One of the posts in this thread discussed national vs. regional and cited the outstanding car counts displayed in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California in the recent midget swing out west. The president of USAC in a mag interview has stated that he has no intention of reducing the costs of midget racing.

I did some research and it appears that there are 12 actual national midget teams that are currently supporting the USAC series. There may be one or two more or less. Four of those teams fielded two cars. So a total of 15 cars.

So by looking at the statistics, there are 12 teams that can afford to travel around the country, and have at least two midgets, one dirt and one pavement and race for $2500 to win.

There are probably at least 600 midgets sitting somewhere in the just the midwest area and probably at least 3000 midgets sitting somewhere in the United States.

So for the national scene, it appears that out of my estimate of 3000 midgets, only 12 can afford to race all over the country and chase the national midget title.

I, in a million years, could not and would not, spend the money to chase the national title, so I'll never be one of the elite 12 that you see appearing all over the country.

Here is the problem and it's not with the United States Auto Club. The problem is with all the midget orgs around the country, minus a few, that remain tied to the waist of USAC and their rule book and their deals with manufacturers and the purple tire company. It's a monkey see, monkey do, type situation. Whatever USAC decides to do, they do with a few exceptions like ARDC with engines.

Why are they like puppy dogs following their mother? Well, it reminds me of seeing tons of kids in northern Ohio walking around with LeBron James jerseys on their body. They want to be like their big brother, their hero, the big box.

Is there much interplay with all the rest of these regional midgets? Well... approximately 585 teams can't afford to race all over the country. I don't know, but I don't see very many teams (maybe 1 or 2) that venture out of Indiana and run with either Badger or Powri.

So what do we have to chose from? Well...... since these midwest orgs choose to follow the big box, we have regional racing following the big box rules and all the high priced equipment,tires etc that comes with it.

so... don't expect midget racing to change anytime soon until the regional midget orgs decide that they aren't going to be follower anymore. Otherwise, get your wallet out and be prepared to pay just like the 12 National teams do.

The tire deals are killing midget racing, people. Only when the midget community realizes this will midget racing move forward. Why are we paying $140-180 for the purple tires when American Racer tires that last many races can be purchased for around $80? Would you fans in the stands really know the difference if the midgets races with purple tires or American Racers? If not, then why are we forced to buy the expensive tires like the big brothers do?

Now I'm waiting patiently to see how many cars show up at Terre Haute in September.