My prescription to save midget racing in Colorado

[webby]

If you have followed the thread Save Midget Racing Denver it should be rather obvious that local midget racing is on it's death bed. With car counts consistently at 10 or less, it's clear things are in bad shape.

After careful consideration I believe the problems are multi-fold. Some of the problems the local club is facing are out of their control yet there are some things the local club could do to save midget racing from folding in this region.

Here are the problems and solutions in order of magnitude (in my opinion)

The number one problem.....
Cameo Schedule. The RMMRA has no home track. They don't run enough shows at any single track therefore fans and future drivers don't get attached to the division. The RMMRA had 18 events on their schedule at 9 different venues. There is simply no way to build a fan base with this type of "gypsy" schedule. And it's the fan base that will eventually constitute your future participants. At every race there are kids in the bleachers that will be future drivers, and they will most likely pick a division to be involved with if they are familiar with the cars and drivers. And it's not just the kids in the bleachers, it's also the other drivers in the pits that might be looking to move into a more competitive division such as the midgets. Yet when the midgets are not a regular fixture at the track those folks choose something other than the midgets to be involved in.

To drive the point home just take a look at the CARC and the ERA (both are older clubs with similar challenges that the RMMRA faces). Both the CARC and the ERA run a regular schedule at CNS and both divisions get reasonable car counts. Both the CARC and the ERA were consistently getting 16-22 cars at every event at CNS. I believe they get the decent car count because people like racing in front of huge crowds and they also like racing a regular schedule at a single track where they can master their car setup and standardize their race night. A lot of racers have dusted off their cars and drug them out of the garage to run a regular show at CNS. You have to go where the people are.

CNS consistently draws 4,000-7,000 fans every single Saturday night. The fans are crazy about their divisions and the drivers. CNS has a large marketing budget and that marketing budget directly translates into each racing divisions growth. There are very few short tracks in the country that enjoy the sucess that CNS enjoys so why no take advantage of it?

The huge crowds at CNS know the names: Land, Haygood, Castor, Denning, Evans, Bubak, and Gordon. The fans follow the ERA and CARC points chase, they get into it!

Some might say... "the midgets are best on the dirt." We all wish ASCOT Park were located in the Denver city limits but it isn't. I really wish there were a quality dirt track near Denver but it just doesn't exist. Maybe the one in Byers will turn into something good, although it's still kinda far from the Denver fan base.

If I were in charge of the RMMRA I would do everything I could to try to get some type of regular schedule at CNS. And to pull that off the club would need to make concessions, they would need to be willing to do whatever it takes to convince the track the let them run there more often while they build their car count. And if not at CNS, then pick another track to make home. The RMMRA needs a home track if they are to succeed.


The number two problem.....
Cost to compete. The RMMRA needs to be more willing to look at reducing costs even further than they already have. It's true the RMMRA has enforced some cost saving measures in recent seasons and that's great, but more work needs to be done. Not only does the dramatic expense of top of the line equipment hurt car counts but it also hurts the product on the track. Currently there are about three midgets that completely dominate all the other cars. The racing needs to be a tad closer to get people more excited about the product.

RMMRA leadership mocking new cost saving engine programs by calling them "junior" or "less than a midget" doesn't help the cause. The BCRA is embracing these new engine programs and that is the way of the future especially in this economy. I am not suggesting the RMMRA turn into a Ford Focus club, but by creating rules so that engines such as the ECOTec can be competitive could be huge help. In short.... be open, encouraging, and welcoming, to these new options.


The number three problem.....
The economy. The economy is in bad shape and contrary to reports, things aren't getting better just yet. There are still years of rough times ahead. This problem is obviously outside of the scope of the RMMRA's ability to control but that's all the more reason for cost cutting measures and taking advantage of a home tracks presence are such important strategies.

I hope this feedback is helpful in some small way, even if it just gets folks discussing options and being open to new strategies.

[Don Holbrook]

Hey Webby, If your so interested in saving Midget racing here, voice your ideas in person and get involve again with the club. Hope to see ya at the meeting and thats all i'm going to say.

Info on the meeting list below.

On Friday Oct. 2, 2009, the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association will be holding their annual end of the year General Membership/Election meeting at Sill-TerHar Ford in Broomfield, CO starting at 7:00 p.m. To continue the growth and success of the RMMRA, everybody (Past, Present and Future Members) please attend. Also,

[webby]

Originally Posted by Don Holbrook

Hey Webby, If your so interested in saving Midget racing here, voice your ideas in person and get involve again with the club. Hope to see ya at the meeting and thats all i'm going to say.

Info on the meeting list below.

