Weekday
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The weekly feature page of the University Daily Kansan
September 13, 1978
Midget Racing
Dana Roberts, 8, of Ozawkie, found a reprieve from the hot sun by sitting under a tarp placed over two racers.
TOPEKA - The drivers sit in their cars, nervously putting their lips or chewing on their leather racing gloves. Their stares are vacant, their thoughts deep. Their fathers pace back and forth, their gaze fixed. They make a few adjustments to the small engines.
"Five minutes until starting time," the loudspeaker blares.
The hot summer's sun pounds up the young driver, dragging them inside their protective leather jackets.
"Okay, let's go. Junior stockers out on the track," the loudneaker shouts.
The fathers push the quarter+midget racers out to the track and slap the drivers on their helmets when the engines start. The track is quickly filled with a half-dozen pint-sized versions of Indy racers for the recent weekend race.
THE RACERS, after a ten-minute warm-up period, make their way around the one-twentieth of a mile ash肺 track in their starting positions. The positions were determined by time trials held the day before at Boyles Joyland track, the home of the Topeka chapter of the Quarter Midges of America. The cars with the fastest times are the last in line.
The race at Topeka was the third in a series that will determine who will go to the Grand National Championships in Denver to be held in August, 1979. The last leg of the series will be held in San Antonio, Texas on Thanksgiving Day.
The racers approach the starting line in a tight pattern, occasionally bumping into the cars in front of them.
When the starter is satisfied that each car is in its correct position, he waves the green flag. The two+cycle engines whine as the drivers begin jockeying for precious inside position.
A current Grand National Champion, Dale Eckert, 10 in Ohio, explained how to properly pass a car in the corner.
"YOU GET INSIDE of the slower car when you get to the corner," Eckert said. "Then you've got to slow down a bit to keep him on the outside or he'll pass you when you come out of the turn."
Quarter-midget racing is a family affair. The drivers range in age from 6 to 10. The drivers 'fathers usually are the handlers, giving advice and doing most of the mechanical work. They also lead the race and praise. They all revel in the glory of producing a winner.
Wilke Baker, Topeka, has been involved with quarter-
nagle racing. In the past however, his son outgrew
him, so he no longer needs one to handle the
The technique is an old family secret.
"I've got a grandson who's four that I'd love to start racing. Baker was wistful. 'But I don't know if his parents were involved.'"
Bill Dodson, Grove, Okla., handles his son Mike, 13, who has connected for six years.
"JUST LOOK AT those boys," the father said, pointing to a group standing in the middle of the track. They were laughing and joking with one another while waiting for the races to begin.
"You put them behind the wheel and they're tigers," he said.
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The tiger spirit was evident during one of the races. Two cars had spun out and locked together. The yellow flag was raised while the two were unlocked. The loudspeaker called out the order of the racers for the restant.
But when the cars maneuvered into the correct positions, the two leaders were half a lap ahead of the others.
The two were still battling for position, seemingly oblivious to the yellow flag. The starter warned the drivers by picking up a black flag before they slowed down enough for the rest of the neck to catch up so that the race could continue.
IF THE STARTER had waved the black flag at the drivers, they would have disqualified.
John Meinholdt, Topeka, handles 12-yearTy Boyles. At the time trials Meinholdt carefully checked out the competition. He watched the drivers and clocked their performances.
Meinholdt's driver earlier had set a track record for his class. The old record was 6.227 seconds and Boyles lowered it to 6.186. Meinholdt looked at his stop watch and shook his head.
He was talking about the car driven by 14-year-old Scott Edminson, Tulsa. Meinholdt said that he and Scott's father, Bill, had been competing against each other for several years.
"I've got him in the low teens," he told his young driver.
"It's been nip and tuck," Meinholdt said of the previous races.
BEFORE THE DAY was through young Edminson had broken record, knocking off 0.67 seconds.
Bill Edminton said that in the races, "You don't need much good luck, but you can't have any bad luck."
During two of young Edinston's races he had some bad luck. While running slow under the yellow caution flag because of other cars spinning and clogging the track, his engine overheated. When the green flag was again raised the rush of gasoline caused the engine to sputter and die. In both races Edinston and Boyles were batting for the lead.
A favorite of the crowds was 9-year-old Laura Thomas, Leander, Texas. Laura began racing last Easter and had won, according to her father, Dick, every race that she entered.
"She's not as experienced as the others so I've got to make her go faster," he said.
And make her go faster he did.
LAURA WON ALL four of her races and broke the track record twice during time trials.
But after the races were over, the Thomases ran into their bad luck. All first-place winners and record-breakers are required to have their engines taken apart and tested to see if anything is illegal.
According to Mark Heinhold, the track technician, the engine that had pulled Laura to her four wins and the track engineer, the first to win the race.
Laura had to relinquish all of her points that were accumulated during the weekend as well as have her name
For the Thomases the 750-mile return trip was agonizingly long.
Dick Thomas gives his daughter Laura, 9, final instructions on how to handle the turns on the small 1/20 of a mile asphalt track.
Dale Eckert, 10. Tulsa, Okla., the current Grand National Champion, carefully ponders his next race while he waits for the starter's flag.
Photos by Alan Zlotky Story by Robert Beer