Matt Rossi makes the rounds at Manzy with the AMRA
Arizona Midgets are back on the Schedule at Canyon Raceway!!!!
There has been much speculation regarding the future of Midget Racing in Arizona lately. With dwindling car counts, talk of a discouraged board, dissention among the members, the close of Manzy, and other factors, some have wondered if the long lived AMRA would survive.
The legacy of Midget racing in Arizona goes way back as far as dirt track racing itself. “It is a shame to see the state that midget racing has been in for the last couple of years.” commented long time Arizona racer Ricky Johnson. Many a fan had already started the mourning process waving goodbye to the Mighty Midget. Many had expressed that they didn’t like the direction that the club had been going, and had decided to park their cars.
All of this led us all to the inevitable question…Will the fans be able to still sit on the edge of their seat to watch these twitchy itchy 300 plus horsepower Mini monsters do battle any more in our home state? The members of the Arizona Midget Racing Association met on September 9th to ponder the answer to that very question. The end result? Arizona Midget fans will be happy to know that thanks to the quick action of some willing volunteers, Midget Racing in Arizona will definitely live on.
The Meeting went much smoother than some had anticipated. Within the first few minutes, the former President, Secretary / treasurer, Race Director, and Tech Inspector resigned and relinquished control of the club to the members, and left. We hope the best for the Goodwins and Don Tash, and we appreciate all that they have done to try to support midget racing. We wish them success in their future endeavors.
The first item of Business was to turn the club over to our new acting President, Rick Shuman. The next order of Business was to Nominate and vote in a Vice President. The members unanimously voted in Ken Caskey after his nomination. The Secretary/ Treasurer position was filled by Candice Perry. The Drivers Rep. and the Owner’s Rep. remain the same.
After all of the positions were filled, the subject of where we were going to race came up. Members volunteered to go right to work on a solution. The former President had raised enough question with the future of Midget racing, that Canyon Raceway had no choice but to make the decision to remove Midgets from his schedule. It was a business decision that Doug Gabbard had to make in light of the situation. The question was posed to the members regarding what kind of car count could be expected if the races would be put back on the schedule. Among the members, there was commitment for eleven cars, and the possibility for three more depending on the owners resolving motor issues. This was not counting other possible participants that would be summoned to compete. With this positive response, Doug Gabbard, owner of Canyon Raceway was called and asked to put the midgets back on the schedule. Mr. Gabbard agreed. With Midgets back at Canyon Raceway for October 3rd, the AMRA has an opportunity to give their fans what they want… Some great midget racing!
Fontana Automotive will be sponsoring the Arizona Midgets, making for a purse that will surely entice more participants from other areas, resulting in an even better car count We hope the recent changes to the AMRA are met with success, and that everyone will come out to Canyon Raceway on October 3rd and cheer on their favorite Midget Racer. The AMRA will see you there!
written by Robbie Allen
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