duquion 9-29
 

Very unhappy with the way they have dragged this race out all day without the car counts. People in duquion wasn't even aware of it going on. People at the track is very displeased!!!!

Re: duquion 9-29
 

I know just got home from the all day marathon; that's how they run the go kart races that they promote. Hopefully they'll learn from today and next time make it better!!!

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by jcracing96:
Very unhappy with the way they have dragged this race out all day without the car counts. People in duquion wasn't even aware of it going on. People at the track is very displeased!!!!

JC

Posted from my palatial accommodations at the beautiful Motel Super 8 in DuQuoin Il.

We drove 250 miles to race at the Magic Mini Mile and had a ball. got to meet a few IOW people there Whom I have only met in posts here. This race has been a long time coming, several years to be exact. We used the spare time to overhall our race car and visit with fellow racers and even inspect a beautiful mini sprint nearing compleation at the home of a fellow racer that lives just miles from the DuQuoin center.

. My disappointment was the lack of car count. I can guarantee the bunch of racers that showed up were top notch, but there were a bunch of top notch cars that were noticeable absent. Imagine if they had set up for a one day deal and 100+ mini sprints showed to race when would they have time to run the J through B mains? It would not be good to advertise a two day show snd then say well the car count is not what we expected so lets call a day off. You advertising would be deceitful ans subject to all types of other problems..

This race has the markings of a true mini sprint national race. All we have to do is support it a little more. When and if it becomes a yearly race from what I saw this weekend Mr Nace has the people and knowledge to make it happen.

We had 19 cars show up and I can guarantee it was some tuff racing going on. I would like the track back in it's original lay out, a little more oval with two straights and two hair pin turns. We use data aquisition with a map and this thing maps out a big circle and that makes it hard to pass on the straights if you have no straights to pass on. I think the same would hold true for the Midgets.

The race results are posted on: http://www.stevenaceracing.com/Race%...%20results.htm


Honest Dad himself :6::6::9:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Dad u can go blow smoke somewhere else. All I seen u do was stand around. I will be greatly surprised if they hv another show.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by jcracing96:
Dad u can go blow smoke somewhere else. All I seen u do was stand around. I will be greatly surprised if they hv another show.

Jc

I spent most of my time sitting around that is about all we old folks can do well, My son spent those hours in the afternoon making adjustments ato the race car. Being without any pit help he sure needed those extra hours to work.

I would be surprised if the ILLS didn't have a couple of indoor races next winter at the Center In Du Quoin. We had a good time there this year and hope to come back next year. These guys took a bunch of Lemons and made Lemonade. Do you think they planed for 19 cars to show up to race. With a purse that they had to work with there should have had 100+ cars. Once you schedule the race in it is really pretty hard to change things around. People even found fault with the Shoot out and then those same people come back and say, "you know what we really need is a big national race for our cars", GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!

Once again the "Jones Gang" would like to thank the ILLS>Steve Nace Racing>Roger Bess Trucking>SBG Logistics and Jerry Teague forgiving the Mini-Lightning sprints a chance to race once again at the Center in DuQuoin Il.

We think you guys did a great job with the >>Al Archdale Jr./ Willard Bess Memorial Race>> and hope those of us that showed up did a good enough job to warrant the return of a bunch more racers next year.
:8::9:
Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Dad,
Wish I could have taken the time to come help out but since I'm a one-man wrecking crew myself (with assistance from my Able-Bodied Pit Doll A.J. - thanks Sweetie), I'm still putting the finishing touches on the 97 this weekend. Sounds like from the pit side it was a noble attempt, and hopefully the start of bigger things. Maybe it didn't seem that way from the grandstand side (to some, at least) but hey, "haters gonna hate" (channeling my inner rap star) right? I applaud Steve Nace for sticking with it; he could've thrown in the towel when the race didn't go off in February but he didn't. If the race continues I will make every effort to support it next year.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Thanks for those that suported this race. Racers, Fans , And especially Tom Via, Roger Sollenberger, and Jerry Tag for stepping up to help make this event happen. Fortunately there are always a few willing to take a risk and look at the big picture. Yes, It was a long day for everyone. Thanks to the racers for sticking it out and putting on a great show.


