A VINTAGE
ARTICLE The
History of Quarter Midget Racing
This informative article was extracted from the
Program for the 3rd. Annual Cal Expo. Winter Indoor RACE,
1985, the author's name could not be found. This was a Quarter
Midgets of America (racing association) event. It then follow
that credit must be given to that organization for it's
original creation.
History Miniature auto racing has been with us almost as long
as auto car racing itself. Although it is nearly impossible to
date the start of the sport, I'm sure the early 1930s were the
real spawning years. Children have always copied their elders,
so it was not uncommon for them to turn to
"soap-box" racers as soon as the first big cars
stripped down and began to race one another.
It didn't take long before fathers began to attach washing
machine or similar engines to the wooden boards and toy wagon
wheels, so their children could drive on country lanes and in
backyards, in imitation of the race cars of those days. The
first notice of an organized meet was two day event called the
"Children's Speed Classic" staged on May 26-27, 1934
at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The cars were built by Floyd "Pop" Dreyer, who
worked for the Duesenberg Brothers, Indianapolis race car
builders. Oil drums were placed on a section of the main
straightaway to mark out a small oval here the cars reached
the fantastic speed of 20 m.p.h. Pop's three-year old son was
one of the drivers. Prior to this, in 1932, the Winston
Corporation of Joliet, Ill., manufactured a "Winston
Racer" which was large enough to hold either a child or
an adult.
By 1934 the Maytag Washing Machine Company of Newton, Iowa was
turning out a somewhat similar car. Both cars had an engine
mounted behind the driver and drove the wheels by a
"V-belt" arrangement. The engine in this case was
the same one cylinder "Multi-Motor" used by Maytag
to power their washing machines.
During the years from 1934 to 1940, Maytag sold over 500 of
these little "Maytag Racers". By 1938 a group of
fathers had banded together in the small Los Angeles community
of San Marino, and under the guidance of a local service
station operator, Coyle Tracy, formed the Junior Midgets of
America, Chapter One, more to keep the little motorized cars
off the street than to promote racing.
Some cars were the aforementioned Winston and Maytag Racers,
but most were home built. Very few had any form of a body,
only wooden frames. Power came from a variety of sources,
including ex- washing machine engines, lawn mower and pipe
threading engines. One car used an electric battery powered
auto starter. Ages of the drivers ranged from six to 14 and
included girls. Speeds up to 30 m.p.h. were reached on the
1/10th of a mile flat, dirt oval during the weekly
races.
Of the 21 cars, in the club, costs varied from $65 up to
$1200. Anything was raceable as long as it had four wheels and
an engine under two horsepower, no body, no floor board, no
seat belt. Safety equipment, as such, was not required, with
the exception of goggles to protect the eyes from the dirt. By
winning the "Helmet Dash" several weeks in a row, a
youngster could win a driving helmet.
A unique aspect of membership in the Junior Midgets included
the drivers' school grades provision, failing grades and no
racing that week. Nation-wide attention was given this group
of racers by articles in major magazines and newspapers as
well as in newsreels and films. A big boost to the sport of
miniature car racing came with the formation of the Junior
Midget Motor Car Company by a Los Angeles auto parts dealer,
Joe Lucus, and Lou Faegol, the son of the owner of the Faegol
Truck Company.
They began making a hand-made production model racer styled
after the "big" midgets of those days. The engine
was mounted in front of the driver and used a chain drive to
the rear axle. Without a body, it was called a
"Midget-Midget" and looked like the first GoCart.
The appearance of these cars brought a standardization to the
cars and a few safety features. After World War 11, various
groups across the nation formed local Junior Midget clubs to
resume racing the small cars.
A couple of kids driving their cars on the street were invited
to a vacant lot to participate with other youngsters in some
informal races. One of these boys was Jimmy Caruthers, now an
Indianapolis 500 race car driver (remember the original
vintage of this article). Jimmy was nine years old and brother
Danny only four.
The skill and enthusiasm of the youngsters inspired Jimmy's
father, Doug Carruthers, to build a track for them on the
grounds of his Viking Trailer Company. Dubbed the "Jelly
Bean Bowl" it was a 1/20th of a mile, banked, dirt oval.
Having had prior racing experience racing dragsters on the dry
lakes of Southern California, Doug Caruthers saw the need for
some form of organization to the races, and thus formed the
Quarter Roadster Association, styled after the big time URA
(United Racing Association), using many of the same rules and
regulations.
Caruthers also saw the need for a standardization of cars and
engines and soon began the manufacture of a rear engine, one-
fourth scale midget--a true quarter midget. Many of these cars
were sold through a large department store, and soon after
many clubs across the country adopted similar engine and car
specifications as those of the Quarter Roadster Association.
Within a few short years, there were more than a dozen
companies turning out hundreds of these little Quarter
Midgets.
The hand-formed sheet metal bodies were replaced by the light
weight fiberglass style that were easier to produce. Safety
standards were raised, with the introduction of mandatory
driving helmets, roll bars and seat belts. National growth
came in leaps and bounds to the sport. In Northern California,
alone, there were 17 tracks and almost 3000 drivers in 1957.
During this period there were 35-40 companies mass producing
quarters as well as hundreds of smaller garages turning out
custom made cars.
Realizing the strength in a national organization, another
attempt was made to nationalize the sport by the formation of
a single association to be the governing body for all races.
These races were to be run under a program of standard car and
engine specifications and a uniform set of racing and safety
rules. From these efforts was born the Quarter Midgets of
America, a nationally recognized sanctioning body for quarter
and half midget races in this country and Canada. Since its
birth, the organization has been responsible for setting
uniform engine, car, racing and safety rules.
Coordinating and sanctioning racing events, providing
insurance for tracks and drivers, and publishing an Annual
Directory and a bimonthly newsletter--The QuarteReporter all
came into the realm of the Association. Annual meetings of
National Officers and Directors are now held at the yearly
Grand Nationals, Since the formation of QMA, membership growth
has not been rapid, but nevertheless it has been constant. In
1964 the first "QMA Grand National Championships"
were held in Hayward, Calif., with 150 entries. By 1975, and
the running of the 12th Annual "Grand", attendance
has grown to well over 500 participants.
A recently added region in Florida has brought the Quarter
Midgets of America into 13 regional areas, including a club in
Canada. Governed by elected national officers and a board of
directors, QMA has taken steps recently to gain more national
recognition, including the entry of a float in the
Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade.
Many of the regional States Races and the Grand National have
had a financial assist from major auto parts companies. As to
the future of quarter midget racing: it will continue to grow
and make changes the same as the sport it imitates.
Already the past 10 years have seen several innovations, such
as mandatory safety roll cages, quick release seat and
shoulder harnesses, new style fiberglass bodies with such
added strength that it replaces the need for bumpers and nerf
bars. In addition, better performance from the small engines
has in turn lowered track records with increasing regularity.
