Quarter Midget

History

The quarter midget shrinks the classic American midget to roughly quarter scale and hands it to children aged five to sixteen. Organised nationally under Quarter Midgets of America from the mid-1950s, out of post-war California, the formula has barely changed: a tubular-steel frame carrying a full roll cage, live axles, and a single-cylinder four-stroke driving the rear axle directly — no gearbox — on banked ovals of about 1/20 mile.

Competition lives in a class ladder rather than one championship: novices start in restricted Honda classes and climb through 160cc, Briggs World Formula and modified categories. QMA's Grands remain the traditional national showdowns, joined since 2009 by USAC's .25 programme, whose Battle at the Brickyard runs on a temporary oval inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon, Sarah Fisher, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano all won quarter-midget races before anyone outside their families knew their names.

Today the fleet is huge and turnover constant — every driver ages out at sixteen and most outgrow their car sooner, so clean rollers trade continuously through club paddocks. Hand-built 1950s–60s cars with aluminium bodies have a genuine vintage collecting niche, while a modern car remains the cheapest documented first rung on the American circle-track ladder.

Palmarès

A class rather than a single car, so its record is measured in alumni: Jeff Gordon won the national quarter-midget championship in 1979 aged eight and again two years later; Ryan Newman, Sarah Fisher and Joey Logano climbed the same ladder. Since 2009, USAC's Battle at the Brickyard at Indianapolis has been the modern crown.