[tonyj]

What was the fan count, since that's in the heart of NASCAR, & they had a televised race the same night???

[Sprint63122]

Reason for no passing another great asphalt track and a long tow for the teams for just one race does not make any sense at all and what a shame to drive all the way there and not be able to put on a race just another train race.

[AlkyMadness]

First, and foremost, congrats to Kody Swanson for his first USAC National Midget victory. He drove hard and made sure he had the lead on the first lap and then kept it on the re-starts.

A fine showing by Cole Whitt. He will win one of these soon. On the restarts, he was throwing everything at Dakota but just couldn't make it stick.

Brad Kuhn deserves the James Brown "Hardest working man in showbiz" award since he was just about the ONLY driver that gained many positions. Started 20th and finished 12th. He was just about to melt his brake rotors they were glowing so bright. If there were others, I apologize, but he was the main show for those who chose to look toward the rear of the field.

Best looking midget has to be the Pedregon 75. I see a die-cast of that one in the future. Cruz has a great personality. Perhaps some of it could rub off on his driver.

Concerning the race, overall, it stunk. I was expecting a much better race at this excellent asphalt track. A rail line runs across the street from the track, but the train was running on the track.

Biggest slap in the face: the midgets were shown up by the local late model stock tin-tops. They had a 50 lap race that was excellent and was capped off by a near photo finish that resulted in a young driver getting his first career win over the track "veteran". The late models could run side by side, why couldn't the midgets?

The crowd count was very low. Probably fewer than 300 in the stand and in the on track parking that surrounds the track. I know the $20 gate probably kept some away (this is a rural area that is, well, poor even in a good economy and Raleigh, the nearest city, has NEVER been big on racing). But, I was still surprised because the locals usually support any Late Model race quite well.

Another factor was the weather. I wonder how many knew that at approx 4pm a tornado was on the ground about 15 miles south of the track? Perhaps some saw video of the destruction on the Weather Channel today. I spoke to one man who said several roads to the south were closed and clogged with emergency personnel and utility trucks. The heavy rains continued for a while after. We are in a drought in this state and as I drove down from the northwest, I rain into heavily flooded fields, streams and ditches as I got near the track. I suspect this also kept many people away fearing a higher dollar race that would be canceled.

I'd also like to know what happened to the 30+ midget car count. When I called the track earlier in the day to check on the weather, I was told there were more than 30 cars on hand. Did some load up and leave? This effectively made the heats meaningless. Not to mention we got shorted a fourth meaningful heat and a B-Main.

Personally, after spending $30 on gas, $20 for a ticket and probably another $10 on food/drink, I can say it wasn't worth a 240 mile round trip and $60 (other than being able to say I saw Kody win his first). I won't do it again.

In post-race, Cole Whitt said he wished this race was 60 or 100 laps long instead of 40 because the tires would have gone away and then it would have gotten racy. Okay, but, as a fan, who wants to wait that long? I guess we were just treated to a speed fest. Hard to pull out and pass when you've already got it flat out just like the guy in front of you. And, the track was long enough that lapped traffic never became a factor.

If this was part of USAC's attempt to win new fans, it was a dismal failure. Most of the locals I sat near (and questioned about what they thought) were unimpressed. They thought the speed was great, but the racing itself left little to be desired. Sadly, the only thing the local yahoos enjoyed was Schiff's flip over Brady Bacon's wheel. Woo-hoo.

I know the teams had to spend a huge amount of money for a one race show. Diesel is $4+ and they had to get lodging at what, at least $75 per person after taxes?

USAC needs to give up on the races in this area. This is late model country and when it comes to open wheel, these people don't get it and never will (of course, it they saw racing like I've seen at Anderson, IRP, Salem, Toledo, etc they might).

Anything south of the Virginia state line should be forgotten (the racing at South Boston a few years ago was really pretty good and the Richmond races are always good). There's a lot of good tracks in Virginia (Motor Mile, Shenandoah, South Boston, Franklin County, Wythe, Virginia Motor Speedway, Southside, Langley, Winchester, Natural Bridge, etc).

I hate to say this. Don't come to me anymore, I'll pay the extra and come to you.

Finally, when did USAC get a new announcer named Rob Caliper? I know Klepper can't be that hard to pronounce.

I hope it doesn't sound like I had a totally miserable evening. I really did enjoy that late model race:eek:

[Kirk Spridgeon]

I was actually surprised to see 26 midgets make the tow. Agreed that the trip would have been much more effective with at least one more show on the weekend, but hopefully they can get something together for next year if they decide to do it again. Obviously, there are plenty of paved tracks between Virginia and North Carolina....

The midgets just didn't have enough to get to a second groove. The field was very tight, as you could see, and there just wasn't much opportunity to make a pass. Sprint cars would likely be better on that track.

I wish USAC luck in trying to get a decent swing through the Southeast and I'd still love to see a swing through the Northeast. It's important to keep the pavement side of the coin alive and the fields are probably as solid now as they have been in quite some time, so it would be nice to see them keep a good pavement schedule and add some decent new tracks.

