Ventura Raceway to Hold USAC Midget Events

A racing program of full midgets and three-quarter midgets has been scheduled as part of a United States Auto Club-sanctioned event Saturday night at 7 at the Ventura Raceway at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

Some of the top USAC drivers will be competing, including 1988 Western States champion Sleepy Tripp and points leaders Tommy Astone, Rusty Rasmussen, Robby Flock and P. J. Jones, son of 1963 Indy 500 champion Parnelli Jones.

“This is Ventura Raceway’s salute to Sunday’s Indianapolis 500,” track director Cliff Morgan said. “We are calling this program ‘Saturday Night Thunder’, to remind the people that it is just like the ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ series that is on ESPN from Ascot in Gardena.”

Four-time champion Dennis Hart of Ventura will head a contingent of local midget drivers, including Terry Farrar and Rick Taylor of Ojai and Larry Derwin of Oxnard.

Heading up the three-quarter midget field will be midget rookie Steve Kellick of Bakersfield, a former grand national go-cart champion who is coming off a main-event victory at Ascot last Thursday.

Ventura’s George Ito, who won the main event last Saturday at the Fairgrounds, beating a field of “Outlaw Mini Sprints,” also will enter Saturday’s race. Simi Valley racing brothers Bob and Scott Hanson are also expected to compete.

Morgan said that Ventura Raceway will have three more USAC midget events scheduled for the one-fifth-mile dirt oval in July and September with a national points race scheduled for November.

Saturday’s qualifying time trials will begin at 6 p.m.