Quarter Midget Racing: The Sport
Quarter Midgets of America (QMA) is a strong, national, volunteer, non-profit organization with over 2,500 family memberships and 4,000 drivers. There are 13 regions in the organization with over 50 clubs nationwide.
Quarter midget racing is a family-oriented sport that involves racing in specially prepared cars. The cars, rules, and safety procedures are designed specifically for kids aged 5 to 16 years old. A Quarter Midget car is a scaled-down version of an actual open wheel midget racer, approximately ¼ scale. The cars are built around a tubular frame and are fully suspended with springs or torsion bars. The bodies are fiberglass, usually painted to the driver’s preference. Surrounding the driver are a chromoly roll cage and nerf bars. The engines are single cylinder and are manufactured by Honda, Continental, Briggs & Stratton, and Deco. Safety features include: full roll cages, multi-point seat harnesses, full face helmets, race clothing, gloves, neck braces, etc. This sport has fewer injuries than little league football; in fact, there has never been a serious injury in quarter midget racing. The racing environment is about children and family.
Benefits of Quarter Midget Racing
While some competitors do go on to other forms of racing, many do not. One of the most outstanding examples of the sportsmanship aspect of this sport is the fact that the prizes for winners at local and national races are never monetary awards. Trophies are given in honor of a race victory. The true prize in this sport is garnered by a family that spends time together. More benefits include the following:
• It teaches the meaning of sportsmanship.
• It helps develop coordination, a sense of timing, teamwork, and independent thinking.
• It teaches self-reliance. Once the green flag has dropped, they are on their own.
• It is competitive. Kids learn how to drive hard and that rules must be observed.
• It assists in gaining knowledge of and an appreciation for mechanical devices.
• It teaches safe driving skills that are carried on into their teen years on the road. They learn that there is an appropriate place to race an automobile which is not on the public highway systems.
• It helps develop a sense of responsibility. Alertness and concern for the safety of others are acquired.
• It gives a well-earned right to a sense of pride and accomplishment. This confidence and sense of belonging to a positive group could someday be a factor in helping them resist drugs and other unsafe and/or illegal activities.
Quarter Midget Racing in North Carolina
Bobby Labonte and members of the North Carolina Quarter Midget Association (NCQMA) initiated the building of the first quarter midget track in North Carolina, a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. It is a 20-acre facility with a paved, oval 1/20th of a mile track designed specifically for quarter midget racing. The track was completed in May of 2004.
NCQMA’s mission statement: The purpose of our organization is to provide and maintain a clean, safe, and healthy sport to be enjoyed by father, son, mother, daughter in relationship with better sportsmanship; to teach younger generations the handling of mechanical devices, coordination, alertness, and the ability to operate motor driven vehicles; to impress the younger generation with the ideals of fairness, generosity, and sense of responsibility without envy to others.
NCQMA is located in Rowan County off of I-85, Exit 72. The NCQMA website address is www.ncqma.com