[racefan20]

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester I grew up with single car qualifying with the second car pushed off as the first car passed the line for their first lap. They lined em up fastest in the back and Gaines, Wilkerson, Milburn or Gilstrap were ofen those people. They Ran a fast car dash for a trophy. Those cars made up four of the top five at the end of the night more often than not. Former IOWer IMZIE who's been gone a few years now, Told me that if any of them ran a second faster than their qualifying time at any time in the night, They were DQ'd. Also said that was done with stop watches, but it is what it is.

The world has changed since you grew up Chuck. This sport has to change to attract a new generation of fans. If it doesn't it will die. Pretty simple.

[cornerthree]

Originally Posted by JakeCroxton I know a lot of you will vomit...but the best season of racing that I've ever been a part of was a Hobby Stock class on DOT tires. IMCA inverted point average (same system the RaceSaver cars use today). Entire field inverted for four heats (we had 40 cars every night). Race from 10th to the top four so we could invert the top 12 again (so, high point man starts 10th in the heat and 12th in the feature at best). Otherwise, you can go to the semi and start worse than that. One guy one three races...the other races all had different winners in 15 starts... Those races you paid attention every time they were on the track. Who had trouble in practice. Who didn't get qualified and had to work harder. Who was sandbagging the average so they could start up front next week. Best of the worst - ok...but the current USAC format is the only one that makes the fastest guy pass anybody at all...

IMCA weekly show are great lots of passing. I live in NE WI and most of the tracks get 100 or more cars,

[yeleyfan76]

Originally Posted by chrismattlin No, because I love racing. A sport of meritocracy and earning glory. Laps are (almost) never nauseating to me. I watch every day, every minute of Indy 500 practice, for instance. (Yeah, I'm a nerd. ) No offense (because most local shows are this way), but if you have to start the fast guys on the tail, then your field of competitors is either weak, or at the least, the variation between the "haves" and "have-nots" is a wide chasm. And that is fine and dandy if you're not a national touring series; if you are, then the competition should be somewhat close throughout the field. Then everyone involved asks the question, "What's a fair way to line everyone up for these races?". Qualifying. How fair would it be to see Dalton Kellett and Jay Howard lead the field in to turn 1 at the Indianapolis 500, only to see them wipe out *actual* contenders for the win. Or how about Daytona? Don't you think most every team wants to qualify up front in order to avoid "the big one"? Big time racing and qualifying go hand in hand; handicapping (or any random system) is covering up some type of shortcoming.

I’m guessing the fact that most nites not all but most nites it’s the same group timing up front are the halves? and the rest of the field are the have nots?? You can spin this any way you want and so can I. To TT isn’t covering up shortcomings it’s exposing them by showing guys who can’t chase a stopwatch.

Please help me out on the year, but I think using TT for Indy got Kevin Cogan up front one year and they didn’t even make turn one. The big one reference is amusing to me as almost always when there is one it has nothing at all to do with who timed where and who is an “actual contender”. These also being series events that are determined by if you parked in your square for pit stop correctly, to lose a race you dominate because you exit the pit too fast, or too many guys over the wall. That’s big time racing? Again I’m not a historian but you can spin it anyway you like.

Let’s agree to disagree. As you admitted about being a nerd, god bless ya if you watch all of those meaningless laps for Indy. I’d love to have half of that time to go watch sprint cars.

[racefan20]

Another thing that tracks and series need to do is get the drivers face time with the fans especially the kids. At Putnamville every show AJ Hopkins goes up to the stands to hang out with the fans, other drivers have started doing it too. Guess whose T-shirts you see the most on fans at Putnamville, Hopkins by a wide margin. In USAC Bacon and Ballou go to their t shirt trailers while the support classes are running, same thing they sell the most t-shirts and have the most fans. In the old days there werent as many support classes so parents took their kids to the pits to meet the drivers, now by the time the pits open the kids have gotten tired and want to go home and most teams have loaded up their cars and either left or are ready to leave. There were a few exceptions, Joe Roush would stay and drink beer with the fans until the track owner would make him leave so he could go home . Im not suggesting you change the format at the races just find ways to make the show run faster because young people dont have the patience to wait, so sometimes they dont come back. Some of you are so stuck in your ways that you cant stand any change. That attitude is preventing our sport from attracting new and younger fans. Try thinking outside your own desires and encourage younger fans to attend and enjoy our sport. They dont think the same way most of you do and you are losing a whole generation of fans. Most of you think I'm full of it and thats fine I dont really care, Im just throwing out ideas to keep our sport healthy and popular long after most of us are gone or too old to make it to the track anymore.

[Charles Nungester]

Originally Posted by racefan20 The world has changed since you grew up Chuck. This sport has to change to attract a new generation of fans. If it doesn't it will die. Pretty simple.

Still trying to figure out how. The only thing that helps is more cars in the top division and thats a struggle some nights for even the biggest average track.

Im all about change, I know USAC if you don't qualify well, You're well behind the eight ball, What's your suggestion, Because one car, two or group is no different IMHO

[racefan20]

Originally Posted by Charles Nungester Still trying to figure out how. The only thing that helps is more cars in the top division and thats a struggle some nights for even the biggest average track. Im all about change, I know USAC if you don't qualify well, You're well behind the eight ball, What's your suggestion, Because one car, two or group is no different IMHO

My point in all this is to get the show over with quicker so the young fans dont get bored and decide not to come. 2 car quaifying helps that, so does less support classes when you are running a USAC show. If you dont qualify well it has nothing to do with how many cars are on the track when you qualify.

[Charles Nungester]

Qualified forty cars. Done at what would be our 9:30
One hell of a job Perris and USAC. 12:25. Gee, how many shows hadn't started their B's this year around here by midnight.

Also Bacon qualified thirty second and got second fastest. Followed four qualifiers later with a top ten.

[Rpracing1]

Originally Posted by charles nungester qualified forty cars. Done at what would be our 9:30 one hell of a job perris and usac. 12:25. Gee, how many shows hadn't started their b's this year around here by midnight. Also bacon qualified thirty second and got second fastest. Followed four qualifiers later with a top ten.

one class

[chrismattlin]

Originally Posted by yeleyfan76 I’m guessing the fact that most nites not all but most nites it’s the same group timing up front are the halves? and the rest of the field are the have nots?? You can spin this any way you want and so can I. To TT isn’t covering up shortcomings it’s exposing them by showing guys who can’t chase a stopwatch. Please help me out on the year, but I think using TT for Indy got Kevin Cogan up front one year and they didn’t even make turn one. The big one reference is amusing to me as almost always when there is one it has nothing at all to do with who timed where and who is an “actual contender”. These also being series events that are determined by if you parked in your square for pit stop correctly, to lose a race you dominate because you exit the pit too fast, or too many guys over the wall. That’s big time racing? Again I’m not a historian but you can spin it anyway you like. Let’s agree to disagree. As you admitted about being a nerd, god bless ya if you watch all of those meaningless laps for Indy. I’d love to have half of that time to go watch sprint cars.

I believe Cogan was in a Penske (somehow), so there's that. But I agree with your premise there.

And, for the record, I watch all those "meaningless" laps in the evenings in lieu of all the stupid crap on cable.

[mc/rider]

Half shaft my ass