This was in my first post on this thread. You heard it directly from the president of USAC on the D.O. Show 2 years ago. There are engines that support this premise that in my opinion will give a major boost to midget racing and by his statement, Kevin Miller thinks so too. I am 100% behind this. You can post 24/7 supporting what is the current model. It's not working. It needs to happen.

I would like to know if any of the Mid West Promoters would run Midget Races letting the Current USAC Midgets run with the Mini Sprint/Sidewinder cars under a equitable formula that makes each car style competitive with each other

Out here on the West Coast one of the biggest obstacles in getting the younger crowd interested in Midgets is any one under 30 yrs. old does not understand the dinosaur tech of push rod hilborn mech injection nor do they care about yestertech stuff like that

If you allow Electronic Fuel Injection , Motorcycle OHC for Sidewinders, or stock block Honda, Toyota etc. OHC engine for conventional style Midgets that are out here by the Gazillions & can be turned into a decent race engine for 4 - 10 k the younger set is telling me they would jump all over that

& the Tuners as they are called out here are not interested in Spec Engines that they can not touch

I have had some conversation with West Coast Promoters & they are considering it & if some of the Mid or Eastern Promoters would run that formula it might help push the West Coast Promoters to allow these other cars in

The Promoters out here are just reluctant to be the first to do it LOLLLL !!!!!

I have been following this thread with great interest, and here is what I take away from all of this;

1. Midget racing is still very much on the minds of the open wheel community. Rumors of the death of Midget racing have been greatly exagerated.

2. As opposed to days gone by, it seems to me that we are starting to hear a more unified voice regarding the direction that the sport needs to go. I remember a time not too long ago when a thread like this would feature a bunch of opinions, almost none of which had anything in common. I'm sensing a little more unification now.

IMO, there is still a balance that needs to be struck between maintianing our traditional inventory, and finding ways to bring in the new breed of Midget engines that will eventually be our future. The good news is that from reading all of these posts, it seems that we have finally reached the point where the majority of supporters agree that 1950's technology does NOT represent the future of the sport. Making the transition will not be a cake walk, but it's really not going to be all that hard either. The hardest part will simply be to finally make the decision to get started.

As I said before, we can take Midget racing from where it is now - an increasingly insignificant, specialized form of motorsport - and put it on a path to much greater relevance among competitors, fans and sponsors, by upgrading our engine technology. And along the way, we can lower point-of-purchase costs as well as upkeep, and increaase duty cycles. Our only other realistic choice is to slowly watch Midgets evolve into a really cool form of vintage racing.

Don,how many pounds would a midget have to add to make min-sprints competative with them? Congrats on 24 win.

#1 problem with midget racing, NO TRACKS RUN THEM WEEKLY. Most tracks your total purse for the entire elite class is $1500-$2500. So for a track to start running midgets weekly, they will have to drop there main class to insert midgets. Tracks are not making enough now (this is the concensouse of the thread). In Indiana I can not see a weekly sprint car track dropping the sprints. So now midget drivers either have to find a big sponsor to go in and help out (ha ha) or they have to run for $500 to $1000 purse. With current equipment, no one is going to do that. Midgets are a thing of the past. When tracks quit running sprint cars weekly, they will become a thing of the past as well.

To the people complaining about tire rules and cost. #1 tires could drop in price if tracks charged anywhere close to what they cost. At the same time though, drivers could not complain about the purse or point funds dropping.

So right now people are willing to race $20,000 cars for $2000 to win. How do we get guys to run $7000 cars for $700 to win? Junk yards are becoming popular again. The ideas on here about running motors from junk cars, are some of the best I have read.

As you have read, many on here are joined at the hip to the high dollar engines. You've got to let go. $10-12,000 engines come with a clutch. Another selling point to interest promoters when considering adding midgets to the card. And it's been proven on here that fans want to see good competitive racing and speed has nothing to do with that.

