One of the problems you have today with midgets is that you have so many Sprint Cars that a track does not have to have midgets come in for a night or a as a support class. They are not going to pay the midgets what they pay the sprints.

While production engines have changed in the last 10 years, one of the big reasons that they wanted to get away from steel blocks is because when they where broken, they where pretty much useless.

20 plus years ago I would sit and listen to my dads buddies who where all what would be called "Old Timers". They all complained about how much racing cost and how it had changed and it wasn't as good as it was before. The awful amounts of money being spent on the VW motors($10,000) and the wide tires where killing the sport. I too would go around saying those things and thinking that the midgets where on the verge of extinction and we needed to save them.

Flash forward to today and it's still the same topics. The entire sport has gone up and down some since then, but there is still plenty of midget racing going on and in many ways the sport has gotten easier and cheaper. Personally, I think that the 8" wheel deal and all of that is pie in the sky dreams as far as making older cars more competitive or evening up the playing field. Right now, you can use a '94 Stealth and a 2000 or newer motor and race well enough to win or run in the top 5 in any dirt midget club in the country, including USAC. Granted,depending on the track in some cases, but that is possible. Eventually though,the best teams will always come to the top. I'd be fine with ribs and Double Diamonds, but the best will rise to the top.

Personally, I don't know what the amount of cars where then(60's,70's,80's) they did get bigger car counts the Hut and T-Nite, but is that because there where more cars or was it because the racers where more willing to travel?

I would say that there are more midgets today than anytime except for the 50's, but they do race less. I feel that some of that is due to the Chili Bowl only owners and some of that is because sprinters are the flavor today and have always been a somewhat easier type of car to race. In days gone by, people where fools to tempt the fate of the Sprint Car gods and midgets where thought of as safer, but today many don't even think that sprinters are dangerous.

One thing for sure, the quality of cars and equipment at every level and class have never been better.

As far as a second or two a lap goes, you will often lose that in a nights racing anyway. As far as what the fan wants to see, that often changes. I don't know about anyone else, but I can sure tell the difference between a T.Q.,Kenyon Car Focus or IRS race and a standard midget race. Not saying that I haven't seen good races in all of those classes, but the difference is pretty obvious.

The IRS is a good idea and it fits much of what people are saying they want. Why would you want USAC to change and resemble IRS when the IRS already exists. Instead of wanting USAC to change, change where you race or adopt their ideas and start a series.

If USAC is to be critisized and hung in the county square for changing the Silver Crown Series because they sold the owners out, how can we then say it's alright to completely change the midget series in much the same way hanging out most of the current owners? Not only selling out owners who competed at over 90 percent of their events, but doing so to make another group of owners happy who readily admit that they will not or can not compete at all of their events.