I-37 Speedway results 4-9-22

[rebelracewriter]

B Factory Stock heat

20L Ricky Long'

39 Mikaela Trimble

98 Ronnie Schoenfeldt

25f Robert Fox

43 Johnny Johnson

49k Robert Keylich---dns

99 Collin Alexander---dns

[rebelracewriter]

IMCA Modified heats

Heat 1

82 Rick Green

5r Ryan Doyon

8g Greg Dinsmore

5 DJ Schroat

16 Landon Bednarz

22z Darrell Boyd

 

Heat 2

29 Jamie Campbell

28 Marlin Samford

77 Robert Liese

bd1 Jared Maupin

56 Gilbert Amezquita

[rebelracewriter]

Sport Compact heats

Heat 1

81 Michael Burris jr

33 Jamie Garner

21t Shaun Tracy

55 Ryker Hernandez

 

 

Heat 2

28 Levi Hernandez

18 Michael Burris sr

88 Justin Sitterle

75 Chad Miller

[rebelracewriter]

Factory Stock heats

Heat 1

94 Allen Torres

99 Dillon Gaither

53 Kasey Krauss

44k Michael Keylich

4d Dustin Hurley

11x Brian Harbison

15L Daniel Lopez

 

 

 

Heat 2

91 Jared Maupin

25r Nathan Rachui

24 Paul Reyes

18 Justin Henley

37 AJ Wernette

15 William Cavender

75 Jerry Miller

[rebelracewriter]

Limited Modified heats

Heat 1

897 Marcus Mikulencak

03 GW Hessong

9r Johnny Brown

99 Allen Alexander

73 Derrick Gonzalez

 

 

Heat 2

11t Tom Grothues

95 Sterling Tausch

11x Brian Harbison

38 Steven Whiteaker III

 

[rebelracewriter]

Eco-Mod heats

Heat 1

59 Brianna Witzsche

04 Cooper Koliba

6” Daniel Preston

23 Dustin Witzsche

46 Johnathan Cervantes

 

Heat 2

3 Gilbert Perez

L87 Nathan Titzman

34w Brad Waddup

58 Rowdy Flanagan

95 Jeff Markert

[rebelracewriter]

Limited Modifieds

79 Marcus Mikulencak

95 Sterling Tausch

11x Brian Harbison

73 Derrick Gonzalez

38 Steven Whiteaker III

9 Johnny Walker

99 Allen Alexander

11t Tom Grothues

6” Daniel Preston

03 GW Hessong

[rebelracewriter]

B Factory Stocks

99 Collin Alexander

20r Ricky Long

39 Makayla Trimble

43 Johnny Johnson

25f Robert Fox

98 Ronnie Schoenfeldt---dns

49k Robert Keylich---dns

[rebelracewriter]

Eco-Mods

3 Gilbert Perez

87 Nathan Titzman

6” Daniel Preston

58 Rowdy Flanagan

23 Dustin Witzsche

04 Cooper Koliba

59b Brianna Witzsche

34w Brad Waddups

46 Johnathan Cervantes

95 Jeff Markert---dns

[rebelracewriter]

Price Chevrolet IMCA Modifieds

82 Rick Green

bd1 Jared Maupin

8g Greg Dinsmore

5r Ryan Doyon

29 Jamie Campbell

77 Robert Liese

5 DJ Schroat

22 Darrell Boyd

28 Marlin Samford

16 Landon Bednarz

56 Gilbert Amezquita

 

[rebelracewriter]

Sport Compacts

81 Michael Burris jr

28 Levi Hernandez

18 Michael Burris sr

21t Shaun Tracy

75 Chad Miller

33 Jamie Garner---dns

55 Ryker Hernandez---dns

[rebelracewriter]

