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Author Topic: .25 Midget Fleet will Transform our Sport!  (Read 8948 times)
outlawqmracer
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« on: December 17, 2011, 02:37:53 PM »

My families mission for the past seven years has been to bring the opportunity to race one of these .25 Midgets to as many children as we can.  Please let me explain myself.  I have been a Publicity Director in different capacities since about the time that our family has been involved in the sport of quartermidget racing.  Our enthusiasm for the sport has brought a lot of people into it however, at this time many families cannot afford to get involved because of a lack of finances.

  I offer a remedy for this.  My plan includes a fleet of a dozen .25 Midgets which can be used for Test Drives at our huge events to introduce children between the ages of five and sixteen to our sport.  These children would receive a classroom learning session before being strapped into one of the cars and pushed off onto the same track where our racers compete and turned loose for ten laps around the track all by themselves.  The cars can then be used for “Novice Driver Training Lessons” which are a pre-requisite to compete in quartermidget racing where the young racers are taught how to safely handle themselves with other cars on the track and how to race cleanly and with respect for their fellow competitors.  Perhaps the most important use for the .25 Midget fleet, is for drivers who cannot afford their own cars to still participate in our sport.  Car counts at our events have been declining due to economic circumstances over the past few years.  At some of the races there are only a few participants in certain classes.  Proof of this is the fact that at a local club recently only five cars showed up to race which regretably led to the cancellation of the remainder of the Winter Series schedule at that facility.

 The .25 Midget Fleet of cars can be used to enable three classes to have a hundred participants or more each and to in effect save our sport.  No one wants to travel the country and drive around the track with a few cars.  No, the key to good racing is to let the great drivers stand-out from the crowd and finding the best out of a hundred will do just that.  Also it can marginalize the teams with the most money, or even worse the ones who are cheating.  These cars can all be outfitted with the reliable Briggs and Stratton Animal Racing Engines that with the simple change of a restrictor plate can accommodate three different classes of racing, Juniors (Ages 5-9 Blue Plate), Seniors (9-16 Red Plate), and Unrestricted (No-Plate for drivers that are veterans or proven winners).  This program can easily be implemented at any local club, and if a trailer is found these shared-use cars can be taken to Regional and National events as well.  It may seem like a daunting task, but some of the better-funded teams already have ten cars, three drivers and a transporter large enough to hold them all, and plenty of spare parts too!  I am the president of a USAC sanctioned .25 Midget Club the “Sunshine State QMRA” here in Florida.  We are a new club and currently do not have enough cars or members to hold events, but would like to operate near the metropolitan area of Tampa where a huge number of kids would race if they could. Our perspective members have expressed an interest in racing on dirt and we would gladly share our cars with the already established USAC club the TBQMRA which has a beautiful asphalt facility.  If said cars could be secured it would make a families financial commitment to join USAC and our club and race with us $150.  Otherwise a used car and safety gear could cost thousands of dollars, not to mention the expense of storing and transporting such vehicles.  Millions of kids who live in apartments or homes without garages are prohibited from participating in our sport because of simple logistics.  In addition you can add in the families that do not have access to a pick-up truck or trailer.  This single gesture could theoretically make our sport as accessible for children as Little League Baseball and Football.  I believe again that .25 Midget Clubs could grow exponentially from dozens of members to hundreds just like the local Little League we belong to.  

Thank-you very much for your time and I look forward to any possible marketing partnerships or input we may share.  Additionally I am attempting to implement this program with donated used equipment.  Please feel free to contact me anytime and to share this information with anyone you may know that might be inclined to back our effort and receive full-credit for doing so!  

 

                                    Sincerely,

                                    Jeffrey Pollitt – President- Sunshine State Quarter Midgets            

                                    654 Bamboo Court

                                    Marco Island, Fl. 34145

                                    (239) 394-7325  or  MislandJeff@aol.com
 

 

I believe you can get everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get want they want!      

~Zig Ziglar
« Last Edit: December 17, 2011, 03:11:51 PM by outlawqmracer » Logged
sprintcar39
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« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2011, 10:43:23 AM »

Jeff,  It might take two trucks and trailers to haul all 12 quarter midgets and everything that goes with that. The 53 foot (nascar type) trailer that we used to haul the QM's out west would only hold 20 -21 cars and we had them packed in multiple ways and no way to get another one in. It also had two levels. Hard to believe but true.
With that being said good luck with this effort and it is nice to see people using their energy to better the sport instead of tearing it apart.
Eric
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Eric Rankine
USAC Director of Competition
NWOQMRA - USAC .25
USAC - HPD Midget - Midwest Series
USAC National Midget - Spike/Esslinger
nancyboy
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« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2011, 07:56:45 PM »

Great plan Jeff, i applaude your efforts. We are going to implement a similar plan this year at Mini-Indy. We have secured a handfull of used cars that we have purchased at a good price, to use for a scholarship program, with some subtle differences from the plan that you have explained. We too think that this will be a win, win for not only our club but the sport as well. Any suggestions you might have for marketing our program would be greatly appreciated. I am by no means a pr guy

