USAC MIDGET CAR SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS: July 25-26, 2008 – Anderson, Indiana - Anderson Speedway – Inaugural “Anderson Midget 400"


QUALIFICATIONS: (Held July 25 - 4-Lap Times) 1. Dakoda Armstrong, 7, C & A-46.453; 2. Tracy Hines, 24, Parker-46.730; 3. Alison MacLeod, 14, East-46.751; 4. James Robertson, 42, Hargitt-46.874; 5. Zach Schiff, 4, Klatt-46.893; 6. Mike Murgoitio, 10, Murgoitio-47.304; 7. Ricky Ehrgott, 8, Ehrgott-47.310; 8. Joe Liguori, 28, Owen-47.617; 9. Jon Laski, 01, Laski-48.444; 10. Jeremy Waren, 57, Warren-48.778; 11. Eric Gordon, 2, Parker-49.558; 12. Chett Gehrke, 06, Gehrke-49.657; 13. Adam Schuyler, 56, Schuyler-50.929; 14. Palmer Eicher, 54, PBH-51.420; 15. Katie Hargitt, 79, Hargitt-51.801; 16. Rob Wyman, 03, Stigall-53.618; 17. David Fuhrman, 32, Fuhrman-54.761; 18. Mike Schenker, 3, Fuhrman-1:02.95; 19. Rex Norris III, 63, Norris-NT; 20. Travis Young, 11, Young-NT; 21. Jacob Thompson, 1, Young-NT.

FEATURE: (400 laps - Held July 26) 1. Dakoda Armstrong, 2. Ricky Ehrgott, 3. Alison MacLeod, 4. Bobby East (#4), 5. Joe Liguori, 6. Mike Murgoitio, 7. Chett Gehrke, 8. Tracy Hines, 9. Adam Schuyler, 10. Jeremy Warren, 11. Katie Hargitt, 12. David Fuhrman, 13. Eric Gordon. 14. Rex Norris III, 15. Palmer Eicher, 16. Jon Laski, 17. James Robertson, 18. Jacob Thompson, 19. Travis Young, 20. Rob Wyman, 21. Mike Schenker. NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Armstrong, Laps 13-38 Robertson, Laps 39-42 Armstrong, Laps 43-44 Hines, Laps 45-107 East, Laps 108-128 Hines, Laps 129-162 Ehrgott, Laps 163-179 MacLeod, Laps 180-213 Armstrong, Laps 214-300; Laps 301-306 Armstrong, Laps 307-325 Ehrgott, Laps 326-400 Armstrong.

[Mud Packer]

A very entertaining evening of racing at the Anderson Midget Classic. I was rather skeptical when they were only starting 21 cars but it was a very good inaugural race. The top 4 cars all finished on the lead lap with second place Ricky Ehrgott and third place Alison MacLeod separated by about 4 car lengths at the end. Bobby East fought back from being 3 laps down early to finish on the lead lap.

Dakoda Armstrong drove like a veteran and after the race said that he drove approximately 120 laps without power steering. I was very impressed with a number of drivers who compete regularly during the Wednesday night regional midget series and Ford Focus series. Armstrong, James Robertson, Ehrgott, MacLeod, Chet Gehrke, Joe Liguori to mention a few.

I know that Rick Dawson, Anderson Speedway Promotor/Owner was hoping for more cars and fans. However, he couldn't have scripted a better race and finish. There were very few yellows and they didn't tear up a bunch of equipment. The drivers showed patience and for the most part respect toward the other competitors. There were numerous lead changes on the track not in the pits.

I guess this shows that midgets can and will hold up for 400 laps of racing. Hoosier built a very reliable tire as I can't remember a blow out during the race. I am really glad that I went and I hope that Rick can work and promote this into a "special" event like the Little 500. I think that this could be the begining of another classic event.:thumb

[racinstacie]

My thoughts exactly Mud Packer! I hope this event continues to grow each year. I am so glad I went! The funny thing several of us were discussing is that there were tons of cars & fans at ORP for a lot less purse and this race paid one of the biggest purses for pavement midgets and there was a skimpy car count. Somes strikes against this race is that there is so many options on a Saturday night in Indiana, this race didn't have any history, and many were skeptical of what it would produce, so it effected the fan base.

IMO even though the field was shy about 10 cars, those 10 may have just been field fillers and caused more yellows. Very few cautions and great racing thoughout the night. Too bad for Hines & Murgoitio as they had some bad luck earlier in the race but they along with East had great battles even being laps down - they were obviously some of the fastest cars on the track.

