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Straight from the Speedrome website. :thumb

Thursday March 26,2009 8:20am CST:
OPEN WHEEL RACING RETURNS TO INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDROME
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INDIANAPOLIS -- The excitement of open-wheel racing will return to the Indianapolis Speedrome with four special Sunday afternoon events featuring the Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series and the Wolverine Outlaw/Rumble Series midgets.

Classic Motorsports president Tony Barhorst, who promotes the popular Rumble Series of Indoor Racing, announced the creation of the May 3, May 31, July 19 and Aug. 30 "Sunday Afternoon Stimulus" events. The rain date is Sunday, Sept. 20.

The Wolverine/Rumble midgets will headline the May 3 and May 31 programs, then combine with the HOSS winged sprint cars for a doubleheader on July 19. HOSS will headline the Aug. 30 program, joined by the UMRA TQ midgets.

The four events will feature a variety of open-wheel divisions, as follows:

May 3 -- Wolverine/Rumble midgets (50-lap feature), modifieds, Lucas Oil quarter midgets, karts and junior sprints;

May 31 -- Wolverine/Rumble midgets (75-lap feature), modifieds, Lucas Oil quarter midgets, karts and junior sprints;

July 19 -- HOSS sprint cars (100-lap feature), Wolverine/Rumble midgets (75-lap feature), Lucas Oil quarter midgets, karts and junior sprints;

Aug. 30 -- HOSS sprint cars (100-lap feature), UMRA TQ midgets, Lucas Oil quarter midgets, karts and junior sprints.

For each event, pit gates will open at 9 a.m. and front gates at 10. Heats and features for the midgets, sprints and modifieds will begin at 3 p.m. The quarter midget, kart and junior sprint heats will run in the late morning and early afternoon, and will be mostly completed before 3 p.m. The entire program should be over by 6 p.m., Barhorst said.
The races will benefit the Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Foundation's Dare to Dream Camp for underprivileged youth.

"I'm really pleased to be able to bring open-wheel racing back to the Speedrome," Barhorst said. "The tradition of midget racing at the Speedrome is almost unmatched, and we know from the Auto Value Super Sprint race in 2000 that winged sprint car racing is very exciting here at the Speedrome."

Best known as the home of the World Figure-8 Championship, the 1/5-mile Speedrome has a rich tradition of stock car and open-wheel racing. A.J. Foyt, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Tony Stewart all have raced at the eastside track, which hosted nationally televised midget races in the 1980s and '90s. The "Sunday Afternoon Stimulus " will mark the first midget races at the track since 2005 and the first sprint car races since one was held in 2000.

The Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series, formed in 2001, competes at such high-speed tracks as Salem Speedway and Winchester Speedway. Its cars use 410 cubic-inch engines that produce 800-850 horsepower. Geoff Kaiser, who competes regularly in the Rumble Series midgets, is the defending series champion.

"Our guys are really excited about it," said Tony Swanson, who owns the HOSS series with his wife, Deb. "When you get to a venue that small, there'll be a lot of passing and it should keep the field fairly even. It should be a really exciting event. We've never been on a track that small, and we've never run a 100-lapper.

"If we get 20 cars, like we usually do, it'll be a gunshoot to see who comes out of it."

Veteran driver Jeff Bloom, who finished third in the 2000 race, compared wrestling a winged sprint car around the Speedrome to driving a NASCAR stock car at Bristol or Martinsville.

"It's tenuous," Bloom said of the driving style required. "You're not on the throttle that much. These are 410 sprint cars, but it's really kind of simple, because you're not going 160 or 170 (mph) like we're used to. It takes patience -- lots and lots of patience. If anybody watched Bristol or watches Martinsville, it'll be the same thing. Patience."

Yet the 2000 race -- won by Gary Fedewa, who started eighth -- provided plenty of passing.

"You gotta remember, we have wings on, and we can adjust them," Bloom said. "If the track changes, guys can adjust (the handling). You'll see cars running up through the field."

The non-winged midget race will be co-sanctioned by the Michigan-based Wolverine Outlaw Midget Series and the Rumble Series. Doug Dietsch was the 2008 WOMS champion, while female driver Kim Hughes, who raced in the Rumble Series last winter, was rookie of the year.

WOMS owner Dan Vander Molen sees "Sunday Afternoon Stimulus" events as a way to increase the visibility of his group, which cites cost containment for teams as a chief goal. WOMS features will pay at least $1,000 to win this season, and the series no longer has a spec tire rule.

"It's more of a fun-type atmosphere at our events," Vander Molen said. "It's not as cut-throat. … And with the tire rule allowing both Hoosier and American Racer tires, we're making some pretty bold steps this year. "

Barhorst, who has promoted midget racing since 1998, said he appreciates the efforts Vander Molen is making to reel in the cost of fielding a car.

"I welcome this co-sanction with the Wolverine Outlaw Midget Series, because I feel they have a progressive rules package," he said. "I really think the future of midget racing is tied to lowering the costs of participation, and that's why I like their tire rule of allowing both Hoosier and American Racer tires to compete. We expect many of the Rumble Series indoor competitors to participate in these outdoor events at the Speedrome.

"The series rules are open to new midget cars and the older VW-powered cars manufactured during the golden era of midget racing at the Speedrome in the '80s and '90s. Kenyon Cars and Ford Focus cars are given a weight break and can race with us. Their rules can be found on www.wolverinemidgets.com. "

The four races will benefit the Kenny Irwin Jr. Memorial Foundation's Dare to Dream Camp, located near New Castle, Ind., where underprivileged youth may enjoy swimming, fishing, horseback riding and karting. Kenny's parents, Ken Sr. and Reva, operate the non-profit foundation that the late NASCAR driver started. Kenny raced at the Speedrome early in his career and went on to become rookie of the year in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Winston Cup series. He died in an accident at New Hampshire International Speedway in 2000.

Entry forms, ticket prices and other event information for the "Sunday Afternoon Stimulus" events can be obtained by visiting rumbleseries.com, e-mailing tbracefest@aol.com or calling (317) 418-3216. Fans also may wish to visit speedrome.com, kennyirwinjrfoundation.org, hossracing.com, wolverinemidgets.com and umra.com.
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[http://speedrome.com/news/singlenews...0&newsnr=1439]