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POST-WW II MIDGET RACING FOCUS OF NEW MUSEUM EXHIBIT WITH BROCK YATES TO SPEAK AT NOVEMBER OPENING

October 10, 2006

Brock Yates' midget car

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ron Hedger at 518-885-7481 or Alan Edstrom at 518-587-1935


Saratoga Springs, NY

The Racing in New York Gallery of the Saratoga Automobile Museum will feature racers small in size but huge in their impact on the racing world when the Solar/Kurtis Kraft Midget exhibit opens on Sunday, November 5.

Midget racing swept the nation after WW II ended, with entertainment starved citizens able to enjoy the thrilling racers on short tracks in every geographic area as many touring drivers raced seven or eight times a week.

The Saratoga exhibit will feature a pair of Solar midgets from the era along with an example of the blazing-fast Kurtis Kraft Ïtube-frameÓ midgets that made the stainless steel Ïrail-frameÓ Solars obsolete overnight. Combined with photography from ace photographer and racing historian Les King, the display will give visitors an understanding of how the midgets drew as many as 50,000 fans to a single event before lower cost stock cars came on the scene and became the sportÌs premier attraction.

Built originally from kits manufactured in San Diego, CA. in the same building where Charles LindberghÌs Spirit of St. Louis was assembled prior to the first solo Trans-Atlantic flight, Bruce CarmanÌs restored Solar will be partially disassembled to allow visitors a look at the inner workings while Ken GypsonÌs midget will be in Ïas racedÓ condition.

Joining the Solars will be an Offenhauser powered Kurtis Kraft piloted by Indianapolis 500 winners and American racing legends AJ Foyt and Johnny Rutherford, among others. The car, now owned by author and racing historian Brock Yates, is typical of the super-fast Kurtis Krafts that dominated, and many say ruined, midget racing from cost to coast.

The exhibit opening is set for 2 pm on Sunday, November 5th, with National Speed Sport News columnist and exhibit coordinator Ron Hedger to moderate the event. King will be on hand to discuss his photography with Carman and Gypson giving brief descriptions of their cars and Yates speaking about both his car and his memories of the unparalleled post-war midget racing scene. Refreshments will follow.

This program is included with Museum Admission, $7.00 for Adults, $5.00 for Seniors and Active Miltary, and $3.50 for children ages 6-16. Children under 5 are free.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum
The mission of the Saratoga Automobile Museum is to display significant cars, trucks, and vehicles that not only represent the automotive heritage of New York State but the entire world of motorized transportation. In addition to a permanent collection of vehicles, the Museum is chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York Department of Education and hosts a variety of workshops, interactive displays, lectures, and outdoor shows.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park at 110 Avenue of the Pines. For more information, guests can also visit the MuseumÌs website at www.saratogaautomuseum.org or call (518) 587-1935.