Gettin' to the ROOTS - Besides grooming new NASCAR talent, Toyota is banking that its involvement in Midget racing will help 'Americanize' the brand

摘要

NINE HUNDRED POUNDS OF BARELY bridled fury. That's a USAC (United States Auto Club) Midget car, as it claws for traction around the 5/8-mile paved oval at O'Reilly Raceway Park, located on the outskirts of Indianapolis, Indiana. With about 400 horsepower from a 4-cylinder engine, a Midget positively screams; they don't quite shatter your eardrums as they rocket by, four-wheel drifting to within inches of ORP's Turn 4 wall - but let's just say your head will be ringing the rest of the night. These tube-frame, back-to-basics (Midgets have solid front and rear axles and a direct-drive system, meaning there's no clutch or transmission) open-wheel race machines are on the edge of traction a good portion of the way around the track - they're even wilder on dirt. And the drivers? These guys define the term "busy behind the wheel," trying to harness an incredible power-to-weight ratio - constant corrections are made to keep the twitchy machine from swapping ends under braking entering the turns, and then again exiting as full power is unleashed on the straightaway.