Don’t be alarmed if you heard the rumbling noise coming from the north side of Lansing, Michigan during the final weekend of September. That noise wasn’t a thunderstorm. Nor was the noise evidence of a tornado brewing. The rumble was the Midwest Thunder Quarter Midget Championship Race Series blowing through the Lansing Quarter Midget racetrack behind Reno’s North Sports Bar and Grill. The competition was fierce as the drivers competed to be the 2014 Midwest Thunder Champions. The Midwest Thunder Championship Series is the result of several quarter midget clubs from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana working together to bring each of their local areas some of the greatest quarter midget racing competition anywhere. Drivers from all over the Midwest compete in this series. The 2014 series consists of 9 events that will be held at the following racetracks: Mac-O-Chee, Kokomo, Waterford, Toledo, Lansing, Indy, Columbus, and Miami Valley. The first race in the 2014 championship began on May 10th at Miami Valley Quarter Midget track in Xenia, Ohio and the series concludes at the Buckeye Quarter Midget Racing Association track in Columbus, Ohio.

The Pit Products crew set up shop at the corner of the race track directly behind the grand stands in order to support the drivers and fans at the event and also to introduce the trailer organization solutions and trailer storage cabinets we manufacture here at Pit Products. We had a blast meeting many drivers and families who were racing for the weekend and camping out on site also. It was awesome to get a first-hand glimpse into all that goes into preparing for and competing on the amateur quarter midget racing circuit. The race was the eighth stop in the Midwest Thunder series and was hosted by the Capitol Quarter Midget Association based in Lansing, Michigan. There were two full days of racing which included practice sessions, safety inspections, qualifying races, educational opportunities, and of course the main events, the feature races!

The following is a list of the feature races that took place over the weekend:

• Jr. Honda
• Sr. Honda
• Heavy Honda
• Red Rookie
• Light WF
• Heavy WF
• Blue Rookie
• Light 160
• Heavy 160

The Pit Products team took part in some of the educational events and contests hosted during the weekend. One of the contests involved young drivers being quizzed about race related topics in order to win Pit Products ratchet strap hangers, Pit Products flash light holders, and other Pit Products trailer and garage storage accessories. Troy Gray, of RSR North Race Cars located in Jackson, Michigan, was the leader of the trivia event and tried to stump the youngsters with racing related trivia questions such as:

• Who is the current points leader in the NASCAR series?
• Who won the Quicken Loans 400 race at Michigan International Speedway in June?

Several Pit Products sponsored race teams competed in the event and a couple of the teams came away with some nice trophies for their efforts. The picture below shows a couple of the Pit Products sponsored drivers (Ethan on the left and Casey on the right) with their hard earned trophies. Way to go guys!

It was awesome to be able to support our sponsored drivers and learn how much fun it is to witness young race car drivers barreling around the oval track.

Don’t let anyone fool you. This is serious racing. Most of the race teams arrived on Friday, set up camp and got their car hauling trailers ready to act as on-site quarter midget racecar testing and tuning headquarters for the weekend! The buzz going around the pit row was exciting to witness and we learned a lot from the families as they prepared their race cars for the weekend’s events.

We know we’ll be back next year to witness another round of exciting racing and to support the Pit Products sponsored race teams that work so hard year round for their chance at glory during the Midwest Thunder Quarter Midget Championship Race Series. Keep up the good work kids!