[DonMoore10]

This is for race fans only to comment: I'm interested to know your thoughts on your midget racing fan experience. The debate goes on and on about why midget racing is on the decline. As an owner of three midgets, the expense of tires is overwelming. The majority of midget owners are forced to pay $140-180 for Hoosier tires. These tires have a soft compound which have a very short life. Some teams must or may use up as many as 2-3 right rear tires in one evening. American Racer makes a midget tire that costs around $80. The IRS midget series based in Chicago has been using this tire for quite a while and, according to the racers, the tires last for an entire racing season and for some beyond that. USAC, Badger and POWRi midgets race with a 10 inch right rear wheel and Hoosier tires.

Now, here is where you come into the picture and this is especially for midget fans who have watched midget racing at Sun Prairie and the indoor Rumble Series.

For Sun Prairie: Badger cars and the IRS series have both raced on the Sun Prairie track. Without considering the drivers and engines, was the actual racing enjoyment of the IRS series any different than the Badger cars? Did the difference in tire/wheel size make any difference in the enjoyment of the racing?

For the Rumble Series: Full midgets and the 600's have both raced in the indoor Rumble Series. The 600's race on American Racer tires. Without considering the drivers and engines or the slight difference in the car sizes, was the actual racing enjoyment of the 600's any different than the midgets? Did the difference in tire size/wheel size between the two types of cars make any difference in the enjoyment of the racing?

[Seadog]

For the last 55 seasons as a race fan, as long as the engine is in the front and there are no wings on it, I don't care what is run on a race car. Any rule is OK IMO as long as the rules make for good racing. From the stands it all looks pretty much the same to me.:thumb

I have been to the Rumble Series and and to Angell Park as a spectator in the past - be it USAC, Badger or whatever. It's all good.:thumb

[DonMoore10]

Thanks. We need more responses!!

[chop]

Well as a fan. I'm short on cash. So I think that I should get into the track for free. In the old days, It cost very little to go to the races. Now it cost way too much. I think the track owners should get some sponsors to pay, to let me in for free. Also the midget racing in the badger state is the best. I think I should get free gas to drive there and see the races. Its only fair. If I want something, but do not have the money, someone should give it to me for free. I have been going to races for 30 plus years- so I have put my time in- so I should be able to go for free. I'm thinking the car owners should pay to have me watch the races. Would it be a race, if no fans where there to watch it?

To me, as a fan ... the less tire choices the better.

I don't want to see a guy win a race just because of the tire he runs, that is not racing, it's gambling. And gambling is based more on luck that skill.

They should all run the same tire, period. I wanna see the best driver, not the best tire.

But I do agree with chop ... "I'm thinking the car owners should pay to have me watch the races."

[Ovalmeister]

Yeah, what the Seadog said! :thumb

Just a few thoughts cause I'm bored and have a few minutes to kill. Remember this is just my humble opinion concerning the cost of midgets:

1.) Presenting an exciting product to the race fan. One which will make the fans want to come back for more. Is that the case today? For the most part, yes. Was that the case 10, 20, 30 years ago? For the most part, yes.
So why today do you need a 350HP, $35,000 motor to provide the same wheel to wheel exciting action that Fox, Vogler, Rice, Kenyon and the other legends did with 225HP, $10,000 VW's? I just don't get it. Was the racing boring and slow? Hell no!

2.) Whenever midget cost reduction is discussed I always hear the argument "well, if you can't afford it, you should run something cheaper". You're missing the point. There will always be people who can't afford it. I know people who can't afford to grocery shop every week. The point is....we continue to lose car owners every year who could afford it, but now can't. These are midgets. LITTLE cars. You can run a sprinter for less. ***????

3.) If you use the Chili Bowl as an example of how strong midget racing is, you just don't have your head screwed on straight. I would guess that a very strong percentage of Chili Bowl entries do not run anywhere near a full schedule each year, in their respective states. I'm sure several ONLY run the Chili Bowl each year, then put the car back in the barn 'til next year. The Chili Bowl is like the Super Bowl, non football fans watch it because it's an event. Then they go do something else when the game is over.

4.)If you don't believe the cost of midget racing is killing midget racing, please explain to me why the Focus series was started. And the Kenyon cars. Cheaper alternatives to full midgets? Why would we need cheaper alternatives? Maybe because the cost of a full midget is now OUTRAGEOUS? To provide a place for younger drivers? What's wrong with a TQ until you're 16? Have you asked yourself why 10 years ago there were no mini sprints? Now there are two 1200cc clubs, a 600cc club and two TQ clubs. Those are ALL potential midget owners who got priced out.

5.)If you think midget racing is healthy and growing, you must be under 25 years old. Obviously you have never seen the Milwaukee mile grandstands sold out for a midget race. (I will post a photo if you don't believe it.) Or 33 cars qualify for the Hut 100 and 20 more go home who failed to qualify. (Will they get 20 cars this year?) The fields are dismal at weekly venues today compared to even 10 years ago. Up here in my neck of the woods the badgers are dwindling fast. I saw 7 cars show up at Manzanita last year. SEVEN!!! Yeah, midgets are stronger than ever! :kookoo

6.) The sanctioning bodies are in total control of the future of midget racing. If they envision 6-7 big buck NASCAR teams, fielding 4-5 cars each to comprise the field, then they are on the right track. If they envision 50-60 cars a week again, which is VERY realistic, then they need to do this:
A.) SLASH engine costs at least in half. (it's a freakin' MIDGET for cripes sake!)
B.) End ALL product deals. Tires, etc... If I build a product, I should be able
to sell it freely to any competitor. This is America correct?
C.) Take a freakin' pen, notepad and camera to any AMA indoor supercross
event or any indoor Monster jam truck event and TAKE NOTES ON HOW TO
PROMOTE. Not long ago the truck deal was here at the Metrodome and 7
of the 9 guys I work with went. Solely due to the promotion prior to it.

That's all I got. For now. Midgets are my first love, don't piss me off. :O:
David.

[Ovalmeister]

Originally Posted by JShock66 To me, as a fan ... the less tire choices the better. I don't want to see a guy win a race just because of the tire he runs, that is not racing, it's gambling. And gambling is based more on luck that skill. They should all run the same tire, period. I wanna see the best driver, not the best tire. But I do agree with chop ... "I'm thinking the car owners should pay to have me watch the races."

How 'bout the chassis? Shocks? Oil? Wheels? Bars? etc......
Think it through.....
David.

[Dick Monahan]

I have to agree with Ovalmeister. I started playing with midgets as part of a crew that maintained two of them in the late 60s. In '72 (IIRC), one of the owners decided he wanted to own a real top-notch car. He bought a new Edmunds and installed a SESCO (we drove out to Ron Hoettles' shop to learn how to put it together). That car cost him within a couple of hundred bucks of what I paid for a new Ford Country Squire the same year. We ran the car for the whole NEMA season (30-35 shows) on less than $500. If that were even close to possible today, I believe there would be many more cars running.

[Charles Nungester]

What midget racing? Within 150 miles I have a total of .................................................. .................................................. ............................ 2 and one of them are indoor in which Munchkins are IMHO a different class.

The non midget week shows I've visited didn't have a full field.

I fully believe cost is a major factor however I also see the sport watered down by Mini Sprints, Micro, Dwarf. Legends ect. ect. And the fact that you have a lot more alternatives in the price range by just buying a Sprinter instead. Have you seen the classifieds? If ever I was to get into racing 11,000 full rollers with motors are available.

[BrentTFunk]

Very well put Ovalmeister.