I spoke to USAC's Eric Rankin at length yesterday and you are EXACTLY right Jim...HPD has their rules and the co-sanction has their rules racing on the same track together...This is a very big step for both entities and non-national midgets as a whole

So>>>>>USAC is being magnanimous and allowing Motorcycle powered chain drive based Midget frame cars to compete in their Honda Focus division at all dirt shows and maybe one selected asphalt track. Are the Kenyon cars also included in this deal?

To me it sounds almost too good to be true. Did we win a victory or did the cold hard facts of doing business also somehow get mixed up with the deal? If a race organization fails to deliver enough cars to make a competitive and interesting race for the fans the chance of securing future date rapidly diminishes. Track owners are not as interested in the car count as they are the level of competition.. We are expected to put on a show for the crowd in the grandstands. If we do not do this they look for another option.

How could we make the racing better.

1. What the heck is so magic about a 20 car feature? The racing at Du Quoin a few weeks would have been much better if they would have started the whole field and to heck with the "B" mains. Racing is much better when cars are passing other cars. Whether it be for the first time or the forth time passing involves risk and skill and that is what people pay to watch. That was a little bitty 1/6th mile track and it needed more cars now what about a 1/4 mile track.

2. Why do we have a pill invert for the feature? Some racers have done the math and they know that winning a heat is not a mathematical good idea and the money is won in the main with not much reward for that heat win. Depending on the invert second or third holds more favorable starting positions for the main.

3. For that matter putting the fastest cars on the pole only to have them run off and hide from the field is also not very Entertaining to the crowd. I sometimes ask myself how does "professional wrestling" or even NASCAR do so well in attracting large crowds. I lay the reason to the fact that they sure sometimes look scripted to me. We don't have to script short track dirt racing but we could take steps to make the crowd ask for us to come back again, by making it more competitive.

4. USAC has made us an offer that we dare not refuse, lets go them one better and allow their Honda and Focus cars to compete with us at any of our shows with or without wings. They also have a lot of new drivers, and say what you like Wings do offer a great deal of help in smoothing out an inexperienced driver and getting them up to speed, not to mention the safety standpoint.

Honest Dad himself

I'm not one who is typically anti-USAC but I have the feeling from the original text that once the Honda-powered field is amply stocked the offer to run with them is off the table. Maybe not this year or even next, but eventually I expect that the Powers-that-be at Honda desire the HPD Midget series to be just that.
Wayne, did Eric give you any other impression? If so I stand corrected.
This is 100% not intended to be criticism, merely observation; I wish HPD/USAC, AMSA and SOLMS every success.
In any case the Zonker is not AMSA and REALLY not SOLMS-legal, so I hope to see you all at Montpelier this year, the True Home of Midget Democracy.

Sounds dumb.. so they're won't b but more then a few ppl doing it then.. way to get the car count up..

My point exactly, J. If you want to up the car count, open her up just a tad more...

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People this is what we call>>>COMPETITION>>>>>>>>>>>

I love competition...Every group out there is competing for the same cars and drivers. They are all basically Midget Race Cars. The group that can supply the best opportunity to race at a reasonable distance from home and offer the best purse while giving each individual racer the opportunity and expectation to feel confident in their own success within the group is the "WINNER"

Honest Dad himself

Jim

The old concept of a spec type race car, where the competitors are tied to one particular manufactured race car or engine has been tried over and over again but they all eventually fail. The reason is because the sanctioning body in their desire to make a motor or chassis or racing parts more affordable to race by requiring the racer to purchase his parts from one supplier takes away a very important and fundamental reason for racing in the first place. Their failure is because they removed "Competition". When the racer is forced to buy from one supplier there is no need for that supplier to make his operation more efficient or design a better part where he might be able to sell to the racer cheaper. In the end the suppliers end up with the desire to make a larger and larger profit and the racers find that their inexpensive racing is just too expensive.

Honest Dad himself

Think that if they want the lightning sprints to run the show they also should be able to run whateve the midgets are running..In this case hoosier rr and alcohol.. then i believe more ppl would come to race the hpd shows... I hope that the no alcohol or tire rule dont hinder the car count at jackson but ive talked to about 3 guys that said they planned on running there some but cant now cuz of the alcohol rule.. Hopefully dont end up a 6 car feature..

So it's the sanctioning body of the mini sprints rules that ban alcohol etc not Usac? So this will only affect the races at those tracks that cosanction with that particular group?

Correct however that is a 1/3 of the dirt races.