MOTOR RACING / PAUL OLSON : Dwarf Car Racing Has Giant Lure
If you are one of those folks who always has wanted a race car, but your spouse and your checking account said no, there is still hope.
California Dwarf Car racing could be the answer. One of the fastest-growing forms of auto racing in the country, it is being touted as an affordable alternative that has caught the attention of racing’s financial middle class.
Based in Whittier, the California Dwarf Car Assn. (CDCA) holds 18 season points races at four dirt tracks in the Southland between April and November. Fourteen of those races are run at Ventura Raceway.
Mike Sweeney, a 43-year-old grandfather of two from Whittier, is the prototypical Dwarf Car racer.
“I raced half-Midgets and go-karts when I was young, then I didn’t do any racing for 20 years before I took up this sport two years ago,” Sweeney said. “I’m the average guy who is doing this for the hobby of it or the sport of it without any big dreams of becoming a big-time driver on the NASCAR or Indy tour.”
There are 30-40 Dwarf Car organizations sanctioning races in the United States. The CDCA began with a few races at Ventura last year, and six cars registered. The organization has grown nearly sixfold, with 35 cars in Southern California now registered.
Dwarf Cars weigh 1,000 pounds and resemble scaled-down American cars of the 1930s and ‘40s. At only 46 inches in height with a 73-inch wheelbase, the cars can fit in the bed of a full-size pickup.
The power plant is a superbike engine (1,000cc) capable of 120 horsepower. Sweeney said every Dwarf Car he has seen has far more engine than the driver could handle.
“Guys are getting out of off-road racing, motorcycles and other types of cars because they can’t afford it anymore, and they’re looking to us,” Sweeney said.
About 50 Dwarf Cars from California, Nevada and Arizona are expected tonight at Ventura Raceway to battle for a $4,000 purse in what is billed as the Southern California Dwarf Car championships though it is only mid-season.
Also on the program will be the U.S. Auto Club’s Western States Series for Midgets and three-quarter Midgets.
Sweeney explained that the mid-season championship race is run now so that the California drivers can compete in the Arizona championships in November. Last year’s state championship events had conflicting dates.
*
Add Dwarf Cars: A small article on the CDCA in a recent issue of Hot Rod Magazine brought in hundreds of phone calls and more than 200 letters from 45 states inquiring about Dwarf Car racing, according to Sweeney.
Dwarf car information is available at 310-535-7174.
*
Differing opinions: A controversial finish in the NASCAR Pro Stock division at Saugus Speedway two weeks ago remains the hot topic of discussion at the racetrack.
John Fleming of Simi Valley was headed for his first Pro Stock main-event victory on the white-flag lap when he and defending champion Ed Horst of Reseda collided on Turn 1. The bump allowed Gerrit Cromsigt of Palmdale to take the checkered flag. Some drivers insist that Horst deserved a penalty.
Said Horst: “You will get three different stories from us, but that’s what happens in racing.
“Fleming was drifting up and I had to let up when Cromsigt knocked me into Fleming to take him out of the race and I’ve got the dent in my bumper to prove it.”
Said Fleming: “I saw a video of the race and my parents were there too and Cromsigt didn’t hit (Horst). I didn’t drift high onto the track and I’ve got a good hard dent in my left rear panel from (Horst’s) car to prove it was more of a blatant hit.”
Said Cromsigt: “I was behind Horst and I didn’t hit him. The Pro Stocks are a pretty heavy contact class and Horst pushed Fleming in the wrong place on the track and it took them both out. I thought Ed got a little greedy and pushed too hard. I was surprised he didn’t get set back by the officials.”
