grasp it - but we all need to take a giant step back from the day to day racing issues and look at the big picture. The closer you are to the racing (drivers, owners, builders), the more important this is.
Those of us whose passion in life centers around racing naturally gravitate toward that passion. So we naturally assume that the issues at hand have to do with how to put on better races, more races, better purses, etc. We assume that these are the issues that somehow need to be improved upon so that the sport can progress, and you are right as far as it goes. But take that step back and ask, why, after decades of trying, have we not made much progress in these areas? Why have we actually LOST ground to some groups that would seem to be less well funded, less well organized? The board and senior management look upon these discussions and smile because they know that they can depend on all of us racers to stay so focused on those issues directly connected to the racing we love, that we won't take time to take a step back, and look at the systemic factors that are preventing any progress. One would think that, armed with a recruit from senior management at a major auto manufacturer, and subsequently with sponsorship from another major auto manufacturer, the organization would be positioned to make significant progress on market share and penetration issues. Actually, over the past couple decades, several such 'foot in the door' opportunities have come and gone - none of which ever were fully capitalized upon. And all the while, we all sat around talking about things like tires, purses, and racing surfaces. Meanwhile, a culture was developing at the top, one that recognized that there was not sufficient oversight of upper management, and zero oversight at the board room. As a result, we have an organization that has reached the point where the actual racing is viewed as mostly a necessary evil - something that must be done in order to keep the revenue coming. Now don't get me wrong - I don't believe this approach was a conscious decision - it was the result of years of stagnant results in the aftermath of the down fall of USAC's glory years. Put yourself in Johnny Capels' shoes, for example. There was a guy that grew up in a culture where everything USAC touched turned to gold. Several factors, some tragic, changed all that in a relatively short time. So what would anybody in that position do? You take a look around at what your remaining assets are, and you attempt to stay alive by trading on those assets. USAC has been trading on their golden past - to one degree or another - ever since. And as that past fades, they are finding that they are getting less and less in return for that warm and fuzzy memory of what they were. So much so, that these days they barely have enough coming in to pay themselves the rather impressive salaries they are accustomed to. This explains why in recent years there has been a focus away from the core, open wheel racing. Management is open to associating with ANY activity - R/C racing has even been discussed - that can generate revenue. KM described this mentality as one of USAC evolving into more of an entertainment business. Sounds great, but what has happened to our focus on open wheel racing. In the case of Midget racing - my passion - I can tell you the results have not been outstanding. And all the while, those of us who love the sport spend our time arguing over tire compounds. If those of us who love the sport would shift our focus to the effective management of the organization, if we would demand responsible usage of the revenues they manage in our names and insist that a focus was instituted that concentrates on our core values of open wheel racing, I believe we do have sufficient talent and energy within USAC management to accomplish those goals. but as long as the membership prefers to argue down at the level of pavement vs. dirt instead of looking at the issues that are steering the ship, human nature will take its course and those guys up there will remain elusive, detached, and well paid. :32: |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by Revolution Racing: I cover more sporting events in a year than many people see in a lifetime. I grew up in auto racing and last night I put together the sports pages that 20,000 people are reading today. How many people do you know that have spent endless hours taking sprint car photos and at the same time have stood on the sidelines at Notre Dame? Seems like the sort of guy that an auto racing fan would want in charge of what they see in the sports pages. It's pretty obvious to me what's wrong with local auto racing. All you have to do is look at this thread. Jim Fisher |
The problem, at least for racers, is that many promoters use the racer as the revenue stream, instead of using them to draw the crowd and use the grandstand as the revenue stream. It's hard for me to justify continuing to race when I feel like I would get more respect and satisfaction from playing beer league hockey. I would sure have a lot more spending money.
On another note, any time I have raced a WoO show, the officials made me feel somewhat appreciated. Not true at many other places. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by Rhody: |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
:44::44:
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Keith, I lost my enthusiasm for this subject, but I just reread your latest post and I couldn't agree more! It inspired me to write a little more.
I'd like to know how so many can ignore the facts of what's happening right in front of their noses. Like sheep, bah!... bah! They are led! Following and never asking any questions beyond their own concerns that are at the forefront. Seriously, I'm happy USAC is doing something different. They have in my opinion an opportunity to revive open wheel racing, but they've needed to cut their president out of the picture like you would remove a tumor for far too long. Hey! We're sanctioning snowmobile races now! Aren't you proud of me! And off road races and etc...pfft! I'm not even going to go into the Silver Crown debacle. I think Andy is doing a great job from what I know and that makes me very happy. I love Crown cars. But, while pavement midgets died last year and unfortunately were preceded in death by the pavement sprints several years ago, everyone with half a brain knew the midgets were next! NOT A SINGLE THING WAS DONE ABOUT IT. What's a proactive approach? All of us lil guys that USAC has bled dry, hold onto cars in our garages and they are worthless on the market. No place to race them anymore! I don't want to see that happen to the winged sprint cars! Leave them out of USAC! You have enough with your tasks to clean things up. They have a great thing going (except the division of the sanctioning bodies) and USAC has killed or almost killed just about everything they've touched in the last 15 years. Yes, I am angry! Angry at the fact the wages that are being paid are not what a dying business should be paying their managers that are not doing their jobs. Meanwhile, we the bill payers are not demanding enough from the management! |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
When Stevensville Mike stated that I was all the way to one side of the USAC discussion, I had to chuckle a bit. And Mike, I’m not mad. You made some valid points. But just because I believe USAC is better than many other organizations and they get blamed for many things that are not their fault, it does not mean that I don’t see their weaknesses.
