From The Indianapolis Speedrome®
One of the most familiar sanctioning bodies in the entire racing world, the United States Auto Club, is returning to one of its traditional homes in 2010. The Indianapolis Speedrome® will see USAC grace the schedule with four divisions competing in six scintillating Wednesday programs. Those point championship nights will see fantastic competition for Regional Midgets, Ford Focus Midgets, Ford Focus Young Guns, and Mopar .25 Midgets. The railbird chatter and Internet forums are buzzing in anticipation of the open wheel traditions triumphant arrival.
“It is great to see USAC back at the Indianapolis Speedrome”, said former track champion Billy Wease. “This is the track where many race fans from across the country got their first taste of premier Midget racing via ESPN television. And so many of today’s top drivers on the national level have raced at the Speedrome. The USAC Regional Midget Series has been the springboard to success for many racers including myself”. To see the next generation of superstars, mark the May 26th, June 2nd, June 9th, June 23rd, June 30th, and July 7th programs on your 2010 to-do-list. Each event will be special for many reasons including the latest innovation, a live broadcast. The programs will all be streamed in real time on their web site www.usacracing.com. This unparalleled showcase will see some of the best blossoming talent develop on a true drivers track.
Here are just some of the historic numbers. Over the 54-year history of the USAC sanctioning body, the Indianapolis Speedrome® has hosted races in all but 17 of those campaigns with 452 feature winning points being handed out. On 42 occasions, it was a National Midget Series main event headlining the card with legendary pilots Sleepy Tripp (8 wins) and Rich Vogler (6 wins) pacing the all-time victory list. USAC sanctioned several forms of motorsports here over the years. But, it was the Regional Midget series proposed by then Indianapolis Speedrome® owner John Stiles that was the innovative crown jewel. The most USAC Speedrome division main events were an incredible 322 “A” feature races in that series from 1981 to 2005 with Michael Lang winning 54 times.
Third on the all-time USAC backed classes were the open-wheel Modifieds with 36 features ran in 1993 and 1994. Rick Tomasik and Robby Frye bested that league with 7 victories each. Next on the rankings is a pair of divisions designed to showcase young rising stars climbing the motorsports ladder. The Kenyon Midgets held 26 contests with now NASCAR star Bryan Clauson taking 7 while the Ford Focus cars competed in 25 main events with Josh Clemons hoisting 6 trophies. USAC even sanctioned a100-lap Stockcar race won by Mike St John in 1985. All in told, 143 different racers have won features at the Speedrome under the USAC banner. Look for more history revisited over the coming weeks.
We are so proud to have the USAC Regional Midgets, Ford Focus Midgets, Ford Focus Young Guns, and Mopar .25 Midgets at the Speedrome in 2010. The dates, all Wednesday nights, for this heralded racing return are May 26th, June 2nd, June 9th, June 23rd, June 30th, and July 7th. Each event will see test drives and a driver school in the afternoon before preliminary heats begin at 7:15pm. The feature lineup is 40-laps for Ford Focus Midgets, main events for the Mopar .25 Midgets, a traditional 50-lapper for the Regional series, and the capper 30-laps for the new Ford Focus Young Gun cars. For more information, you can visit www.usacracing.com or www.speedrome.com.