New Zealander to Help Open Racing Season at Ventura

New Zealand national Midget champion Brett Horrobin will compete in U.S. Auto Club Midget and three-quarter Midget races tonight when the season gets under way at Ventura Raceway.

Tonight’s action, which begins at 6, marks the first of five consecutive live Saturday broadcasts from Ventura to a national television audience on ESPN.

The Midget races, which kick off a 46-event season, have attracted Robby Flock of Temecula, last year’s ESPN television series points champion, and Ron (Sleepy) Tripp of Costa Mesa, a six-time USAC Western States and two-time national Midget champion.

Other drivers include current USAC sprint car champion Robbie Stanley, and former USAC national Midget champions Russ Gamester and Johnny Parsons, who has driven in the Indianapolis 500.

The USAC-sanctioned events at Ventura have expanded to 12 racing dates. The stock car portion of the season begins April 10 with the first of 20 dates. The Street Stock, Mini Stock, and Modified Mini Stock divisions also return.

In addition, a new Modified division, sanctioned nationally by the International Motor Contest Assn., has generated interest.

Ventura IMCA drivers will earn local and national points, and the top 10 in the season points standings are eligible for the national championship series. Although IMCA racing is new to Ventura, the organization sanctions races at 105 tracks throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

IMCA offers the Ventura driver an economic, open-wheeled modified stock car in a higher classification of racing than the standard Street Stock class.

Leonard Rowe, 62, the Modified Mini Stock champion at Ventura last year, has purchased a used IMCA Modified car and plans to race in both divisions this year.

Marty Desbrow of Ventura, the first driver to win back-to-back titles in the Mini Stock division, returns but said he might jump on the IMCA bandwagon after watching early-season races.

Motocross, Class 10 Desert Buggy and speedway motorcycle events also will be held during the season, which runs through November.