Steve Nace

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Marathon ? Race day... Hour and half for Heats. A mains Hour and half. Yes, We had to wait for six hours because of the start times advertised for the A mains. Most people took the time to go get something to eat , visit with friends, work on their cars or even take a nap. And a very few complained.......
Thanks again

Steve Nace

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by Steve Nace:
Marathon ? Race day... Hour and half for Heats. A mains Hour and half. Yes, We had to wait for six hours because of the start times advertised for the A mains. Most people took the time to go get something to eat , visit with friends, work on their cars or even take a nap. And a very few complained.......
Thanks again

Steve Nace

Steve

I spent a little time just trying to chase you down to say thanks. You must be set on "Warp speed" and the old one armed bandit is stuck in "sub warp speed". Maybe the next race. Your crew caused a lot of that "DOWN TIME"!!!!! They were so well organized dong their job they had to have knocked at least an hour or so out of getting the cars on to and off of the race track. I was figuring on getting out around 11:00 Pm. We as usual were one of the last ones out at about 9:30.

Once again job well done thanks for getting this race together we had a lot of fun and hope to do it again.

You guys that didn't come race, You don't know what you missed, this is a supper place that looks like it was designed for mini sprints. Being such a small track we even managed to finish the race. "Halal yahuah"

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Would like to Thank Steve Nace and the crew for a wonderful night of racing. Was hoping for more Mini Sprints but for the 1st year it wasn't to bad of a car count. Hope Steve will do it again next winter and will try to get more Mini Sprints there. If you wasn't there you missed some great close racing. I don't think there wasn't a car in the pits that couldn't have won it. P.S. Steve Nace and staff hope to see you next winter or before. Jerry

How many 600's were there?

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by mscs20:
How many 600's were there?

mscs


It seems to me like 18 wings, 17 non wings 4 restricted and 4 Jr. (those little fellows are Darned Good)! and 7 Mod lites. http://www.stevenaceracing.com/Race%...%20results.htm

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

These guys use transponders and a soft ware package that allows them print off results in real time and publish them just as fast. That is pretty high tec for us old school type mini sprinters.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Thanks to Steve and the whole crew for putting this event on. We had problems with our car all weekend, but we were able to start the feature and had a great time on the "Mini Magic Mile". It's a tough little track, but an incredibly cool venue. The staff did a great job with everything. Hopefully this is the beginning of more great events to come.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Wow what a weekend. It was an eventful one. I would like to first thank Steve Nace for putting on the show. It was a very fun and cool time. Next I would like to thank his crew for preparing the track and making it fun racing. I drove in the Lightning sprint class and had a blast. I personally thought it was good racing and thought it was any ones race. If you weren't there you sure missed out on a fun time. Can't wait to do it all again next year. Thanks again Steve for all the time and hard work you put into this event it sure was a fun one. :8::9::D:31:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Hope they do this again next year. Talked to one of the car owners tonight and he said they were having a ball until they broke. Just bought a mini a week ago and still getting it ready for the season or I might have went. Already putting it on my calendar for next year.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

The downtime did suck but they had people pre entered that did not show. also they expected a little higher car count. Either way it was a fun weekend and the racing was good. I think every one fell to the back at least once and worked there way back up to the front.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Buckshot

Glad I got to meet you. You do have that thing hooked up pretty good. We was the ones that tried to push you out of turn 4, what happened? We had to go back 4 times and still finished up front!!

One other thing is we had a great track to race on. These guys could take a 10 Min break between races and bring the track right back up to a great racing surface. They knew what the heck they was doing, once we figured things out there wasn't much change in the track's ultra smooth surface for the entire racing event.

