It was a very good season for young mini dwarf driver Hurricane Andrew Murphy out of Lancaster California. Andrew gives special thanks to his sponsors Tim Wells Tires, Lancaster Ca, NAPA of Palmdale, Palmdale California and Walsma Oil Company, Lancaster California. He raced his 1939 styled mini dwarf truck to the championship. "I've only raced for two seasons" says Andrew. "I knew I had to finish well every race, and not get black flagged or break".
He did just that, not only did he finish on the top of the points he also won 9 Main events, 2 Dash for Cash's and 7 Heat races. Andrew took the points lead early in the season, often leading by less than 30 points.
Andrew drives a truck that was custom built just for him, his father, Jeff Murphy builds the mini dwarfs and wanted something 'different' for Andrew. The purple paint and exploding skull is what this young driver wanted on his race car. Jeff has built 3 mini dwarf in all and is currently working on a 'old' Willys truck for another racer in the family, Awesome Austin Murphy. "Its a real family sport" says Jeff, who also runs the class "many people have never heard of a mini dwarf, and some think that allowing children to race is out there"
The cars are built for safety with complete roll cages and 5 point seat harnesses. The drivers must wear helmets, neck braces, goggles and either arm restraints or window nets. They race on a small track, about a 16th of a mile. There are a total of about 18 mini dwarfs that race. So the competition is stiff. The drivers are boys and girls ages 5-15. Mini Dwarfs are downsized dwarf cars that are powered by Briggs and Stratton engines. The class is very regulated and have very strict rules. "Its not about who's daddy can built the biggest baddest car, its about which driver can get it around the track the fastest" Jeff continues. "We spend a lot of time teaching the fundamentals of racing, the meaning of the flags, how to watch the flagman, starting and restarting a race. All the things any driver would need to know".
The Murphy family has been running the After Hours Racing - Kids Mini Dwarf Division for a year and a half. The cars run at various dirt tracks in Southern California including Victorville Auto Raceway, Barona Speedway Park and Temecula Speedway. They are hoping to expand the circuit next season to include more tracks. The class is sponsored by A.V. Comtel out of Lancaster, California, About Service Automotive Center - Escondido California Inner Circle Racing out of Hesperia California and Longacre Racing www.longacreracing.com.
You can receive information about sponsoring this new class or keep track of this new division by checking out their website at http://community.webtv.net/racemom3/KIDSMINIDWARFRACING or you can contact them by phone at 661-727-1955 "We enjoy sharing our sport with others and have been contacted by people all over the country" Their website receives nearly 1000 hits per month from people all over the world.
