Midget car counts - A different perspective
 

The survival/revival of midget racing has been debated quite heavily, however I have yet to hear talk of what I think is the fundamental problem facing midget racing – weekly racing. What I mean by weekly racing is the lack of tracks throughout the country that have midgets as a weekly racing division. Why is this a problem? It eliminates the backbone for the success of any racing division, cost effective entry or continuance within the sport.

Almost all critics of the current midget paradigm have focused on the cost of engines. I agree that is an issue, but not paramount to the over all growth or sustainability of midget racing. What is critical to the growth of midget racing is new blood into the sport and that cannot be achieved by having a division that exists by virtue of travel. I feel one of the reasons for the continued growth of sprint cars is not directly related to the cost to filed a car, but the ability to race as a weekly division. This allows someone to race 15 or so times a year with no more travel than the distance to the same track each week substantially reducing costs for a season. In addition, many of the tracks have rules that limit or mandate tires to be even more cost effective. However, the rules “package” is such that the weekly racers who want to travel can with little to no additional costs other than travel itself.

Given that midgets cannot draw from “local” weekly racers for most national events or high profile races, the midget car counts in my mind have been very good and better than most traveling series. Most of the critics will disagree. However, lets use the World of Outlaws sprint cars and late models as an example. Within these touring series there are only a dozen or so fulltime teams, yet the races will draw 30 to 40+ cars. The reason for this is the ability to draw from the weekly racing competitors. These touring series race in areas where there are weekly late model and sprint car divisions. Without the weekly competitors, the touring series would have worse car counts than the midgets. This is not just a recent economic issue either, for years the World of Outlaw sprint cars would only have at most 18 full time teams yet get large car counts for each event.

Look at the hierarchy of your local race track. Generally, there is a bomber/factory division (entry level), street stock/sportsmans (middle division(s)), modifieds and/or late models (premier division). With this setup a racer can get into the sport very cost effectively and move up to other divisions without ever racing at another track., a farm system of sorts.

There are already tracks throughout the country that race different sprint car divisions within their weekly racing divisions (360, 410, wing, non-wing, spec, etc.). I think that midgets would only need two divisions, an entry level/low cost (Focus, IRS, type rules) and a main/premier division (existing midget type). The touring aspect of midgets could still exist in their present form, but have the benefit of larger car counts due to the locals racing. This scenario would put midget racing into a similar scenario as sprint cars, WOO, etc.

If/when midget racing can become a local weekly racing division the ability of the sport to flourish is assured. Obviously, the first step is convincing local track promoters that midgets as a weekly racing division is a good thing. It has been proven to be successful in cases when it has been exercised. But specifics on how that is to be accomplished on a national level, I myself am not sure. I will save that topic for another time.

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

We were just discussing this Sunday at Angell Park while sitting around the vintage cars. Anyone know how many true traveling teams the USAC national midgets had during the 1960/70s? My recollection is around 12. When they would pull into Hales Corners back then the travelers would be joined by half the Badger teams and a bunch from UARA and CORA.

Chuck Schultz
Winfield, Illinois
IRS carowner

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

KMS
I think you are on to something.
We in the metropolitan St. Louis area have the good fortune of the POWRi series, which uses the micros as their secondary show on 1/4 and smaller tracks.
I think if you were to ask Kenny Brown, or Jim Siner the micros were probably a back gate cash generator when they were first added.
What has happened is it has turned into a feeder series for their midget division, on any night there are a number of graduates from the POWRi micro series in the midget division.
There are always a minimum of 30 midgets singed in as well as usually 40 plus micros signed in. It is a healthy sport in this area.
It also helps that the organization is run by 2 racers that get it.
No B.S. late starts or lineup B.S.
If you ever have a chance to go to little Belleville for a POWRi run show you will see midget racing the way it ought to be.
Hot laps start on time 6:00 P.M. and I do not believe I have ever left after 10:30, with most nights before 10:00
No I don't work for POWRi, just a HUGE midget fan that is glad someone has it right
Jeff Palazzolo

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

The POWRi definitly has there stuff together! I used to mix up late models shows with open wheel stuff, now thanks to the POWRi I almost exclusively go to open wheel stuff.....and they also have a future micro sprint racer in 3 years when I graduate out of karts and eventually a midget racer.

As stated before Siner definitly has his stuff together and understands what it takes! It would be nice to see even some bi-weekly shows or something at Belle Claire or Macon....I mean it wouldn't all have to be for POWRi national pts or anything.....maybe they could do a National Weekly championship and try to get tracks to take on the classes as weekly classes like UMP has done with the fendered cars....just thinking out loud:22:

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

Just curious, when was the last time a race track ran a weekly racing program on dirt?
Angell Park?
Beaver Dam?
UMARA runs a weekly pavement program. NAMARS and USAC had/have one at the Speedrome. How were the car counts for that? How was the grandstand crowd?
Maybe the real question is why doesn't more race tracks run midgets on a weekly basis?

I think you will find race promoters run the divisions they can make money on.

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

1 more thing to this, not just a weekly series but a weekly series on a premire night. Wed. and Thurs. nights do not work for weekly races.

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

Have you forgot that a weekly Saturday night Midget race did not fare to well at 16th Street Speedway(aka Bush stadium).

Great idea, but no crowds.

