Montpelier doing work
 

Saw on their facebook post, they are moving the walls allowing runoff room, widening the corners, moving lights, etc. Sounds like big plans for them. Any more word on what's going on?

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I've been very impressed with the job the Hunter's and their team have done with Montpelier. My choice for promoter of the year.

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Lets bring Non-Wing Sprints back, please!!

Re: Montpelier doing work
 

Originally Posted by treecitytornado:
Lets bring Non-Wing Sprints back, please!!

Let's not. The last thing we need is another Saturday night dirt track running traditional sprint cars in this region. Leave the weekly sprint car racing to Lawrenceburg, Paragon, Lincoln Park, Waynesfield and Clay County. Montpelier has found a niche for midgets and they need to continue to grow this before trying to do any more. They currently run a quality show with the classes they have. Don't screw it up by adding another class that will only draw cars away from current Saturday night tracks. Nothing to be gained in my opinion.

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Regardless of what they do or do not run, the headline of this story is that you have a track operator spending money to improve a racing facility, here in our state. That's always a good thing.

Jerry

They are great people and always greet us with a smile at the gate. Its great to see them wanting to grow and as any business owner/operator knows all too well, you have to reinvest if you're gonna make it. I'm excited to see the new improvements and on a side note, they are doing some of these changes for a safety improvement as well. How many venues have you seen do that lately. Good job!!!

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I would like to see them move to fri or sun nite shows, and to continue to feature and grow midget racing in indiana

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Saturdays are perfect for a working stiff who couldn't get off work early enough Friday to get his car to the track, and would be wiped out on Monday after running a Sunday show (like me, for example :)). I truly appreciate the efforts that have been made to promote and grow an exciting and competitive class that gives the racers a variety of options in how they choose to participate. My plan is to be there as part of the "Chain Gang" every night the Montpelier Midget class runs. I'm looking forward to seeing the improvements that are being made; hopefully it will make the place even safer and more exciting for racers and fans alike.

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Originally Posted by Mud Packer:
Let's not. The last thing we need is another Saturday night dirt track running traditional sprint cars in this region. Leave the weekly sprint car racing to Lawrenceburg, Paragon, Lincoln Park, Waynesfield and Clay County. Montpelier has found a niche for midgets and they need to continue to grow this before trying to do any more. They currently run a quality show with the classes they have. Don't screw it up by adding another class that will only draw cars away from current Saturday night tracks. Nothing to be gained in my opinion.

Mud

There is nothing like "COMPETITION" the weak will die off or get better and the strong will do the same. Either way they will be making things better for all of us. Without competition we do not have any incentive to do better.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: Montpelier doing work
 

Originally Posted by DAD:
Mud

There is nothing like "COMPETITION" the weak will die off or get better and the strong will do the same. Either way they will be making things better for all of us. Without competition we do not have any incentive to do better.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Dad,

Nothing wrong with competition. HOWEVER, Montpelier Speedway has taken a chance and started racing midgets when NO ONE ELSE did. They have nurtured this class from only drawing a low car count to now having a very nice field of cars. It has taken time and they should be rewarded, which I think they will be, for providing a place to race midgets on dirt regularly.

In addition to running the midgets approximately twice a month they currently run the weekly classes of UMP modifieds, super streets, thunder cars, FWD compacts and mod lites. They are very organized and run a good and timely show due in part to having a curfew.

So now someone wants them to add ANOTHER class of cars (traditional sprints) to the racing card. WHY???????????????????????? As I mentioned before, you have 5 other dirt tracks in the region running traditional sprint cars on Saturday nights with USAC and MSCS series races sprinkled in. Add an occasional traditional sprint car race at Brownstown, Twin Cities and Plymouth. And from all of the reports and personal observations, they all seem to be doing it well. Tell me again why Montpelier should even consider adding sprint cars?

Re: Montpelier doing work
 

Because they put on a great show for the fans and is something different! 2-4 shows, not every week. Sprints put on a good show there and are fun to drive there too!

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here I thought they ran midgets weekly?

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Originally Posted by johnnythunderhead:
here I thought they ran midgets weekly?

Give them time and I think that they will. They have done a great job building car count and it seems that the owners & drivers appreciate their efforts. Rome wasn't built in a day.

They normally try to run 10-12 races for the midgets and I see them keeping that amount. I think if they go to run them weekly it will hurt the car count. Most of the cars that run are on a limited budget.... Weekly shows will only make the engine bill more. These little engines can't run 20-30 shows like sprints

They are doing an awesome job. They were able to double their points find from last year and I think they are going to try and double it again.

I have heard rumblings about a couple sprint car shows but not on a weekly bases.....

If we continue to support them they will keep giving us a local track to run

I will address some of the comments on this thread to let everyone know what is going on.

The Midgets will remain our focus for the 2014 season. The schedule will include a minimum of 10 dates like the previous 2 seasons with a possible expansion to a maximum of 12 dates. The schedule will look similar to previous seasons in terms of Midget dates and the weekends they coincide. It's not our intention to schedule any additional dates beyond the 10-12 at the Montpelier Motor Speedway.

