You hit on something here that I've wondered about a lot also. Late Models in general are a lot more expensive and require a lot more time and work. With the body work and everything, typically every week. Why is it that even though they are more expensive to run but yet they have more car counts all the time? I know older guys run them a lot longer and you have 'kids' but not nearly as many as USAC. It baffles me, I know there are more BLUE COLLAR guys running late models weekly versus sprints and they are getting the lions share of the crowds. Not to mention when costs became an issue they were quick to put out crates, which seems to be thriving...

I wonder why that is? Anyone? USAC gets 3 days at East bay..LM's get practically a month between East bay and Volusia not to mention Golden Isles in GA. What makes them so much more popular than sprints? I have my thoughts but I would love to hear yours.

Having worked on both late models and sprint cars , one reason LM's are so popular blue collar wise is MONEY. If you can make the feature, it pays better to start most LM shows, sprinters not so much.

I remember at a movie party years ago in Indy, I asked Lloyd Ruby if he had to do it all over again what he'd drive. Rube said,"Stock cars boy, cause that's where the money is." He was right.

Buy an NSSN internet subscription; $25 US $ for two years, and you'll always get your paper on time - as long as you remember to access your account every Wednesday!

What I mean by the sport is very healthy is that there is more racers and racing today than ever. There are so many different divisions that it is dizzying.

Could I afford to run for a USAC Championship? Sure. It would require some lifestyle changes and I would have to shut my business down,but yeah; I could. Like always; I would find a way.

Trust me Gene; I have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars doing this. I deal with everyone from the local dwarf car racer, to the team that swept both nights of Eastbay, and people who supply the parts to various NASCAR and Indy Car Teams. Depending on who has and hasn't paid their bill; I probably own pieces of 30 -40 different types of cars every weekend.

Do not get me wrong; I appreciate and applaud every car owner and I think that it's great that Central Pa. still seems to have some of the best and most dedicated fans,owners and drivers. I love the feeling that you get from the East Coast guys. It's still a major deal.

I just think that all of us who spend time wishing and hoping the past will come back are missing some excellent racing and some great opportunities to see some of the most talented guys who have ever strapped on a helmet.

The Safety aspect has really changed the face of the sport. There are several people competing that probably wouldn't if they didn't have cages. That doesn't mean that they aren't talented though.

I really don't know what it is that everyone is looking for because things like 305 Sprinters already exist, but they aren't just pulling the car owners and drivers in by the 100's. Do they have some traction in certain areas?; Sure, but on a whole they are not what the crowds want.

The most popular sprint car racing today with the fans just so happens to be the most expensive and the one that pays out the biggest purses. Seems to me the fans are speaking and that is what they want.

People got tired of the dust, long wait between races, slow cleanup of spins and or wrecks, late nights getting home, you name it, bathrooms. Then along came a myriad of other things to do. There just aren't as many sprintcars as there use to be.

Well I guess since you can afford it there is no problem then....Same ole same ole I guess. No offense but you are 'the norm' for this type of thing, you are a business owner. What we are talking about is a avg. joe being able to run again how it used to be. There is no question that a small business owner can do this, the problem is small and large business owners are the only ones that can. We should face it though, nothing is going to change.

if somebody or group don't make some real changes its will be over in a couple years!

TEST...I can't view this topic anymore..can only see 48 of 77 replies and 3 of 4 pages

Please don't take the following wrong. Over a keyboard it is very hard to convey the type of conversation you are having. I mean no disrespect by what I am going to say.

This is the misperception that people have. Yes I own a small business, but by owning the business, I wouldn't be able to race full time. Small business owners don't earn as much money as people think because they tend to be very cash intensive. That and many small businesses are extremely time intensive as well. Trust me, when it comes to a small business; money isn't the thing that gets you up in the morning. Keeps you awake at night usually, but not the driving force.

For me; It's a choice of racing or selling racing parts and servces. I choose to sell the parts at this point and time.

I am not saying all is well because "I" could afford it; I am saying that there are tons of sprint cars and other divisions racing today and many more than ever before. Duke asked if I could run for the USAC championship and I said yes I could, but it would require many changes in my life.

Thats the thing; If the avg. joe wants to do it; they have to decide what they want to give up and plot a road map to get there. You have to find a way.