All in Design Factory Stocks

99 Dillon Gaither

25r Nathan Rachui

24 Paul Reyes

94 Allen Torres

53 Kasey Krauss

11x Brian Harbison

37 AJ Wernette

15L Daniel Lopez

18 Justin Henley

15 William Cavender

44k Michael Keylich

75 Jerry Miller

91 Jared Maupin

4d Dustin Hurley

[ron.brown11]

I've never been to I-37 Speedway, but this run down confuses me a bit. Hey, I can get confused at times. Maybe there is something/connection that I'm missing. Here's my confusion. There are 2 different Factory Stock divisions, that together would give you a decent car count main event. Why 7 in one, and 14 in the other? Are the rules that different that they couldn't find a compromise? If so, why not? Running a main event for 7 cars (2 of which didn't even start), makes no sense to me, and must really frustrate the fans there that aren't family members of those 5 cars. This is a division that should be having B mains!

It's gets worse in the modified division, with 3 divisions. I get that the IMCA mods could be part of a touring group. But why a limited & ECO mods? How much difference is there between the rules of a limited & ECO mod? By definition they are both "limited" type mods, giving a mod rookie, or someone without the financial ability to run an IMCA mod. I get that. If those 2 mod divisions were to combine, you now have a full field modified main event. 

Nick Holt can easily affirm that I love modifieds. I was a crew chief for 2 different modified teams, then raced my own team for a decade, in AZ. Upon moving back to TX, I searched for a mod team to join, and I did. The first season I worked with Greg Baber the last half of that season. It was the last year we were able to run at San Antonio. The next 3 years were at Thunderhill, before I left the team. During that 3 year period, there were several occasions where we ended up loading the car, and not run the main. Not because of being broke or crash damage, but because the show was way too long. We'd be sitting there at midnight, and there would still be 2-3 mains before our cars were scheduled to run. Plus it was a 3 hour drive back to Uvalde. Greg was a doctor, and at times he would be scheduled to man the ER on Sunday, at the hospital in Uvalde. All because there were several classes that would be nearly identical to each other (and usually having short fields too). I realize that when SA closed down unexpectedly, THR was simply trying to absorb SA"s cars, and keep the playing field equal. But there was no excuse for that the following seasons. Many a night I stood there in the spotter's section for our main, and there was almost no fans still there. I always found that troubling, still do. 

Fans pay to watch good racing, and having 8-12 cars in a main regularly isn't conducive to that very often. It's one to two battles for a couple of laps, then it's follow the leader. Start 20+ cars in a main, it's rarely a follow the leader event. There's enough cars to have several battles over the entire race. Fans don't mind paying to see that. They will put up with so-so food at high prices, and dirty restrooms. If they don't feel excited and entertained, they will leave. Now you are down to the front gate being just family & friends of the racer. Even that isn't bad, but what happens if 3 or 4 per division can't make it? Now the promoter can't pay the bills, and purses drop. Then drivers get pissed, accuse the promoter of screwing them, and they stop going there. In the end, Everybody loses. But it starts with the casual fan not feeling like they got their money's worth, and seek another form of entertainment.

I am not for 1 second trying to diss anybody at I-37, or dirt racing. I LOVE RACING!! And I want to see it survive. I'm saying this from experience. I've taken family/friends to tracks, and the show wasn't good (different tracks & different people). I've gone to races with other die hard racers like me. There have been times where we've left because the shows were crap. And I can tell you that I will sit through a lot before I give up on a race/track. Most very successful tracks/promoters run 4 divisions a night. Those that do more divisions, usually don't run heat races, qualifying, or both. They will usually cut down laps run in the mains, and purses for short fields in a division. That's again heading for disaster like I stated above.

