Mike, if I remember correctly, a few years ago, there was a challenge put out to the Auto Value and HOSS guys to come to Winchester and they would have a qualifying shoot out. I remember it being just qualifying laps, but there may have been a heat race involved. I’ve been hit in the head a couple of times and my memory isn’t that good.
But I do remember that if you wanted to run the rest of the program, you had you then buy American Racer tires. So in other words, if you were an AVSS or HOSS guy, you had to buy Hoosier tires for the shoot out and then buy American Racer tires for the rest of the night. So in addition to the work of dismounting and mounting four tires at the track (and not having any spares) you had to change the set up. From what I have been told and from my own experience, there is a slightly different set up between the tire brands due to the height of the tires.
As soon as the format was released, I knew no one would take the challenge. And no one did.
Now for the rest of this, for the purpose of giving full disclosure, there’s something I’d like to reveal. Jim Hanks from Must See said something to me early in the existence of the group that really pissed me off. I’m not going to say what it was because it does not need to be rehashed here. But I do have a bit of a sore spot for Must See even though I have run a few races with them over the years. But I will try to be as impartial as I can going forward.
I really don’t care what tire I run, but I am a strong believer in a spec tire. I don’t need to rehash why here, but if you go back in my posts, you will see a post where I explain why. If you can’t find it, I will repost it.
And although I am a big believer in a spec tire, I think it should be a right rear only. Especially on pavement, you’re going to buy a right rear anyway, but to make a team mount up four new tires just to run a different series is idiotic. And then you don’t have any spares or stagger choices. This holds true for any series, dirt or pavement. Winged or non-winged.
When I first heard of the race at Salem being an open tire rule, I thought “That’s a great first step.” But then I read the press release. It was all good until the next to last paragraph. I feel (and remember I admit to being a bit biased) it shows a bit of arrogance that is not needed at this time. Enough said.
When Must See first came out with the American Racer, a lot of fantastic claims were made (mostly by Don Wilshe) that made my BS meter jump. When I brought this up, I was beat up a little bit on this board. And after the first race (at Salem I believe) when there were several tire issues, I wanted to scream it from the roof tops. But I didn’t and in AR’s defense, they seem to have solved those problems.
Contrary to popular belief, there is room for two pavement series in the Midwest. HOSS and AVSS co-existed for years and even had some co-sanctioned events. But the key was that they respected each other. They worked hard to not book races on top of each other. The last year HOSS was in existence (AVSS bought them) Joe Swanson almost won the championship with both series. That would be impossible today.
Tires are not the only issue. Must See has had other issues that are well known, but seldom discussed publicly and don’t need to be. And in their defense, from what I have been told, they are overcoming these issues this year. But these issues are the ones that may keep owners away from Salem.
I want this race to work. I want there to be 25 cars at Salem fighting for the win. I want to be able to load the car and go to any pavement track hosting sprint cars in the Midwest with spending a bunch of time mounting and dismounting tires. I hope to see that day soon.
Tom Paterson
PDP Racing