Many people bring up the Silver Crown Series. And people that know me know that I love those big cars. When I was a young boy, while my friends dreamed of playing professional baseball or basketball, I was dreaming of blasting down the front stretch of the Indy Fairgrounds. A dream I still haven’t achieved. When USAC came out with the “new” Silver Crown Cars, even though the dirt cars still existed, I was devastated. I felt this was the first step to getting rid of those cars. In my mind, obsoleting the existing cars was a big mistake. Especially with cars that nobody had. I do like Jerry Coons idea of running the dirt cars on pavement. But I don’t agree with parking the existing cars. I think if they would do something to even the playing field, they could keep both cars active. Maybe have a ride height rule or maybe have the pavement cars run a smaller right rear. I’m sure there are other things also. One of the reasons that I have hope for Davy Hamilton is that he is a racer. And it took a racer (Andy Hillenburg) to start bringing the Silver Crown Series back. And no, I’m not saying Davey is just like Andy or vice versa. Another thing that has been brought up is Mr. Miller’s salary. And I agree that it seems high. But I will also say that if USAC called me today and offered me the same salary for the same job, I wouldn’t take it. I feel it is a no win job. No matter what you do, some people are going to complain. And I just can’t take that many people being pissed at me. I get enough of that at work! And for the record, I don’t feel that the Auto Value Super Sprints/ USAC merger (or whatever you call it) will last long. In a few years, the AVSS will be back to the way it was. I have only run in two USAC races (one dirt/ one pavement), but I been on a crew at several races, from the Silver Crown series on. I and the people I was with were always treated with respect and dignity. As you can imagine, I was always with a fairly low dollar car. I’m sure here is where some of you are saying “he’s only run two races with them and he likes them? What does he know?” Well, let me tell you a story. Like way too many racers, a few years ago, I was hurt in a race car. It wasn’t extremely serious, but there was an ambulance ride and a broken bone. But no overnight stay in the hospital and I’m proud to say I was at work Monday morning. When the bills started rolling in, I found out my health insurance didn’t pay for “dangerous activities such as auto racing and sky diving.” (and I’ve done both) (and this situation has since been rectified) I called the race track and after several months of them jerking me around, they finally admitted they didn’t have any insurance on the driver’s. I called the sanctioning body that I was running with, and they informed me they didn’t carry insurance on the drivers and it was up to the track to have the insurance. The track had given the sanctioning body a fake insurance statement. So all the bills were up to me to pay. At the urging of a friend, I contacted a lawyer. I found out that the track was heavily in debt and soon closed. I have since found out that very few sanctioning bodies actually carry insurance on their drivers. It is up to the track to carry the insurance. And most tracks only have about $15,000 of coverage. So after all of this, all I had was a stack of bills, a busted race car and a limp. I highly recommend that anyone who straps in any race car is certain of their insurance situation. I’ve heard good things about STIDA and I was able to purchase additional insurance through where I work. Fast forward a few years. A very close friend of mine lives in an area where they don’t race non winged cars. USAC was coming to town and he wanted to run. He’d never run without a wing. He paid for a Temporary Permit ($50 I think). He had the car way too tight in hot laps and the car bicycled and got up in the fence. It caught his arm and basically tried to remove it from his body. He was knocked unconscious and remembers nothing. I would see his helmet later on. All I can say is “Thank you Bell.” He had two ambulance rides (they were very close to the hospital) and two different surgeries. He is OK today and continues to race. When the bills started rolling in, he started to turn them into his work insurance. He worked at a company you have all heard of and they basically gave him everything back. They said it was an auto accident and therefore his auto insurance should pay. He contacted USAC. Remember he was racing on only a temporary permit. He had tens of thousands in bills. He didn’t expect much. USAC put him in contact with their insurance company. THEY PAID EVERYTHING! He did not have to pay one dime. So when people talk about how USAC doesn’t care about their driver’s, I have to laugh. I don’t think there is any other organization that this would happen with. They could probably drop their insurance to what other series have and they would still get most of their existing drivers. I don’t know if by running with the King of Wings or the Auto Value Super Sprints, if we will have to pay the for the full USAC license. But this is one driver that will write that check with a smile. By the way, USAC did not kill off non-winged pavement racing. And they are not killing midget racing. I’m not saying these two are not dying, because they are. But it’s not USAC’s fault. I do have thoughts on who is responsible and I’m sure it would surprise many of you. And those of you that blame USAC for everything from Global Warming (oops, Climate Change) to the Cubs losing streak will not agree with me. And that’s OK. Some time when I get my work caught up and maybe there’s a rain out, I’ll have a few beers and lay it out for you. Until then, it’s late and I’ve got an early morning. Tom Paterson |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
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Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
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Yeah midget racing is dying. Maybe USAC type.
Somebody needs to show Hamilton this so he doesn't misspeak in the next press release.:11: March 20,2015 6:58 pm POWRi Racing: With 3 late entries, there are now 69 cars signed in! |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Every year, start of the season shows do well. Shows that are co-sanctioned do well. I would be excited with that car count as well. However, when I go to see POWRi, they do not have full fields.
http://www.racinboys.com/2014/05/03/...get-nationals/ http://www.racinboys.com/2014/05/04/...get-nationals/ POWRi fans should not claim the season owner as the average car count mark. Just like USAC should not claim the car count for the end of season Gold Crown. I know that I have seen over 50+ midgets at the Gold Crown in years past. |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by Jonr: |
Originally Posted by Pat O'Connor Fan: |
Re: Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director
Originally Posted by Jonr: |
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