To the track crew:6::6::6::6::6:

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by DAD:
Buckshot

Glad I got to meet you. You do have that thing hooked up pretty good. We was the ones that tried to push you out of turn 4, what happened? We had to go back 4 times and still finished up front!!

One other thing is we had a great track to race on. These guys could take a 10 Min break between races and bring the track right back up to a great racing surface. They new what the heck they was doing, once we figured things out there wasn't much change in the track's ultra smooth surface for the entire racing event.

To the track crew:6::6::6::6::6:

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

looks like we destroyed the tranny. I was buzzing the tires alot and coming out of 2 it found grip all of a sudden and there she went. Drove it about 5 more laps and that was all she could take. Gonna grind the case back open put a new tranny in it and keep on running ole faithful.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Hey DAD, was nice to meet you , I had a lot of fun till my chain broke, but we'll remedy that problem, hope to see you guys next year.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Donnie

Good meeting you also, we got races down by you hope we can stay together long enough to make it down there. Keep an eye on them Indians running around down there too.

For you guys that didn't go here is Collins Ambrose video! We are the car with the bright red light on the dash panel, guess we will have to move it up because my driver couldn't see it. You Tube Video
Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

I'm guessing the bright red light is oil pressure?

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by cws9:
I'm guessing the bright red light is oil pressure?

CW

Yep> We have been fighting oil issues for the last two years. We changed things around and hooked up data acquisition and it told us we were running out of oil pres in high g instances like turns and braking. We bought an adjustable oil pres sender, set it at 25 psi, kinda of like a wake up call, well at parade lap speeds it drops below 15 psi. as soon as you nail it it jumps up to 60+ psi. We were looking for long spells above 10,000rpm below 25 psi. and saw it several times, now to try and fix that before we remodel this engine case. Guess that red light didn't scare Collin either?

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

1 6b Andy Baugh Mason City, IL
2 56 Mitchell Davis Auburn, IL 5
3 37 Doug Jones New Albem, IN
4 35 Jimmy Wood Monticello, IN
5 51r Gedd Ross Havana, IL
6 51 Brent Burrows Lewistown, IL
7 36 Collin Ambrose Owensboro, KY
8 2 Austin Archdale Brimfield, IL
9 50 Luke Cone Benton, KY
10 03 Scotty Orme Central, IN
11 13 Luke Mcgee El Dorado Springs, MO
12 53 Jim Wood Monticello, IN
13 27 Cody Gentry Henderson, KY
14 00 Billy Brickley Galesburg, IL
15 27c Donnie Gentry Henderson, KY
16 77 Lynn Ambrose Owensboro, KY
17 7x Korey Weyant Springfield, IL
18 14 Kyle Rogers Worthington, IN

Re: duquion 9-29
 

I just want to thank you Dad and your son for taking me to lunch at Pizza Hut in between the races. You people treated me just like family and I appreciated that. You guys were real nice to talk to and I had a blast hanging around you fine folks. To me that is what racing is all about making friends and so forth. Also thanks Dad for coming to my house and looking at my race car. Sorry garage was a mess wife cleaned it up the next day. When a fellow lightning sprint racer said I have a nice race car I now know all the hard work over 2 yrs. was worth it!! Now I just need to get it out on the race track. As far as the race I hope they have it again next year. Maybe they can have it after the Poweri midget race so they can have the same track configuration that Poweri uses.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

For those that didn't go, it was a great event. Just to hear army amstrong on the mike was fantastic. Well done all racers and to all the people involved.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Amen Bro. Ambrose

This is as much fun as we have had since we raced at Madison In. A little 1/8 th mile track in Madison Indiana. We raced there with the T/Q 's and it was one heck of a race. Our team driver beat us to death, glad we had on them battle bars.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by KYRON:
For those that didn't go, it was a great event. Just to hear army amstrong on the mike was fantastic. Well done all racers and to all the people involved.

