Seventy-five Years of King Midgets

More than 70 microcars descended on Bowling Green for the 30th annual King Midget Jamboree. This year's meet celebrated the 75th anniversary of Midget Motors of Athens, OH. 

The King Midget, manufactured in Athens, Ohio from 1946-1970, was advertised as the "World's Number One Fun Car" and initially had 7.5-horsepower before later models had 12-horsepower motor. They averaged 50-70 miles per gallon and reached a top speed of 50 mph. At one point, it was the the sixth-highest-selling car in America. 

The Perils of Racing Little Cars

There's nothing more exciting than racing a car that's so close to the track that you can almost reach out and touch it. (But don't do it!) 

H-Modified was a racing class that existed from about 1953 to 1967 or 1968. In its early years (1953-1963) it was for cars with displacement of 500-750ccs. In 1963 or 1964 displacement was increased to include cars up to 850ccs. It was an exciting time for small-bore racing, and it wasn't unusual to see 15-20 cars racing wheel-to-wheel. And it was a starting point for many mechanics and drivers -- cheaper than the bigger racing cars.

In a resurgence of the class (in vintage racing) there are five cars registered to run in this September's Put-in-Bay Road Races. Don't miss it.

Cartoon by Joe Puckett.