[arob]

I hope I don't anger anyone if I answer these questions at least from a fans point of view. Been a fan for 64 years so I've seen a lot. The B Factory Stock came about last years. The purpose is to give the underfunded teams that tend to run the back of the field a chance to have competitive racing and learn a little along the way. I know Pure Stock is an option and that may be considered later. It was an out of the box idea I thought was good enough to try.As for the E-Mods. There is a big difference between them and Sportmods. This class was started several years ago at then South Texas Speedway to give 1/ A good starter class for the younger drivers to get involved and / an opportunity for those holding on to old sportmods(and there were many at the time) to sell and recycle to E-Mod. The class at the now South Texas Rance Ranch has grown to 15 - 20 cars. I-37 is testing to see if it can grow there. I know all the tracks in South Texas are working hard to get the programs over before 11 PM  and they are successful more than they are not. As a fan I don't like low car counts either. And I bet promoters don't like it more than me. It takes a special person to be a track promoter. The ones I've seen in Corpus , Pleasanton and Edna have done a great job over the years. Not an easy job.

Edited April 12, 2022 by arob

[ron.brown11]

I agree arob, I'm not trying to anger anyone either. I've been going to races, dirt and asphalt for nearly 60 years. The lower classes (Pure & Factory stock) are supposed to be for learning how to race. And the very most important rule for anyone getting into racing, is to only race in a class that you can afford. How you can easily determine that is pretty simple. If you grenade the motor heading into turn 1, and destroy the car as a result, will it financially ruin you? If the answer is yes, then you either are racing in a class too high for you, or shouldn't be racing at all. I've seen racers make their families do without basic necessities to race. Even if your family loves racing, and supports you 100%, that's wrong.

As far as having 2-3-4 classes of cars, that have a relatively small variation of rules isn't the answer though. It shouldn't be any different for mods. Like I said earlier, I get the 2 mod classes, because the IMCA cars might tour with the series to other tracks. So have a class of mods for the locals, and then there's no reason for a third. Again, running at the back is how you are supposed to learn. As for theE Mod and Sport Mod, it's as simple as weight penalties for whichever chassis (E Mod vs. Sport Mod), to allow them to compete together. Again, running at the back should be expected, while learning how to race them. But here's something else to consider. If the track simply race only the IMCA rules, and enforce claims rules, when the touring teams show up, you now have locals that can race then too. If you really want to see an excited & happy local fan base, have a local beat the touring teams. That will make everybody happy at that track. The drivers get really excited that a local can beat the hotshots. The fans have pride in the same thing. And the promoter is going to have a bigger, more appreciative front gate. 

I've seen some very good promoters. Unfortunately I've seen some really bad ones too. Most fall somewhere in the middle. I'm not sure what makes them choose to be one honestly. Nobody is ever really happy. The fans think the tickets/food cost too much, and the shows aren't to their expectations. The drivers always feel the the track isn't paying enough, and their costs are too high. And the promoters are either breaking even, or losing money, and everybody is pissed at them. In most cases all 3 are right, and wrong, but none will acknowledge the hardships of the others. Animosity soon follows, then gets worse.

Anybody that thinks that racing at the local level is anything but a money losing exercise, isn't paying attention, or writing the checks. Hell, breaking even is almost unheard of anymore. The ones that are breaking even have one of two situations. 1) They've got some really good marketing partners, and really are good at managing their costs. Very few crashes, blown engines, and no splurging for the newest, greatest next big thing. 2) They own their own business, and have enough disposable (lol) capitol left over after paying all of their bills and feeding the family. Then writing off their racing losses through the business. I had some decent sponsors, and owned my own business. We made good money but it was still a struggle. I was blessed to have a really good friend, who built really good motors. The first year I raced, I had a total of just under $2400 in that small block Chevy. The only new parts in it were: intake manifold; cam, lifters bearings; water pump; and 1 JE piston. Everything else was used, and some of the items were given to me. We ran 14 races with that engine. I never blew one of Rusty's motors up, ever, and ran the same block & crank every year that I raced. I had my share of on track crashes, but thankfully none that required that I replace the chassis. And still managing costs was a struggle. The point is, Racing Isn't Easy or Cheap! But it can still be viable. Everyone needs to understand that we all need each other (racers, promoters, marketing partners, & fans). Racing is still entertainment, and I will forever love it. Growing up I played football, baseball, basketball, and bowling. I ran track & cross country one year, so that I could add that chevron to my letter. When I turned 16, and could then get a pit pass, I stopped all of that to work on a pit crew. That's how much I love racing.

