I'll drink to that 767.

Quals = yes. Quals set the series apart from local racing. I like that KISS draws because that makes them different than USAC. I think the "top" series needs to have quals.

As others have said, I'd like to see the Buckeye Nationals return. Hard part would be when to schedule. "Local" people you might pick up as fans are gearing up/finishing up Speedweek so saving/already spent money might cause them to stay away. Wings are going to be the choice of those people so timing would be an issue IMO. When do you do it?

Going "National" is hard for two reasons. A lot of the "local" (I use that term b/c they don't run the entire schedule) heavy hitters have regular jobs and can't be away for weeks at a time. You'd want those drivers and teams involved because they have a great shot of winning any time out. You aren't going to pick up a lot of non-wing drivers in certain areas because they don't run them. So you'd have to bring the show with you. When WoO comes to PA, you don't have to worry because a ton of local cars in addition to WoO.

Also, tow money would be a must. I know this was done for the eastern swing in some cases, but it would be a must if traveling long distances several times a year.

one more thing I was thinking about, there is all this talk about sanction fees and all that yadda yadda, How about garunteeing your sanctioned guys X amount for traveling (ex $150). The unsanctioned guys only get 1/2 the ammount if they make the feature (ex $75). When you go places you need guys to be willing to pull there wings off to run, not pull there wing and give up there first born. This is why the late model scene is explodeing, I know i am crazy but large car count drawl out large crowds. then when you do have bad weather, people know before they leave it is going to be a good show, they are much more willing to take the chance on going to the show.

East Coast Swing? It would encompass Focus Midgets, National Midgets and Sprints - and would entail USAC to spend some marketing dollars and/or get a sponsor to help market:

Shenandoah VA - 3/8 Mile Banked Asphalt

Southern National - 4/10 Mile Banked Asphalt

Dirt Track at Lowes - Dirt

Coastal Plains, NC - 4/10 Mile Banked Asphalt

Lanier Speedway, GA - 3/8 Mile Slightly Banked Asphalt (Same weekend as Drift Atl at Road Atlanta - People could walk across the street for a Sat Night show)

Dixie Speedway, GA - Dirt

Memphis Motorsports Park - Asphalt - Ntl Mdgets and Sprints only

And before all you "haters" start criticizing me to death (like seems to happen so often when a different opinion is expressed about USAC) I DONT CARE - opinion was asked for...opinion given...

1)Build a fan base. Not trying to create a market is only shooting yourself in the foot. If you're not going forward, you're going backward.

2)USAC has allowed themselves to become a group of weekend warriors. It may have to be restructured so that they have full-time race teams, including drivers.

3)It may not be possible to combine dirt/asphalt and midget/sprint since it requires two different cars for each and most teams use one transporter.

With less than 40 cars and with no more than one supporting class time trial are fine and add to the show. USAC's fields usally fall in that catagory. Now when there are a hundred or so cars and 3 or more supporting classes neither time nor track surface can endure it .
Also bring USAC to Florida in the winter like IMCA used to do.

A plains tour similar to the TNT Bandits deal they have now....

Going out:
Granite City
Lakeside

Middle:
Belleville (too fast???)
Eagle
Knoxville and/or Oskaloosa

Coming home:
Sun Prairie
Route 66

Pair that up with a smaller PA swing sometime in the same year and you've got exposure in a good chunk of the country.

And yes, keep qualifying. It's fun to hear the throttle and see the drivers' lines.

I personally think that qualifying is a must.

-It's another opportunity for the drivers to compete on a single race night.
-It certainly takes the element of a bad pill draw out of the equation.
-It's tradition at any open wheel race.

As far as a sprint car tour...I would love to see them come to the west coast more than once a year. Maybe it could look like this:

Calistoga - Wednesday
Tulare - Thursday
Perris - Friday
Manzy - Sunday

let the Perris race be a joint race with the USAC/CRA cars and who ever wanted to tag along on the other days could do so...

MJ

ok the georgia swing is goin nowhere, Im stationed in athens and they dont know a thing about sprint cars. i was talkin to a gentleman about racin and i said i wanted to get into sprint cars and he asked me what a sprint car was. luckily i was wearin my throttle shirt to show him or he would have been lost.

Rex,

I'm pretty sure Atomic Speedway is history. Last I heard they were going to turn the land into a truck stop or a terminal for a trucking company (something along those lines).

Sandy