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

This is something that continues to mystify me. Why won't crowds go to midget races? I love non-wing 410s, but some of the best races I remember over the past few years were midget races, and I have been to far fewer of them. Close competition, lots of passing, 3-4 wide racing, monster slide jobs, I've seen it all. What makes the difference: the sound of the engines, the size of the cars, what? I can't believe it is the drivers, because my first midget race was in 1960 and I have seen more than a few since then and I'll put DD, BC, Kuhn, Coons, Hagan and more up against the greats of old. (I know I am leaving some out, but can't list everyone.)

Why, oh why, don't midget races sell better?

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

Don should be here shortly to straigten you guys out....:3:

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

My fingers are worn out from typing about this subject............

I'm camping this weekend and midgets are about the fatherest thing from my mind right now. That will make a lot of people happy!!! It won't take long for my stalkers to show up and post the same nonsense they been posting trying to discredit anything I have to say. Just remember that I was blasted to the moon a few years ago when I predicted the downfall of the cheese state midgets. No one listened. Enough said.

Cheers from a remote camp site,

Don Moore

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

I think the problem is pretty simple. It is the price of cars..midgets, sprints it doesn't matter. What is acceptable as an owner?
If you examine what it cost to have a competitive midget roller, engine, trailer, support equip, some help. Then as an owner you think well how does that compare with owning a new 410 sprint team. Do the math on that. What are the differences? Because you want to TRY to recoup as much as possible through competing, finding out the number of places you can race and the levels of pay out per level of competition.

Then you ask your self how bad you want to compete and win, and where do I have to travel to accomplish your goals, and what is the payback. Managing and aquiring a winning driver.

So concentrations of like minded people who choose the midget route are quite unique. They find the business proposal of all the above or the personal appreciation/desire to own or drive a midget "thier thing" and accept the financial responsibility and hopefully some reward.

It would be interesting to know how many independent midget owners are successful that aren't from owners that own Sprint/Midget/Silver Crown combinations.

weekly midget racing wont work but to get drivers experience in driving them. the cars will not be able to compete in the national series just fill the tail end of the field. no owner is going to spend 40000 plus on a top notch motor that will need refreshed every 5 to 7 races and run it every week for peanuts basically.
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Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

A weekly series would work and would EVENTUALLY get cars when teams figured that the series would be there. No track wants to schedule a weekly series on speculation and promises on what will be. It's easy to schedule sprints because there are an abundence of them. Sprints are a sure bet where midgets aren't in the near term.

That and the purse has to resemble that of a local sprint purse because of the costs of running a car. Not many tracks are going to have what amounts to two headlining purses per night.

Make no mistake about it, 16th Street had cars. It didn't go away because of bad car counts. Long story short; the fans on many occasions came out and supported the shows, but many of the nights ran long because of down time and in the end the fans weren't really sure when the races were being run.

There are many things that go along with this and it is an extremely complicated subject with not one exact answer. While some point at the cost of motors(Which $40,000 is not the going rate for most of the motors out there) many owners I speek to; don't feel motors are out of line. In many ways; the variety of motors which is the thing that has made Midget racing appeal to many people, now seems to be a hinderence to the sport. So many people will point at whichever motor that won the most recent race and say:"I can't win without one of those". No matter that a motor like theirs won last week or last month.

For some reason people look at the Sprint Cars and say:"Thats just a Chevy. Same motor that has won for the past x amount of years." Truth is that a Chevy isn't a Chevy as there has been many developments in performance over the past 15 years. It costs alot to keep that Chevy motor competitive year after year.

I agree though that in many ways Midget Racing has some of the best racing out there. Maybe thats caused by having a smaller group of people who are extremely dedicated to what they do.

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

In my opinion, as someone who started selling goodyears to USAC midgets in the late 80's to owning a midget in the early 00's, the midgets (and sprints for that matter) have been pushed onto tracks and events that aren't really for them. Outside of an occasional PIR (Copper World) or Belleville, the entire concept of a midget really belonged on bullrings. When they were pushed to 1/2 mile tracks and beyond, they pushed people out. Now they were pushed to those places I believe because the purses (in theory) could better support them.

The entire economy of racing is so upside down that ANY class at ANY track has a hard time getting large participation. At Flat Rock and Toledo Speedway we cringe at running the Late Models for fear of their purse - even though we get some of the larger car counts in the area - and this is with an anemic purse!

Risk vs. Return is a big reason you don't see either larger counts or smaller tracks running them. I don't see many classes around me open wheel or otherwise that asks someone to spend even as "little" as 10,000 on a motor that "may" make an entire season...if that season is under 10 races... Also, I can't see convincing my track owner to book a midget show for $10,000 with the hope of enticing 13-15 midgets to come out...

Re: Midget car counts - A different perspecti
 

To say that it was only recently that Midgets started running bigger tracks isn't really accurate. Miles and half miles have been apart of midget racing since nearly the beginning.

Yes they ran the bull rings, but they also ran the miles as well.

According to the USAC schedule; this year they will have run on 8 tracks .500 mile or greater with no 1.0 mile tracks being run. Only 3 of those venues are larger than a half.

As i have said before....I just really don't think people give enough weight to the fact that Sprint Cars now race regulary where at one time Midget would only Run.

USAC didn't run it's first Sprint race on a track less than a Half Mile was at Kokomo in I believe 1982. As Sprint Cars have become seen less as "Widow Makers" and more as a Hobby sport, they have grown and midgets have not.

Face it...Sprinters are louder and sound more impressive to say you drive than a midget is.