American Racing Drivers Club
The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) is an open-wheel midget car racing sanctioning body that operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States.
History
[edit]The American Racing Drivers Club was organized in 1939, making it one of the oldest sanctioning bodies in the United States, predating NASCAR by nearly a decade. The purpose of the organization was to represent the drivers and car owners in dealing with track owners and promoters. The club's first president was Bill Schindler.[1] and the first vice presidentfrom 1939 was tony bonadies till his death at Williams Grove pa in 1964. Ed "Dutch" Schaefer was elected president in 1952.[2] Schaefer reigned until 1968, when the series featured 51 races and $93,000 in prize money.[2]
ARDC Midget Car Series
[edit]ARDC Midget Car Season Champions
- 1940 - Bill Schindler
- 1941 - Henry Banks
- 1945 - Bill Schindler
- 1946 - Bill Schindler
- 1947 - George Rice
- 1948 - Bill Schindler
- 1949 - Mike Nazaruk
- 1950 - Nick Fornoro Sr.
- 1951 - Fred Jiggs Peters
- 1952 - Steve McGrath
- 1953 - Mike Nazaruk
- 1954 - Vernon Land
- 1955 - Len Duncan
- 1956 - Ed "Dutch" Schaefer
- 1957 - Ed "Dutch" Schaefer
- 1958 - Len Duncan
- 1959 - Len Duncan
- 1960 - Ed "Dutch" Schaefer
- 1961 - Len Duncan
- 1962 - Len Duncan
- 1963 - Len Duncan
- 1964 - Len Duncan
- 1965 - Ed "Dutch" Schaefer
- 1966 - Joe Csiki
- 1967 - Len Duncan
- 1968 - Johnny Coy Sr.
- 1969 - Johnny Coy Sr.
- 1970 - Tom McAndrew
- 1971 - Johnny Coy Sr.
- 1972 - Johnny Coy Sr.
- 1973 - Leigh Earnshaw Jr.
- 1974 - Leigh Earnshaw Jr.
- 1975 - Leigh Earnshaw Jr.
- 1976 - Bob Cicconi
- 1977 - Lenny Boyd
- 1978 - George Ferguson Jr
- 1979 - Hank Rogers Jr.
- 1980 - Leigh Earnshaw Jr.
- 1981 - Hank Rogers Jr.
- 1982 - Nick Fornoro Jr.
- 1983 - Nick Fornoro Jr.
- 1984 - Nick Fornoro Jr.
- 1985 - Nick Fornoro Jr.
- 1986 - Nick Fornoro Jr.
- 1987 - Brett Mowrey
- 1988 - Billy Hughes
- 1989 - Billy Hughes
- 1990 - Billy Hughes
- 1991 - Lou Cicconi Jr
- 1992 - Joey Coy
- 1993 - Lou Cicconi Jr
- 1994 - Lou Cicconi Jr
- 1995 - Nick Fornoro Jr.
- 1996 - Phil DiMario
- 1997 - Ed Stimely Jr
- 1998 - Bryan Kobylarz
- 1999 - Bryan Kobylarz
- 2000 - Ray Bull
- 2001 - Ray Bull
- 2002 - Ray Bull
- 2003 - Ray Bull
- 2004 - Ray Bull
- 2005 - Ray Bull
- 2006 - Andy Martin
- 2007 - Andy Martin
- 2008 - Randy Monroe Jr.
- 2009 - Frank Polimeda
- 2010 - Steve Buckwalter
- 2011 - Drew Heistand
- 2012 - Tim Buckwalter
- 2013 - Trevor Kobylarz
- 2014 - Steven Drevicki
- 2015 - Steven Drevicki
- 2016 - Alex Bright[3]
- 2017 - Ryan Greth[4]
Reference (1940-2015):[5]
Other notable racers
[edit]- Mario Andretti, 1961 to mid-1962
- Ray Brown
- Jan Opperman
- Johnny Thomson
The Cars
[edit]Registered midget Chassis in ARDC range from Elite, Spike, Stealth, Bullet, Hawk, F5, Bishop, and Beast. The engines range from Chevy, Ford, Volkswagen, Pontiac, and Mopar, with big-name motor builders such as Alan Johnson, Ed Pink, Gaerte, Brayton, Hawk, Fontana, and Don Ott. With one competitive Personal Motor Builder, Mark Piazza. Today, all the motors are 4 cylinders, but have approximately 350 to 400 horsepower (300 kW), while weighing only 900 pounds.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Biography Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine for Bill Schindler at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
- ^ a b Biography for Dutch Schaefer at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
- ^ "USAC Partners with ARDC for 19-Race Eastern Regional Midget Slate in 2017". United States Automobile Club. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ "2017 Points". ARDC Midgets. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ says, Tom Avenengo. "Driver Champions". ARDC Midgets. Retrieved September 8, 2020.