Indiana Open Wheel - View Single Post - Mopar USAC National Midget Updates From Kenly, NC

AlkyMadness · 4/14/08, 1:26 AM

First, and foremost, congrats to Kody Swanson for his first USAC National Midget victory. He drove hard and made sure he had the lead on the first lap and then kept it on the re-starts.

A fine showing by Cole Whitt. He will win one of these soon. On the restarts, he was throwing everything at Dakota but just couldn't make it stick.

Brad Kuhn deserves the James Brown "Hardest working man in showbiz" award since he was just about the ONLY driver that gained many positions. Started 20th and finished 12th. He was just about to melt his brake rotors they were glowing so bright. If there were others, I apologize, but he was the main show for those who chose to look toward the rear of the field.

Best looking midget has to be the Pedregon 75. I see a die-cast of that one in the future. Cruz has a great personality. Perhaps some of it could rub off on his driver.

Concerning the race, overall, it stunk. I was expecting a much better race at this excellent asphalt track. A rail line runs across the street from the track, but the train was running on the track.

Biggest slap in the face: the midgets were shown up by the local late model stock tin-tops. They had a 50 lap race that was excellent and was capped off by a near photo finish that resulted in a young driver getting his first career win over the track "veteran". The late models could run side by side, why couldn't the midgets?

The crowd count was very low. Probably fewer than 300 in the stand and in the on track parking that surrounds the track. I know the $20 gate probably kept some away (this is a rural area that is, well, poor even in a good economy and Raleigh, the nearest city, has NEVER been big on racing). But, I was still surprised because the locals usually support any Late Model race quite well.

Another factor was the weather. I wonder how many knew that at approx 4pm a tornado was on the ground about 15 miles south of the track? Perhaps some saw video of the destruction on the Weather Channel today. I spoke to one man who said several roads to the south were closed and clogged with emergency personnel and utility trucks. The heavy rains continued for a while after. We are in a drought in this state and as I drove down from the northwest, I rain into heavily flooded fields, streams and ditches as I got near the track. I suspect this also kept many people away fearing a higher dollar race that would be canceled.

I'd also like to know what happened to the 30+ midget car count. When I called the track earlier in the day to check on the weather, I was told there were more than 30 cars on hand. Did some load up and leave? This effectively made the heats meaningless. Not to mention we got shorted a fourth meaningful heat and a B-Main.

Personally, after spending $30 on gas, $20 for a ticket and probably another $10 on food/drink, I can say it wasn't worth a 240 mile round trip and $60 (other than being able to say I saw Kody win his first). I won't do it again.

In post-race, Cole Whitt said he wished this race was 60 or 100 laps long instead of 40 because the tires would have gone away and then it would have gotten racy. Okay, but, as a fan, who wants to wait that long? I guess we were just treated to a speed fest. Hard to pull out and pass when you've already got it flat out just like the guy in front of you. And, the track was long enough that lapped traffic never became a factor.

If this was part of USAC's attempt to win new fans, it was a dismal failure. Most of the locals I sat near (and questioned about what they thought) were unimpressed. They thought the speed was great, but the racing itself left little to be desired. Sadly, the only thing the local yahoos enjoyed was Schiff's flip over Brady Bacon's wheel. Woo-hoo.

I know the teams had to spend a huge amount of money for a one race show. Diesel is $4+ and they had to get lodging at what, at least $75 per person after taxes?

USAC needs to give up on the races in this area. This is late model country and when it comes to open wheel, these people don't get it and never will (of course, it they saw racing like I've seen at Anderson, IRP, Salem, Toledo, etc they might).

Anything south of the Virginia state line should be forgotten (the racing at South Boston a few years ago was really pretty good and the Richmond races are always good). There's a lot of good tracks in Virginia (Motor Mile, Shenandoah, South Boston, Franklin County, Wythe, Virginia Motor Speedway, Southside, Langley, Winchester, Natural Bridge, etc).

I hate to say this. Don't come to me anymore, I'll pay the extra and come to you.

Finally, when did USAC get a new announcer named Rob Caliper? I know Klepper can't be that hard to pronounce.

