Just my 5 cents and open to criticism but I think alot to do is with the economy. The money isn't floating around like it used to.
You only get 10-14 nights from an engine before a rebuild so I guess alot of guys that only have one engine did the 2 midget weeks and are having a few weeks off.
It upsets me hearing any comments along the lines of K.K.M doing any bad for the sport because it is only doing good. They say it is making the sport too expensive but at the end of the day that's what midget racing is. People need to accept that. I have accepted that when I roll my $25'000 car on the track that the odds are not in my favor........ BUT I want to go midget racing at a national level against the best guys and it is what it is. You do the best you can, do how much racing you can afford for the year and be happy. Not criticize the costs of midget racing, the top dollar teams and divide the masses by trying to bring out new rules/classes etc.
I believe POWRi and USAC are doing a great job. What would help midget racing the most is having it televised on main stream t.v channels. And I am not talking MAV TV which are doing a great job but ESPN / FOX SPORTS. People that have never seen it that love motorsport would say "holy ****, this is racing." Get the masses following and with t.v time teams can access sponsorship easier. I can't secure any sponsorship mainly because the sport is not televised and businesses that hand over $10'000 plus these days want more than a sticker on a car for racing that gets no media attention. So what have I got to offer when I am asking for $50'000?
And when I say I race midget cars most people say "what are those?"............"they are open wheel cars that race on speedways"............."oh like those ones that have the wings on the top?" F#@* me, no joke, this is the start of every sponsorship proposal for me. I could maybe get a few truck rides because its televised but I don't want to go race in Nascar. If this could happen I believe it would do wonders for the sport. Convincing the fat cats in the corporate t.v world of midget racing wont be easy but if drifting and tractor pulling can get air time its got me beat.