First time in a NEMA midget

I was going to put this paragraph together after the review of my day, but I really want you to understand these cars before reading about our day so now it is first! These NEMA midget cars are one of a kind! Let me tell ya, - As a racer, if you ever get a chance to race a NeEMA midget do it! Ask fellow mod racers Dylan Rock and Jacob Perry - these cars are awesome. They are lightweight - 1150 with me in it, have 340+ hp and the wing gives you all the drive in the world. The toughest part for me was not to drive it like a mod. With the mod you lift as you turn in and roll into the gas after halfway through the corner. For the midget you have to stay in the throttle past where you turn in, roll out easy, and sometimes not even roll out of full throttle, then you are immediately back in the throttle before the middle of the corner. You are up on the wheel every corner of every lap. The second you let up, you lose half a second or more. It is a combination of being super smooth, but yet up on the wheel every lap. What a combination! But it makes for one of the fun cars I have ever run. The power-to-weight ratio is second to none. And on top of it, the racers in the club are awesome. I have heard they are one big family, and now I got to experience it. After each run, I had several racers who were on the track with me, car owners, and drivers from the NEMA lites coming up to tell me how I was doing, things to try, and to let me know I was doing a great job. When we had issues in the first run, we had everyone coming up to make sure we were okay and asking if we needed help. That was really cool and talks really big for the NEMA club.

In my 19 years of racing, I have been fortunate to drive some very cool cars. Every in New England knows the NEMA midgets. They are 4-cylinder lightweight winged beasts. Though I tried a few times to find a NEMA light or NEMA ride I was never successful. For many years as we went to the track on our off weekends to help Mike Horn when he raced, he always said someday he was going to get me in a midget. He always swore they were a blast to drive. Well, he stuck to his word and made that happen. Last year when Mike called my dad about the opportunity to drive the A1 midget in 2023 with a Mazda motor from Circle Performance, I was excited about the opportunity.

We had a lot of communication with Mike through the off-season as we built our new modified, then as we got into March, the whole deal really started to come together. We got over to the shop to take the current power plant out of the A1. We were able to bring the car home and start to fit the Mazda power plant. Going from one engine type to another sounds easy. It should just be changing engine mounts and you are done, right? I WISH! Lucky for me, I have a Dad that loves to fabricate and make things fit/work (I think he still does after all of that, HA!). We needed to move the chassis a little, cut a bar so the engine did not go into the chassis, weld on new oil tank tabs, cut and weld the motor plate to fit the car (Thank you Rob for all the welding on the plate!), make a new front motor mount, and run new oil lines. Race cars are definitely a labor of love.

With building the new mod, the time and detail it took to get the midget right, and putting the 44 pro-4 together (Yup, three races in one garage!) we ran out of time to get to practice in order to get me seat time. This meant Waterford Speedbowl was going to be my first time ever in a midget. I had complete confidence in both Mike and my Dad to give me a solid car, one that I could learn from and progress throughout the day. Now on to my debut

With a lot of hype going into the day I just wanted to compete every lap I could and gain every run. Unfortunately, in practice 1, we had a small issue where the motor was not running 100%. We had a small issue with the plug wires which limited the power. Quick fix after practice 1 and the fun was about to start. Practice 2, right away I could feel the power in the motor. It was now time to go learn. Having a wing on top, and a small wheelbase is a lot different than what I am used to with the modified. The TQ gives me experience with the small wheelbase but with more than double the power it was going to be fun. Every lap I got quicker and more comfortable. It is a lot different with the wing. After practice, I called for a few changes to help stabilize the car a little. I felt a little too twitchy in the middle of the corner and just needed help to keep the car from trying to spin.

For the heat race - We started 5th. I wanted to go out, tag the back of the field and just continue to learn each lap. I always do better when I have cars to follow and see what they are doing. We quickly jumped to 3rd on the start due to cars having issues. Since we had struggles in practice, we put our new tires on for the heat race. During the first three laps, the car was just too snug. As the Right Rear grew, the car got a ton better. I was able to click off 8 great laps and really start to learn the car. The Times even showed that. We turned lap times to be a mid-pack 5-6th car which I was thrilled with. Going into today it was about seat time, learning the car, and seeing what adjustments I need to make it competitive. There's only so much you can do at the track, and we know that. With how the heat race went, I knew the day was a success right there. We were still a little snug at the end of the heat, so we opened up the stagger a little and were ready to go for the feature.

In the feature I started 10th. I moved up to 8th position just after the start and rode there. The race went green to checker which gave me no time to adjust the car. We were just too tight, and I was not able to get the car pointed and get to the throttle. But I finished every lap, learned a ton, and already know a bunch of changes we want to look at to make the car better. For my first-ever laps in a midget being at Waterford, and first-ever hard laps in 2nd practice, it was a great day. Racers always want more, but for me to progress as I did, and be not far off it's a win in our book. We will only get better from there and I know the first top 5 is right there at the next race.

I have to give a huge thank you to Mike and Jeff Horn for allowing me to run the historic A1. These cars really are a blast to drive and I can not wait to make some setup changes and go back at it. Mike keeps telling me driving a midget that is tight really takes a lot of the speed away. Can not wait to see what happens when she turns good. I owe endless thank you’s to John for Circle performance for the Mazda power and for all your hard work throughout the day. Thank you to my Dad for the endless hours in the shop. Huge thank you to Mom, Nick, and Mac for all the help at the track! And our sponsors NHOU Protective Coatings, Miranda General Contracting, Roadactive Suspension, Ro-Day Industries and D&M for all they do for me!

The next race with the Nema is June 25th at Wiscasset Speedway in Wiscasset, Maine. We invite all our fans and supporters to join us as we continue our journey in pursuit of success and podium finishes. The Modified’s next race is July 1st at Star Speedway!