On Friday Oct. 2, 2009, the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association will be holding their annual end of the year General Membership/Election meeting at Sill-TerHar Ford in Broomfield, CO starting at 7:00 p.m. To continue the growth and success of the RMMRA, everybody (Past, Present and Future Members) please attend. Also,

Thanks for the info but I'm not interested in getting involved. I have 6 kids, I coach ice hockey, I own and operate my own small business, I serve as a board member of another organization, and I have a lovely wife. I simply can't fit anything else into my life. I hope I have already helped in a small way by giving the midgets a forum to announce their club meetings, race results, etc.

In the end....

I'm just a fan of midget auto racing.

I have opinions like everyone else does. I hope us fans are still encouraged to offer our opinions.

If folks find value in my opinions that's great. If not, that's OK too. I certainly don't have all the answers but I sure hope something changes because if it doesn't the midgets will be nothing but a memory.

[ryoung99]

Webby.....

You are 100% correct in your assessment of what needs to be done to revive midget racing, not just in Denver but accross the nation.

Allow me to give you three examples of midget groups that not only survive.... but thrive.

BADGER, run almost all of there races at one track, Sun Prarie. It is a great midget track and they have car counts in excess of 20 and put on some great racing.

Up at Gray's Harbor in Washington, they fund a Ford Focus class that has grown to 20+ cars. The class is affordable and they have a place to run every Saturday night. Believe or not there are guys coming out of the stands to buy race cars.

Finally Ventura, the FF Midget program there continues to be one of the strongest in the country. Why, they have a place to race.

Midget racing clubs have turned midget racing into a side show. One where the following goes down every year. It is easy to see why, the average fan get to see 360 sprint cars run every weekend, they begin to associate with the sprint car driver, they know who they are. We show up and it's hey look at those cute cars, they are quick and fun to watch, but the average fan could car less who wins. When was the last time you saw a fight in the stands at a midget race???? Probably never, because the fans really don't care. We have to build a following and that will only be done by getting the cars back as a regular class at the Saturday night bullrings.

To do this we need to limit cost as the purses promoters are willing to pay midgets as a part of a regular show is not the same (you are not going to convince a promoter to replace his sprint cars with midgets until proven that the midgets can sustain a show in the same way as the sprint cars).

Right now the BCRA midgets are used by promoters to fill a void when there 360 sprint shows are dark due to the Civil War series. It does work well for the midgets as they get a premier purse for the night, but it is not building a following for car count and they have lost race dates to the less costly spec sprints.

To make this happen, midget racers and organizations are going to have to take a step (forward in my opinion), swallow some pride and work with the promoters to make the class weekly and a track class. If you can do this at 5 of the 9 tracks the RMMA currency runs, then in 5 years you will have a founation of midgets where you could start running a best of the best series between those tracks.

The other thing that needs to occur is the regional midget groups need to get together and sync up their rules. There is no reason that the BCRA, RMMA, NWWT, NOMA, WSMA, and AMRA all have different rules, it is crazy and you lose opportunity for great regional racing because of it.

Just think if all those groups had the same rules and put together a 6 race, best of the best series (one race in each region), you could put together 6 races a year with the potential of pulling 100+ midgets. Now that is something that you could sell to a promoter for a premium. But you need to car count power of all 6 groups to do that.

Rick

[scottympt6]

i guess it's time to open my mouth and make a few friends and piss off my critics.
I'm not sure what can be done to save the RMMRA, hell I'm for one don't believe there is anything wrong except low car count (this is a rampant problem NOT isolated to midgets).
i agree that change for good or bad needs to take place with our local club but since i cant come up with real viable solution only a moron would slam the organization. i think i am doing my part to support midgets and I'm being helped every step of the way by the RMMRA, Rory Mallo (mallo brothers racing), mike Leary, and Rick @ USA Engines and also Keith at revolution racing.
Having mentioned all these folks I'm proving a point that it really only takes a desire to field a midget (or any kind of race car). anyone who is familiar with me knows that if there were no such thing as "low budget" i could NOT do this. EVER!
i guess the biggest point I'm trying to make is there will be midgets and all you need is a car where to race it fall into the realm of infinite possibilities. with what i will be running i wont be able to compete against the "high dollar" teams but this is where the "economy" works to my advantage. i will be running a 5 year 10k engine package they run a 1/2 year 30k. you do the math. the other upside to this is the law of supply and demand the price of a Fontana or Gertie will drop because of a lack of demand. so to sum it up instead of trying to keep up with the Jone's ill let the Jone's come to me and in the meantime ill hone my skills to a fine edge because i will need them.

so to sum it up,
are the midgets in danger of going away? NO! maybe locally but not as a class.
are the cost of running this class out of hand? Definitely! but there are ways around it.
will i ever win a main event locally? Doubt it! but i will have a blast where ever i go and thats what the fans want to see.