For the person that said: "Only people with a lot of money can race USAC" - What type of car, engine and tire program do you have? My guess is a car that costs several thousand dollars, an engine that costs a thousand or more and tires that cost 240 a set. Then throw in an enclosed trailer, a tow vehicle, tools, spare parts...etc. Guess what...only people with a lot of money can race (PERIOD) No matter how much anyone tries to control costs, it is still expensive as hell to race at any level and that is fine because it keeps it so only those that are serious about it actually do race. (Dont take this the wrong way...my family is by no means wealthy...we were just about the smallest setup at the Little 500, the point is racing isn't cheap).
As for QMA vs USAC costs go - My boy ran the Little 500 at New Smyrna and we spent a little bit more to do that than it will cost us to race the District Qualifier in Tampa. Again add up how much you have invested in racing QMs and then try to keep a straight face while telling me $70 is ridiculous to spend to race a states/district level event.
Hoosiers vs Vegas - We haven't had the pleasure of running Vegas on our son's car yet, but we did run the new A35 Hoosiers that are the spec tire in Tampa this past weekend and there is almost no noticable wear at all. I know the other classes wear them out much faster than our class does but overall I was pretty impressed with how the Hoosiers held up.
I guess what I am saying is..
When you count everything, the costs between QMA and USAC really aren't that different (anyone see the trailer fee for Huntsville yet?).
There is no way to please everyone with a tires selection because everyone has loyalties to something. But at least everyone will be on the same thing in Tampa.
Finally...if $70 is too much for a district race you can always just stay home.
