[D.O.]

Gordon waas good but I don't remember him winning as much as Larson is in as many different types of cars. Midgets, Sprints, SIlver Crown, WInged and dirt or pavement. Gordon was good but he also had tested a lot before he ran the cars, plus it was the same team and cars and not whatever pops up for Larson to run.
I would hate to see him go but Larson needs to make the next step while he is hot and young.

Just thinkin'


ps 100 lap mile races are tradition, Mario & A.J never stopped at 51?

[ISF]

We got back home after the 6 hour drive from Du Quoin last evening (Tues.) and had a great time while we were there. The fair was good as usual with a classic car show on Sunday Morning which I hadn't taken advantage of before. Rend Lake was fun as usual, too. Another plus is that we didn't have anything stolen from our campsite this year, but we were a bit more careful.

But the best treat was the first 25 miles of the Horn Memorial. That was worth the price of admission if they hadn't run another lap all weekend. I don't go back as far as some but I know for sure I have never seen two guys go at it on a mile dirt track in open wheel cars like BC and KL did in those first 25 laps. My wife pointed at my forearms making light of the goose bumps standing up on them at about lap 15 and they stayed there 'till Kyle cleared BC and started driving away and they weren't there because I was cold!

The crowd for the Horn Memorial was down a bit but not significantly from the last few years. I am at a loss to explain why because more often than not Du Quoin is an entertaining race and the track was consistent to what we've seen since Sarg took over the promotion duties. I too don't particularly like the red flag at halfway but I must admit it made for a more interesting race a year ago but didn't do a much for this years race. In my opinion the jury is still out on the deal. The car counts are an area for some concern but if you can get 25 good cars to race hard that is enough for a good show.

These opinions come from strictly a spectator standpoint and our group was more than happy with all the racing at Du Quoin.

Thanks to Bob Sargent for keeping these precious one mile events in existence. Without him I fear we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Oh, one more thing, it was fun to watch Stewart wade through the field to finish second in the mods, as well.

[ThePurple73]

This is the first time in years we have missed the race at DuQuoin.
It was the same for others I know. Why? The format, and recent cancelation history of the series. We spend a lot supporting the series and the racing locations each year.
We are also considering fielding a car and giving an up and coming open wheel driver a shot. Some of the things we love about the dirt champ cars seem to be slipping away. Some of the series changes have been good over time but I feel the 100 lap format, great announcing and presentation is a must for the mile dirt tracks. The big cars and those that drive them are a big part of Americana I think is worth hanging on to and preserving.

[K-Dawg30]

I have to agree with ISF. The track was INCREDIBLE for the first 25 laps or so. Then it started taking rubber. I had never been in the infield before and I have to say that hot laps were awesome. I got chills every time Stanbrough came in the corner, loud pedal down, 2 inches from the guard rail!

I have been at all 3 miles this year and I have to say that the track prep is better each time. I do realize that you cant run 100 laps and not take rubber eventually on tracks like these. HOWEVER, I still think there is a little room for improvement on the track prep. Dont get me wrong... I'm not bashing at all. But how awesome would it be to have the first 50 or 75 laps not rubber down?!

As far as the 50 lap break.....I'm not a huge fan. Maybe just have a competition caution to bunch them up but dont allow any work on the car unless you pull in the pits or something.

I hope this series keeps going for years to come! If it does I hope to field a dirt car someday in the coming years because its always been a goal of mine!

Overall a great night of racing! Congrats to Larson....man that kid can wheel anything!

[John P Huss]

Go back to the full 100 laps.
Best Regards,
John

[ThrowbackRacingTeam]

I can't blame Sargent for trying something like the stop at 50 to cause some excitement for fans. The problem is that this is probably the most traditional type of motoracing left in the country and the fans want it to stay that way. The best way for him to bring more excitement back is to simply provide better track prep like what produced the race we saw early on at Du Quoin. He wouldn't need any gimicks or support classes that only cheapen the product. The fans need to come back regardless to help keep these races alive but if you don't like what they are doing just call them and tell them your opinion. Boycotting isn't the thing to do for the three mile dirt races, trust me. I made it to all three this year and I thought that all three were better than recent years and am glad I went. I'm planning on all 3 next year too.

[miledirt]

First 25 laps were really something...

But here's the deal I keep coming back to, car count. 25? Yes, the 25 put on a great show, but what if next year there are 21, and the year after that 18? It just keeps declining.

And I don't understand how Pevely can have 3,000 people in the stands and pay 20,000 to win. DuQuoin has more than 3,000 people in the stands and still pays the same $9,000 to win they have been paying for like 20 years.

[openwheelKT]

I worry about the car counts too. They seem to go down a few more each year. Not going because of the pause won't help (I don't like the pause either, run them straight up for 100). Something has to be done to bring the series back to being the top series again.

The biggest mistake was bringing in the new SC car. The car counts were pretty good before that happened. Some owners that left because of that have never come back. The cost of racing (mostly getting to the race) has gone up, but the "split" of that was a bad deal. I'd like to see 35-45 cars again. There is enough equipment sitting around....