Army Armstrong, long time good memories of Army, had lost track of him, used to race karts with him, years ago, mostly in the Owensboro area, then the last few times I've seen him, he was announcing on a Sports TV program, lots of laughs outa him, and all the gang with SIRA Karting Club, Ron, if you see him again, tell him ole Bob said hi! One lap would be Army on go-kart, next lap would be go-kart on Army, makes it hard to concentrate when you're laughing so much! Bob

Kevin we are all waiting to see this new car on the track. Only few short weeks until the first Mid-America Lightning Sprints race. APRIL 26th

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DQdvsQJbzU...4+(2)+copy.jpg

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by RoyaltonMiniSprint:
I just want to thank you Dad and your son for taking me to lunch at Pizza Hut in between the races. You people treated me just like family and I appreciated that. You guys were real nice to talk to and I had a blast hanging around you fine folks. To me that is what racing is all about making friends and so forth. Also thanks Dad for coming to my house and looking at my race car. Sorry garage was a mess wife cleaned it up the next day. When a fellow lightning sprint racer said I have a nice race car I now know all the hard work over 2 yrs. was worth it!! Now I just need to get it out on the race track. As far as the race I hope they have it again next year. Maybe they can have it after the Poweri midget race so they can have the same track configuration that Poweri uses.

Roy

Had I bought someone home unannounced My wife would have cleaned my clock the next day. Your car really does look nice being a Gamster chassis you are like me don't have to worry about seeing a whole lot of other people with your chassis. From what I could see it should work great. Maybe for your first time out you might look up an MMSA race down by you and we or the Bradley Boys might be able to help iron out a few bugs with chassis and injection.

Looking back on this race and trying to think what would have got more cars to race? COULD IT BE THE LACK OF NATIONAL RULES? Could it be that allowing 1200 cc motors to race scared off many racers? Could it be if it is not my group then I am just not interested? I don't know. All that I know is competition was great, the track was great, the promoters were great, even my hotel room was great!

It would have been nice had the powers that be in each group had endorsed the race to their members as a way to promote this one very special class of race car. I have received PM's from people wanting to get away from sprints and move up to mini sprints. We are one of the best kept secrets in Auto Racing PERIOD.

We don't need national rules as much as we need National support for each and every group. If a Gypsy show up one day to race with you, Let him run. If he whips you real bad, slow down analyze him a little was it car driver motor that made him so fast, then copy him. That is "competition" and that will improve the breed. When we make rules to exclude we usually make things worse for everyone. Like old "Chris E" said let them all run.

I did think of one more rule or maybe "Commandement" for Mini Lightning Sprint Racers. Thou shalt not race on a track longer than5/16 th mile. PowerI proved it a few years ago, if you limit your tracks to the BULL RINGS you can make big motors useless, guys with a limited budget can race with old stuff and do quite well and on top of everything else you can give the fans some very exciting races. Where does a driver gain experience and driving ability on a tight little Bull Ring or a super speedway.

Like I said had DD got to race at Daytona he would have had to brought along a good book to read while going down the long old straightaways to kill time waiting for that next turn.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Personally Bill,,,,,, I would worry more about keeping a motor together than what MALS, MMSA, WIMS, ILSS, RMSA and MLS are doing with their rules.*


You are single handedly depleting the availability of good zx-10 I can buy. Sounds like if anyone can benefit from stock motor rules it is you.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Mark

I detect a little animosity in that remark!:D You have not a clue as to what my problems are, heck I'm still looking myself.

We had a great time at DuQuoin and I wish a few of you guys would have come over (300 miles or so). This was mini sprint racing as it should be.

I talked to Phil last year and he mentioned that you guys ran on a lot of 3/8+ and larger track, and how Horsepower always won out. He mentioned that he did not want to be perceived as slower than the sidewinders. "WELL" good racing has very little to do with speed it has more to do with set up and driving. When you go to them big old tracks we can make up for a lot of that advantage held by a motor with a 15+ horsepower advantage with driving and handling. A lot of guys can't. If you could shop your tracks a little better and stay under 3/8 th of a mile the racing would improve. I can guarantee you that the racing at the "Mini Magic Mile" was much better, closer, and required more skill to run up front than at any 3/8 mile (super speedway's) for us mini-sprinters.