Thanks, Joe Miller
President, Mini-Indy
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outlawqmracer
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« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2011, 05:06:38 PM »

Thanks for the support,
I will do what I can for all the tracks.  There are a lot of cars out there not being used right now and some folks just want to get them out of the way.  We donated our sons first .25 midget to the Keystone club in Pa. partly because it just would not sell, and we did not have room in our trailer to bring it back to Fl.  It was awesome!  Having all the kids getting to take a test drive in the car is very fitting.  During our years racing that car was always the one kids could climb in at our promo days at the big tracks and parades and such and now kids get to actually drive it.  Our son likes to share and it makes him feel great that he can share something so cool with others. I highly recommend the whole program and good luck with Mini Indy's!
    We hope to meet up with you there for your Big USAC National Event.  If we come across any cars in your area we will give you a call.
                                       
                             HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!       
                                                  Jeff  
« Last Edit: December 21, 2011, 05:51:29 PM by outlawqmracer » Logged
Swartz
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« Reply #4 on: December 24, 2011, 10:00:45 AM »

This is a great plan. The only obsticle in the past has been tires. From a competition standpoint new tires beat old tires. Running the car in multiple classes increases the wear. A spec tire helps but does not entirely solve the problem without cleaning and rotating them on a regular basis. I hope you guys can work it out. It would be awsome.
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outlawqmracer
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« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2011, 04:58:39 PM »

Dear Swartz,

I think perhaps one of the best parts of the .25 midget fleet would be that with the exception of flat tires we can have virtually the same tire wear on all of those cars.  If we mark the tires of the cars of the regular competitiors like is being done at some clubs now I think that would equal out the fleet cars from the privately owned ones.  Tires are a very touchy subject but one I feel is way overrated.  I think that our drivers benefit greatly from racing with old hard worn out tires.  The only reason we are still able to get to the races is the fact that for the last eight years we used primarily used tires.  We threw on some new at Indianapolis and other big races but usually ran the ones others wouldn’t even practice on. 

I would like to tell a little story to make a point here about this tire issue so please bear with me.  Back home in Bethlehem Pennsylvania about the time my son was born, we tried to purchase an indoor racetrack named Speedzone.  These were scaled down versions of sprintcars with 13 hp Honda motors.  Speedzone was a franchise which had a few of these places.  Unfortunately the operators of this particular franchise hid the cars in a undisclosed location till this day causing the demise of the speedzone franchise.  If the cars were returned it may still be open today hopefully under our ownership.  What a fantastic place to race though and it was unanimous that it was great racing action.  We ran the races like actual events and some of the best professional drivers went head to head with the general public.  Racers like Billy Pauch, Fast Freddie Rahmer, Craig Von Dohren, and many others said it was real life racing!

My tire point is this,  Those cars had very hard tires and to make it all the more awesome is the fact that to change track conditions periodically BABY POWDER was put down so the cars would broadslide around as sideways as the USAC Wingless Sprints!  And yes kids get to put cushions under the seats and race them too!  If my son and other quartermidget racers can keep their noses clean driving little sprint cars around on rock hard tires with baby powder down on the track, then in my estimation there was never a need for the super sticky tires of a few years ago. Those cars handle so well you don’t actually have to do much and even your grandmother can drive one.  USAC has done the quartermidget world a great service implementing a spec tire and I heard through the grapevine that this years tire will be even more durable.  KUDOS!  These kids are talented race car drivers and I believe that racing on hard tires and yes even on a DRY, DUSTY, DAYTIME, DIRTTRACK, or one with babypowder all over it will make them the best drivers in the world!

P.S.   There are a few of these neat little racetracks around…
         1)  94 Speedway- Near Lincoln Speedway, Hanover Pa, Owned by former Kings Royal Sprint Car Champion Bobby Allen.
         2)  Slideways- Near Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville Iowa, Has a mini Nationals race with over a hundred competitors and the champion gets a victory lane ceremony in front of the Nationals crowd. 
         3)  S&S Speedway- Gilbert Pa, Every year when the cup drivers are at Pocono all the big names come out and drive these little cars, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon, and most of the others have been there and photos of them having tons of fun are all around the place.
        4)  Sports Emporium- Near Williams Grove Speedway, A little less structured these sprintcars operate on a timed basis like other concession kart rides but the lack of real life racing action is made up for with mini golf, batting cages, and a dizzying array of video games!

Hopefully one day we will open or manage another one somewhere near you!
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Swartz
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« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2011, 10:39:12 PM »

All you relly have to do is put Firestone YFFs on them. Anyway, there is a fine line between an amusment ride and a competition series.
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outlawqmracer
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Posts: 11


« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2012, 04:03:36 PM »

It is almost season!  TAX SEASON!  If your accountant suggests you need to come up with some deductions, donating that old quartermidget that has been laying around will get you better value if donated to a not-for profit .25 midget racing club!  Almost all clubs are non profits and will appreciate greatly the gift.  If the deduction is for a business entity then as part of the deal the club can leave the car sponsored by that business and promote their organization in their publications, billboards, and over the public address system giving the sponsor great exposure for their good deed!   
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