[DAD]

There I said it. To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe, yada-yada.

I started in 1/4 midget's back in 1957. We started at a little track in louisville ky. It was not QMA sanctioned but the rules were close. We raced there for several years and at 12 the call of the road was just too strong. We started out on the qma eastern tour. We went to Indiana, Ohio, Michigan,West Virgina, Penn., New York and Conn., Alabama and of course Flordia. At that time Orlando was noted for its many lakes and the Police department consisted of 6 policeman.
What I remember most about the tour wasn't the racing but the parties. We traveled in convoys and all stayed at the same motel's usually a different one each year because we were usually asked not to come back next year. We were lucky and had a wealthy sponsor that could afford all the expenses involved. We had a ball both grown up and kids. This was a good reason for national rules and points etc etc.

Times were different then. Many years later I thought I would try QM's again with my son. We bought a car and went up to Big "Z" to check things out. We were told that they raced at Big "Z" maybe once a month and the rest of the time they would be on the road. They said they would leave a key in the mail box and any member could come up and practice when they weren't there. Back in the 50's there were enough cars that they could have both home races and still race all over the country at the same time. That was not the case in the late 80's, so we kinda of lost intrest in racing Quarter midgets.

A friend of mine who I had raced outlaw QM's with me called and invited me to come watch his kid race these things called 600cc mini-sprints at Little Salem speedway. After the first heat race I was hooked. The big problem is my son was only 11 years old with no driving experience except for 1,000,000 laps in our back yard.

Solution get a go-kart. We had two tracks close to home, Columbus In. a WKA sanctioned track home of Tony Stewart or Vernon In. an outlaw bunch that ran at the old Fairgrounds in Vernon in. Both ran go-karts but at Columbus the tec guy was also the motor builder and he followed the WKA rules to the letter and .001 would get you DQ'd if you did not run one of his race motors. Go karts was where I was introduced to Glittering bull s**t motors for the first time. After a half season of this we decided to go to Vernon. Not WKA sanctioned but also not into themselves as much either. We had a great time but Go Karts scared me and still do. So up to little Salem we go the next year. We raced there for several years until the call of the road became too strong again, really they said they would rather we just go away and find some other place to run. Back then it was AMSA that was the big traveling show for mini-sprints but another guy had just started a new group in Ohio called the Buckeye Minisprint Racing Association a group racing 600cc cars. We didn't have to change our cars but we did have to travel 600 mile a weekend but they had a purse that was better than most groups pay today and gas was just a little over a dollar a gallon. We made pretty good money racing with them and had a real good time. They just loved racing with us HillBilly's.

As time went by the founder went back to work full time and turned over the promoters job to another guy. We were still driving 600 miles a weekend when Lawrenceburg decided to run some 600cc shows at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. A track perfect for mini sprints and only 70 miles from home. Well I went "Rogue" and raced at Lawrenceburg, Little did I know but this was grounds for expulsion from the Buckeyes. Now what to do, well we will go back to Little Salem and race since they have new owners again what the heck only 30 miles from home.

By this time Allen Ruppenthal had hung up his helmet and hired this hot shoe from Owensburg Ky. as a house driver. This guy was good and spanked our butt regularly and that is what Allen really loved to do. Second place did not excite him very much. We finally got to where we could beat the ERC crew ever so often and old Allen didn't like that too much, but he saw bigger fish to fry with the AMSA. If he could take a stock 1000cc motor and beat all those high priced 1200cc motors he could sell a lot of cars and make a lot of money. He did that and was well on his way to his second million when we fell out of favor again at little Salem, "I think I have a basic charcter flaw when it comes to promoters". AMSA here we come and get to race with Allen and Lynn again that sounds fun. We get there and old Allen is "in like Flynn", they all love him and Lynn is winning everything, This went on for several years and then "ol" Jerry buys a set of scales. This did not set too well with Allen, but he kept on racing anyhow. Then one night Lynn came up 2 lbs light and was DQ'd, guess Allen aint no "fair haired boy" anymore and is now a little ticked off. I think we went 2 weeks and then we were DQ'd for 2 lbs under too. Anyone who knows us knows that would be a real stretch to do. New scales, people that don't know how to read or opperate the scales and pads set up on uneven ground was probably the problem what the heck have to feed Doug a few more big macks next week.

Allen was so ticked off he did start another club with the help of Bill May, and furnished the cars to get it going that first year and payed a purse to kill for. The rule were almost the same except stock 1000cc motors only. They just aren't many 1200cc motors that will run with a modern stock 1000cc motor so Allen guessed right on that one also.

We soon left AMSA to race with the MMSA for the the same reason we had left the other groups in the past I'm just hard to get along with. In all we have raced with as many different groups as anybody racing these cars today has. A standard set of rules has never been the problem. Of all the groups out there today MMSA has probably the shortest set of rules. Bill's philosophy keep it simple works. If you are from the West Coast come on out you probably fit our rules just fine.

Don't get too hung up on National rules and races, Everyone now follows the same template 1000cc motorcycle powered midget frame based race car. Don't think you are going to save the racer money by making a rule. If you make a shock rule some one will be at the shock guy the next day getting a spl. shock set up built just to win a $300.00 race, money is no object to some racers. If you make a tire rule somebody will be spending $200.00 a gallon for glittering bull tire softner.

The only saving grace to our sport is our motors. Because they are so highly tuned from the factory, anything we do to them to make them faster turns them into handgranades and that is a good thing, that alone keeps our racing the best and most inexpensive full size open wheel racing out there.

It doesn't hurt to want national rules and races. We have that now at the "Tulsa Shoot Out". Jerry has done a good job of getting this thing going and off the ground and running. What we need is find some way of getting more money in it for the racers. We went to the Shootout the first year finished second and I lost $1800.00 to prove a point, Us poor folk can't do that too often. Any time you go "National" only the rich people can afford to race them. I saw that a long time ago in QM's. I don't know of any one without money is running USAC national Midgets or Sprints. Money or being real deep in a" money hole "goes along with national anything racing.

Most promoters try to work in a couple of off week-ends per season per class, to allow their racers time to take a vacation. That is when we show up on their schedules taking somebodys place that went on vacation. To me racing is vacation and if I ever do take one I'm leaving that race car and trailer at home.

You can't beat the Shoot Out for a national race, but it takes bucks to get there and back. It should not take too much work to get your car legal. All you need is the M.O.N.E.Y. Maybe the clubs could start a fund themselves to help finance at least one team from each club to go to Tulsa. You can figure about $2000.00 for the trip. Offer the club fund say $500.00 to the points champ. If they don't want to go offer #2 and so on until you get a taker.

Try to find a sponsor or two that could sweeten the purse and make the race more affordable for the everyday racer. We aint going to get to far off base with our rules that is not the problem. We have a good national race to go to, only problem is us poor folk can't afford all the expense involved to go. MAYBE 2013 will be our year.

Honest Dad himself