If the old TI 30 calculator is not to rusty here is some rough # I came up with that would get a lighting sprint competitive handling & power wise with a USAC Midget

USAC Midget 1050 # 350 Rear Wheel HP ( not flywheel HP ) = 3 # per RWHP

Lightning Sprint 1200 cc engine approx. 200 RWHP so with the less HP , I am coming up with 4.25 # per RWHP or 850 # with a 1200 cc engine in a lightning should be competitive with a USAC Midget at most tracks

If you allow the 1200 cc engine cars to run at close to this weight no wings ( would need Track Testing to final this out ) this should be doable IIRC wing Lightnings with 1000 cc gas powered engines run @ 900 # ?

So you should be able to get a no winged lightning close to 850 # ?

Hope you can follow this, writing techie stuff on a puter is not my forte
LOLLLLL !!!!!!!

Many tracks have their payoffs listed on their websites (Bloomington, Lawrenceburg, Brownstown, etc.). The feature payoff for many classes is much more than $1,500-$2,500.

I was considering running Turkey Night this year after skipping the whole 2010/2011 seasons with both my dirt and pavement cars. I put together a rough budget to share with the board to highlight the average owner's problem with the current state of affairs. The cars are bought and paid for so lets leave big motors/titanium/transporters out of the equasion for now. The model is 3 people travelling from Albuquerque to Irwindale to run the Weds. practice and the race. I know that the tire bill will raise some questions but this is in fact what it takes to keep up with the Jones's! This uses the USAC 2 right side rule.

Fuel=1560 mi./13mpgx3.70 per gal.=$444
lodging 2 rooms 2 nights=$300
food=$200
test day=$200
pit passes(3)=$150
USAC entry fee=$40
methanol (30 gal)=$150
racing oil (16 qts.)=$160

TIRES!
3 rr@190=$570
3 rf@160=$480
2 lf@171=$513
2 lr@161=$483

ONE OF THE COUNTRY”S LARGEST MIDGET PURSES UP FOR GRABS AT THE 3RD ANNUAL GOLD CROWN MIDGET NATIONALS!

Teams support new purse structure as they get ready for one of Midget Racing’s grandest events!


PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (September 11, 2011) -- Kevin and Tammy Gundaker announced today the 3rd Annual Gold Crown Midget Nationals will offer one of Midget Racing’s richest payout for competitors with a total purse of over $100,000! The event, presented by Dupont and Color Master, is scheduled for October 6th through the 8th at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Il and has been one of premier midget racing events annually since its inception in 2009.

Payouts for Thursday and Friday’s qualifying races have been increased, as well as the prize money paid out throughout the “B” mains for all nights. “After listening to the many racers who travel and support the Gold Crown Midget Nationals, we restructured our purse to better support all of the racers who support our great event. While the overall purse remains at the same level for the 3rd year in a row, the restructured payout helps the more than 45 teams traveling in for our three day event” stated Kevin Gundaker, Promoter of Tri-City Speedway.

Top teams from the many midget sanctioning bodies across the country have already committed their support of the event. While the event is a United States Auto Club (USAC Racing) national points race for all three nights of racing, teams will not be required to hold a USAC license to race this event.

Along with the Midgets will be even more open wheel action as Tri-City welcomes the 410 non-wing sprint cars on all three nights, these will be unsanctioned. Jerry Coons, Jr. and Dave Darland will be among those drivers who will be competing in both classes.

Entry forms are being released on Tuesday September 13th

The payouts will be as follows:

Classes:
Thursday
Midgets $3,000 to Win $300 to Start
410 Non Winged Sprints $2,000 to Win $200 to Start

Friday
Midgets $3,000 to Win $300 to Start
410 Non Winged Sprints $2,000 to Win $200 to Start

Saturday
Midgets $10,000 to Win $700 to Start
410 Non Winged Sprints $2,000 to Win $200 to Start



For tickets and more information, log on to tricityspeedway.net or find us Facebook
For additional information contact Tammy Gundaker: 636-448-9111

Tri-City Speedway is located just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO in Pontoon Beach, IL. Take Interstate 270 to exit 4 (Hwy 203) and then go south on Hwy 203 approximately 1/2 mile to the track.