Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

I had the chance to interview Terre Haute Action Track promoter Mike King today about their decision to cancel the Hut Hundred for this season. It was a good interview, and fairly enlightening not only about the decision but the state of the USAC midget series.

Click here to read the article and let me know what you think.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

If you can't get them to run on a big track this year you won't get them next year to run on a big track

are they saying if it was moved to say Haubstadt or Kokomo they would get a larger amount of Midgets but at those track could you safely start 33 3 wide.

but if you don't want to hurt the history of the event it has to be run at TERRE HAUTE

I think all concerned should put there heads together and make the Big Shows Hut Hundred, Belleville and some others
duel sanction events and it will be best for all

My 2 Cents

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

The only teams that are going to show for those events are the 15-17 multi-multimillionaire teams. There was only one non USAC car that showed for the recent Twin Cities race, so that gives you an idea of the ability of the United States Auto Club to attract anyone else but the 19 USAC midgets that showed up.

So what magical tricks are going to take place for 40-60 midgets to show up at Terre Haute next year? The last published statement I read (in PRI mag ) by Mr. Miller stated that he was very happy with his midget program. Unless something drastic takes place, this promoter is on a cruise ship without a clue.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Some of it was that its a big track but schedualling it against LBurgs 10g sprint race, The two other midget races west of there and the upcoming Gold Cup (Which many were saving engines for) is some of the factors I've gathered for the low turnout. Also, What was the purse for the Hut last year?

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Are we sure this guy didn't interview Don Moore?

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

I will tell you how to get midget racing back the way it should be go back to the volkswagen engines then you will have 30 to 40 cars.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

I don't know what the situation is going to be like in a year, but I think the bigger issue is: if they had 22 cars last year, and the other big-track midget races this year were doing worse than ever without competition, what would the Hut Hundred have been like this year?

I'm not going to look into a crystal ball and read anything more into Mike King's comments than are there. I will say that I don't think even he would expect a 60-car field next year - I think they would have been OK with a 33-car field or something remotely close to it.

Here's my question: would it have been better to run a Hut Hundred with 20 cars, or not to run it at all? I guess that answer is up to personal preference, but I'd like to hear what other people have to say.

Also, keep in mind that I'm out in California, so I really don't have horses in this race, so to speak.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

20 quality cars is better

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Not gonna happen.......:13:

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Besides guys going to the race because it's a race and they own a midget so that would be a good place to take one.....whats the answer? What will bring the Powri/Badger guys to the track? Don't tell me they won't run there because that is B.S.

Besides diqualifying any team that has an Engine that is percieved better than someone elses, I don't see what could be done other than not scheduling races against each other and teams showing up and supporting the event because it is a crown jewel of motorsports. All of motorsports.

Whats the difference between breaking a motor at Belle-Clair,Macon, and Jacksonville versus breaking one at Terre Haute? To me there is no difference. As far as crashing goes, I saw a car saw off a telephone pole at Jacksonville, so I don't think Terre Haute is anymore dangerous.

30 cars were at Belleville Ks. which is a motor eater deluxe, but there were no other shows against it. When the Hut was run at it's old date after the Hoosier 100, it was always after all of the other series' had shut down and no one dared schedule against it.

Since the season runs later now,it should be an early Oct. date with maybe a twilight start.

That or take the USAC sanction away so teams will come run because it doesn't pay USAC points and schedule against a USAC national race. Trust me....you would have cars from the other clubs then. I don't want to see that, but USAC has finally made everyone feel so unwelcome that this regime won't get them back without manna from above. That and the trailer envy is so bad that all you hear is about the teams trailer size.

When NAMARS ran it in 1999 or 2000, they had a huge count. It was April when no other clubs were racing yet.

I have seen it at the Indy Mile,Lawrenceburg and Putnamville,but only Terre Haute should have the official Hut 100 and for Terre Haute to suggest running the sprints under the Hut banner is rediculous and horrible ploy. At least USAC didn't go that route and for that I applaud.

If thats the route needed to keep the name, just let it go gracefully instead of a nasty incarnation.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

I take some responsibility for this race being canceled. I did not attend last year. If anything says it is not important to promoters it is people not showing up. My guess is I am not the only one on this board that didn't go.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Put me in that group as well Brent. If memory serves me correctly, this show turned into a fiasco last year that took quite some time to complete. I believe that my butt was in a seat at Lawrenceburg that night enjoying racing. I will probably have to go to Spoon River this year to see midget racing. I am not sure that Terre Haute is back yet. The Hut 100 may just be a thing of the past.:7:

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

It's all your fault :42:: why did you do this to us Mr.Funk:20: shame on you :26:

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

I didn't go last year either, why?

The Action Track sucks anymore. Dust, dust and more dust. I have been going since 1978. I gave Davy Hamilton and his group time to fix the track, but it is still gets used up in hot laps and from then on it's hard to see the cars. If the wind is blowing into the grandstand, forget it.

Why can't they haul in some clay?

shopping mall is looking better and better they are stil wandting thr land and track
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Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Totally agree with Leaders Edge...

USAC has finally pissed enough people off that they don't want to go run with them. USAC caters to they're top dogs so much, nobody feels welcome or even wants to show up 'cause they are always getting the second hand. Terre Haute is a big, fast place & can be a motor eater but you could roll out of the trailer one night at a small 1/4 mile & pop a motor too. That's just part of racing, things are obviously harder now but if this was a co-sanction race with USAC I think you would get more cars.

