I don't think it is a stupid question, and I do think that it will happen. It may not be as blantant as with the NASCAR teams, but it will happen.

I also think you guys are being overly optimistic about racers. Think of your local drivers racing on a local show and see how they would answer this question. A driver who is running near the back of the pack and hears a strange noise, does he pull it in or keep on racing? A driver who is running near the back of the pack and has a vibration, does he pull it in or keep on racing? A driver who is running near the back of the pack and keeps on missing his marks, does he pull it in or keep racing? A driver that is running in the back and pack and has too avoid the same wild driver in front of him four laps in a row, does he pull it in or keep racing? A driver who has gone through his entire tire budget and realizes that the track is so rough that it is going to destroy all of this tires, does he race all night to destroy all of his tires. I know of several drivers that have pulled in their cars on days like this, and I bet if you think about so do you.

The best (worst) start and park that I ever show was a multi day modified show. The show had a very large to win purse that quickly went down from there. I beleive it was $50,000 to win with a large entrance fee ($300). Before the last feature of the weekend, the promoter told everyone that he did not have all of the money to pay the purse and was going to cut the purse in half all the way through the show. After the first lap was completed about a third of the field pulled off of the track.

If a guy makes the show, but knows that he has little or no chance of advancing into the top five, I could see him pulling off. What if he makes a few laps and the car handles like junk, he will likely pull off. No reason for a low budget team to risk tearing everything up for no additional money. No racer wants to pull off, but circumstances happen and sometimes it is just best for that driver and team.

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Overly optimistic about racers? What do you mean by that?

The purse is legit. I know the O'Connors, and I know that they would not allow anything like this to happen at THEIR track, despite it being a USAC race.

People talking about a "start and park" clearly have never prepared a sprint car or any other racecar as far as that goes. Way too much work goes into making the show to just pull off for some cash.

This is also a NATIONAL race, NOT a local show. If you remember right, most of the "local" drivers who run Kokomo on a regular basis are also some of the big shots on the USAC circuit. Some of these "locals" include: Chris Windom, Dave Darland, Jon Stanbrough, Tracy Hines, Shane Cottle, Jerry Coons Jr., and a host of other drivers. Unless there is something seriously wrong with their cars, I don't think any one of the drivers mentioned above will pull off just to pull off.

That's not start-and-park. Those are examples of cases in which a driver is making a smart decision with a broken car, given his budget.

I'll tell you who plans on start doing a start and park on Saturday night. That's Bryan Clauson. If you read BC's Twitter page much you know what "parked" means to him.

Jerry

I bet Clauson start park is like the darland memorial we had. Transfers to feature then has engine issues and forced to roll out back up car. Started last in the 30 lap 3000 to win I believe it was and guess what. 20 cars started 18 finished. Clauson WON but wasn't easy. He had tough competition to beat. Ask any driver about Kokomo better come with your A game and elbows up cause wins there are hard fought and won.

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That was the point that the original poster was trying to make. Given the fact that the pay difference from 6th to 22nd is not that much, there is not a lot of incentive to race for those positions. The risk/reward balance is upside down.

Do I hope it happens? No. Do I hope that this race grows into a huge success? yes. Do I hope that it becomes an annual race? yes. If there is a caution on lap 5, do I expect a couple of cars at the back gracefully pull it into the pits? yes. Do I think any less of the drivers that do that? no

If you start and park you have to live with it. I think 99% making the feature for Saturday believe they can come from the middle or back and win. As far as bashing usac who else are some of these drivers going to want to beat but the best at what they do.

Here's the better question - how many dirty moves will we see to secure a "transfer" or solidify a starting position in Saturday's feature and what if anything will USAC do about it? I mean after all they have set a precedent on what they deem "avoidable contact" I'm going to bet there's a lot of that Thurs & Fri nights.....

With regards to start n parks - it will be more along the lines of what an earlier poster said. If you were lucky enough to transfer in on a shaky motor or sketchy equipment and you sense anything out of the ordinary or you get lapped - or you just know you're not going to make the top 10 after a couple laps or so you'll see some pull in because the $175 difference isn't even enough to pay for the extra tire you may burn off. It would be subtle - we see it on regular $10k shows all the time - you just probably aren't noticing it because it isn't as obvious as NASCAR.

Start and park has it's place. I have seen a Super Stock car change wheels and tires, enter as a late model where only 21 cars showed up, and get 750 to start feature. Pulled off as soon as leader caught him (2-3 lap). That paid more than winning in his class. Have seen non wing cars put a wing on and do the same thing for the $. We all want the trophy, but sometimes you gotta think $ if your a budget team and you wanna better your equipment. That being said I don't see anyone doing that at Kokomo.

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