I thought I read somewhere that there would be no USAC races at the PAS in 2011. Glad that was wrong.

Sounds like many are saying USAC quit pavement racing. Maybe it's the other way around.

Even with support classes, it's tough for a promoter to pay the purse, let alone the other bills, if only 10 or 12 cars show up in the division.

Rear engine cars were outlawed in 1974 because it would have required two types of car. By 1977, the USAC championship was won by a team using two types of race cars. But, the roadster was OK because it was traditiional.
Whether it was the roadster or not, the numbers of pavement racing was dropping off when the tornado destroyed the stands at Salem Speedway, Dayton closed, IRP was bought by NHRA, leaving Winchester. Teams did not believe that was enough to support pavement race. When Salem rose from the weeds in 1987, the first "sprint race" was actually a super modified deal with a few old sprint cars thrown in for a non-USAC race.

When Salem reopened with a hodgepodge field of old pavement and dirt cars and its first USAC race in half a decade, the folks at ESPN saw an opportunity and the Thunder broadcasts were born with IRP, Salem and Winchester in the fold. That drove the USAC pavement division and new pavement cars. When ESPN signed major league baseball in the mid-1990s, it didn't need racing any more and pavement racing gradually fell off.

But, the real bottom line is the reason why Foyt and Hurtibise and Bettenhausen and Carter and Bigelow and most of the dozens of others drove the banks and other pavement tracks -- to get to the Indy 500 and the championship division. This was the best route to get there and the big money to be found there.

The last driver to follow that route was Ed Carpenter.

they used to run both asphalt and dirt for the USAC Champ cars also mr. Duke......But then again you didn`t have to take a blue pill back then did you! Point is , times are changing and it sucks!!!!

we run dirt cars in the 1981 pocono 500 before most of you experts where born!

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I think taking the cages off would be great! Then we would see some real racing and real men not boys and girls driving there daddys car!!!!!!!! Hell i stated in a midget with no roll bar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A midget without a rollbar? You are old Duke! JK. I liked the 60's better and I was born in '83!
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I'am 67 first race feb. 1963 st.pete. Fla. Nascar midget race! How many started in nascar?

People kept ding-donging for better/stickier tires, and Hoosier obliged them.

Since Hoosier has no competition, they decided to jack their prices up.

End result, monoply on the tires, and people crying that the tires don't last, and cost too much.

'Technology' in some forms, is racing's worst enemy. Technology means $$. Spend the $$ for 'the latest and greatest', or start running mid pack. So people start trying to spend their way into victory lane, and end up broke, or not able to run the many, many thousand dollar 'toy' that they have already paid for, so it gets parked.

I too think it might be a good time to cut the cages off. I've seen way too much -driving right at people-, and -sticking a RR into somebody- the last few years. Several of the youngsters drive like they are never going to get hurt/hurt someone else!! Plus they are tearing up way too much equipment, and in some cases, ending some people's seasons, with their BS driving style!

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I think he is saying the Outlaws are buying the tires they need, so apparently the tires are not a 'make or break' deal for the WoO teams.

The Outlaws don't run pavement though, so they don't have a totally specialized machine sitting in the shop, that only gets run 7 times a season....now 0 times in 2011

If the supposed number of races for next year is 37, my only beef is USAC not replacing those pavement dates with more dirt races. Would be a good opportunity to try and run at some new tracks.

What form of auto racing wasn't better in the old days?