MARA Midget Auto Racing Association
Website - www.mararacing.com

Can't wait for the Kankakee race. The last few years they have had over 30+ cars and 4 heat races. Those shows that I have seen from the Badger / MARA Groups have been some of the best Midget racing I have ever seen. Wish they had more races in Indiana.


Also I have a question for those with knowledge?

Are the BMARA Badger Midgets / MARA Midgets close to what the USAC Midwest Thunder Midgets are?
I was wondering if it was possible they could run a co-sanctioned show?

That would be a great field of cars in one show.

Before we get the official response, here's the short and quick answer. USAC D2 cars are Badger/MARA legal (assuming they are D2 legal...) Badger/MARA cars, specifically engines, are NOT D2 legal IF they are built to the full limit of the rules. Not everyone running Badger or MARA is running an engine that takes full advantage of the rules, so there are participants who could be legal at a D2 race, but there have historically been some Badger folk who've been turned away from Thunder events.

With specific regards to the Kankakee race as a "cross over" race, last year, USAC D2 regular Cale Coons won the race and Abby Hohlbein finished top 10. Page Perrine and Michael Magic were also competitive enough to make the A feature.

Basically, when the D2 guys do well against Badger/MARA competition, they like to crow about being down 100 hp, but when they don't do well, the are quick to point out that the Badger engine formula give them an unfair advantage. It's like any dirt race, horsepower isn't always the deciding factor. Track conditions, set up, and driver skill have A LOT to do with winning.

Love the schedule. I hope they can keep the momentum going. Late in the year car counts dropped a little but overall MARA had a great year in 2024. The tracks on the schedule suit midgets very well and they should put on great shows. Parker Jones was a thrill a minute last year, broke the track record at Lincoln.

The Badger/MARA engines are actually closest to a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Honda than anything else. The main difference between the two is Badger/MARA requires less cubic inches and no ported cylinder heads. Badger/MARA does, however, allow more exotic ignition and fuel delivery systems than the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets do though. There are other differences but they are small differences that would require more explanation than you are probably looking for.

Just to help understand, the reason Badger/MARA requires less cubic inches is because the USAC National Midget Hondas are completely maxed out at their cubic inch limit of 154 CID. Meaning every time you have to put new pistons in the engine you also have to purchase and install new sleeves in the block. This adds a great deal of cost to a rebuild. Badger/MARA engines can actually be converted over to a USAC National engine by purchasing a ported cyl head, and larger pistons. Since they are so close to the same this is why you see Badger/MARA cars turning lap times close to USAC National cars and even finishing in the top 10 from time to time when the track conditions are in the Badger/MARA cars favor.

The Midwest Thunder Midget D2 series engines are supposed to be "stock." However, most are not. For instance, they dry sump their engines, they run aftermarket fuel injection, they put aftermarket ignitions on them and they run aftermarket internal parts. They restrict the performance by requiring stock parts, but many of them run aftermarket parts made to look stock to skirt the rules. So they spend a lot of money on a stock engine to not get all the good out of it.

Hope this helps.

I've been to several MARA/Badger races (Kankakee, Lincoln, Jacksonville, Sycamore), always good shows. If they can keep a tight rein on their rules, I think we will see clubs converting to this package in the coming years.

Are the MARA races at Coles County co-sanctioned with POWRi IMRA?

No. MARA is the sole sanctioning body for those races. All MARA/BMARA legal cars are invited to race at any MARA event.

They have the same dates on their schedule. Coles County running two classes of Midgets those nights?

http://www.powri.com/schedule/?i=29075

http://www.powri.com/news/?i=167336

Hope MARA has a signed contract with them if what I think is going on is actually correct. I'm calling shenanigans.