I hope it doesn't sound like I had a totally miserable evening. I really did enjoy that late model race:eek:

4/14/08, 1:26 AM	#13 Re: Mopar USAC National Midget Updates From Kenly, NC
AlkyMadness Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 233	First, and foremost, congrats to Kody Swanson for his first USAC National Midget victory. He drove hard and made sure he had the lead on the first lap and then kept it on the re-starts. A fine showing by Cole Whitt. He will win one of these soon. On the restarts, he was throwing everything at Dakota but just couldn't make it stick. Brad Kuhn deserves the James Brown "Hardest working man in showbiz" award since he was just about the ONLY driver that gained many positions. Started 20th and finished 12th. He was just about to melt his brake rotors they were glowing so bright. If there were others, I apologize, but he was the main show for those who chose to look toward the rear of the field. Best looking midget has to be the Pedregon 75. I see a die-cast of that one in the future. Cruz has a great personality. Perhaps some of it could rub off on his driver. Concerning the race, overall, it stunk. I was expecting a much better race at this excellent asphalt track. A rail line runs across the street from the track, but the train was running on the track. Biggest slap in the face: the midgets were shown up by the local late model stock tin-tops. They had a 50 lap race that was excellent and was capped off by a near photo finish that resulted in a young driver getting his first career win over the track "veteran". The late models could run side by side, why couldn't the midgets? The crowd count was very low. Probably fewer than 300 in the stand and in the on track parking that surrounds the track. I know the $20 gate probably kept some away (this is a rural area that is, well, poor even in a good economy and Raleigh, the nearest city, has NEVER been big on racing). But, I was still surprised because the locals usually support any Late Model race quite well. Another factor was the weather. I wonder how many knew that at approx 4pm a tornado was on the ground about 15 miles south of the track? Perhaps some saw video of the destruction on the Weather Channel today. I spoke to one man who said several roads to the south were closed and clogged with emergency personnel and utility trucks. The heavy rains continued for a while after. We are in a drought in this state and as I drove down from the northwest, I rain into heavily flooded fields, streams and ditches as I got near the track. I suspect this also kept many people away fearing a higher dollar race that would be canceled. I'd also like to know what happened to the 30+ midget car count. When I called the track earlier in the day to check on the weather, I was told there were more than 30 cars on hand. Did some load up and leave? This effectively made the heats meaningless. Not to mention we got shorted a fourth meaningful heat and a B-Main. Personally, after spending $30 on gas, $20 for a ticket and probably another $10 on food/drink, I can say it wasn't worth a 240 mile round trip and $60 (other than being able to say I saw Kody win his first). I won't do it again. In post-race, Cole Whitt said he wished this race was 60 or 100 laps long instead of 40 because the tires would have gone away and then it would have gotten racy. Okay, but, as a fan, who wants to wait that long? I guess we were just treated to a speed fest. Hard to pull out and pass when you've already got it flat out just like the guy in front of you. And, the track was long enough that lapped traffic never became a factor. If this was part of USAC's attempt to win new fans, it was a dismal failure. Most of the locals I sat near (and questioned about what they thought) were unimpressed. They thought the speed was great, but the racing itself left little to be desired. Sadly, the only thing the local yahoos enjoyed was Schiff's flip over Brady Bacon's wheel. Woo-hoo. I know the teams had to spend a huge amount of money for a one race show. Diesel is $4+ and they had to get lodging at what, at least $75 per person after taxes? USAC needs to give up on the races in this area. This is late model country and when it comes to open wheel, these people don't get it and never will (of course, it they saw racing like I've seen at Anderson, IRP, Salem, Toledo, etc they might). Anything south of the Virginia state line should be forgotten (the racing at South Boston a few years ago was really pretty good and the Richmond races are always good). There's a lot of good tracks in Virginia (Motor Mile, Shenandoah, South Boston, Franklin County, Wythe, Virginia Motor Speedway, Southside, Langley, Winchester, Natural Bridge, etc). I hate to say this. Don't come to me anymore, I'll pay the extra and come to you. Finally, when did USAC get a new announcer named Rob Caliper? I know Klepper can't be that hard to pronounce. I hope it doesn't sound like I had a totally miserable evening. I really did enjoy that late model race:eek: