July 23, 2008 12:57 am
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People are always amazed when they first hear about the Pay Less Little 500 for sprint cars at Anderson Speedway. This weekend, another unique event is taking place, with a 400-lap race for USAC Midgets.
Anderson Speedway is a high-banked quarter-mile speedway where laps are turned in the 12-second range at speeds above 80 miles per hour.
I have vivid memories of my first Little 500 in 1971, watching 33 sprint cars run 500 laps on the track. When I first heard about the race, my reaction was that the drivers are nuts, and the race must take days to complete. I was wrong on both counts.
This Saturday, track owner Rick Dawson is hosting the inaugural Anderson 400 Midget Classic, presented by Hoosier Tire with the winner assured of $10,000, and paying $1,000 to start.
There will be some unique features for the race, the longest event for the midget division. There will be a break at 200 laps for the crews to refuel the cars, change tires and make adjustments.
Up to 34 cars will start the race.
Among the early entries is Eric Gordon, who has won the Little 500 eight times — six of the past eight. New Castle driver Tracy Hines, the current points leader in the division, is entered along with Bobby East, Aaron Pierce and Dakota Armstrong.
The first midget race at Anderson was run in 1961, and the winner was A.J. Foyt.
Anderson Speedway is a track made for midgets. The banking allows the drivers to run multiple grooves, and it is not unusual to see a driver enter a corner high and then dive to the low groove to complete a pass.
The speedway is hosting the USAC Regional Midgets, Kenyon Midgets and Ford Focus Midgets at 7 p.m., and it would be a safe bet to see a lot of drivers coming to the track for the first time as a tune-up for the “Classic.”
The USAC Midget division is competing on Thursday at O’Reilly Raceway Park along with the Silver Crown cars. Many of the drivers competing at ORP will probably make the trip to Anderson on Friday for qualifications and Saturday for the “Classic.”
Tickets for the Anderson 400 Midget Classic are priced at $22. The race is scheduled for an 8 p.m. start.
Some driver will put his name in the record book as the first winner of the race that is hoped to be an annual event at Anderson Speedway.
Other racing news:
This is the weekend that NASCAR invades Indianapolis with the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series competing at ORP on Friday and Saturday and the Allstate 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
From past experience, the best racing will take place at ORP.
Current Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch, fresh from a sweep of the Cup and Nationwide series events two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway, is entered in all three events.
It’s hard to imagine Busch not winning at least one of the three events. Tony Stewart is the defending Allstate 400 champion and is looking for his first win in 2008.
Handling will be the key at IMS as Cup drivers compete for the first time there in the COT. Several drivers said straight-away speed is not going to be as important as getting through the corners.
With that in mind, my guess is that Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and the Hendrick stable of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in contention for the victory.
Since Earnhardt took part in the tire tests at IMS, he is my pick for the victory.
n Construction is going on around ORP currently, something the Indiana Department of Transportation should have delayed for a couple of weeks. Fans coming in from the east will have no problems getting to the track; those coming in from west of Clermont will experience a detour.
Ken de la Bastide’s auto racing column is published Wednesdays in The Herald Bulletin. He can be reached at (765) 454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com.
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