Great job to Rick Dawson for taking the chance on trying something new! I feel it was a success and hopefully it will be an annual event & the feedback we give will help bring more fans and cars next year! Congrats to Dakota and team for running a great race! Also props to Ricky, Alison & Bobby for all racing hard and finishing on the lead lap! (Bobby making up a few of them too)

Anderson 400 Winner Dakoda Armstrong





David Sink Photos

[LittleRube]

I cant add any more to those post but the Rubes gave it a big :thumb

[#1Brad Kuhn Fan]

i was worried about the car count,fan count, and many other things. It was a very good race. so many differant leaders and really you didnt know who was going to win until about 10 to go.The top 4 drove a very good race. And Alison MacLeod showed last night that this sport isnt just for guys....women can race to and that she did very well. :applaud: :applaud:

[Pushtruck]

There is something I can add.

Our group was invited to participate in the inaugural Anderson 400 to assist with the live action, green flag pit stops. That was incredible and intense.

The staff at Anderson Speedway were very professional, well organized and very friendly. Their experience with the "Little 500" allowed them to pull off this unique midget showcase. Their focus on safety for the drivers, crews, fans and staff was well appreciated and well thought out.

Some race day adjustments were made in the originally scheduled format, with safety in mind. Mandatory 10 minute competition yellows (red flags) were built into the program at lap 150 and 300, making this race a three segment race of 150 laps, 150 laps and a final 100 lap shootout. This allowed drivers and crews an opportunity to check tire wear, make adjustments and refuel.

The promoter was well aware the night was going to be a financial disaster because of the low car count and low fan count, however, his vision is to build this event into a showcase event the caliber of the "Little 500".

The racing and action turned out to be much better than I had anticipated. There were some great perfomances turned in by several drivers. Kudos to Anderson Speedway and all their staff. Well done. :thumb

Joe Chambers, Coordinator
Official Push Trucks

[Dave Argabright]

I couldn't agree more with Mud Packer and others. From my seat, it was a thoroughly entertaining race. And very clean, with few yellows but lots of side-by-side racing. :thumb

One might look at the fact that just four cars were on the lead lap at the finish. Fact is, the Little 500 often has just one car on the lead lap at the finish, yet nearly everyone I know agrees it is a fabulous race. The nature of these long races is that people get lapped, particularly in a race with so few cautions. I thought it was terrific that three cars were in the hunt over the last 100 laps, and had Bobby East had a few more laps he would have been right there as well.

I was skeptical of the format going in, because I'm not a fan of long races with pre-scheduled breaks. But I have changed my mind. I love this format, and I can hardly imagine this event with 34 cars of equal quality and speed. Wow!

I like the two competition yellows, although I agree with the concerns that the more affluent teams will throw tires at the car at every stop. But IMO the track management did a good job considering that there were many questions and unknowns going in. Now that they've got one under their belt, they have a lot more information for next year.

The most notable thing I got from this race is the terrific impact the USAC Regional midget series (as well as Kenyon and Focus series) is going to have on open wheel racing. This group of kids performed beautifully on a big stage, and proved they are talented, smart racers. Everybody--fast and slow alike--raced cleanly and with a lot of maturity. I was very impressed with the entire group, particularly Dakota, Ricky Ehrgott, Alison McLeod, Joe Liguori, and Chett Gehrke, who proved they can race hard in a long-distance event.

Rex Norris III was very strong in the early going before he lost his brakes. Mike Murgoitio was impressive and would have been a real player if he hadn't had a flat tire in the first 20 laps. The race had lots of players and you could see a completely different scenario if a few things had played out just a little differently. That's the beauty of the longer races.

Do I wish there had been more cars? Sure. Do I wish there had been more fans in the stands? Sure. But you've got to build from the ground up.

Again, this is just the view from my seat, but I thought Anderson promoter Rick Dawson went the extra mile when he offered everyone with a 400 ticket stub a $10 discount for the USAC National race at Anderson in September. He took a huge gamble with this race and I hope over the long haul it becomes very successful, because midget racing needs more marquee events like this one.

This event has the potential to the most significant midget race in our area, and I hope it can reach its potential.

[Checker'd Past]

Very well said, Dave! I couldn't have said it any better.

[Honest-Sam]

Hey Checker'd Past, aren't you one of the few that was at the inagural Little 500? If so, what was attendace like for that one? Just curious.