This was a very hard decision to make having to cancel the "Gold Crown". The weather just hasn't been
in favor of this event, were going to continue to build on the event each year and hopefully keep it on fans/drivers must see!

We want to Thank all the Fans who came early and spent the week with us along with Drivers/Teams who made the trip some on Thursday & some on Friday. We tried to make the decision early enough not to cost the teams and fans additional expense.

We are looking at moving the "Gold Crown" up a month or two for next year to try for better weather.

We value the Fans and Drivers opinions.

Please let us know what are your thoughts on a weekend that would work for 2015.

Again, Thank you to everyone for your Patience and support!

Kevin & Tammy Gundaker
Tri City Speedway

I don't know politically/sanctioning wise, but maybe the 3rd weekend in August or the weekend after Labor Day could work in trying to get a good spot on the schedule. I guess the 2nd weekend, but not sure if scheduling against Knoxville Nationals would be a good idea. No idea when the Knepper Memorial is in 2015, but as a fan that might be cool if there were 4 nights in a row. If 3rd week of August I think you'd have Belleville, Knoxville Nationals, Gold Crown, Smackdown the 4 weekends.

To me Kevin, it's all about scheduling with USAC and Powri. If you can get everyone to "play ball" together say the weekend after Labor Day? USAC was open except for a rescheduled Springfield Silver Crown race. Powri raced at Macon on Sat. Maybe Macon could run on Thursday night, then do a massive two day Gold Crown that Fri and Sat

Macon would want to run 5-6 other classes.Cut gold crown down to 2 days? Bad Ideal!

I think one thing that has helped the Gold Crown is very little else is going on. A little luck with the weather wouldn't hurt. Getting cooperation would be tough, even though several teams choose to compete. The higher ups in my opinion are jealous of this event. Hopefully will see you whenever you reschedule.

I think the current schedule is perfect. If you move it up a month or so, I'm afraid you are going to run into conflict with other events. October is traditionally the driest month of the year, but you have just incredibly bad luck with the weather. I hope you keep the same approximate date in the future; your run of bad luck is bound to end.

I agree that having both POWRi and USAC on board is the most important.

I also agree that the event needs to stay away from the other big events. having it in August would be a disaster. On of the big draws is that it is an event. Having it compete with others would not be good.

Thank you to Kevin & Tammy Gundaker for making the commitment to keep the “Gold Crown” event going. It seems like it is a massive undertaking and more support from the local community is needed. But I think the main thing is for every sanctioning body & racetrack to put aside their differences & egos and work together. All for the good of auto racing and midget racing in particular. The Gold Crown & midget racing really, really needs that. I would love to see this be a point paying race for USAC, POWRi, Badger & RMMRA.
Here is an excerpt from an article in 2013 from www.onedirt.com:

Now for 2013, Brown has made strides in unifying the midget racing in the Midwest. POWRi and USAC recently announced that they will be co-sanction the annual Hut 100, the Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway Grand Prix, and a double-header at Belle-Clair. The POWRi, USAC and the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association will do something that is very rarely seen in 2013. All three will tri-sanction events at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
“We’ve been able to strengthen Midget events in the Midwest by taking advantage of co-sanction opportunities with USAC and Badger. We all see this as in the best interest of the sport, to bring the best drivers and teams together even though we run our own championships,” explained promoter Kenny Brown.
I think this is something that desperately needs to be gotten back to.
I also think some sponsorship is needed to enhance car counts. It seems like the biggest worry today is if the purse can be made at the back gate. Fans love to come out for an event. It is very evident that single race nights really struggle. The exception being the World of Outlaws. They always seem to draw a good crowd. They are very good at making a single race night an event It would be great to have an “A” feature and also a “B” feature for all of those who didn’t make the “A” feature. Paying the winner of the “B” feature say $1200 to $1500 to win and pay all the way back thru the field. I think this would make more guys participate and feel like they wouldn’t just be wasting their time coming out. Everyone likes to compete on their own level and this would give them that chance. With that said it all takes money and sponsorship to do this and I think that is desperately needed.
When this was announced I thought it was a great idea:

This year we will be hosting a Wiffle Ball game between the Midget & Sprint car drivers on Saturday along with a bag tournament as well on Friday during the day.

The Budweiser Beer Garden will be set up in the Pit Area Friday & Saturday night after the races along with a Bon Fire for everyone to come down and enjoy and meet the drivers.

Midget & Sprint Drivers/Teams/Race Fans we want this week to be a great experience and everyone to have a great time. We are excited once again to host the DuPont 6th Gold Crown Midget Nationals. We will do everything we can to put on a great show.
Interaction between the fans and the competitors is what grows the fan base which in turn grows the sport. The sport of auto racing needs young fans!
In our area the driest month during the racing season is September with an average rainfall of 3.28”. October is close but is 3.44”. But the big difference is in the average temperatures. September average high is 83 & low is 56. October is 72 & 46. Those temperature differences would probably help with fan attendance.
Thanks again and good luck!

I think the current weekend is perfect...if you could get good weather for a change. If it's moved up to August or September, there are so many things going on it might lose some of its big event feel. Some local tracks run their own special shows as well so it would be hard to find a weekend that doesn't conflict with anything. The 1st weekend in October seems to stand by itself which is what makes it a great time for an event. The Kokomo Klash is a couple weeks later and it's had relatively good weather. I think it's just been bad luck with that weekend having poor weather.

With that said, I can understand wanting to move it. You can only get punched in the gut so many times. I hope whatever is decided works out.