From Dick Jordan
The North Carolina Quarter Midget Racing Association, founded by 2000 NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Bobby Labonte, is the latest addition to the list of USAC .25 Midget member clubs for 2010.
Conducting its races at NCQMA Speedway in Salisbury, N.C., the club’s affiliation with USAC creates a link between the nation’s two motorsports hubs, Charlotte and Indianapolis.
The club’s mission statement reads as follows: To provide and maintain a clean, safe, and healthy sport to be enjoyed by father, son, mother, and daughter in relationship with better sportsmanship., to teach younger generations the handling of mechanical devices, coordination, alertness, and the ability to operate motor driven vehicles, and finally, to impress the younger generation with the ideals of fairness, generosity, and sense of responsibility without envy to others.
The track, located in Rowan County, some 40 miles northeast of Charlotte is 1/20-mile in distance and is the only track of its kind in the Carolinas.
“The addition of the North Carolina club continues to expand the scope of our .25 Midget operations,” says USAC Developmental Racing Director James Spink. “The NCQMA facility is one of the finest in the nation and we are indeed blessed to have it as part of our 2010 calendar.”
The Tarhell State has hosted USAC events since 1961, when Don White won a Stock car race at Concord Speedway. Other USAC race winners in North Carolina through the year have included NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader, 2009 USAC Champions Bud Kaeding, Levi Jones, Tanner Swanson and Jeremy Frankoski, plus 2009 USAC stars Bobby Santos III and Bryan Clauson and all-time Midget king Mel Kenyon. In 2009 eleven races were conducted in the state as part of the USAC Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series.
“Obviously we are pleased to have NCQMA as one of our .25 member clubs,” added USAC President/CEO Kevin Miller. “We’ve enjoyed tremendous growth with our .25 series in a short time span and the future of this segment of USAC racing is bright.”