Minis

[Ford27]

We've had our mini racing at THR and now CTS but it looks like the 1 or 2 cars that win every week has ran everyone off. Besides those cars there is only one other racing with them. and he's getting spanked also. 2 years ago we were real competitive but now it just seems like a waste of our time.We didn't run ours this week but went to watch and after seeing what used to be a field of 10-15 cars dwindle down to 3 we have been trying to sell ours without much luck so we are thinking of trying a different track, CC or Houston. My question is for the mini drivers at these tracks, one if we make the tow what kind of car count can we expect and second, is there a good mix of cars or is the competition good or is it the same car every week winning by half a lap or more.

[BJ34]

if you run it on sts dirt track there is 7 to 8 cars a night with a few more being worked on they have Toyota ,vw ,muststangs chevy dodge it I ever get it out there

[thumper]

From what i read the minnies at Thunderhill got priced out of existance by the cost of driver equipment,transponders etc which the purse did not support.But the biggest problem facing 4 cyl racers everywhere is the lack of creditability by other types of racers.Some tracks are overcomming this but were still way behind where we should be.When we see some well known racers join this field we are on our way.

 

As fas as who wins,its always been the team that puts the most effort.Unfortunately for the THR minnies and most frontrunner classes the rules dont allow any imput by the car cheifs to aid in performance enhancements.Im not talking about adding horsepower but about tunning chassis to help in overall performance.You guys carry weight unneeded in items unnecessary for racing,and are limited in tire selection and sizing which are the biggest tuning aids.The result is little challange to the car cheif to test skills or try different setups.Rule one "THESE CARS ARE NOT RACE CARS " end of story.These are RACE TRACKS not play tracks.

 

Going to different tracks is a good thing if you dont expect unrealistic things.I have raced at Thunderhill and also San Antionio Speedway plus Almeda in Houston ,Houston Motorsports Park,Navasota,Lufkin HOT in Waco,Gator in Houston,Rivetrside in Corpus,CC Speedway,Rio Grande Speedway,Victoria,Edinburg Speedway and now Souh Texas Speedway in Corpus.The experiences are priceless.Every track and every class had a few that were always at the front and the others complained.When you get good at something you cant unlearn how to do it.

 

There is one promoter right now trying to break this barrier your dealing with and that Owen Pitman of South Texas Speedway.Having had at one time a field of 25 cars regularly at another track he is determaned to help the 4 cyl guys go past the steriotype that demeans all of us.Using the best current ideas,eliminateing the bad ideas,controlling costs while opening the door for ingenious thinking and challange,the Sport Compact venue of STS encompasses everyone and restricts no one.FWD,RWD,V tecs,multi cams and valves,modern cars to be tuned for oval track performance.A chassis tuner can showcase his talents.SC cars are very popular up north and someday will be here in Texas too.

 

Bottom line is the tracks and their promoters make the difference for a successful ministock program.When we become accepted by the big car racers as real race cars people will return because its cost factor favors todays ecenomy.Good luck whever you race and I hope you consider the big sport compact race comming up open to ALL 4 cyl racers.