Rumble Series Drops USAC Sanction
Dayton, Ohio -- Rumble Series of Indoor Racing President Tony Barhorst announced today that he has dropped the sanction of the United States Auto Club for all promotions, including indoor series races at Columbus, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Ind.
The indoor races will go on without a sanction or may be sanctioned by another series, Barhorst said. The Rumble Series has had races under both scenarios since its inception in 1998. Jack Calabrase/NAMARS and the United Midget Auto Racing Association both have sanctioned the Rumble Series races. In fact, UMARA sanctioned Barhorst's promotions at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The 2003-2004 events both had crowds of more than 20,000 fans. There will be virtually no change in our midget events as Larry Boos will continue as the race director, and Barhorst will promote them. "Larry and I have both worked without USAC in the past on these events, and I expect the entries will be the same," said Barhorst.
Barhorst's decision comes after USAC withdrew its sanction of his Indiana Midget Week race on Aug. 7 at Union County Speedway. The race was held but with only 14 cars competing. 14 more sprint cars ran an unsanctioned part of the event also.
“I helped expand the USAC Midget Week event two years ago from three nights to four in 2007 when I invested in a Thursday night lease of Kamp Motor Speedway in 2007. I was unable to come to an agreement with the owners of Kamp in 2008, and moved my event to Union County Speedway in 2008, expanding Midget Week again. USAC repaid that investment by pulling out of the Liberty event at the last minute without explanation to their gathered fans who had come from as far away as California, Finland, and Austrailia. Drivers who competed later that night in the unsanctioned event stated that the track was not any more unsafe than many other tracks they run events on.”
"I will continue to promote in progressive new ways, with much of the former sanctioning fees USAC charged going to a new car owners point fund for the five race indoor series," he said. "I hope to expand midget racing into new areas, increasing purses and awareness of midget racing. I will use agressive promotions to do that, and look forward to the challenge."
The Rumble Series of Indoor Racing dates are: The Buckeye Bowl Indoor Midget Nationals at the State Fairgrounds Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 1; The Rumble In the Toledo SeaGate Centre on Dec. 19-20; and the Rumble in Fort Wayne on Dec. 26-27.
For event information, e-mail Tony Barhorst at
tbracefest@aol.com, call (317) 418-3216 or visit
www.rumbleseries.com. Entry forms will be announced and sent out soon.