[rebelracewriter]

Ron, arob got a lot of it clarified correctly.

On 4/11/2022 at 6:42 PM, ron.brown11 said:

The lower classes (Pure & Factory stock) are supposed to be for learning how to race

Pure stock, yes.....Factory Stock, no way.....A good, top of the line  chassis/sheet metal will set ya back about 15K(new)....Which is partially why the B-Factory Stocks came about, give the less experienced drivers a chance to learn among their peers, while NOT tearing up faster/more experienced drivers equipment.

On 4/11/2022 at 6:42 PM, ron.brown11 said:

The drivers always feel the the track isn't paying enough, and their costs are too high.

Racers are their own worst enemies sometimes....They always want the class to move up, instead of moving up in class.....If you knew the costs of chassis' and engines now days it's freaking staggering!!

I've always said less is more when it comes to number of classes.....There's only so many racers and so much sponsorship money to go around.....The more classes, the more it's split up by numbers....Where I raced in the late 70-80's we had 3 classes, Super Modified, Late Model and Street Stocks. The Supers did like most classes that fail.....Priced themselves out of the class by changing rules to go faster #cubichorsedollars

IMCA screwed the pooch with their change in claim rules many years back....Increasing the claim amount wasn't that bad,  BUT, adding the swap option, then adding more attendance requirements, etc. literally killed claiming....Back at the straight $325 claim you hardly ever saw anything more than a 3K claimer motor.....Now open motor guys are looking to spend equal/more what pavement late model guys are spending....True there's always the "crate" option, which many are doing....5-6K isn't good, but not bad....Where it gets bad is add-ons(crate tuned headers, crate tuned carbs)....Well you get the picture.

The IMCA Southern Sportmod was "INTENDED" to be a beginner Modified class....That idea went to shit in a hurry....Too many Mod guys dropped down, mainly due to costs and a better tire....That crippled the class....Then tracks started going to different rules.....No one wanted to budge.....Now Sportmods can run a quick change at some tracks....And Im not even going to go into the whole B-Mod argument some tracks are going to....Makes my damn head hurt....At least the three south Texas tracks agreed on a non-sanctioned package so guys can race either track.

To cap this "i will not rant" post....Racing has changed, in many ways....Some good, some bad...I think it will get worse before it gets better and we're all listening to the 'swoosh' of electric cars.

[ron.brown11]

Rebelracewriter, right now I'm just hoping racing can survive my friend..

[RodneyRodriguez]

My thoughts on this topic because I cannot type thanks Bobby we did good. 

https://www.spreaker.com/user/revvedupsportsshow/ep47-racing-right-now-from-russ-withbobb?utm_campaign=episode-title&utm_medium=app&utm_source=widget

[ron.brown11]

I agree with the former promoter about giving the racers a place to play. As I said above, I understood why Mary Ann did that at THR. The first year.. Get the different classes of mods, FS etc together in the off season. Write some rules to equalize them (weight, gears etc), something to equalize the class into one. If you bore the fans, or keep them there all night, everybody loses because they won't come back. If they don't come back, nobody ends up with a place to play. If you put a bunch of drivers & crew chiefs together, they will come up with ideas on how to equalize the cars. I know, we did it in Tucson with the mods. Add in a savvy tech inspector to keep 1 group from getting the advantage over the rest, now you have a work in progress. And that's exactly what it needs to be. The on track results will tell you pretty quick if something needs to be adjusted.

