[Dyno Don]

Why are all the kids whipping the veterans butts recently?
Boat,Whitt,Sweet seem to be on a roll.

[petey]

Cause they haven't been racing against Team Foxco?:eek:

[Dick Monahan]

Because the equipment is so good today that the value of experience is going away. It is, as a matter of fact, making the sport much less interesting to some of us. While we're getting rid of wings and switching to hard, narrower tires, I'd like to ban power steering.

[Z-man]

I agree a little with the equipment line but it still takes driver talent to run up front with USAC, and for these guys to do it at a young age means that there are some young talented drivers coming up. I say give these kids some :respect: They have earned it.

[midgy]

Just my two cents worth but I know Chad, Billy, Glenn and Chris work their butts off every day to make sure that their cars are as well prepared as they can be. Yes, they have good equipment but it is their dedication which makes them successful.

There was a time when Foyt and Andretti were looked at as kids. You've got to start somewhere, and I don't think that it is a fair assumption to make that it is entirely about the car that makes these kids good drivers.

While there is no question it takes good equipment to win, it's meaningless if the driver doesn't know what to do with it. I was at Knoxville this weekend, and I was very impressed with Sweet's performance. Knoxville is a tough track for midgets, and he did exactly what he needed to do to stay in front, keep his car intact and come away with a pair of victories.

Rather than write off their accomplishments, I think we should embrace this new generation of drivers. They're the future of open wheel racing.

I don't understand how the sport can be "much less interesting" if the racing is good and you have a deep pool of talented drivers that are all capable of winning on any given night.

[Jerry Shaw]

Sure, great equipment is a definite plus, but those are all kids that can drive. Brad hasn't always had the best equipment. I still remember the story Spridge told of Brad leaving Kokomo, after having won the feature, by himself, towing the family car with a pickup truck, with a bed full of junk. And even though Cole and Chad started out with good equipment, they both seized the opportunity, in big races, when it presented it's self. I don't care what kind of equipment you're in, you don't beat Jerry Coons in a Midget or Jon Stanbrough in a Sprinter @ Kokomo if you didn't strap in and come to race, that day.

And there is a very long list of kids, in expensive race cars who couldn't race and after a few races, everybody knew it.

Jerry

[LEADERS EDGE]

Many of these "Kids" have been racing for 10-11 years before they got to sprints and midgets.

I am not going to say that running a mini or quarter midget is the same as running a sprint or midget, but they learn how to "race" long before they get to these cars.

I think what is hard for many fans to get used to is that they are rooting for people MUCH younger than they (average sprint/midget) fan base are. Thing is, if you started watching races when Parnelli, Mario, and A.J. were the youngsters, then almost every driver(besides Mel and Red Farmer) is younger than you.

The "old" guys in the local openwheel scene(No Offense to those I am going to mention) are Jon,Dave, and Tony(Part-Time). Look at NASCAR; Jeff and Tony are now the"Old Guard" or "Seasoned Veterans".

Fact of the matter is, just about anyone who wants to race is going to start at a very young age(5-10) and they are ready to move to Sprints/Midgets by the time they are 15-18. That is how it's going to be for the near future at least and I would say that is how it will be for a very long time. Someone like John Wolfe will still come around every now and then, but it will be rare that they will be able to compete at the high level he did(John) with starting so late.

Times are a changin'. Hopefully for the better. I personally think that the racing right now is excellent on both the local and National Scene. I would say(I know that I am going to get shelled for saying this) that this type of racing is as competitive if not more competitive than it has ever been. It's just that we haven't run long enough for this crop to be "Household" names yet.

[Mud Packer]

Another thing is that these kids have far more racing experience at a very young age than some of the veterans had at that age. The learning curve is shorter now than ever before and with good equipment they perform at a higher level quicker. Add in the experience they gain by running almost year round and helping work on the cars themselves and it isn't surprising that they are showing their muscle. I enjoy watching them run and I am amazed when they win and get out of the car in victory lane and they look like the kid that delivers your morning newspaper.:O:

Originally Posted by petey Cause they haven't been racing against Team Foxco?:eek:

If they are indeed that good then WHY are they running just local tracks lately? To run up their win count? It's clear they are a USAC caliber team but instead of running with them, they stay home and run local shows cleaning house. KISS shows and a couple Indiana USAC shows are the only competition they have have had this year. Results were luke-warm with USAC. What gives??