| Thursday, January 24, 2002 | |
| Less Than a Month to Go Before 2002 Winternationals at Orlando SpeedWorld | by Dave Westerman
Race fans can add an extra week of racing to
Speedweek for 2002 as the 2002 Winternationals
at Orlando SpeedWorld kick off on Tuesday night
February 19th, just two days after the Daytona
500.
Returning to Florida and Orlando SpeedWorld for
the first time in several years will be the
NAMARS Midgets. These ultra-fast cars will join
the Legends Cars, Dwarf Cars, Mini-Stocks, and
Super Stocks cars for five consecutive nights
of racing on the 3/8 mile SpeedWorld oval. The
Classic Auto Racing Series will also be in action
Thursday thru Saturday.
Midget cars have run only a few times at SpeedWorld
although the TQ Midgets used to be a crowd favorite
here back in the 80's and early 90's. In 1991, a
Southeastern TQ Midget Championship was held at
SpeedWorld which was won by current NASCAR Winston
Cup star Tony Stewart. Stewart would like to run
in this series if a ride becomes available and he
would definately be a contender, especially after
his big win earlier this month at the Chili Bowl.
Over 40 midget entries have already been received,
including USAC star Tracy Hines, Badger Midget
champion Dan Boorse, Florida standout Dave Steele
of Tampa (who has many laps around this track in a
TQ midget), and veteran Lou Cicconi.
NAMARS has dubbed the event the Kenny Irwin, Jr.
Memorial Series, named after the driver who lost
his life in a Winston Cup car in 2000. Irwin Jr.
was a two-time Florida Midget Winternationals
champion and won the last midget race held at
Orlando SpeedWorld.
Along with all the other racing and festivities, a
special "ladies only" midget race paying $1,000 to
the winner will be held on Thursday night, February
21st. Winternationals officials are hoping that IRL
driver Sarah Fisher will be among the entrants as
she prepares for the IRL Series opener a few days
later in Homestead.
Not only will there be racing but vintage race cars
will also be on display along with Indy Racing
League cars and drivers.
For event information, contact Ed Adair at (812) 331-
8677 or in Orlando contact Dave Westerman at (407)
340-4194 or by e-mail at announcerdave@usa.net.
Sponsorships are also being sought for the Winter-
natioanls as a whole or on a race to race basis.
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