Following their Winter Blast competitive races at the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds on Saturday, the I-5 Quarter Midget Club offered the opportunity for other youth to drive midget classification cars Sunday inside the pavilion.
For only $20 kids from 5 to 17 years of age could operate a midget class car in full safety gear at the track inside the pavilion.
For the I-5 Quarter Midget Club its purpose is two-fold: It operates as a fundraiser for their nonprofit racing organization, and it allows interested families the chance to see how everything operates in case they would like to join the I-5 Quarter Midget Club. All of the funds raised from this event go directly into awards for racers or even jackets for team members.
The I-5 Quarter Midget Club is directly affiliated with the United States Auto Club, which represents the premier short track oval racing in the United States.
I-5 Quarter Midget Club President Rod Putt said the club will offer another public opportunity to experience the quarter midget racing again this summer and believed Sunday’s total of participants would exceed 70.
“We have complete safety equipment and protocols for every new driver here today and it’s a great chance to see if any families are interested in joining our organization,” he said.
Aberdeen eight-year-old Hunter Buchanan and his step-dad, Merrick Munger-Scharff, had been looking forward to this winter’s opportunity to drive one of the quarter midget cars and it didn’t disappoint the pair. Munger-Scharff is a classic car enthusiast with a ‘79 El Camino and young Hunter was just wishing to get in the midget racer to see what it was like.
Afterwards, when asked how many times he’d like to drive the race car, Hunter replied, “like a million!” Munger-Scharff just smiled and said; “Here we go!”
The I-5 Quarter Midget Club racing series will begin later this spring and run throughout the summer.
Hunter Buchanan exits his quarter midget racer on Sunday at the Grays Harbor Fairgrounds as his stepdad Merrick Munger-Scharff watches.
