Honestly does anyone really think this will be a sucess? Put 2 national points events there, then driver would have a reason to run on these nights. I think we are looking at 15 car fields.
Speedrome Press release:
One of the most familiar sanctioning bodies in the entire racing world, the United States Auto Club, is returning to one of its traditional homes in 2010. The Indianapolis SpeedromeŽ will see USAC grace the upcoming schedule with four divisions competing in six Wednesday Night Thunder shows. Those point championship nights will see fantastic competition for Regional Midgets, Ford Focus Midgets, Junior Focus Midgets, and Quarter Midgets. The dates for this heralded return are May 26th, June 2nd, June 9th, June 23rd, June 30th, and July 7th.
Over the 54-year history of the USAC sanctioning body, the Indianapolis SpeedromeŽ has hosted races in all but 17 of those campaigns with nearly 450 features being contested. On 42 occasions the Indianapolis SpeedromeŽ saw National Midget main events with legendary pilots Sleepy Tripp (8 wins) and Rich Vogler (6 wins) pacing the victory list. But, it was the Regional Midget series proposed by Indianapolis SpeedromeŽ that was the crown jewel.
The new weekly series that was spawned hit the famous fifth-mile surface May 7, 1981 with Tommy Thomas taking the initial checkered flag. The next decade plus saw a who's who all-star roster of drivers making their mark in this division. Household names like McClellan, Bigelow, Andretti, Hines, Kenyon, and Lang earned Regional Midget championships. The rookie-of-the-year list includes Tony Stewart, Tracy Hines, Terry Goff, and Jack Dossey Jr. The pit area was packed with quality equipment, successful car owners, and gifted drivers during this era as one of the marquee racing campaigns in the United States.
The next segment of time saw the USAC events become the premier outlet for young rising stars to bolster their skills. The Regional series was joined by Kenyon Midgets, and Ford Focus Midgets giving drivers of all ages valuable track time. Brad Kuhn, Bryan Clauson, Dakoda Armstrong, and many others began their ladder climb in these contests. The USAC/Speedrome combination has also been a treasure chest of female accomplishments beginning with Bev Griffis' nationally televised victory on July 24, 1986.
"It is great to see USAC back at the Speedrome", said Vince Welch. The ESPN personality and father of 2009 USAC Kenyon Midget champion Dillon Welch continued, "this is the track that many race fans from across the country got their first taste of premier Midget racing by television. These Regional events have been the springboard to success for many drivers." To see the next generation of racing superstars, mark these programs on your 2010 calendar.
Each USAC event will be special for many reasons including the latest innovation, a live broadcast. The programs will all be streamed in real time on their web site
www.usacracing.com. This unparalleled showcase will see some of the best blossoming talent develop on a true drivers track. "If you can be a successful racer at the Speedrome", recently said legendary car builder Bob East, "then you could drive at any other track in the country." Each day will see test drives and a driver school in the afternoon before preliminary heats at 7:15pm. The feature lineup is 40-laps for Ford Focus Midgets, main events for the Quarter Midgets, a traditional 50-lapper for the Regional series, and the capper 30-laps for the new Junior Focus cars.