Xtreme Midgets
 

Maybe I missed it somewhere, did the Xtreme Midgets fold? I haven't seen a schedule and can't find any info about the 2026 season.

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

They still have a heck of a website, but you are correct...nothing about a 2026 season...

https://xtremeoutlawseries.com/news/

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

I am very disappointed. That was the only midget racing we had in eastern PA anymore . This might be the first year since the 1930’s without midget racing in PA .

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

There was a news article/web article about xTreme midgets. It was stated that they are in an evaluation period. They are not going to have a full schedule, but will release a reduced schedule later. It will only be co-sanctioned shows with other WOO shows. (Think Iron Man 55) I know that I have seen a couple of teams reference the schedule coming out later.

I was a fan of the xTreme midgets but like the other midget series the car counts were all over the place.

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

High Limit should start one!!! ;)

Actually, while it was proly nice for the midget teams (the big ones espcly) and drivers to race more (&, since many of these races paid well, I will say "make more $", but I realize no one was really "making" $ at his level of racing...); maybe one less f/t national series will end up helping USAC & POWRi? Once things cycle out, perhaps USAC could pick up a few more races too...

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

The persistent problem, as I see it, across the Midget ranks (BMARA excepted) is a failure of sanctioning bodies to address large differences in power, i.e., parity. Many owners & drivers, who would otherwise be willing to enter, and take their chances on the basis of driving ability and setup skill, are discouraged by power differences as large as 20%. If your night repeatedly stops at the first heat, your interest in driving four or five hours wanes substantially. The de facto sportsmen are the ones who fill the field.

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

Frank, Didn't USAC at one time have a regional series to fill “that” void? Or is that what turned into D2’s?

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

Originally Posted by Frank Reiner:
The persistent problem, as I see it, across the Midget ranks (BMARA excepted) is a failure of sanctioning bodies to address large differences in power, i.e., parity. Many owners & drivers, who would otherwise be willing to enter, and take their chances on the basis of driving ability and setup skill, are discouraged by power differences as large as 20%. If your night repeatedly stops at the first heat, your interest in driving four or five hours wanes substantially. The de facto sportsmen are the ones who fill the field.

I thought Xtreme counts were lower at times, but I was corrected and researched and they really weren't, overall. I mean, we aren't gona have 40 cars enter in about any outdoor race anymore (Turkey Night, Indy, are the exceptions).

...I'd have to think maybe the bmara Eslinger's have a little more power than some of the others...

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

Originally Posted by Bob Parker:
Frank, Didn't USAC at one time have a regional series to fill “that” void? Or is that what turned into D2’s?

The D2 engine specs roughly follow those of BMARA: production based w/untouched cylinder heads.

I was referring to those series & venues that on paper follow USAC type national engine rules. Engines that 10-15 years ago were at the front of the field, often based on Gaerte & Fontana blocks with Chevy, Ford, and Fontana heads are now down 50-60 horsepower. The folks who own those engines are the ones who would still be filling the fields if an effort had been made by the sanctioning bodies to ensure that they remained competitive.

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

Originally Posted by Frank Reiner:
The D2 engine specs roughly follow those of BMARA: production based w/untouched cylinder heads.

I was referring to those series & venues that on paper follow USAC type national engine rules. Engines that 10-15 years ago were at the front of the field, often based on Gaerte & Fontana blocks with Chevy, Ford, and Fontana heads are now down 50-60 horsepower. The folks who own those engines are the ones who would still be filling the fields if an effort had been made by the sanctioning bodies to ensure that they remained competitive.

Frank,

Thanks for your reply.

As I always get a little miffed when the subject of midget engines comes up. I want to make sure I follow what you are saying.

Based on your comment using my arbitrary % figure here —-- So are 80% of the non-D2 and BMARA midget engines just non-competitive at the Xtream and USAC national level?

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

Originally Posted by Bob Parker:
Frank,

Thanks for your reply.

As I always get a little miffed when the subject of midget engines comes up. I want to make sure I follow what you are saying.

Based on your comment using my arbitrary % figure here —-- So are 80% of the non-D2 and BMARA midget engines just non-competitive at the Xtream and USAC national level?

I'm not Frank, and I just mentally can't 100% connect everything about the last sentence of your question (the "the non-D2 and BMARA midget engines" part just throws me off...it's like 3 different kinds of midgets...and yes, I certainly realize the top bmara ones can go just as fast as national ones and cost less than a national engine...) but bottom line, I think it is few and far between when anything other than a TRD or SR-11 has won a recent National midget race...Corey Day/and the Kahne team (somehow) at Turkey night with their 20+ year old Mopar, but otherwise, I'm not sure...

This is an article about the TRD's & SR-11/etc from like two years ago; and I'm not sure how much has changed since -

https://www.performanceracing.com/ma...-midget-racing

But then, the definition of "competitive" has to be established. Do racers run top 5 sometimes with something else? Top 10? Lead lap? What classifies them as competitive?

Ideally there ARE examples of different combos at least being relevant in the field. The Engler cars? What else is out there?

You can go thru last year's USAC results and start seeing a lot of the same car #s up front, but you have to look around to figure out who might be running smthn other than a TRD or a SR11...

https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/20...onship_Central

I can't find Xtreme results from 2025, but here is 2024...(for the same research)

https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/20...Toyota_Central

What engines were Tmez and Daum running when they won?

Re: Xtreme Midgets
 

What you can notice in those result links tho, the car counts are actually pretty healthy all-and-all (yes, I noticed some 17/18 car Xtreme nights in 2024, but, as noted, that was an exception). Solid feature fields and B-mains on many occasions.

Is it like it was 40 years ago? No, but what is? NASCAR and Indycar certainly are not the same as they were...(really, is winged sprint car racing about the only form of racing that is as strong or stronger than it was???)

I look at it as; it's professional midget racing. The teams are well prepared, and many have full-time mechanics...it's like a traveling series of top-notch efforts. I really don't know if that can be considered a bad thing...it's like when the WoO / HL come to town, you are gona have the best of the best running; but in this case; it is the USAC midgets. Which, I think those involved should be proud of...just sadly, it's not 1986 anymore...

&, if you look at those results, no one ran the full season!!! (Back when USAC scheduled on top of itself...which I haven't figured out when the 1st year they didn't do that was...)

https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/19...Series_Central