Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Friday, May 09, 2008

Midget cars to bring incredible speed to La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway

Ricky Ehrgott says driving a Midget car is "unbelievably" exciting. Jeff Brown photo

By JEFF BROWN | Tribune Sports Editor

WEST SALEM, Wis. — It’s probably about as close to having a rocket under your seat as you can get without being a part of NASA. In fact, these things are almost like a pocket rocket.

If you’re into numbers, try this on: A 370-horsepower engine powers a 900-pound race car that has a wheelbase of 66 inches. In other words, this car — properly called a Midget — isn’t much bigger than a go-kart, is smaller than a Volkswagen, and has enough firepower under the hood to scare the dickens out of you.

If you’re into excitement, listen to this: “I can’t even compare it to scoring a touchdown or hitting a home run. It is inexplicable,” said Ricky Ehrgott, who makes his living driving one of these lightning bolts of a car. “People who come out and see us will see some exceptionally fast, exciting racing and some pretty heated tempers after the race.”

Ehrgott isn’t paid to promote the USAC Series, it just happens. When you are this captivated by what you do, and are having this much fun, it almost oozes out of you. And Ehrgott was definitely having some fun on Wednesday at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway as he was practicing for the upcoming USAC Mopar Midget National Championship Midget Maynia Tour.

The La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway Midget race is set for Friday night, May 16.

While it may take longer to say the name of the event than it will for the cars to circle the five-eighths mile oval at the Fairgrounds Speedway, this event holds some intriguing potential. The Midget cars have not raced at the Fairgrounds Speedway since it was paved in 1970, according to track officials.

That, plus the fact that the Fairgrounds Speedway is the first of four Midwest stops for the Maynia Challenge Tour, has the drivers excited, Ehrgott said.

“I think it’s great, having three races in close proximity,” said the 20-year-old Ehrgott. “This track, it is kind of intimidating at first because the turns are so different. The corners are sweeping, but the entry in Turn 1 is very different from the entry into Turn 3.”

In a word, the USAC Midgets are very “different” from the cars that usually circle the track. Midget cars have no fenders, no starters, no clutch and no geared transmission. That’s right, they have to be pushed to get started, and once at about 15 mph, the driver flips an ignition switch and off the alcohol-fueled cars go. There is no shifting of gears, simply pushing a lever ahead that engages the direct-drive transmission.

The Midget cars weigh about 2000 pounds — yes, two-thousand — pounds less than the NASCAR Late Model cars that race at the Fairgrounds Speedway, yet have about 70-80 less horsepower. That means they are fast, very fast.

And are very expensive. Ehrgott’s car cost about $68,000 to build, with $40,000 of that directly tied to the engine.

“I fully expect them to break the track record,” Fairgrounds Speedway manager Chuck Deery said of the 13-year-old track record of 18.903 seconds, or an average speed of 103.846 mph, that was set by Bangor’s Steve Holzhausen in 1995.

“They have nearly as much horsepower as our Late Models, yet have one-third the weight.”

Ehrgott, who was raised in Tampa, Fla., before moving to Brownsburg, Ind., where the REV1 Race Team that he drives for is headquartered, said driving a Midget car is “unbelievably”exciting. He drove in what was called a Ford Focus Midget series for two years (2005, 2006 seasons) before jumping into a regional Midget Series in 2007, where he finished fourth in the points standings. This season, he jumped into the national Midget series.

“It is unbelievably competitive. There is not a bad car in this series,” said Ehrgott, a sophomore mechanical engineering student at Purdue University School of Engineering a IUPIU in Indianapolis, Ind.

Ehrgott said while there are top-flight drivers in the series, accidents still happen. Rubbing is still racing in this series, but it had better be a gentle rub, because if it’s not...

“Usually touching wheels is not good,” Ehrgott said. “It usually ends in tears. It’s exciting for the fans, but not the drivers.”

Erhgott said he has never flipped a Midget car, but did tip one on its side as he clung to the side of a wall. Consider he was traveling at well over 110 mph when it happened, it was enough to catch his attention.

“These cars are very responsive. You get to know who you are running with, and what the other drivers do,” Ehrgott said. “When you get down to the end, there are split-moment decisions to make as you dart in and out.”

Ehrgott said he expects drivers at the Fairgrounds Speedway to reach speeds of 110-115 mph, or even more, depending on conditions. Weather conditions are extremely important, said the team’s chief mechanic, Garrett Andrews.

“There are two things that are important when it comes to an engine — fuel and air,” Andrews said. “We are always checking the air density, the humidity, to get the right ratio. These engines are real finicky. When you are getting 380-horsepower out of a 4-cylinder engine, you’ve got to have everything just right.”

Jeff Brown can be reached at (608) 791-8403, or at jbrown@lacrossetribune.com