2018 Gateway Dirt Nationals - Midgets added to the DOME race.

[Illtsate32]

Well my personal belief is it will have sort of a chili bowl effect...and if thats the case I dont see how you can run both classes in the same day as far as the car count goes...they will have to cap it somehow...

[TBSprintFan]

My opinion would be Late Models and Midgets, leave the restartifieds at home.

[zach51]

I agree with some of the other posts put two classes on another night if you want. The stands were fuller last year than the year before. I go to Charlotte, but it is pretty obvious most of the time sprint fans leave when others are racing, same for late fans they leave when lates are done, same for big blocks. That's is what will happen.

Yes, and they already have everybody's money so who cares.

And furthermore, if they have a class you don't like and won't watch, that probably means you are downstairs roaming around buying overpriced beers and Bloomer t-shirts. So it is a win-win-win for the event. $$$$

[turnleftandgasit]

I wasn't a big fan of the sprints or midgets, but the shows at FALS have brought me over to their side of the fence. Maybe I'm just a FALS homer, but they sure put on a great show there, and it should transfer nicely to the Dome.

[Cardirt0]

I wasn't a big fan of the sprints or midgets, but the shows at FALS have brought me over to their side of the fence. Maybe I'm just a FALS homer, but they sure put on a great show there, and it should transfer nicely to the Dome.

Will with FALS its the fact that they know Who to bring in for a show...They got a Sprint show and Mig show that puts on a SHOW...

[Highside Hustler25]

Just saying, some of the best race drivers in the world go back and run midgets, you don't see them running mortifieds.

I am not calling them the best racers in the world, but I can think of a few that have made it to the top tier in racing only to go back and race modifieds.

1. Kenny Schrader
2. David Stremme
3. Kenny Wallace
4. Carl Edwards ( coming soon to a dirt track near you )

[Highside Hustler25]

The smaller the track definitely favors the midgets. They are off the hook at little tracks like Macon so I see no reason why they wouldn't put on possibly a better show than the lates. Only problem is 3 classes now. Way too long for me.

[turnleftandgasit]

Other than watching bum fights, or going to a casino, what else is there to do in St Louis in Dec?

[zach51]

I am not calling them the best racers in the world, but I can think of a few that have made it to the top tier in racing only to go back and race modifieds.

1. Kenny Schrader
2. David Stremme
3. Kenny Wallace
4. Carl Edwards ( coming soon to a dirt track near you )

I wasn't trying to insinuate that modified drivers aren't any good. But nobody you named there with the exception of maybe Carl is even close to a Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell, Kasey Kahne. And I love Schrader, and he may love racing more than all of the others combined.

And Wallace tried to race a midget, I think he did about as well as Bloomer and JD.

[IZZOJR16]

Where will they all fit?

[rickybrown1952]

I think leave it just like it is sure was a good show the last two yrs jmo.

[Illtsate32]

I wasn't trying to insinuate that modified drivers aren't any good. But nobody you named there with the exception of maybe Carl is even close to a Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Christopher Bell, Kasey Kahne. And I love Schrader, and he may love racing more than all of the others combined.And Wallace tried to race a midget, I think he did about as well as Bloomer and JD.

Depends on what your comparing...Carl on asphalt is comparible with Larson, As an overall driver I dont thing Carl could hold a candle to Kenny though...Schrader was a great usac driver in his day, not saying you but I think alot of people just think of Kennys last 15 years of racing when hes been on the downslope of his career...

[Highside Hustler25]

Depends on what your comparing...Carl on asphalt is comparible with Larson, As an overall driver I dont thing Carl could hold a candle to Kenny though...Schrader was a great usac driver in his day, not saying you but I think alot of people just think of Kennys last 15 years of racing when hes been on the downslope of his career...

Schrader has accomplished more in his career than any of the above mentioned. He might not have won a Cup championship, but He's done just about everything else. Kasey Kahne? Really?
Larson is one of those once every 10 year racers. They don't come around often. He will probably go down as one of the best one day but his career is just getting started. Kenny's overall resume far exceeds those above mentioned drivers. 20 years from now, different story.

