Date Posted:18:05:20 12/02/06 Sat Author:Bill Meredith Author Host/IP: adsl-69-154-212-164.dsl.ksc2mo.swbell.net / 69.154.212.164 Subject: Re: "Build it and they will come" In reply to:
W. Pat McGrath
's message, "Re: "Build it and they will come"" on 12:15:16 12/02/06 Sat
Thanks for the response Pat:
I still agree we need to combine the A and Multi Class.
With that said, I am a member of the Multi Class and I want a tire rule (both durometer and width) and I was never asked my opinion on this matter before last years votes! Also, I would bet I could find a large contingent of Multi Class racers at my track that would LOVE a tire rule!
For that matter, I also want a 601cc MAX displacement rule and a 10 or 12 foot wing rule (with 48" sideboards) because I am in TOTAL understanding of the train wreck which lays ahead if the Micro Sprint community does not immediately enact some cost containment measures. $350 wings, 15" wide wheels and $8000 engines will KILL the outlaw movement eventually - mark my words - it is only a matter of time!
Everyone needs to OPEN their eyes to the future and quit thinking merely in the present. We think we are in a growth period for Micro racing, but that is total POOP!! I remember 30 and 40 car fields at weekly NMMA races at Sweet Springs (single class) back in the '90s. I remember the Fall and Spring Fling with 200+ cars signed in. Today, I see $10,000 to win shows that draw ONLY 120 cars and they think they really did something - BULL - for that money you ought to see 300 + cars, but open engine rules and $100 entry fees keep people away!! We will only hurt this sport if we continue to allow big wings, big soft tires and thus high dollar engines!
If I am wrong - then explain to me why DIRT motorsports is ready to enact tire rules in the World of Outlaws and potential wing rules in years coming (read about it in the December issue Sprint and Midget Magazine - both Doug Auld's column entitled "Unhook 'em" and Jeff Swindell's column entitles "Tire Wars"). They already have tire rules (for all FOUR corners) of the DIRT modifieds.
Do you Micro racers realize the stupidity of how much rubber and how much wing we have compared to an 800hp sprint car? We have a wider RR tire than a 350hp Midget! That is just plain silly! Congratulations to Hoosier for making an incredible tire, but I side with the guy from American Racer who took the time to write a column for our Pit Stop magazine apologizing for allowing our RR tires to grow to their current insane dimensions!
Lets look ahead:
It is only a matter of time before the 'also rans' at the 40 to 60 car 'outlaw' shows get fed up with running a $3000 to $5000 engine in a 6 to 8 lap heat and a 10 to 15 lap semi-main and not get paid. These are the guys that will want tire, wing, wheel etc... rules so why not do it and start appealing to them now? This is our future - the 'top outlaws' will not immediately come run with us until our payback equals or exceeds the weekly outlaw tracks so quit fooling yourself that they will.
Think about it - if we cut the racers' cost through smart and enforced tire and wing rules, thus reducing engine costs, and build our car count to 30 to 40 cars - we could easily pay $300+ to win and $20 to start without burning up a soft tire and lugging an $8000 engine! Seems OBVIOUS to me what the better deal is!
I still say that we the NMMA need to enact rules such as this - YES, there will be immediate resistance, but over time the masses will return and we will again be the most important organization in Micro racing. It is just SIMPLE economics! Costing less to race is the same as running for more money except we ALL benefit - not just the elite teams!