You're right Rodney, nobody wants to race for 15th. But racing for 15th teaches you how to drive. I know, that's how I learned. I didn't start in a FS or compact, I've only raced in an open comp modified. Worse than that, I never ran a lap in a race until I turned 42. Between a career in the military, then starting and running our own business, it wasn't until that age where I could even entertain owning/driving a race car. To this day, I can still hear my wife's reaction during a Sunday afternoon brunch at a restaurant. You Bought What??? Not quietly either! I didn't have 1 thing except hand & power tools, for trying to race a stock car. I had to borrow a trailer from a friend, just to bring it from Scottsdale to Tucson. We finished it about 5pm on a Sat. afternoon, and was at the track about 6:15. We got a quickie tech inspection, and my first laps was my heat race. We ran a hard compound Goodyear slick, so they would give the mods 2-3 laps at speed to warm the tires. My spotter called me on the second of those laps to ask if there was a problem with the car. I asked why, he replied because the pace car was about to lap me. Hell, I thought I was flying out there. The point is, you've got to start somewhere. I wasn't racing for 15th that year, but I did manage several of them. Mostly due to other drivers "having a bad night". I was just trying to get a top 20 finish, put a whole car on the trailer, while I learned. We always had 20+ mods weekly, so getting a top 15 finish, for a no shit complete rookie, was no easy task. I finished 22nd in the points my rookie year, and was happy with that. I was also lucky enough to not do any major damage to the car. I have kept only 1 trophy from my racing "career". That was my Most Improved driver trophy from my second year. They didn't give out the most improved trophy based just on positions gained from 1 season to another either. They took the top 3 most improved drivers based on stats, then poled the top 3 finishing drivers in our division. Together they decided who got the trophy. The I finished 9th in points, and was 8th to 12th weekly. I didn't get my first top 5 until my third year. But I learned to race, and I never had a driver ever say that they were nervous racing around me. Everybody wants to win their first time out, no matter what car they race. And some do, and that's great. Blessed is the driver that has those skills seem like second nature. For the rest of us, we have to learn it. 

As I have said before, I Love Racing!! I really want it to survive & thrive. No matter what though, that can't happen if we run the existing fans off, and can't generate new one.

Hey Rodney, thanks for making me an online hit!! lol

[HiTech]

well my  son decided to sell out and stop racing .. the cost of a factory stock  which isnt much factory  anymore  . motor cost has gone sky high  . now  the shocks well  depends on how much money you have and some are way up there .. 800 ,dollar carbs..  and suspension  parts . just over all the cars cost double or tripple  over the last four years  ..  the cost to get to the track is high . 50 plus to enter a car  and so forth  .. the average purse about what it was 20 years ago . everything cost so much now .. even i have lost  interest .. the shows are good the managers do what ever t takes to end the shows  ... 

[RodneyRodriguez]

Our sport has always been the same I know on pavement the 5-7 year cycle was let's set up a "beginner class". That works for about a month until a ringer jumps in and becomes a great beginner. While at the top of the chain the top class begins to suffer because of $ and the fact that the second class in line not quite as $ but getting more $ every year is a better option to 1. afford and 2. be competitive. Eventually, sooner than later the top class gets to 5-7 cars and it has to be abandoned and the second class gets to do a little more to embrace some of the fall out of those that have nowhere to race. All the while the beginner class has really made some strides and somehow with those affordable rules and ease to race has really gotten fast!!! Somewhere in the mix there is a middle class that really has nothing because nobody is moving up and all the moving down is to the second class so in reality you have 2 duds and 2 studs when it comes to race divisions.

That second class becomes premier and within 2 years is thriving and getting to be about 3 years from where that long lost first class was ... over and over.. That beginner class has so damn many cars and about 10 are really fast, we have to split this thing up to make it fair for all parties. At that point that beginner class is really more of a mid level as it has evolved as well so you know what we need? A new affordable option, let's set up a new class! 

