Kevin Miller and Jason Smith announced that Mopar will be the Midget Series sponsor for '08. Other interesting comments were that Jason would be making extra effort to get shows over at an earlier hour and that that they thought that the open red rule made the shows run longer so we may be seeing them go away:thumb: Anyone need a slightly used airhorn?

I got no problem with the open red rule but throwing more than one within three laps is rediculous to me. However if I was on a team Id want it.


Chuck, glad they got a major sponsor and maybe some TV time to go with it.

Opening the red flag on every red flag can slow the show, but on lengthy reds, opening the red can be done in a manner that doesn't affect the time of the red. last years rule book stated every red would be open, although a certain chief steward decided to take the rules into his own hands, and that didn't happen. The open red should be a judgment call, but don't get rid of it. I hope someone at USAC takes the time to consider this.

If they said no more than 1 per race and none before the 1/2 way point I might agree but most fans think it makes the show run long. In this case perception is just as good as reality. The show after all is for and about the butts that fill the seats. Some involved in the sport seem to forget that at times.
If he had'nt there might have been a riot at a few races I attended last year.

From my perspective, which is that of a fan, all of this sounds like good news. Since this is barely the second week of January, there is time for much more.

Frank Daigh

I work on a team and believe me, sometimes I have wanted one. But sometimes you don't! Like when your walking away with a race with a handfull of laps left...

I want to first debunk the claim that all reds must be open. It is not part of the rule book and red flag procedure. (page 112, 1309 Red Flag Procedure) In fact the very first sentence of that rule states; Red flags will be opened up "at the discreation of the Chief Steward." It also states in this rule, Time to work is not gauranteed, you may not be able to reach your car before the 1 min horn is sounds. At the request of the teams they wanted more oppertunity to service their cars when possible. They were not given a promise it would happen but when possible all reds would be opened if conditions were right.

Opening the reds do not extend the length of the shows. The facts are pretty clear on this topic. Over 90% of the time when the crews were allowed to go on to the track durring a red the crews were removed before the track was ready to start cars. At one event the crews cleared their cars and it was 11 min before the first car was pushed. Notice I didn't say 100% of the time. Early in the season there was a learning peroid to make this procedure work properly. Some tracks are more efficent at cleaning up a red, have better wreckers and not every red needs to be open. At the discreation of the Chief Steward is the proper way to handle the open reds.

Racefan20 comment that the fans preception that opening the reds extend the show is probabley correct. All they see is the thong of crew members heading out to their cars. They don't see that only one wrecker is working properly or that only three or four push trucks are pushing 24 cars.
Ron

Hey Hoover... I may be able to take that "slightly used" airhorn off your hands. :emote20:

IDK about this hoover... you don't know if you'll be able to give the teams another shot to get out there to their cars in the 2nd half of the race... i mean if they've had alot of yellows in the 1st 1/2 and a lengthy red comes out then why not let them add fuel? I see both sides of this I mean everyone looks at the same track B4 sending their cars onto it so why not say the guy who chose the right set-up at the beging should win instead of the guy that made the right call durring the red? I do agree that not all reds should be open.

First off, I agree with Ron about the track crews at some tracks being more efficient than others. And I agree that there is a perception that open reds extend shows when, in fact, more often than not, they don't. With that said I still don't see the need for crews to work on their cars multiple times during an event. Most USAC sprint car and midget features are 30 laps. That is 7 1/2 miles at places such as Bloomington and Gas City, 15 miles at Terre Haute and Eldora. I think that limiting the open reds to 1 per race is a good idea. And there should be none before lap 10. After the 1 open red has been utilized there should be no others except, at the discretion of the race director, when there is a need for a fuel stop and then it should be for fuel only. If you think about it, allowing crews to make changes on their cars during an event actually penalizes those who have best figured out the set up for that race by allowing those who haven't an opportunity to make the required corrections.