I recall in days of yore when the midgets timed in at Eldora with times about the same as the sprint cars/ last night they were almost a second and a half slower (that's a lot!) what's going on? are the midgets technologically behind? was the track worn out when they timed in? any thoughts?
also, while I've nothing but praise for the quality of the 21 midgets who were there and with the excellent show they put on/ just curious as to where all the rest of the species were hiding(I know there were a lot of incredible drivers there last night who would have loved to have had the opportunity of winning all three, with the only thing missing being a midget ride or in some cases, a silver crown ride)
none the less it was an incredible 4 crowns/ great racing all night long, big, enthusiastic crowd of people (imho its time to add more usac racing at Eldora and time to bump the purses up for the 4 crowns
Originally Posted by johnnythunderhead:
Also, while I've nothing but praise for the quality of the 21 midgets who were there and with the excellent show they put on/ just curious as to where all the rest of the species were hiding
33 cars at Macon for $3k less to win and $50 less to start.
Wasn't there, but the video looked like the track was pretty locked down for Midget Quals. If that was the case, then it would be a matter of the track being too good.
I would give my left...... (well u get it) to run eldora, but with the size of track our powri car just isn't competitive. I think that's what helps midget week they keep the track size small enough at least the normal 20 to 25k car can compete. I don't think with motor costs of today you will ever see forty cars on the "super speedways" we can run four Macon races for what one will do to our motor on those huge tracks. Simply put eldora is for usac midgets and the car count for usac is down. But with the rise in media exposure and interest in stars from our corner like Larson. Maybe we will see a turn for the better. Just my .02
Daniel Robinson
oldmike, I would hope that the quick nimble midgets would qualify faster than the overweight-underpowered (yet beautiful) silver crown cars (usually by a half second or more I would suspect)
I would have to imagine that shock and tire technology has gone a lot farther towards making the overpowered sprintcars hook more of it up and go faster as compared to the midgets. Going fast in a midget with that tall a gear is about momentum and barely touching the steering wheel, not being locked down, and actually if a track is too sticky a midget can still bog the motor and scrub too much speed in a high speed corner... Sprintcars have always had way more motor than the rest of the car could handle effectively, but tires are so darn good these days and the shock companies are getting them so dialed in that we should be seeing sprinters (real sprinters, not the ones with umbrellas) gaining the most from all the advancements and dropping lap times easier than midgets.
The reason the midgets qualified slower in comparison to the sprint cars is that the sprintcars qualified first this year. When the track has grip you can put the power down. When I ran the midgets would qualify first, as the track slicked off times slowed down and the sprint and silvercrown cars would be slower, hence the closer the times were. When the track is slick I would think that the midgets were the fastest cars in the mains. Vehicle dynamics boys simple as that.
