Change is coming to next year’s Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals at The Dome at America’s Center, including a revamped Super Late Model registration process and a $120,000 increase to the event’s overall purse.

• Big Changes Announced For 2025 Gateway Dirt Nationals
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Gateway Dirt Nationals promoter and founder Cody Sommer also made it clear that the indoor spectacle remains an event only for Super Late Models and Modifieds, meaning Midgets will be excluded from the indoor spectacle for a fourth-straight year.

Because the 37-year-old Dirt Late Model extraordinaire ups the ante yearly with the Gateway Dirt Nationals, could Midgets ever return to Downtown St. Louis someday? Open-wheel lovers, don’t get your hopes up.

“Absolutely not. I can answer that right now,” Sommer told FloRacing over Gateway Dirt Nationals weekend. “Listen, the thing is, I’m a different promoter than some people probably think or realize. Not every decision is about money. Every decision isn’t whether it’ll be sustainable or whether it’s profitable.

“I’m a passion guy, I’m an emotional guy, I’m a showman. I really believe I’m a showman. Sometimes I believe if you focus on that, the rest will take care of itself. I have a hard time putting on a show with 20 Midgets. That’s what showed up last time. I tried and I wanted to get these other guys, and they just didn’t express the interest I felt like it deserved.”

Super Late Models and Modifieds have been the backbone of The Dome’s fifth-mile temporary oval whereas Midgets have only appeared twice on the event’s undercard in 2019 and ’21. In 2019, Sommer lured in the biggest names in open-wheel racing, namely Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant, 2019 event champion Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Giovanni Scelzi, Logan Seavey, and Tanner Thorson, on top of a 35-car field.

But in 2021, the car count dipped to 25 with none of the aforementioned drivers participating, which didn’t make sense to Sommer. The final Midget race in 2021 also put on one of the best races The Dome has seen, too, with Jonathan Beason passing Chris Windom on the last lap for the win.

“We ended up having a banger of a race, and of course, after it, everybody wants to be talking about it,” Sommer said. “The first year we had a ton of interest. It was awesome. We had Bell, we had Larson, we had Briscoe, we had them all. We had anybody who was in Midget racing. It was like the whole cream of the crop. For no reason, the next year, there wasn’t the interest. For that reason, it would take something substantial for me to say I want to add Midgets to this race.”

Even with the Chili Bowl Nationals car count higher than ever, and even with Bell cleared to race on dirt again and Kyle Busch dabbling in Midget cars, Sommer just doesn’t seem that interested in bringing back the division.

Sommer did offer up an another idea, though, that would need a supporting cast just for him to entertain the following half-baked thought.

“Now, would I consider doing a Midgets-only race? Maybe,” Sommer said. “But I would need some notable people in Midget racing who really corner me and say, ‘Cody, we want you to be the guy to do this.’ And I haven’t had that. My phone ain’t rang from a Kyle Larson or Keith Kunz, or Tim Clauson or any of them saying, ‘Hey, we really need you to do this, man.’ Until then, I’m not even going to worry about it.”

Kunz, the multi-time USAC National Midget champion car owner, later commented the following on Facebook.

"Cody is 100 (percent) right, Cody is one hell of a promoter and showman," Kunz began. "He gave the midgets an opportunity and wanted The Dome to grow with them. I was there the first year and for me personally with the Chili Bowl right behind it, and the number of cars we run, something had to give. It was too much for our team to handle.

"I appreciate the opportunity that Cody gave us to build another great winter event but the way it turned out I believe it was the best thing for Cody and The Dome. The Dome is a Late Model/Modified showcase event, and every year it gets bigger and better. It truly has turned into one of the greatest shows on dirt. Keep doing what your doing, Cody, and everyone else sit back and enjoy the show."