I also think that more people would want to run & try to make the show because of the prestige if they were 40-45 cars. If it was a USAC, PowrI show & a "local" racer goes out & makes the field he will always be able to say he beat some of the best guys in the business from more then 1 organization to do it.

I don't think that you'll ever see huge car counts at the big prestige races that are held at big tracks again, or at least not for quite some time. But if a promoter could get a good 30-40 cars at those races it will be a good show for the fans. And part of that promoter's responsibility is also good track prep.

When Mitch Miller promoted the Belleville Nationals they were 60-80 cars almost every year, this year there were barely enough to fill the field. Some think it is because it's a USAC sanctioned race, some say it's the economy. Could be some of both, who knows. Though I will say, Saturday night's show was probably one of the best I've seen at Belleville in a long time.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Is it harder on a engine to run on dirt than on asphalt?
At ORP they had a good car count and PIR has good car counts.
Then they try to put Midgets at Anderson and no one show.
I do not get it.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

It is a dirt track, there will always be dust on that big of a track, I believe. This year the dust has been very minimal. I was at most of the races last year and the dust was much worse.

I don't think we have to worry about the mall. I was in it yesterday and there was one wing of the mall that was completely empty along with a store in each of the other wing being empty.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

DING-DING-DING...We have a winner! USAC midget racing has become the true Formula 1 of dirt track racing. You're expected spend $10k + per cylinder to be truly competitve, & you better have a spare just in case, all for a whopping $2500 to win. And people have to ponder what has happened to midget racing?

Don Moore is repeatedly hammered on here for questioning the sanity of the current product, while his detractors are happy with the current status of the sport that has been declining steadily....pull your head out of the sand!

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

[QUOTE=terrehautian;127601]It is a dirt track, there will always be dust on that big of a track, I believe.


I'm sorry but I can't agree that just because that Terre Haute is a big half mile that you should expect dust. I will say that it takes alot more time and water to get the bigger tracks ready. Have you ever been to DuQuoin? No dust and a very big track, it can be done.

Let me say that I have been going to race for over 50 years and Terre Haute has always been my favorite. I was so happy when this new group took over. That first sprint car race of '08 was one of the best. But then we had the Silver Crown dust bowl and the Hut mess and I have just given up. I will just remember T.H.A.T. as the grand ole lady not the mess she is now.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

Of the 18 USAC National midget races held so far, only one of them has been won with an engine other than a Toyota, Esslinger or Fontana ( yes, that's the engine advertised in NSSN for $37,500 which states you need it to win and apparently they are correct according to the statistics). Two of the 18 races were won with Toyota power. That makes 15 of 18 races have been won with the Esslinger and Fontana big cube engines that were allowed a few years ago by the United States Auto Club. So that move was in effect a death blow and boat anchor for all the other engine companies and it's also one of the main reasons why everybody is running for the hills. ARDC had the fortitude to outlaw these engines and I see that 20 some cars showed up for their recent race in North Carolina.

Now onto POWRi which is basically a clone of the USAC rule book. Of the 15 races solely sanctioned by POWRi so far, 14 of them have been won with Esslingers and Fontanas. One has been won with a Toyota. I am not sure about the Hatton car.. I think it is powered with a Fontana. Regardless, the overwelming majority of their races have been won with these big engines. Now go to the POWRi web site and look at the sponsors on the home page to the right. It appears to me that they are listed according to the support $$$$$$ they are receiving from these companies. You will find that the Hoosier Tire Company, Esslinger and Fontana are at the top of the list of the midget component companies. Are you reading between the lines here, guys?

The bottomline here, folks, is that these midget orgs are so deep in bed with these companies, it would take a couple days to find daylight from underneath the covers. It's all about the money guys and that's why things are the way they are today.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

When we ran the VW, Midget Racing was "Dying" because it was a "Kraut Wagon" and not "American Made". Now it's dying because of all of these American car manufactures being involved. Tomorrow it will be dying because it's a spec series and not an open motor series.

The last new VW we bought in 1989 was $10,000. I believe they got to the $15,000-$18,000 range. Absolute nightmares in their best day, but easy to work on. There have been huge car counts at the Hut since the VW heyday so that doesn't wash.

To say that Powri is a clone of USAC is a little unfair and undeserving. If they have series sponsors, so what? You can buy those motors and parts the same as everyone else. Why is it wrong to list their sponsors? If you sponsored them and gave out sheet music to the highest finishing person that qualified for it, they would list your name too.(I realize there are no free motors)

Lets say USAC goes ahead and puts limits back on these motors, which could be done because most of the USAC regular teams do motors and parts often......Would that really bring more cars to the track? I don't think so. The problem is more of one with USAC itself than the motor platform. The teams that own a 12 headed Gearte or a Sesco are no more likely to run their races because they don't feel like they are welcomed or they belong their. There are a ton of other teams running right now that have MoPars and big Fontanas and Big Esslingers that won't run because that isn't where they feel comfortable being.

USAC has a perplexing problem....... The Midget teams will run the pavement but not the dirt and the Sprint teams will run the Dirt and not the Pavement.

Although with the amount of Pavement sprint cars sitting, I think they could solve that problem by placing limits on on tires for a night of competition.

Re: Terre Haute promoter explains Hut Hundred cancelation
 

You've been breathing too many fumes lately. You totally missed the point on this one. Your conclusions that you've highlighted have nothing to do with what I posted.

For example: Last time I checked, POWRi had the same technical rule book as USAC. If I'm in error, what are the differences between the USAC technical rule book and POWRi/BMARA rule book?