For Immediate Release
Quarter Midget Racing Suspended Indefinitely at Legendary
Mini-Indy Speedway
QMA’s strong-arm tactics halt competition after sanctioning body
is voted out
(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., October 2, 2011)—Quarter midget competition was suspended until further notice at legendary Mini-Indy Speedway, located at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, on September 30, 2011. Halting activities indefinitely is the latest move made by the Mini-Indy Board of Directors, in cooperation with Indiana State Fair officials, to battle an onslaught of oppressive actions taken by Quarter Midgets of America (QMA) designed to prevent the club from divorcing QMA, which currently serves as the club’s sanctioning organization, in favor of the United States Auto Club (USAC) new .25 quarter midget program established in 2008.
Mini-Indy is one of several quarter midget clubs across the country that have left QMA sanctioning in favor of USAC in recent months, including clubs located in Lansing and Kalamazoo Michigan; Phoenix, Arizona; and Nashville, Tennessee. The decision to part ways with QMA came as a result of an 8-2 Mini-Indy Board vote held on September 15 in Indianapolis.
Says Paul Lushin, Chairman of the Mini-Indy Board of Directors. “But we are bound to do what it best for our club, and in the end it was the absolute right thing to do for Mini-Indy. Our club has struggled with a decreasing car count over the past couple of years. At the same time, there is a growing number of area clubs surrounding us that are now USAC sanctioned, and many of our members attending these events have enjoyed a fresh approach to quarter midget racing which USAC has brought forward. After a 3 month Board study, we voted a new direction to secure the future of Mini-Indy”.
While the board wanted input from the membership, they understood that, based on previous experience, the final decision to change sanctioning would need to be shouldered by the Board rather than the membership. “We didn’t want to have the Mini-Indy membership fighting with each other and hurling personal barbs back and forth. We’ve seen it happen before and it’s not pretty, explains Lushin referring to the club’s 2008 debate over sanctioning bodies. “It was a blood bath and it was very painful to watch. There are still families who were close friends who don’t speak to this day because of the personal attacks that occurred over this debate.”
“We also knew there was a very real possibility that QMA would ban members who were vocal in their opposition of them,” continued Lushin. Lushin’s comments are supported by the fact that in less than three years
QMA has banned several members across the Midwest including several from the Buckeye Ohio club and club presidents from Toledo, Albuquerque and Connecticut for taking similar stances.
“We felt that it was our job to take those hits rather than ask the membership to suffer. We all agreed to take the arrows that we knew would be thrown from those who disagreed with the decision and the QMA organization.”
Gathering input from the membership before a final vote happened was important. The Board was unwavering in their desire to avoid a controversial situation similar to the one that occurred in 2008 when the same debate nearly tore the club apart. Therefore, to ensure that the membership understood the differences in sanctioning bodies and to make certain their opinions were taken into consideration, a thoughtful process was undertaken. The Board first impaneled a member committee to investigate commonalities and differences between sanctioning organizations and shared the results with members. Next, a telephone survey was conducted to see what sanctioning body the membership preferred and results were tabulated for the total membership and for the active membership. And, in a final step, the membership was invited to ask questions and voice their opinions in an open session held before the Board’s official vote to ensure the vote represented a majority of the membership’s wishes. Nearly 60 percent of the total membership voiced in favor of changing sanctioning bodies to USAC versus only 13 percent who wanted to stay under QMA sanction.
The percentage increased to 70 percent in favor when surveying the active membership alone.
Survey Questions:
Which sanctioning body would you support for Mini-Indy?
These numbers solidified the Board’s decision to switch from QMA sanctioning to USAC. It was made official by a vote held on September 10th and was made immediately effective in a vote held on September 15th. The first USAC sanctioned event was held at Mini-Indy on September 24th, and the club immediately saw a 30 percent increase in the number of cars racing.
However, as expected, the decision has not come without controversy and consequences. In response, QMA and the organization’s advocates have taken drastic measures to prevent Mini-Indy’s departure. These actions, which have been used successfully in the past to deter other clubs from switching sanctioning organizations, include:
- Several Code of Conduct (COCs) notices were filed against all eight board members who voted for USAC sanctioning. While the Mini-Indy Board member’s decision supported a change in sanctioning bodies, it was not their personal intent to leave QMA as individual members or influence any Mini-Indy Club member to do so. Because QMA has no jurisdiction to change the Board’s decision, they leveraged the COCs and issued individual bans of up to one year on each Board member who voted in favor of USAC in the hopes of convincing them to stop the sanctioning change. QMA outlined a contingency offer that included a list of demands that Mini-Indy Board members were asked to agree to, including the continuing of QMA sanction, in exchange for canceling the personal membership bans.
- Following the proper procedures, an appeal was filed by the individual Mini-Indy Board members; however QMA disregarded their own bylaws and ignored the appeals. When it became evident that QMA was not going to follow their own rules, the Board voted to completely sever all ties with QMA effective immediately.
- In response, QMA issued a lifetime ban against all eight Board members who voted to part ways with QMA.
- Next, letters from QMA representatives and personal lawyers representing individuals who are in favor of QMA sanctioning were sent to the membership in an attempt to lead them to believe that the decision to go with USAC was void as a result of the ban.
