January 2005 - MMRA Newsletter

Hello Racers!

Welcome to the first 2005 newsletter from MMRA.  While this website and the news items on it provide lots of information, I decided to begin publishing a monthly newsletter which will allow me to offer more explanation about what is happening with MMRA.  Hopefully these newsletters will further improve MMRA's communication with all of you.

I hope you are enjoying the MMRA Racing TV show which is running now.  I'll be the first to admit "It ain't ESPN" but it still has been the most difficult and expensive project in our recent history.  We did it anyway because we believe our greatest challenge is simply letting people know we exist.  So much of what MMRA does - from our TV show, to our magazine, to our website, is all focused on trying to spread the word about our great sport.  These efforts are difficult and expensive, but I believe they will ultimately lead to growth in car counts, purses, sponsorship, and success.

We are still hard at work on our 2005 plans.  The schedule is shaping up to be the best ever, and we are looking forward to being able to announce the East and West Grand Nationals very soon.  One project that seems to really be taking off is the Speedweeks Special event.  Our PRO Division proved they love Speedweeks in 2004, but it has been very encouraging to hear from all the minicup racers who say they are planning to come.  I guess "selling" Florida in February shouldn't be a difficult thing, but even I have been surprised to hear how many racers are coming from far away to kick off 2005 at Speedweeks.

Another surprise has been our PRO Road Racing Division.  I think we will all be amazed at how many Baby Grand road racers there are, and how tough it will be to win the first ever MMRA PRO Road Racing championship.  Thanks to Lynn Egen for helping to put the package together, and to NASA for welcoming our road racers with open arms.

Finally, our Future Stars division looks like it will also set records in 2005.  In just the Nashville, Tennessee area alone 8 cars have sold in the last two months - half of them new.  MMRA is finally being recognized as an excellent driver development program, and we look forward to welcoming hundreds of graduating quarter midget racers in the next few years.  Of course booking a regular program at the historic Music City Motorplex, didn't hurt either. ;-)

In 2004, MMRA had 11 road warriors who were at every MMRA Touring Series event no matter what.  They were the foundation of success for our Tour, and most will be back this year.  In addition, many new racers are making plans to race at every Touring Series event so it will be harder than ever to win.  As such, we will be awarding special "Touring Series Race Winner" decals as a badge of honor for winners at every Touring Series event.

We will be posting the entry forms for the 2005 Touring and Grand National races very soon.  Just like last year, car numbers are first come, first served based on when we receive the entries back.  Once you send in your entry, look for your name on the event page to see if you reserved your number.  Also, membership forms and rulebooks are already posted for all divisions.

For all the latest news and information about MMRA - be sure to visit this website.  I regularly hear of rumors or misunderstandings about MMRA or our programs that are completely false.  If you want to know the truth about MMRA policy, rules, schedules, etc. this website is the only source.

It will be great to see many of you next month in Florida.  Thank you for your support and best wishes for a great season in 2005!

Pete Neimeier
President, MMRA