From USAC
Bradford, VT — USAC returns to the state of Vermont for the first time in 27 years Saturday when the 2011 USAC DMA Midget Series debuts at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford.
Mel Kenyon, whose seven National Championships and 111 National feature wins are all-time USAC records, won the only previous USAC race in the Nutmeg State, a 30-lap race at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven in 1984.
Saturday’s race is the first of five planned at the quarter-mile dirt oval. The Dirt Midget Association (DMA) also has June 18, July 16 and August 20 dates and is scheduled to conclude at Bear Ridge September 20.
The new series incorporates non-winged Midgets which for the past several years had utilized Oldsmobile Quad4 engines. The 2011 rules, however, will permit any Midget power plant in an environment where cost efficiency is a premium.
One of the participants and principals in the new series is Connecticut’s Denny Zimmerman, the 1971 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.
“These cars had been competing at Whip City Speedway in Westfield, Mass.” he says. “But that track closed and we moved on to Bear Ridge for 2011. We are also seeking additional dates.”