What made PowerI take off. They race at a lot of them little Micro Tracks AS WELL !!!!

Some people cry well there are so many sidewinders out there. WHY is that so? They have learned their place. They know they don't belong on big old race tracks. They race on many purpose built race tracks with little grand stands and a purse supported by the back gate. They offer enough classes that they can start kids at 6 years old and race up to a pro level racing.

They are short wheel based , overpowered, and a little squirrely to drive. They place their drivers in a go kart like driving position that is a little unconventional for a dirt open wheel car. Granted there are a bunch of them out there but some of that is because they don't know that there is something better out there to race.>>> We have managed to keep it a secret.>>> Me I am trying to spread the word!!!>>>

You think you got problems finding good motors now? You guys running stock motors blow up too?? I'll be darned!!!! Wait until a few of these "MICRO" guys get a chance to drive a upright Midget style car. Then there will be a motor shortage!!!!

DuQuoin required driving and set up to run up front. We did that after starting from the tail 4 times, It did not have anything to do with our motor, we were off the gas by the flag-stand. Motors tend to live longer under those conditions than they do at "ELDORA" and flat footed the whole race.

Heck Mark I even brought my cut away zx10r to the race with me. I could have shown you how to catch a cheat in 15 New York minutes or less. As a matter of fact I was also racing a motor with the inspection ports and cam checking device installed.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Was hoping to stay out of this.....but.........

Little FYI on track sizes we are competing on. April 26th (Lamonte, M0.)...super smooth 3/8ths mile, May 25th (California, Mo.)...small/smooth 1/4 mile, June 21st (Warrensburg, Mo.)....1/4 mile, June 28th (Nevada, Mo.)....really small 1/4 mile closer to a large 1/6th mile, July 4/5th (Dodge City, Ks.).....3/8th with WoO, July 19th (Flora, Illinois).....3/8th with MMSA, Aug. 2nd (Warrensburg again)....1/4 mile, August 30th (Lamonte again).....3/8ths, Sept. 20th (New Florence, Mo.)....small 1/4 mile with MMSA, Oct. 10th (Chandler, In.)....SMALL 3/8th mile with MMSA, Oct. 11th (Haubstadt)....1/4 mile with MMSA.

So you can see....we have booked at tracks that are diverse in size. We did that for a reason. Give our participants some variety. Racers get tired of "rooting" around on those little bitty tracks where luck has as much to do with it as anything. Starts with luck of the draw which is critical on small tracks, then luck of the fact the guys around you want to race or they want to play bumper tag. Yes, luck is involved everywhere in racing but the small tracks.......it has a much bigger role. Sometimes it's hard to distinquish luck from skill. I am not trying to demeen anyone's skills but I have cut enough laps in various kinds of race cars to realize......it ain't all skill all the time. Personally, I have done my fair share of "small track rooting" and I fail to see the glory in it. My idea of "racing" doesn't follow that path. I'm a more stand on it and scare the sh*t out of yourself guy with sheer speed. But that's just me.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Phil

Glad you chimed in. With the track sizes you listed Big Motors wont have much effect on the small ones, now on the large ones Speed requires Horsepower, Horsepower cost money, and Money prevents people from racing. I enjoy watching Bull-Ring racing!!! I really don't enjoy race cars going down a long old back stretch that seems to take for ever to reach the other end unless it is a Silver Crown Car on a big dirt mile. Then I enjoy watching the drivers keeping that big old car sideways all the way through them long old turns with one or two other racers besides them doing the same thing. That is called driving.