Mike Murgoitio was actually the hardest charger, coming from 23rd to 11th. He actually led Kuhn through some of the cars on their way forward. They actually did a very nice job.

It was nice to see Kody Swanson put it all together and pick up that first win. He's been knocking on the door for a while, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him tack on a few more this season...

[wbr]

Congrats Kody on your first midget win:checkered:

[AlkyMadness]

Kirk, given the way you paint a rosy picture of a situation that sucked, you have a bright future in ********.

And, I really don't agree with your statement that the Midgets didn't have enough to get to a second groove. At 105mph avg speed and they don't have enough? I've watched champ karts at that track and they had enough to run side by side. The damn slow ass 4cyl U-cars that started the show had enough to run side by side.

I think you didn't see anyone stepping out of line because they were afraid of getting hung out to dry and falling to the back if the pass didn't work. Better to hold your position, take the points and go on to the next show. When drivers like Tracy Hines, in one of the best money can buy midgets out there, finishes were he started and makes no move to the front, something is wrong.

I'm assuming you were there and witnessed all of the fans disguised as empty stands. It was pretty obvious that the track took a beating on this show and I doubt they are in any hurry to host another. Hats off to the Leone family for taking a chance with this, but they got burned.

Southeast tour for USAC? Get real. Open wheel does not sell down here. The fans are not that interested and the tracks don't know how to run an effective show for sprints/midgets. Anywhere from not enough push trucks to piss poor track prep at the dirt tracks.

As far as cost to teams, see the thread started by PGray on this subject. Given the purses, it appears extra nights would only add to the teams financial losses.

Most of these late model tracks pay very close attention to each other. So, all of the other tracks in the Carolinas/Georgia just witnessed a track tank on a USAC Midget show. They will not be in any hurry to jump on the bandwagon.

The message is, Give the People What They Want. Down here, they want late models, dirt or asphalt. Anything else is a novelty that better not cost them more at the gate or they will stay away in droves.

From my experience and perspective, you can draw a new Mason-Dixon line. Anything south of Virginia/Tennessee/Missouri and you are in late model country. Anything North of that line and you can do pretty good with any kind of racing. Therefore, I think your suggestion of a Northeast Tour is feasible and would probably be successful.

But, I really don't care what they do anymore. I'm finished trying to "support the cause" and going to lousy open wheel shows down here. If I want to watch USAC midgets, I'll drive to Indiana where I can almost guarantee I'll see a great race. Otherwise, when in Rome, do as the Romans. Look for me at a dirt late model race if I'm in NC. You can have my rose colored glasses. You'll need them to find any tracks to run at.

[ossuks]

A universal car that is built with pride and $1000 worth of iron competing in a class with 8 or 9 others were the split from fastest to slowest is determind by wether or not they can complete a lap is an excellent comparison to a midget? When cars are seperated by 2 seconds from fastest to slowest there might be an opportunity for a pass? When fastest to 16th is seperated by the blink of an eye, do you think that might contribute to difficult passing? Just something to think about before I have to read another post about the top drivers in the USAC midget division being satisfied to points race.

[Kirk Spridgeon]

It's the same reason that midgets don't put on as good a show as sprint cars at places like Toledo or Mansfield. They are so fast in that one groove on the bottom, and they just don't have a whole lot left if they go to a second groove. In comparison to a sprint car, the midget doesn't have the power to go around someone on the outside at a track like Kenly.

The difference in lap times was so minimal. You saw plenty of passing by Murgoitio and Kuhn because they were much faster than the guys they were passing. When you get to the top-ten (and really, even farther back than that was a tight field), you're not going to be able to pass at ease anymore....and honestly, these guys aren't making many mistakes!

The reason a tour works over one show is that the guys want to race. They all know they're going to lose money, but why would you lose all that money for one race? Guys like to visit new tracks in new parts of the country, but who wants to pull a banzai run to North Carolina and back for one race?

I don't disagree with you over crowds. Obviously, Concord didn't work out, either. But was there a sponsor? Did the track take advantage of the TSR team being down in the area a few weeks prior with an appearance or something? Was there an autograph session or something to introduce the locals to new drivers? Seriously, as a fan, why would I spend more money to watch something I've never seen with no idea how good it will be....? There has to be a little more on the table...

I don't know what the answer is to those questions, but something has to happen or the USAC pavement cars are going to continue to be held back to the state of Indiana and their value to a car owner will only decrease....and personally, I love the pavement cars, so I don't want to see it happen!

[DonMoore10]

Gosh... I think I just read all the reasons why I don't own a pavement midget and why the classifieds are overstuffed with pavement cars for sale.

[pgray]

Everyone needs to read posts numbers 13 & 16 by AlkyMadness .... there's a lot there in two of the most intelligent reply's I've seen here in awhile ! Alky is the man ! :thumb

Thanks !

Paul Gray :greenflag: www.paulgray28.com