Quarter Midget Racing

Quarter-Midget Racing

Airport Speedway Completes 1998 Season

Photo's and Story by Bob & Cindy Savage

Publication Date: October 1998

In the past, Extremz Magazine has run articles about the Blackbird Quarter-Midget Racing Club at the Little Airport Speedway in New Castle, Delaware. Every Sunday night, drivers ranging from five to fifteen years old race each other around a 1/10th of a mile clay track. They compete for trophies and accumulate driver's points to determine the top driver for each class at the end of the year. During their ten years of racing, drivers learn the needed skills to take them to the next level in motorsports racing - the Micro-Midget racers. Each night as the quarter-midget teams enter the Little Airport Speedway, they pass by the stands for the Airport Speedway - the 1/8 mile, semi-banked, clay, oval auto race track that was built specifically for micro-sprint racing - knowing that this track will be the next stop for the majority of them in their quest for racing greatness.

Built in the late 1950s on a crude 1/10-mile, clay surface track, Blackbird Speedway (as it was called then) only had six or seven cars racing there. By 1962, the organization had grown and incorporated to become the Blackbird Micro Midget Racing Club, Inc. and continued to race until 1978 when the track closed due to the sale of the property. In 1980, the Club obtained the rights from New Castle County to build a racing facility in the Greater Wilmington Airport Corporate Commons complex and became fully functional in 1981.

Completely renovated in 1989, increasing the track size to 1/8-mile, new grandstands were added that can now comfortably seat over 1,500 spectators. Recently, a separate, specially constructed grandstand area for folding chairs and wheelchairs was added. Over the past 35 years, the Airport Speedway and Blackbird Micro Midget Racing Club have continuously grown each year and now have over 190 registered driver/members from Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Each week, four classes of micro-sprints run at the Airport Speedway. Classes are grouped by engine size and weight. The engine sizes are 2-cycle 125cc, 2-cycle 250cc liquid and air cooled, and the 600cc multi-cylinder engines. As in most motorsports races, heat races are run in each engine class so drivers can qualify to compete in the 25-lap Features or Consolation events. Drivers must be at least 16 years of age to participate in all car classes except for the 125cc class, where drivers aged 14 and 15 may race if they have at least two consecutive years competitive driving experience from another sanctioned racing organization.

We had the opportunity to attend the Micro Midget races towards the end of their 1998 season and were able to watch drivers as they fought for their last few available points towards the 1998 Championship. Because only 20 drivers would qualify for the final feature race, each class ended up having two or three heat races to determine who that top 20 drivers would be.

Each race seemed more exciting than the previous one as top drivers, such as 17-year-old Eric Vent of Milton, Delaware and his father, Snookie Vent, Jr., competed against point's leader Scott Jenkins of Swedesboro, NJ in the 250cc class. 1998 Rookie of the Year, Lee Nardelli of Bridgeton, NJ, competed against Buddy LaChette of Media, PA and Mike Andrews of Glenolden, PA in the 125cc class. The point's champions for the Sportsmans class and the 600cc class had already been determined prior to the last race, since they already had accumulated enough points during the season to maintain a lead that insured their championship.

In the 600cc class, driver Steve Wyatt of Dover, DE already had over 350 more points than the second place driver, however, this did not stop Wyatt. By the end of the 600cc feature race, which was also the last race for the 1998 season, Wyatt had still another victory under his belt. The Airport Speedway concluded their 1998 season on December 5th, with an awards banquet to honor this year's champions and other members. The four class champions each received trophies, prizes and awards. Other special awards were presented to the Sportsman of the Year, Walter Atwell, and the induction of Bob Dale to the track's Drivers Hall of Fame.

With the race season ended, drivers and officers of the BMMRC/Airport Speedway are preparing for the Miller Motorsports '99 Exhibition at the Convention Center, Fort Washington, PA on January 15-17, 1999. Here they will have on display their race equipment and a video of Speedway race action. This East Coast motorsports extravaganza attracts over 25,000 race fans to the various exhibits and a chance to personally meet their favorite NASCAR drivers for autographs.

For more information on Airport Speedway or the Blackbird Micro Midget Race Club, visit their website at http://www.airportspeedway.com/index.html.