The biggest problem I see with the smaller tracks is they are so physical both on the car and driver. With the cars changing directions all the time and the driver trying to stay on top of them a young kid starting out can really hone their skills in the process of becoming "Journeymen Racers". Racers start out on the small tracks, move up to the half miles and then go to the big tracks. Most don't start their careers at DuQuoin on the mile in a Silver Crown Car. We saw the results of a novice on a 1/2 mile track last week in Florida.

You guys are doing a great job, and we hope to make a few of your races if our "BUILT" motor manages to stay together long enough to get there and old Mark doesn't DQ us at the pit gate.

Would the Chili Bowl draw as many cars if it were to be run on a 1/2 mile high bank track like Belleville Kansas?? Why do guys like Bryan Clausen and Sammy and Kevin Swindell always manage to win it??

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

I understand what you are saying about track size and starting out. However......too much time on those small tracks sometimes teaches a racer bad habits. Get used to wheel banging all the time and see what happens when you take that to a bigger faster track.

Another reason I like big long straight-a-ways.........time for an old fart like me to rest and take a deep breathe. Also get to enjoy the scenery. But the downside......time to get distracted and lose focus. At my age.....that is easy to do.

Hope you can make a couple of our races. Mark and I really look forward to our joint races with MMSA. We just hope more of the MMSA guys, as well as racers from other groups that direction, can venture farther west this year and take advantage of the purses we are presenting. We are just as thrilled to be combining with the RMLSA group at Dodge City this year and hoping more of their people can return to race with MALS this year at other venues. Should be good year for Lighting Sprints everywhere.

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Phil

The best way to learn proper driving etiquette is on a very small track 1/20 th of a mile and in a very small car 1/4 midgets at a very very young age 5 or 6 years old.

Every year new drivers are coming into Mini Sprints with the mentality that racing is like what they see on Sunday afternoon watching a NASCAR race. That is the farthest thing from the truth when we are talking about "Open Wheel Racing". There is a reason why open wheel driver tend to excel in NASCAR racing and part of that is that Driving Etiquette has been a big part of their racing experience from a very early age in their careers.

We need some way of teaching novice racers just starting in Mini-Lightning Sprints about racing Etiquette. they need to know when one should give racing room for their fellow racers. What is considered "Blocking" and what is considered "Charging". The importance of keeping the same racing line when starting out so as not to get in the way of other more experienced racers.

If you have ever watched a quarter midget race you might have seen the black flag come out. These kids are held to a much more stringent rules than USAC expects of it's drivers. If you are just starting out racing this is a great video to watch. http://www.quartermidgets.org/Multim...ing-video.html This is also why so many Quarter Midget driver do so well when moving up in racing.

It hard to believe how fast a 6 year old can pick up on these rules. What is even more fun sometimes is watching the parents after one of these rule infractions has been called on their kid.:5: The kids handle it fine the parents sometime not so good.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

I was wondering how long it would take for this to turn into a normal mini sprint thread. No matter what I look at the DuQuoin race as a win. Everyone ran super close and the field was close from start to finish. Its only wednesday and One person is already trading there 600 for a 1000 hopefully this week. If one person bought a car every race then we are doing our part. I have to agree with DAD though the 3/8ths mile tracks do not work there just way to big and make a boring race.

Mark and Phil I know you guys are working hard to make these cars big and have great payouts but to be honest from my own opinion and other peoples I have heard you guys are not in the right location to make it work. Even though your paying a tow money it just isnt enough to make it possible for a guy to want to take the risk when he can 9 times out of 10 race at home. This class is all about affortability I think if you guys hosted just one race to try it out during the summer with a big payout in the right location you would have more cars then you can imagine. Realistically its to hard though everyones schedules dont ever line up just right.From the talk that ive heard this is how it seems to me just my 2cents

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Buckshot

Maybe we need to take a lesson from the quarter midget people also and offer rides in a 1000cc upright at the first of the season for any experienced 600cc racer. If they can stay on top of one of those things a good 1000cc car should knock their shocks off and maybe save another soul.:8::14:

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Unofficial PowerI track schedule and track size.