Still pavement, when we lost TSRS they warped into what the street stocks were. Nobody to fault but everyone needed a place to race. I remember clear as day around the 2010's I was asked what classes do we need to race? I gave 4, there were 8, 3 were strong I lost that debate all 8 raced many of those had 10 or less cars why run them all? Everyone needs a place to race well hell how do we get them all here for crying out loud lol. Nothing like a full card of racing on paper and a shell of it on the race track. A few times I've seen classes left off and an uproar happens, it gets added back and all 4 show back up. 

Dirt? I don't know Mods, Limited Mods are solid don't mess with that although I recall going to McAllen many years and there were Mods for miles until the Sp Mods came along. To me and I don't know shit the IMCA stock car is what you do if you want to run a stock car, love the Factories but they seem to be on that pavement path up there. Beginner classes seem to be the fall back answer, IMO for dirt these Jr Limited/Eco Mod are the way to go this is a great way to learn how to race on dirt, what you will drive as you PROGRESS, learn car control and hell have a car you can PROGRESS with. Again I'm not a dirt pro and never claim to be but if I were a young driver again here in Texas trying to learn how to race I would love to learn in one of those.

It's all a cycle, I call it the 410 cycle (not picking on SA) because all it does is keep looping around and around. However these dirt tracks seem to have their shit in order because most of them are well attended and have healthy pits. IMCA to me is a gift, wish we had that on pavement.

Again I just watch all this and have for most of my years I love them mention earlier racing in and of itself has not changed, just the people but you know what look around we live in a different world. At some point young bucks will saying I want racing to be like it was way back in 2022.

 

 

[arob]

It is going to be interesting to see how Factory Stock count holds up.The past few years they were the best thing going for the fan (at least this fan). Lots of car count , great racing throughout the pack. But now that the price tag is getting to be over $10,000 for a car we shall see if that continues. I have noticed Sportmods are struggling at some of the South Texas tracks. Hope that improves. Then there is all the things going on in the"real world". That is going to make it tough on the racer and the fan.

[ron.brown11]

Having a lot of classes looks great on a flyer or web page. Just imagine the let down for the fans, when they get there and most of the classes have less that 12 cars. I watched opening night for Hickory Speedway in North Carolina,  3 weeks ago. This is in the heart of NASCAR and stock car auto racing in this country. The heat race for the Limited Late Models had 5 cars in it. But hey, the main was better, as a 6th car was able to start. The main event was 50 laps long. The one that didn't make the heat, exited on lap 2 with mechanical issues. On lap 6, two other cars managed to wreck out. I say "managed" because the first car spun & hit the wall. The second car wasn't even close to the wreck, but managed to drive into it. The one that hit the was was completely stopped. There was no oil on the track. That left 3 cars to run 44 laps on a half mile track. By lap 15, there was nearly a straightaway between each of the 3 cars. My first thought was ok, some couldn't quite get their cars finished for opening night. Thankfully that group was off for 2 weeks, so teams could get caught up. The next race there were 4 cars, as the 2 that wrecked didn't make it back.

The problem there was pretty evident there. The Limiteds are the third late model class. The also have Pro Late Models, and Super Late Models. Neither of the 2 more Premere classes had more than 15 cars start the mains. The rules for the Pro & Limiteds are nearly identical, and should be added together. As I saw no age limits listed in either series' rules, have the limiteds make no sense.

The track that I grew up going to, had a total of 3 classes. Late Models (nobody had started calling them Supers yet), with typically 20-24 cars. Factory Stocks, which consisted of Cameros/Firebirds, Mustangs/Falcons, Darts/Barracudas, with 6 cylinders, typically would have 21-28 cars. With the exception of the 6 cylinders, they were like a limited LM. Bombers, which were junkyard mid/full sized cars, that were striped of virtually everything. They had a basic roll cage, a v8, street tires on street wheels, and a screen with braces for a windshield. All of the classes had full fields, and the bombers usually had a b-main because it was normal to have 30+ cars a night. They didn't run all 3 classes every weekend either. The track would either run longer mains for the LMs & FSs when the bombers didn't run. Or they would would bring in a special show, sprints, midgets, UASC & ARCA stock cars, when the late models didn't run. The only times I saw a weak front gate was if the weather in the area was iffy. Florence Speedway a (KY dirt track) was about 30 miles south of the track I went to. Three or four times a season, Florence would get rained out, and we'd get even more fans show up. Since Tri-County Speedway started life as a dirt track, most of the Florence fans knew how to get to TCS. 

