February 2004 - Inside Line Column - by Floyd Busby

The 2004 season brings several major changes to the Midget division - in the field of the awarding of points and track communications.

The Midget car point system in the past has awarded a team's pavement and dirt cars separate points. Beginning this season such two car teams will earn the aggregated points of both cars toward the car owner championship - the two team cars will appear on the point standings as one car. This is in line with most other organizations in the country. This topic was of major concern and the board of directors gathered input from car owners before a split vote made the change at the February board meeting.

All BCRA Midget entries will be required to install and use one-way radios.

The special purchase program of a radio and driver earpiece has been is being made available to car owners. BCRA will also have extra sets radios to rent to visiting entries who do not have their own. The radios are one-way, whereby the radio-control official can communicate instructions to the on-track cars during yellow flag conditions, etc. This system was utilized last season in several co-sanctioned events and most of the BCRA drivers were very positive.

The point system remains the same with the Midget Lite division, which will not be using radios.

The BCRA vintage division will be providing on-track exhibitions at nine races with the Midgets and Midget Lites. This is more co-events than in the recent past. The tracks include Madera, Lakeport, Reno-Fernley, Marysville, Orland, Hanford, Santa Maria, with a tentative date at Stockton. The vintage will also be present at Placerville during the annual "Jack London Bash" picnic and Hall of Fame with a static display on July 10.

The Midget division has acquired the services of several experienced officials. Tom Manning will return as the Chief Referee. Rick Yuhre and Scott Erwin are expected to take assistant positions. Greg Tyler remains as assistant referee, Jimmy Montgomery as pit steward/statistician and Floyd Busby as scorer/press person.

The Midget Lite division is still seeking a Chief Referee. Anyone out there with experience that wants to get involved with this exciting division can call the BCRA office at (209) 830-9928 evenings The newly-formed Website Committee has corresponded with our webmaster Dennis Daniel and the results will be some changes, additions and upgrades to the BCRA website at BCRAracing.com.

At the most recent board meeting 16-year-old Scott Pierovich and his father provided a resume of Scott's racing experience.  Emancipation proceedings are in the works and the teenager should be approved for the Midget division soon.

Another "rookie", with a lot of super modified experience, is Bobby Dalton. The senior Dalton has both a pavement and a dirt Midget and his 18-year old son can be expected to compete in a number of Midget races this season, while concentrating on his super. Last year at Madera he held Tony Stewart off for ten laps before the NASCAR champ got by for the super modified win.

C.L. Bryant, a major sponsor in all three BCRA divisions, will be sponsoring two year-end trophies and championship jackets in addition to a certificate good for ten gallons of fuel at each race through a draw. At the three Stockton Midget events, Bryant and their VP Racing Fuels brand, will hand out five ten-gallon certificates per race.

It will be 50-50 for the Midget Lites this season when it comes to wings....no, the wings won't be 50-percent smaller or larger....half of the races will be without the Lites traditional airfoil. Considered late last season as an experiment in '04, the original aim of trying two or three events wingless enlarged to half of the events. It doesn't take much imagination to parlay that into a totally wingless division in 2005....we'll wait and see.

Doug Hunting will be returning to defend his Lite driving title. Car owner champ Scott Clark will be returning to defend his title and take away Huntings'.

Seven-time BCRA Midget driving champion Floyd Alvis will be honored at the annual Motor Sports Press Association "Green Flag" dinner in March. Floyd will receive the highest open wheel/oval track award, "Open wheel Driver on an Oval". He went up against some stiff competition in the balloting. In the past the MSPA has bestowed several accolades upon Alvis. In 2001 he was the "Motorsportsman of the Year", in 1997 "Athlete of the Year" and in 1978 as "Most Improved Driver of the Year". Alvis returns this season looking for number-eight!

Cameron Beard, last year's Midget car owner champion, has replaced his crossover VanDyne/Beast with pavement and dirt cars that he purchased out of the Chicago area. Look for Cameron to go for broke!

The final Midget race of the 2004 season will be BCRA's signature "Johnny Boyd Memorial" race at the Santa Maria Speedway.

Sponsorships and contingences are currently in the works and the prognosis is for the biggest purse in recent BCRA history to finish off the season.

The second race of the Midget season is the Gerhardt Classic at the Madera Speedway on April 10. As last year this will be a 100-lapper with 33 cars. Unlike last year USAC's national division is not included. With 33 west coast BCRA and USAC starters the field will likely have a more diversified qualification expect the large and diversified field to provide a very competitive event.- a larger gap between the fastest and slowest - Expect a lot of lapping.

For additional information and updates, please check out the BCRA website at BCRAracing.com.