Heartland Hot Rod - Toyota's New Racing Engine Mixes It Up in the Midwest

摘要

It's grassroots motorsports at its fiercest. United States Auto Club (USAC) Midget racing on quarter-, third-, and half-mile dirt and paved ovals is a Midwestern tradition dating back to the 1930s. Today, race fans across the country's midsection still pack the grandstands at short tracks on steamy summer evenings to watch their local heroes do battle - and to get a glimpse of tomorrow's NASCAR stars. The cars raced in this exciting series are the little brothers of sprint cars, and nothing short of electrifying. With 350 horsepower, hair-trigger responses, and weighing only 900 pounds, they are hard-to-handle rocket sleds that dart and weave inches apart at breathtaking speeds - approaching 150 mph at the longer tracks. No wonder racing greats such as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Ryan Newman have come up through the ranks of this series.