Fans are ok with a limited amount of classes, but there had  better be full (or at least close to) fields, and have competitive racing. As I've said before, racers want rules that help them, and them only. I understand, we all want to win, and rules in my favor helps my chances. But Boy is that shorted sited, if you plan on racing for many years. There's where all these extra classes come from, and like Rodney said above, and eventually fail. Remember, at the end of the day, if the fans don't come, racing will stop. The fan is what stirs the drink..

[arob]

As a fan a 14 car feature is the least I hope for. Don't get me wrong a full field of 24 is better most of the time. There are many times a 12-14 car field puts on a better race with less yellows and crashing. Nothing is worse than calling a 20 lap feature after 12 laps. Fortunately that doesn't happen often at the South Texas tracks. I suppot my home track in Corpus almost every  event and go to I-37 and Texana as much as I can because the promoters and racers deliver and have for sometime. I'd go to Cotton Bowl more often if it wasn't so far away. So South Texas promoters keep up the good work!

[ron.brown11]

I agree, a 14 car main can put on a great show, some of the time, and especially if you've gotten used to watching 10-12 car mains. Good tracks, with a consistent Competition Director, can help shape how drivers race. A driver that spins out 2-3 times in a race, park them. A driver that tends to be the cause of accidents on a regular basis, give them a race or two, off to think about they race others. In those cases, it's addition by subtraction. Having the crash causer sit, can increase weekly car count because maybe those crashes don't happen. Then they don't miss 1 or more shows while fixing what crashmatic caused.

There used to be a very good fix for those persistent crash causing drivers, and didn't require the comp director pissing anyone off. How drivers used to handle it was simple. A handful a drivers, that had been wrecked by said driver, would take turns putting said driver into the wall, over several weekends. Each week, said driver would need to fix their car. Then as a group, they'd go to said driver and ask, have you had enough of getting crashed yet? I've seen more than 1 of those conversations. Not 1 single time did I hear that driver no, please keep wrecking me! Guess what Mr Crash stopped wrecking others, more cars were there to race weekly, and the fans got a better show. 

It's like the rules. If a racer wants to run a class, they must build and race with those rules, period. Nobody has forced them to race any class, so by entering a car into a class, they have agreed to follow those rules. And tracks have to enforce them equally, and without ambiguity, period. Have you ever wondered why the Snowball & Snowflake races pulls so many cars from around the country? Because it pays well of course, but also teams expect to have a level playing field. By all accounts, tech inspector Ricky Brooks is a tough SOB, and nobody gets away without abiding by the rules. But everybody knows and expects that from him. If you go back 15 years, there were a lot more DQs then there are now. Why? Because he's made them understand that he will enforce said rules, regardless of who the driver is. Two years ago, Steven Nasse won the Snowball Derby. He was DQ'd for having a titanium component in his PFC brakes, which were not permitted in the rules. People got pissed, because Nasse is a very popular driver. Plus, another team protested Nasse's brakes. The team that protested the brakes had a crew member that worked at one time for PFC. He knew that they had some titanium pieces in them. Apparently, brakes wasn't something that normally got torn down, but it was in the rules. Do you think Nasse showed up this year with brakes that didn't meet the rules? PFC was a sponsor on Nasse's car for that race. I'm betting that PFC either changed their calipers, or Nasse change brake brands. But what was really conveyed was this. The rules will rule the day, break them and it could cost you more than you think. That's fair for all.