Kerstin Smutny to test Midget car

Seattle-area teen to test USAC Midget

ATLANTA - Seattle-area resident and already veteran race car driver Kerstin Smutny will test a USAC Midget racecar with Cunningham Motorsports on January 25th at Lanier Speedway near Atlanta, Georgia, potentially marking return to oval type racing for the 17-year-old in 2008. It was only after many years of success in racing on ovals with Quarter Midgets that Kerstin became involved in karting and eventually formula type racing where drivers compete on road courses. Most recently, in 2006 and 2007, Kerstin competed in the West Coast Formula TR series.

Cunningham Motorsports, one of the premier driver development teams in stock car racing, recently announced that it will be forming the Cunningham Motorsports Jr. Team, in conjunction with Dodge Motorsports, to compete in the USAC National Midget Series in 2008. Dodge Motorsports, a long time partner of Cunningham Motorsports, is a strong supporter of the Jr. team.

"I'm very excited about the potential of becoming a Dodge Motorsports development driver with Cunningham Motorsports in 2008," Smutny said.

"The opportunity to be involved with a premier team like Cunningham Motorsports is exactly the type of arrangement she has been looking for since she started weighing her 2008 options at the end of last season."

Smutny underscored the value of Cunningham Motorsports driver development ladder, which will now start with USAC Midgets, and continue on to the ARCA stock car series and eventually to the NASCAR truck series.

-credit: mwb