Quarter Midget news 2009-03-09

.25 LIST EXPANDS WITH ADDITION OF THE BUCKEYE CLUB

USAC's list of .25 Midget member associations continues to expand with today's announcement that the Buckeye Quarter Midget Racing Association is now adding a USAC Charter to their program.

Formed in 1957, BQMRA has become the preeminent quarter midget organization in the United States, staging events at both indoor and outdoor facilities each year. Their Indoor WinterNationals are staged at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, OH and regularly attract hundreds of families from Florida to the state of Washington. The outdoor races are conducted at the Nuckles family's famed Columbus Motor Speedway in the Ohio capital. The BQMRA competes from April to October, concluding with the "Pumpkin Fun Race."

Quarter midget racing has been a pastime for central Ohio families since 1958 when the Buckeye Quarter Midget Racing Association was created," according to BQMRA President Liz Compton. "As we move in a different direction we are excited about the opportunity to take an active role in the April and September USAC races in Columbus. We are also recommitting ourselves to providing an opportunity for youngsters to experience youth motorsports for the next 50 years."

The addition of the BQMRA brings the total of affiliated USAC .25 Midget associations to 11.

"We've reached yet another plateau with our .25 Midget operations," stated USAC Developmental Racing Series Director James Spink. "We have a long and valued relationship with the Nuckles family but with this announcement the dozens of families who make up BQMRA have joined the fold. It's going to be a banner year for us all."

The great Rex Easton won USAC's first race at Columbus in 1957. In the ensuing years Sprint cars, Midgets and Ford Focus Midgets have competed there, with drivers like Rich Vogler, Mel Kenyon, Sleepy Tripp, Bob Wente, Len Sutton, Gene Hartley, Bryan Clauson and Tracy Hines finding their way to victory lane.

The track also hosts the April 4 "Jegs Crown" Midget Super Nationals, featuring the cars and stars of USAC's Mopar National Midget Series and Midwest Ford Focus Series, a day which will also include USAC Buckeye Quarter Midget Racing Association action.

-credit: --USAC--