2014 will be another pivotal year for the Midgets at Montpelier. During 2013, we were thankful that the teams and drivers supported the track and series early in the year. By mid-season, we had nice crowds and fields of cars following the series. We did double our points fund from the first year and we want to increase it again (The checks for those not attending the banquet were mailed last week). There are a lot of things we would like to do with the Midget program in the future, but it all comes down to car/owner and fan support and hopefully 2014 will be another building stone.


We've been contacted by and contacted a few sanctioning bodies in hopes of aligning ourselves for a couple of special shows in 2014. It is possible we could have sprint cars at Montpelier next season, but it would be for special only type of shows. Right now we are planning stages on this and will see if the Saturday's available coincide with what we would consider a good date for a quality show for our fans. Again, at this time we are not looking at a weekly show, but you may be able to catch a special or two.

We have no intentions of moving from Saturday night's. We work closely with Gas City and Kokomo and share the same Modifieds and Stock cars. Fans in this area already have great options for good racing in this area on Friday and Sunday nights.

The wall expansion upgrade is the next piece to improve the racing and facility at the Montpelier Motor Speedway. The current project wasn't done for any specific class. We felt it would improve racer and fan safety greatly and will also be a major upgrade of the facility and the overall appearance. The Hunter family and crew have worked very hard putting improvements into MMS. The facility is 110 years old and needed some attention when they purchased it. You should notice upgrades and facility improvements each season.

Keep supporting us. We are listening and reinvesting in local short track racing!

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I've got the best damn sprint car racing in indiana 15 mins from home, so its gonna take a lot to lure me away some sat nite!

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I like the Burg too, Johnny, but they don't run every Saturday. Montpelier is one hell of a Sprint Car track!

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1st time at Montpelier was for a Gloss show a few years ago. I'd come over for another show like that. Would there be enough bleachers for an All Star show ??
I did want to stay and watch the stockers run there features when I went over but them doggone mini's kept spinning out & I left. Btw that Gloss show was the 1st time I seen the Madman Paul May & I seen why they call him that.
Mr. Quinn keeps ribbing me about coming over ( I'd like too ) but man it's hard to travel when I have Limaland & Waynesfield in my backyard.

Originally Posted by Sprintcarfanatic:
1st time at Montpelier was for a Gloss show a few years ago. I'd come over for another show like that. Would there be enough bleachers for an All Star show ??
I did want to stay and watch the stockers run there features when I went over but them doggone mini's kept spinning out & I left. Btw that Gloss show was the 1st time I seen the Madman Paul May & I seen why they call him that.
Mr. Quinn keeps ribbing me about coming over ( I'd like too ) but man it's hard to travel when I have Limaland & Waynesfield in my backyard.

Was that the night the lights went out after the B main or the make up a few weeks later when they ran double features? That GLOSS series had some awesome shows. I remember Boston Reid jumping out to a huge lead in the make up feature, then spinning out trying to pass a lapped car. He did a quick 360 and kept it going but was caught and passed by Kraig Kinser. Kraig went on to win both features.

I think 10-12 midget shows is perfect. Picking and choosing good nights to race the class is a very smart choice that helps to ensure good car counts and fan support. Running them as a weekly class could jeopardize what they have developed. They still rely a lot on teams from several hours away, and asking them to make that drive every week may turn some away.

I'd love to see a couple other specials mixed in with late models or winged sprints. Indiana is saturated with non-wing shows, and any race Montpelier tries to schedule for them will likely have multiple other tracks running the same night. Let Gas City, Waynesfield, and Kokomo handle sprints. Run something different and keep building a strong base of fans that enjoy the program you're able to provide.

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I will no doubt make it up there at least once in 2014, hopefully a sprint/ midget double header/ keep up the good work up there, I only wish we had more midget racing down this way!

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That may have been the night. All I remember is May hitting someone & running the length of the frontstretch & flying over the hump into the pits while other guys were still going around there under caution. Don't know how he kept the thing straight. It may have been Reid that started the melee.
The other thing was I asked the old guy at the window who was there that night & he said the big guys. I knew better.

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I've often wondered, what ever happened to boston reid/ he seemed to be up and coming? based on his name I figured he must be a descendant of maj. general George Armstrong Custer?

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Boston came to NASCAR land and did not have the money to get very far. He sells real estate down here now from what I understand.

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You can view updated progress photos of the project at:

www.MontpelierMotorSpeedway.com

The crew has worked 6 days a week on the project since the project started in early November.

Man I haven't seen boston or his dad Lynn for years we ran gokarts together back in the mid 90's when we were young!

Many high fives to everyone at Montpelier for their hard work and dedication. The photos on their website are worth a look and they mean business with their improvements over this off season. Its gonna make for one racey track and most importantly, and safer track too. Can't wait to see the finished product from the office..... Great work guys!!!

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The work that is going on is only going to make the track that much better. Harold and crew went out on a limb and really have done some great things with the midgets. Next season I hope to see a few more locals come out and join in. Most of the cars are coming from out of the area. The 10 race deal is great and I hope to see the car counts continue to grow each race. It seems they are def doing all the right things and I just hope the support from the open wheel community keeps getting stronger. I do believe you will be shocked with the type of aggressive schedule they have this year..and I also think there will be some kind of a non wing show there. Its rough being a Saturday show and having so much competition but there are quite a few northern Indiana teams that would more than likely support the track.

Tyler