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This is just another event that you can add to the cancer on midget racing. The slide didn't happen yesterday. It's been going on now for about 12 years. You have the haves and you have the have nots. The haves are the ones that have the bucks/engine manufacturers/mommy and daddy money backing them so they can cruise all over the US at will trying to win $2-3000. That number is down to the remaining teams that follow what's left of the USAC National midget schedule, a skeleton of what it used to be. Many of those are rent a rides supported by big buck family who can afford to put their kid in a midget ride 365 days of the year all over the US.
The have nots are the teams that show up and fill the field and are forced to spend money out of their own pocket if they want to keep up with the haves. Many of them are avoiding outdoor midget racing and opting to race one time a year in Oklahoma, spending their entire midget budget on a race they have no chance of winning what with all the perks the promoters give the haves when they show up there.
So what is the solution. I currently own 5 of the exotic engines that the midget organizations have allowed to be used in competition. These aren't over the counter engines, they are expensive engines that are expensive to rebuild and they all need rebuilding once they have several races on them. Two of my engines need major rebuilds at this time. One is being rebuilt as I write this and I can tell you that it costs thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars for a rebuild out of my own pocket, midget fans. They are rebuilt with exotic parts that cost thousands and thousands of dollars plus $$$$$$$$$$ in labor. Many of the haves don't have this expense because they get free engines from the manufacturers. The have nots have to use money from their own pocket to rebuild. BTW, you can pretty much figure out who the haves are at a USAC race by just looking at the advertising on the side of their NASCAR type hauler.
If you want midget racing to survive, the current engines need to be scraped immediately and replaced with OEM engines that use over the counter parts and ban all titanium parts also. This is real simple, people. Now the haves are going to be very upset with me regarding this. They are very happy with the ways things things are currently done. BTW, there is a market for the exotic engines. I sold two of them to a guy last year that is not involved with midget racing. So I ask the president of USAC... where is the $10,000-12,000 engine that you proposed a few years ago? There are engines right now available that fit that criteria.
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