[CageFaraday]

You just like to hear yourself talk...and please stop acting like your're always schooling somebody with your rambling, all that garbage and still didnt say a thing...

Made perfect sense to me... Some racers race to earn a living, not just to travel around and be seen by just any large crowd.

[Illtsate32]

Phil, I take no issue with you're saying. But, if you had been at Lincoln last July you would see why the promoter might be anxious to throw the midgets into the mix. The crowd at Lincoln was one of the largest I've ever seen at a local, weekly racetrack. The racing was incredible in regards to both the midgets and the late models.
It makes no difference if you believe it or not. The facts are that the St. Louis event has happened just twice. Face it, this deal isn't the World Hundred, Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals, Turkey Night Grand Prix or The Chili Bowl. Any one of those events are a resume' maker for the winner in their respective divisions and The Chili Bowl gets the winner a huge amount of national attention from the racing world as a whole.

Next November/December will be the very first time for any dirt open wheel division to be a part of it. We don't know the payout yet but besides that the midget portion will most likely be on a par with the two USAC National Midget shows at Du Quoin. In other words, it will be a nice win but nowhere near a career maker like those shows I mentioned above. Kyle Larson said in an interview recently that he wants to win The Chili Bowl more than he does the Daytona 500. Can you honestly put the St. Louis deal in the same category? I don't think so, and I know no one that does.............accept you! LOL! I really hope they can get Larson, Bell, Stenhouse, Pittman, Kasey Kahne and others to St. Louis for this deal but it's going to take more than the prestige of winning it to do it.

Ten years from now it might be a whole other story but today, not so much.

Really? I don't do twitter, or whatever it is, so I haven't seen anything to that effect. Guys like Larson and Bell were pining to be a part of this show even before it was announced? Hmmm. If you can believe the gibberish on social media then obviously the promoter has been in contact with the big guns well prior to this announcement. I'd be curious to see what the incentive would be for those guys to be anxious to race this event. Guys like Larson, Stenhouse Jr. and Bell have no real monetary incentive to be a part of it and, as I said, there is no tradition of prestige yet attached to it.

A very good question arose in the sprint car section as to whether these midgets would be USAC/POWRi legal or if they're going to allow the Chili Bowl specific midgets. I'm just guessing off the top of my head but I would say there are probably a couple dozen Chili Bowl specific cars out there and if they can get those cars and drivers to participate it would be a better show than if they go USAC/POWRi rules, in my opinion.

You make a good point, Phil. I would be there Saturday night whether the midgets are there or not since they're not running against Du Quoin. It's a given that something is going to have to be done about car count or they'll need to be racing at noon and they'll still be racing at 11 PM. I too would prefer for the midgets to be a stand alone deal like they are at Du Quoin and The Chili Bowl but given that this deal hasn't got any momentum yet it's probably better from the promoters' standpoint to combine the classes.

Lets get one thing straight, you really don't know for sure who I would like to see show up but one thing is for sure, I want to see the likes of Rico, Larson and Bell to show up to race midgets regardless of the venue. Since you don't know what you're talking about don't try to put words in my mouth.

This is getting boring but I'll try one more time. Larson, Sammy, Rico, Damion Gardner among some others have yet to ever show up at Du Quoin for either the December race or the March race. And believe me, in the midget world the Du Quoin events carry as much weight as any indoor event except The Chili Bowl and for sure more than a first year unsanctioned event. Dave Darland has been to Du Quoin a time or two but not lately. If the promoter can hype it up enough to get the really big dogs there then more power to him. The same promoter conned some of them into taking part in the biggest debacle in the history of racing over at Indy so anything is possible!

From the video of the Saturday night crowd at St. Louis it would take documentation to make 20,000+ believable. Larson's favorite event, The Chili Bowl, draws close to 20,000 5 nights in a row and it'll be 6 nights in a row in 2019 and that's with just one class racing! 15,000 seats sold and the pit side bleachers are GA for those that have pit passes.

Sorry so long but it's like trying to explain neurosurgery to a 3rd grader.

Hey CIRF, so what it is? Drop jaw and start shoveling in all that crow lol...