1/8 th mile 1

1/5 th mile 13

1/4 th mile 10

1/3 rd mile 8

3/8 th mile 6

This is perhaps the most successful Midget Group racing today, could the fact that 84+ % >>>THAT IS MORE THAN EIGHTY FOUR PERCENT>>> of their races are run on quarter mile dirt tracks and smaller be the reason??? And these are what we wanabe's call Full Midgets.

Kenny Brown is doing something right, lets use his race model as a template.

Honest Dad himself:6::6:

Re: duquion 9-29
 

Originally Posted by :
I was wondering how long it would take for this to turn into a normal mini sprint thread. No matter what I look at the DuQuoin race as a win. Everyone ran super close and the field was close from start to finish. Its only wednesday and One person is already trading there 600 for a 1000 hopefully this week. If one person bought a car every race then we are doing our part. I have to agree with DAD though the 3/8ths mile tracks do not work there just way to big and make a boring race.

Billy since it appears you want to turn this in to a “normal mini sprint thread” I have a different opinion than you do. Myself I like getting up on the wheel at these big tracks and being able to race. I don’t like feeling like I am in a pinball machine at these little bullrings. Just not my style to ruff someone up to pass them. I am all for promoting our sport and my hats off to Steve Nace for hosting this race. Plus dont look now but not only does MALS host races on 3/8 mile tracks MMSA, WIMS, RMLSA and MLS do.

Originally Posted by :
Mark and Phil I know you guys are working hard to make these cars big and have great payouts but to be honest from my own opinion and other peoples I have heard you guys are not in the right location to make it work. Even though your paying a tow money it just isnt enough to make it possible for a guy to want to take the risk when he can 9 times out of 10 race at home. This class is all about affortability I think if you guys hosted just one race to try it out during the summer with a big payout in the right location you would have more cars then you can imagine. Realistically its to hard though everyones schedules dont ever line up just right.From the talk that ive heard this is how it seems to me just my 2cents

You’re going to have to explain this one to me? “not in the right location to make it work” Last season was our FIRST year of promoting Mid-America Lightning Sprints presented by Jayhawk Millwright. Not our sixth or even our second. It was our first. At our first and last race we had 16 cars. We average 14 cars per race. This season we have five new cars in varies stages of being built. New contacts from people interested in cars. We have dirt tracks, we have racers, we have a great sponsor. I am not sure what else in your opinion is needed to make this work. Personally I think that is a pretty naive statement.

BUT,as long as you bring up tow money I might as well throw out how this works. Because last year we had some of the best drivers in the country come run with us and take advantage of this tow money that you conceder just not enough for guys to take the risk. So here is how this works for anyone that is interested. MALS is paying out $100/$50 tow money to the first 5/5 guys who make the feature and are driving more than 500/250 miles one way to get to our track. You have to tell us in advance you are coming by email me at mbillingsracing@gmail.com Last year guys came in from N.Y., CO, IN, IO, WI and even your state IL. As long as I am posted the tow money I might as well post the flier for our first event of the season. Also on the bill winged 360 and 305 sprint cars!

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I just think it is ironic for someone like yourself to preach the affordability of these cars but you have no problem going to races that require over $100 entry fee, multi day pit pass’s, multi nights in a motel, food and a very slim chance of winning money to cover your expenses. For most racers you just shot half of a year’s racing budget to race close to home in one event. When in reality you could have come raced with MALS that has NO entry fee, NO temp membership fee, NO pill draw fee and very good payback across the board. Matter of fact our payout is posted clearly for everyone to see on our website. Just go to www.midamericalightningsprints.com and click on the payout tab on the top of the page.

Glad you like the one shot big race to run ideal. We personally like to spread the money out to give more guys a better chance of winning money and building our sport. We have 3-$1000 to win races, 4-$650 to win races and 6-$500 to win races this season.

We will leave the big shows for now up to others to have or not.
Just my 2cents worth.