Quote:
Originally Posted by DonMoore10
Syracuse, NY
Sacramento, CA
Stockton, CA Mile dirt
Fresno, CA Mile dirt
Del Mar, CA (there may be a new surface for this track that wouldn't work)
Beulah Park, Mile dirt Columbus, OH (had an AMA flat track race there Aug.16)
Tulsa State Fairgrounds 3/4 mile dirt, great facility. Not sure if the horses are still running there or not. Yes, I'm well aware of the problems there a few years ago.
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If there were SC dirt races in California at Stockton, Sacramento, Del Mar (Bay Meadows), Vallejo, etc. I would build a dirt SC car to race. There are plenty of young drivers in this area I could put behind the wheel for these events including, Kyle Larson, Dillon Silverman and Justin Grant. I would love to give any/all of these kids that opportunity. But I cannot justify the investment in the car and the travel that would be required (and I would not build a dirt and pavement car, just cannot afford it).
Honestly I think this is where USAC has gone awry. Back in the day you raced with USAC, midgets, then sprint cars then SC cars to get a shot at Indy, that carrot has gone away.
Then, thanks for Jeff Gordon and Thursday Night Thunder, you raced USAC Midgets, Sprint Cars and Silver Crown cars to get to NASCAR. Worked for a bunch of guys... and in some way still does (just ask Mike Bliss, Jason Leffler, Ryan Newman, etc), you just might have to go through trucks and Nationwide to get there and there is much more competition than when Gordon did it.
Now, what is the carrott? When you see guys like Darland, Coons, Hines, Jones, Gardner, etc not getting the shot at either Indy or NASCAR one begins to lose the attraction and when costs escalate without a the opportunity for payoff, it is only a matter of time before investment decreases as well.
I think often people put to much on Midgets as the reason guys are got to that next level. We have seen a larger decline in the guys coming from USAC since the SC debacle occured. I think if USAC would run the package effectivly (as they once did), you would see an increase in the number of racers going to USAC to a premier series and that would drive investment back into USAC teams as the dream would be alive. Midgets teach you how to drive smoothly, SC teaches you how to drive on big tracks. It is the combination of those two skills that I can see as attractive to owners of the larger racing series.
If you bring back a formula that gets racers to that next level, not by negotiating but by creating aproduct the next level desiers, it will create investment in your series. The investment by the large dollar teams breeds more competition as it makes quality used stuff available for the lower budget teams. Think about it, if somebody wants to put together a "good" SC team can they even find quality used stuff to start with (so they can upgrade later)? Hell it is getting more difficult to find quality used midget cars.
Then a guy like me who is getting older and just loves racing (and who wants to save for retirement anyways), says what the hell, let's go put this deal together and get some young talent to drive (thus giving that young talent potentially the chance of a lifetime). The program can work, it just has to be coordinated and focus on a formula that the owners at the next level will value and when you think about it the key to the next level has been more success in SC than midgets.
Apologies if my thoughts jumped around a bit, sometimes my brain moves faster than my fingers can type.
Rick