- The locks to the tower and concession stand at the Mini-Indy facility were changed without notice unknown to the Mini-Indy Board.
- Various USAC paraphernalia was torn down and discarded at the Mini-Indy facility.
- The computerized scoring program was erased and required re-formatting.
The obvious escalation of the situation led the Mini-Indy Board, which is still intact and governing the club, to consider hiring professional security for club races. However, after much consideration (and in cooperation with the Indiana State Fairgrounds) the board felt instead that suspending race competition was the right move.
“The kids are our first and foremost concern. We absolutely wanted to let them race. But, given the drastic actions that QMA and some of their supporters have taken, we felt the situation had potential to escalate further. We believe that it’s not worth jeopardizing the safety of our kids, and don’t want to risk exposing them to a potentially dangerous situation. In addition, we value the relationship we have with the Indiana State Fair and we don’t want to drag them into the middle of what is tantamount to an ugly divorce that is being fueled by a few close-minded members.”
And sadly, as happens in many divorces, the children who race at Mini-Indy have become collateral damage; missing three scheduled club races so far. “It’s truly unfortunate that the kids at Mini-Indy were unable to race this past weekend,” says USAC National .25 Director, James Spink. “They are the true losers in this situation.”
“I applaud the Board for putting the well being of the kids first,” finishes Spink. “The moral fiber and spirit they are demonstrating by standing up against these tactics is proof that the Mini-Indy Board cares about the club’s future.”
The track will remain empty at Mini-Indy until the situation is resolved and the Board is convinced that racing can resume in a safe and fun manner.
“Mini-Indy will hold races again and they will be under USAC sanctioning,” pronounced Lushin. “Contrary to the rumors that are being spread by QMA supporters, the Board followed proper procedures, quided by legal counsel along the way and the club was given two forums to express their opinions. The results of the phone survey speak for themselves, and an overwhelming majority of our members want to race under USAC sanctioning. |
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Members of Central Indiana QMA
C/o Mr. Jason Thomas
Dear CIQMA Members,
I am writing this letter to reassure you, the members of CIQMA, that you and your club remains under the sanctioning body of Quarter Midgets of America until you, the members decide differently. The decision of your former board members to change your sanctioning body was done without the input or the vote of you, the membership. The outcome of which sanctioning body you chose should be your choice. With that in mind, Quarter Midgets of America has retained legal council to insure that you will have a choice on your destiny. Upon investigation of the actions that have transpired over the past few weeks it is overly apparent that the club?s best interest was not paramount. It is unfortunate for all that a simple membership vote per the clubs by-laws, which could be done at a regular membership meeting, could have solved these issues.
The facts simply are as follows:
The racing charter contract with Quarter Midgets of America is still in effect until 12/31/2011.
The members from the board of directors that attempted to use their position to directly break the code of conduct of QMA have been removed as members of Quarter Midgets of America. Their actions have been deemed detrimental to the organization and club, thus their membership has been revoked. In addition, please read your QMA membership contract, page two specifically.
The president, Jason Thomas, will call a membership meeting and elect Board of Director members as required by your by-laws.
If the membership desires a vote of intent to change the sanctioning body for CIQMA for the 2012 racing season they can decide for themselves per the bylaws.
Additionally, I would like to clear up some misconceptions. The bank account that CIQMA has is the club?s money. I want to point out that the money in that account was generated by QMA members under the sanctioning body of QMA. Your alumni base is strong in CIQMA, so don?t hesitate to ask their opinion on these matters, as they helped raise this money for your QMA club.
Another misconception is that QMA just goes around removing members as they please. Under the sanctioning body of Quarter Midgets of America there are actions expected of the National, Regional, and Local officers to uphold the rules and regulations of the corporation. When the officers use their influence to avert from the vision of the corporation, they fall under the scrutiny of the organization?s code of conduct. QMA has had many clubs change sanctioning bodies without any of their members having membership revoked.
You must ask yourself as members, what was the urgency of this decision mid season? I would like you to ask any of the other sanctioning bodies exactly how many tracks they have built from the bottom up? Your track at CIQMA was built by members following the same mission statement that has been in effect for the past 50 years. Families that believed in QMA, joined QMA, raced and worked to improve QMA, QMA members whose hard work and dedication raised money and made improvements for the future of QMA. Members who wish to fall under a different sanctioning body should ask that sanctioning body to build them a new track and build their own future there, don?t you think?
In conclusion, the Quarter Midgets of America?s mission statement has been and will continue to be ?. . . to create and maintain a clean, safe, healthy sport, which may be enjoyed by all family members in a close relationship with good sportsmanship toward all.? Quarter Midget racing is the only type of racing we promote. For fifty years, all officers from the national level down to the local level have dedicated themselves to do what is best for our children and to teach them true sportsmanship. We do not promote any other form of racing. Our belief is to give all members the choice if they wish to pursue whatever different form of racing when they decide to graduate or retire from QMA. If your family decides that they will not pursue any other racing ventures it is our hope that the lessons in sportsmanship, leadership, and family bonding will help them in whatever endeavor they choose.
I am hopeful the members of the CIQMA club that have gotten caught up in this are not punished anymore-they just want their kids to race. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me (215) 801-3771.
Respectfully,
Richard Tisone
Richard Tisone
President, Quarter Midgets of America
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