Originally Posted by kdobson:
As a promoter of one of these proposed events, I really have a hard time understanding what the issue is...
At our last midget race at Jacksonville, there were a small handful of Indiana based cars, but the vast majority were POWRi regulars from Illinois/Missouri along with a few Wisconsin cars. I wouldn't expect USAC to reschedule their Pennsylvania sprint car swing on account of Illinois Midget Week (or whatever it ends up being called with the Micros at each show as well) - so I suspect the general make-up of the field will be similar to past POWRi bigger events held in Illinois.
For the most part, Indiana midget week will have the USAC regulars and Indiana locals, with a handful of cars from Illinois and other neighboring states traveling. I know that we haven't sent the midgets I'm involved with to Indiana Midget Week in the past and wouldn't have done so in 2013 either. They can race on weeknights in Illinois an hour or so from home, where they can't in Indiana because of jobs. I suspect that the same holds true for many Indiana-based midgets not being able to travel to Illinois for 4 straight days.
Jacksonville is 2-1/2 to 3 hours from the Indiana border. Belleville and Lincoln are similar. Knoxville is as close to Jacksonville as Indianapolis and we don't work our wing schedule in Jacksonville around what's going on in Knoxville because the distance doesn't have us sharing many cars or fans - at least not enough to determine the success or failure of a show.
As someone with some responsibility for creating a schedule for MOWA, I don't care what the IRA is doing on a given weekend in Wisconsin - even though we regularly work together and consult on issues our series have in common. And I don't suspect that the IRA in Wisconsin is paying a lot of attention to when we schedule our MOWA sprint week when they are scheduling their shows - even though on off weekends for one series or another we might send a few cars one direction or the other. They worry about what's best for the IRA, and we worry about what's best for MOWA.
The week after the proposed Illinois Midget week, the UMP Summer Nationals begin which pretty well consumes the big event budgets for tracks and the pocket books for fans in our neck of the woods for the next 6 weeks - and is a far bigger concern for me than what's going on in Indiana. Any earlier and we are prohibited by City Ordinance from running on a week night due to school. After the Summer Nationals conclude, we hold a MOWA Sprint Week, then it gets close to Illinois State Fair week and suddenly kids are back in school and are again prohibited from weeknights.
We would love for everyone from Indiana to follow 4 nights of midget racing in Illinois and we plan to roll out the red carpet for visiting fans if we end up hosting one of the events at Jacksonville. But at the same time... if we can put together four consecutive nights of racing for our area midget teams and fans - many of whom wouldn't be going to Indiana anyway, why shouldn't we?
This has nothing to do with USAC vs. POWRi or hidden agendas. As a track we have been receptive to discussing potential shows with USAC that could work over here as well. I'm sure the folks at USAC spend very little time worrying about what's going on in Illinois or with POWRi. They have to do what's best for USAC. I also am confident that POWRi's main focus is what's best for POWRi... and hopefully what's best for both of them also coincides with what's best for race fans across the Midwest. I see nothing bad for the race fan in having numerous options to watch midget racing in June 2013.
Thanks Ken for sifting through the BS to post a very well written and informative post about an event that I for one certainly have penciled in on my racing calendar for 2013.
I have only been to two of the four tracks but in hearing from a number of Illinois residents, I would like to fill in the other two tracks as new venues next racing season. The two tracks that I have been to, Belle Clair and Macon, are two of the best midget tracks anywhere.
Mike
Be nice to people on the way up. You might need them on the way down. Jimmy Durante
Originally Posted by Mud Packer:
I have only been to two of the four tracks but in hearing from a number of Illinois residents, I would like to fill in the other two tracks as new venues next racing season.
Mike, you owe it to yourself as a fan to see the Lincoln race if it can be fit into your plans next year -- bigger and much faster than Macon. Rim-riders and huggie-polers both find grooves to their liking. I have not yet been to Jacksonville, but feel I owe it to Mr. Dobson (and to myself ) to get my moldy ol' carcass there next year.
The promoter from Jacksonville makes some excellent points. I would like to add one more secondary issue here and that is car counts. We don't seem to be debating about conflicting sprint car events, or at least I haven't read much about them on IOW. And the reason is that there's a sprint car on every street corner in Indiana and surrounding states. Plenty to go around.
Now, if the sanctioning bodies would ever get their head out of the sand from 40-50 years ago as to engines and push truck technology, there would be plenty of midgets to go around and you people wouldn't be discussing conflicting events. Continuing to race $30,000-40,000 engines when there are OEM plants/Asian powerplants at a fraction of the cost, is just totally crazy. As long as the high dollars are needed to race a midget, don't look for things to change anytime soon.
Originally Posted by Pat O'Connor Fan:
I see Don is still
And that's why you IOWheelers are wetting ur panties about midget racing. Not many of you get it. Your idea of a midget race team is an eighteen wheel NASCAR hauler filled with midgets and free motors.
Originally Posted by racenut69: It would be nice to see Fayette County Speedway on this schedule...
I went there earlier this year and saw some of the most spectacular heat races I've seen all year,and a B-main won from dead last. The night before the Hut Hundred.
If we could have every track I have seen good midget races at in Illinois,It would end up being Illinois Midget weeks!!
Saturday night there were 70 Midgets in competition at 2 tracks, 20 miles apart, in the State of Illinois no less.....
40 at Tri-City with USAC
30 at Belle-Clair with POWRi
Kinda like Indiana Sprint cars on a Saturday night, eh?
I'm thinkin' with the announcment of this new 4-night series, plus Indiana Midget Week, a guy sure can't complain about the lack of race opportunities in the Midwest next summer....
Originally Posted by DonMoore10:
And that's why you IOWheelers are wetting ur panties about midget racing. Not many of you get it. Your idea of a midget race team is an eighteen wheel NASCAR hauler filled with midgets and free motors.
What I "get" about midget racing is that I attended the first of the hundreds I've seen in 1958, and there were no "haulers" or free engines to be found. But times have changed. Those days are gone. The one thing that stays the same about midget racing is your complaining that not everyone wants to do it your way. You've been explaining to us how dumb we are about engines or tires forever, it seems, and we still don't "get lt" So why did you decide to highjack this thread and litter it with the same tired-ass old song?
Yeah, I know I'm way behind on my meds today, but what can one expect from an old man who still loves midget racing even if is all screwed up?!
) to get my moldy ol' carcass there next year. 
I'm disguised as a responsible adult!...
So why did you decide to highjack this thread and litter it with the same tired-ass old song?