by Amie Rodgers

When I think of NADCAR I think of fun loving people and funny little cars. I first discovered this noble sport through a friend of mine from Flagstaff. He introduced me to the jolly crew from JBJ Trucking (and their many followers who make the pilgrimmage from Flagstaff to hang out at Thunder Raceway and watch the races).

Given the fun loving nature of the sport, I was not sur­prised to find out one of my good friends Cathie Manville was a race car mama who invited me to find out more.

The Northern Arizona Dwarf Car Association was es­tablished in around 1994. According to Frank Phillips, one of the association’s founders, the association has just under 40 drivers and around 50 members. A dwarf car is an almost exact 5/8th scale replica car generally from the 1920’s-1940’s. “It is a blast. It is entertainment for us. It is entertainment for the fans. The people love it. We’re not in it for the money because there really isn’t any,” chuckles Frank, “We’re just a bunch of guys who get together and race clean, race good and have a good time. We get together for races and barbeques. They race at a number of race tracks around the state as well as locally at Thunder Raceway. We have shows on holi­day weekends where even more drivers show up. On Labor Day weekend, we are having a two day show. It is a competition between us in the North area and the drivers from South of us. We’ll have cars come from as far away as Texas and Colorado. We have twelve or thirteen races scheduled this year. We race just about every other weekend.”

A number of drivers are getting into dwarf cars for the camaraderie. “The members of the club are great. Everybody helps each other out. We camp out at the tracks and have a good time,” adds driver Rick Haase, a former mini-stock driver. Wife and corporate spon­sor Cathie of Slumber Parties by Cathie and Send Out Cards agrees and adds, “These people are amazing. We have run other classes and it is a little more cut throat and all about winning. With the dwarf cars, it is more about having fun and that is what got us hooked on this class. It is a fun, affordable class. It is a great way to get into racing. The rules are intended to keep this affordable for everybody.”

Rick got into NADCAR when Thunder Raceway dropped the mini-stock class. Friend, owner of C&C Auto Repair and fellow NADCAR driver, Randy Dines let Rick drive his old car. “I was hooked. They are a lighter, smaller car with just about as much horsepower. They really get around the track. At Thunder Raceway, we are generally hitting about 68 MPH,” grins Rick. Ac­cording to Frank, brand new dwarf cars (sans motor) run about $8,000. Motors start at about $500. The majority of dwarf car engines are 4 stroke, 4 cycle 1250 cc or smaller Suzuki and Kawasaki motorcycle engines.

As affordable as dwarf racing may be, it still costs money, honey. “Sponsorships can really help. Every race costs money to run. If you tear something up, it costs more,” notes Frank, “Sponsors help maintain the car and pay entry fees. Sponsors can be in-kind or for really any amount of money. Corporate sponsors re­ceive billing on the website, announcement at the track and placement of decals on the car.”

For more information about corporate sponsorships, membership or race schedules, please visit the NAD­CAR website at www.noazdwarfcar.com. Get thee to a race. Maverick readers are invited to come down to the pit and check out these fun little rides. How cool is that?!